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Longarm #9
Longarm and the Hatchet Men
Longarm and the Hatchet Tabor Longarm and the Hatchet Jove FIRST First Edition, 5th Printing (July 1981). Not price-clipped. Published by Jove Books, 1979. 12mo. Paperback. Book is very good. Covers have some light shelf wear. Seller 357131 Pulp Paperbacks
- GenresWesterns
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 1979
About the author
Tabor Evans
590 books45 followersTabor Evans is the author of the long-running Longarm western series, featuring the adventures of Deputy U.S. Marshal Custis Long. Tabor Evans, is a house pseudonym used by a number of authors. The pseudonym of Tabor Evans would begin in the 1970s when Lou Cameron established it for the Jove Books publishing label. Lou Cameron helped create the character and wrote a number of the early books in the series. The first book was published in 1978. Other authors known to have written books in the series include Melvin Marshall, Will C. Knott, Frank Roderus, Chet Cunningham, J. Lee Butts, Gary McCarthy, James Reasoner, Jeffrey M. Wallmann, Peter Brandvold and Harry Whittington. In addition there are 29 "Giant" editions published as well.
The Longarm series is a mainstay of the "adult western" genre which arose in the 1970s. These books are distinguished from classical westerns by the inclusion of more explicit sex and violence.
The Longarm series is a mainstay of the "adult western" genre which arose in the 1970s. These books are distinguished from classical westerns by the inclusion of more explicit sex and violence.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 17, 2026
A very good Longarm entry. Just a few notes:
There are actually very few hatchet men in the story, and none that are named or are important in any way to the plot. Maybe Longarm and the Smugglers or Longarm in Chinatown would have been more appropriate names. If this book had been written in the 30s it would 100% been called Longarm and the Yellow Peril.
This has the least amount of sex scenes of any Longarm I have read so far. If memory serves, there is just one full sex scene in here.
As much as I enjoyed this one, almost everything important that happens is a coincidence, a stroke of dumb luck, or just nonsensical (for example, at one point everyone that Longarm is with is executed by the bad guys but he is just knocked out and taken prisoner for some reason).
There are actually very few hatchet men in the story, and none that are named or are important in any way to the plot. Maybe Longarm and the Smugglers or Longarm in Chinatown would have been more appropriate names. If this book had been written in the 30s it would 100% been called Longarm and the Yellow Peril.
This has the least amount of sex scenes of any Longarm I have read so far. If memory serves, there is just one full sex scene in here.
As much as I enjoyed this one, almost everything important that happens is a coincidence, a stroke of dumb luck, or just nonsensical (for example, at one point everyone that Longarm is with is executed by the bad guys but he is just knocked out and taken prisoner for some reason).
December 10, 2025
It's easy to dismiss the Longarm series as just pulpy Adult Westerns, but golly that would that mean dismissing some of the most fun, action-heavy paperback westerns out there!
In this entry, Longarm is given the task of halting Chinese labor being smuggled into the Pacific Northwest. He partners with the Canadian Mounties and spars with a big, Swedish lass who runs a sawmill with a heavy Chinese workforce and finds himself butting heads with the suave businessman who runs the small town where all these illegals are ending up. When murder and assault start to keep the Deputy Marshall busy, he starts getting angry.
The book sets up the tone from the first chapter, when Longarm saves a bunch of Chinese in Denver who are being firebombed out of their homes. He doesn't put up with that crap and is willing to push back hard at the white men who want to act superior, and so even when he takes on this assignment, his sympathies are always with the innocent, regardless of ethnicity, and he goes out of his way to punish the exploiters more than the victims of this slave-running scheme.
Unlike most Longarm novels, our hero doesn't really have any allies in this one. Sure, he partners with the Mounties, but one of them gets wounded and the other is useless. Even the lovely ladies are suspects in his case, with Helga, the lumber mill owner, trying to seduce him and take him out of the picture. And then he's got a sultry lady crime boss playing both sides of the street, and not caring who she hurts.
We do get two awesome drunk loggers who become reluctant partners in Longarm's mission. They might get paid, but Gus and Stokey are really just along for the punching they get to do.
The action is fast, furious, and fantastically written. Plenty of shootouts, treachery, and danger at every turn. Less sexy times than in some of the stories, though Longarm still gets his quota of lovely ladies, but the smut isn't really a letdown because the action is so, so good. Especially the rush of violence at the end, as Longarm races against time to stop the villains and save the innocent.
Longarm is a hero I can admire. Especially in recent years. He intends to protect the innocent, uphold the law, and treat everyone with respect. Except the bad guys. They get treated to some hot lead.
In this entry, Longarm is given the task of halting Chinese labor being smuggled into the Pacific Northwest. He partners with the Canadian Mounties and spars with a big, Swedish lass who runs a sawmill with a heavy Chinese workforce and finds himself butting heads with the suave businessman who runs the small town where all these illegals are ending up. When murder and assault start to keep the Deputy Marshall busy, he starts getting angry.
The book sets up the tone from the first chapter, when Longarm saves a bunch of Chinese in Denver who are being firebombed out of their homes. He doesn't put up with that crap and is willing to push back hard at the white men who want to act superior, and so even when he takes on this assignment, his sympathies are always with the innocent, regardless of ethnicity, and he goes out of his way to punish the exploiters more than the victims of this slave-running scheme.
Unlike most Longarm novels, our hero doesn't really have any allies in this one. Sure, he partners with the Mounties, but one of them gets wounded and the other is useless. Even the lovely ladies are suspects in his case, with Helga, the lumber mill owner, trying to seduce him and take him out of the picture. And then he's got a sultry lady crime boss playing both sides of the street, and not caring who she hurts.
We do get two awesome drunk loggers who become reluctant partners in Longarm's mission. They might get paid, but Gus and Stokey are really just along for the punching they get to do.
The action is fast, furious, and fantastically written. Plenty of shootouts, treachery, and danger at every turn. Less sexy times than in some of the stories, though Longarm still gets his quota of lovely ladies, but the smut isn't really a letdown because the action is so, so good. Especially the rush of violence at the end, as Longarm races against time to stop the villains and save the innocent.
Longarm is a hero I can admire. Especially in recent years. He intends to protect the innocent, uphold the law, and treat everyone with respect. Except the bad guys. They get treated to some hot lead.
June 25, 2024
Interesting tale of Chinese coolies being smuggled to build a railroad.
July 21, 2026
A solid entry in the Longarm series and surprisingly the plot made me do a little research to see how true it was. I look forward to the next one.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews