Slaughter Canyon

by Joseph A. West, Ralph Compton

In this classic Ralph Compton western, Uncle Sam wants a lawman to become an outlaw....

Deputy U.S. Marshal Matt Battles is being blackmailed—by President Chester A. Arthur. The commander in chief needs someone to discover why Hatfield J. Warful is gathering every notorious gunslinger in the West at his home in Slaughter Canyon. Thanks to a falsified news report planted by the Secret Service, Battles is now wanted for robbery and murder, leaving him no choice but to infiltrate Warful’s gang by posing as an outlaw on the run.

But Warful’s trigger-happy gunfighters share some unpleasant history with the supposed ex-Marshal, and they don’t care which side of the law he’s on. And if Battles doesn’t have enough worries being targeted by both lawman and outlaw alike, failing his mission could result in a second Civil War....
 
More Than Eight Million Ralph Compton Books In Print!

Genres: Westerns

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 3, 2012

About the author

Joe West was born and raised in the seaside town of Saltcoats in Scotland. At 19 he became a police officer, but soon turned his love of writing into a career as a journalist, working for the Daily Mirror in London among others. In 1972 West was recruited as a reporter for the National Enquirer, and began working in the United States. Traveling the world in search of stories, West almost froze to death on an Alaska mountain, and a spider bite nearly killed him in the Amazon rainforest. 'I swelled up like a balloon and turned a real pretty violet color,' he recalls.

Now a full-time novelist, West and his wife Emily reside in sunny Lake Worth, Florida, where he enjoys tamer pursuits like canoeing the alligator-infested swamps of the Everglades. His daughter Alexandria attends a local college where she studies forensic technology. She will have absolutely nothing to do with canoes and alligators.

West researches the settings of his novels by exploring the terrain in person, usually with little more than a sleeping bag and a can of coffee.

Recently he and Emily celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary at the Lodge in Cloudcroft, New Mexico, a gift from the students at Rio Rancho High School who use West's first novel as a textbook. They then spent a month in the mountains and deserts of New Mexico, often pitching their tent where the air is thin at 9,000 feet above the flat.

Reviews

[Mary Kate Sheppard · Rating 2 out of 5]

It has a horse on the cover and it’s called Slaughterhouse CANYON but they spend 90% of the book on a boat in Africa….

[Violet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is a dandy ... really different. At the request of the President of the United States, a Deputy Marshall gets involved with a band of gunslingers run by a madman with plans of taking over an African kingdom, etc. etc. From Texas to San Francisco, to Africa around the horn, the action and adventure is good without getting too carried away. Very entertaining.

[Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exciting book. The name is a bit misleading as the majority of the story takes place on the sea and in Africa. A very interesting story with humor and excitement mixed in. Also a bit of gruesomeness thrown in.

[Bryan Bastible · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very quick, entertaining read. Like the other reviews, despite its name, most of the story takes place on a boat near Africa. A strong hero, a racist villain, pirates, outlaws and a boat bound from the Wild West to Africa. What more could you want?

[Daniel Koen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cowboys on pirate boats don't mix.

[Carter Landon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spent way too long describing how obese and stinky the wife of the villain was, and all the action felt like it was for action’s sake

[Yosef Shapiro · Rating 2 out of 5]

The opening section of the book was a good premise to draw me in. Marshall Battles is sent for by President Chester Arthur to go on an undercover mission. To ensure his credibility, among the criminals and his compliance with the Federal government, he is framed for a bank robbery. This premise is the best part of the book. Some of the later incidnets are not as memorable. A large section delves into piracy. I though that this was a Western? It just seems out of place. Also, one of the main characters expresses a strong hatred for Jews. What should be a minor sub-plot becomes very annoying very quickly and could have just as easily been left out of the book. The other major issues i have is that most of the characters were very one dimensional.

[Jeff Dickison · Rating 3 out of 5]

A western by Ralph Compton that wasn't written by Ralpb Compton and isn't a real western. After he died they continued releasing novels under his name written by other people. Doen't seem quite right, does it. Anyway, this novel is only fair and isn't much of a western, more of an adventure book that includes psychotics and pirates. Only recommended to individuals who like adventure novels.