Outlaw

Matt Slaughter #1

by Charles G. West

A good man becomes a wanted one in this gripping tale of the Old West from Spur Award-winning author Charles G. West.When war came to the Shenandoah Valley, Matt Slaughter and his older brother, Owen, joined the Confederate army. But three years defending his homeland as a sniper has weighed heavily on Matt’s conscience. With the cause lost, the brothers desert—only to find upon their arrival home that Owen’s farm has fallen into the hands of swindlers.When Owen accidentally kills a Union officer, Matt takes the blame. But now—facing a sham trial and a noose—he escapes to the west, where he saves the life of another fugitive down-and-outer. Both men are a breed apart from other outlaws. Neither kills for pleasure or steals for profit. But that doesn’t matter to the cold-blooded men who are going to give them hell to pay—and get the same in return....

Genres: Westerns

287 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 2, 2006

About the author

Charles G. West first arrived on the western literary scene in March, 1998 with his first novel, Stone Hand, published by Penguin under their Signet imprint. The book was the first of a three-book series, featuring Jason Coles, master tracker. The public response to those first three books called for more western fiction by West, and as of January 2014, Signet has published forty-five.

Inspired in his youth by great adventure authors like A.B. Guthrie and Vardis Fisher, West has always sought to be true to the men and women who braved the dangers of the savage frontier that was ultimately forged to become the American west. Novels by Charles G. West are classified as historical/westerns due to his diligent research in his subject matter, choosing to weave his fiction into the fabric of the actual places and events, being true to the times as well as the people. As a result, his protagonists are usually not heroes, but are often called upon to perform heroic deeds.

Insisting that his protagonists must be instilled with a sense of fairness in addition to courage. West readily admits that many of the characters in his books are patterned after his two sons, both of whom are graduates of the University of Montana, one still lives in Kalispell, Montana - and is the source of much of the author's detail on the ways of the mountain man. Both sons share West's love for the Big Sky Country.

Presently, the author resides in Ocala, Florida with his wife, Ronda, whose name is found on the dedication page of every West novel.

Reviews

[Colton Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

The start of this book is slow, at least in the first three chapters it is, not too slow as to disinterest you from reading, but enough to get you reading more. The book starts off with these two brothers, Owen and Matt, who fought in the confederate army during the Civil War. Matt was a sniper, Owen was just average infantry. In early 1865, the brothers dessert from the confederate army, and come home to the Shenandoah Valley, only to find out that Owen's wife unknowingly sold their family farm to this swindler. She just wanted food for her kids, when she unknowingly sold the family farm. The two brothers go to this judge, in the hopes of trying to turn this situation around, but it is all for nothing. In a rage, Owen starts fighting this judge, who drew out a pistol from the desk he was sitting at. Due to the pistol accidentally firing, the judge is killed, and Matt takes the blame. Luckily, their family still has some land by the river in the same valley, and that's where Owen and his family live, but Matt is forced to flee to the west after he got arrested, incarcerated in this feed store, where he escaped. The turkey shoot in chapter 3, to win this Henry rifle is an intriguing part of this book. Matt is a little naïve at first, until chapter 8, when he meets this guy called Ike, who was losing this poker game heavily to these three people who were cheating. There is a showdown between the five of them at the stable, which ends up with three hitting the dust, Ike getting a 44 slug in his shoulder, and mat coming out of it unscathed. Ike married this Cherokee woman, where he lived in this Cherokee village with her for seven years. He told Matt to not get a doctor for the slug in his shoulder, telling him about the village and the woman who would help to get that slug out of his shoulder. All the young men and Warriors of that village moved north to where Canada is today, leaving the village defenceless and without food. The hunt in chapter 10 is also quite awesome, but broken reed, Ike's wife should've listened to her instincts. Listen to your instincts, they can save your life. these outlaws that were looking for Matt and Ike came to that Cherokee Village, where they killed everyone in it, including Ike's wife Broken Reed. The rest of this book is one big outlaw hunt, which is interesting at times, other times not, but this book is one big adventure.

[Jacquelyn Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story of the west old west,recommend to anyone who like reading about the U.S. past

History in fiction good story of the strength of people in that era can't wait to red the next 2 books in this series

[Anne Patkau · Rating 4 out of 5]

5* if quality continues high. Action, heroes, villains, catchy dialog. I'm hooked on more by West.

[John Meitner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite good, I gave it 8 out of 10.

[Jordan Bowar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charles G West never disappoints!

[Dennis F. Hyde · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outlaw by Charles G. West

Another suspenseful novel by a great western author. Always hate for good stories to end. This story is filled with many suspenseful twists and will keep you on the edge of your seat. This is a must for all you western fans. As Roy would say, Happy Trails to You.........

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Slaughter brothers fought for the South during the war. When they return home, they find the family farm taken over by swindlers. A fight erupts and Owen kills a soldier. Since he has a family, Matt takes the blame and heads west from Virginia.

[Jeff Dickison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Southern soldier, after the war, has to head west because of an accidental shooting. On the way he runs afoul of a vicious gang of killers and must act to save his and his friends lives. Well written, lots of action, a good western. Recommended.

[Dan Panke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Odd. I have this book identified as being read but I just finished it today.
Matt Slaughter, now there's a western name if I ever heard one. Another Charles G West characters not to be messed with.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good and entertaining book. I enjoyed reading this book and recommend it to everyone.