Ride for Justice

The Gunfighter #6

by Robert J. Randisi, Ralph Compton

In this fast-paced new installment in bestseller Ralph Compton's The Gunfighter series, a man wrongly convicted of a crime is out of jail and looking for vengeance.

Matt Masters was a legend in the West. His fast gun and dedication for justice made him a sought-after lawman for hire, but all of that vanished one dark night. Matt was convicted of murder for killing the man who killed his woman. Now he's spent his time in jail and is looking to even the score against the men who set him up.

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published October 13, 2020

About the author

Robert Joseph Randisi was a prolific American author, editor, and screenwriter, best known for his work in detective and Western fiction. He wrote over 650 books, including The Gunsmith series under the pen name J.R. Roberts, and edited more than 30 anthologies. A co-founder of Mystery Scene magazine, the American Crime Writers League, and Western Fictioneers, he also established The Private Eye Writers of America and created the Shamus Award. Randisi collaborated on novels with Eileen Davidson and Vince Van Patten, and created memorable characters such as Miles Jacoby, Joe Keough, and The Rat Pack. He received multiple lifetime achievement awards and the John Seigenthaler Humanitarian Award.

Reviews

[Frédéric · Rating 4 out of 5]

SPOILER-FREE REVIEW

A quick bullet point-style review of my personal thoughts on this read. Organized in positive (+), neutral (~) and negative (-) points, followed by a few additional words.

+ Good setting & interesting locations
+ Interesting characters with different moralities
+ Simple but entertaining story
+ Lots of character interactions
+ Got me interested in learning more about the late 1800s in America as well as in reading more Western fictions

- Writing is a bit weak at times, with odd sentence structure and spelling mistakes in some of the early chapters

This perhaps may not be the most gracefully written book of all time, but it is a good read nonetheless. The story managed to keep me entertained throughout and got me interested in the genre. The characters, as well as their interactions and beliefs, combined with the time period and environments made for an immersive experience.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a comforting read that might spark an interest in the genre.

4.5 / 5

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was in the mood for a simple western but this was too simple. I feel dumber for having read it. Barely enough plot to fuel an episode of "Gunsmoke," no character development, paper thin atmosphere and backstory.

Matt Wheeler watched a trio gun down his wife during a bank robbery. He tracks one to a Chinatown bordello and kills him in cold blood. He serves a 9 year stint in Yuma prison for that crime, then resumes his hunt when he's sprung. Our man Matt eats two things (beans and steak) and drinks three things (beer, whiskey and coffee). His vocabulary is less varied than his diet. Matt receives assists from inexplicable sources (the gang-member-turned-traitor Tillis, the in-on-the-job bank manager Cameron) for inexplicable reasons and his badge is re-instated by "Hanging Judge" Parker ... exactly why? Because he was such a great lawman before going to prison? He certainly doesn't do much law-making in this novel.

Those complaints registered, there is a kind of poetry in western-novel simplicity. And this is about as bare-bones as it gets.

Not really authored by Ralph Compton, this is a continuation of his series by a new author. I'll give then original Ralph Compton a shot.

[Ray Ratliff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book.

[Edward Rex · Rating 1 out of 5]

P frickin U

This is one of the most poorly written books I have ever read. Absolutely devoid of any type of verbal illustration. This hack really really tarnishes Ralph Compton.