Bad Hombres

Slash & Pecos #6

by William W. Johnstone, J.A. Johnstone

Slash and Pecos come face-to-face with the baddest hombre they’ve ever a kill-crazy mad man who’s paving the road to hell—with bloodlust.

He blew into town like a tornado—a mysterious stranger with money to burn and a sadistic streak as wide as the Rio Grande. He says his name is Benson and he’s come to invest in the town’s future. First, he showers the banks and local businesses with cash. Then, he hires a pair of drunks to fight and get arrested so he can check out the local lawmen. After that, he warms up to a lady of the evening—with deadly results.

That’s just the beginning.

By the time Slash and Pecos return to town after a quick-and-dirty cargo run, Benson has enlisted half the outlaws in the territory for his own private army. The local lawmen are quickly slaughtered and the US marshals are no match. With looters amock and killers festering on every corner, a person would have to be stupid or crazy to try to take the town back . . .

Luckily, Slash and Pecos are a little of both. They’ve been around long enough to see the worst in men—and they know that the best way to stop a very bad hombre . . . is to be even badder.

Genres: Westerns

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published September 26, 2023

About the author

William W. Johnstone is the #1 bestselling Western writer in America and the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of hundreds of books, with over 50 million copies sold. Born in southern Missouri, he was raised with strong moral and family values by his minister father, and tutored by his schoolteacher mother. He left school at fifteen to work in a carnival and then as a deputy sheriff before serving in the army. He went on to become known as "the Greatest Western writer of the 21st Century." Visit him online at WilliamJohnstone.net.

Reviews

[Abibliofob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slash and Pecos series has been on a downward slope for a time but Bad Hombres sure resurrects the series. It starts with a mysterious man and his notebook and then violence, lots of violence. Then because of their past and a bad deal with the US Marshal Slash and Pecos are once again thrown into the fray. In this book my favorite characters must be the strong women. They should really have their own western series. This book is a good western by William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone or whoever it is that writes them today. Thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley for supplying me with this advance copy.

[Bill Riggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Boys are back and once again find themselves buried in trouble as they face a ruthless army of town killing cutthroats. The roving band of outlaws have been pillaging and raping towns across Colorado and now have their sights set on Camp Collins the home of Slash and Pecos. In a fight to save everything and everyone they care about they’ll have to fall back on their outlaw background to thwart the depraved marauders.

[Jamesie (inactive) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bad Hombres is a western book giving you a brief look into the lives of Slash and Pecos two men who have tried to clean up there lives and started a cargo hauling business. After doing a job for a man who they soon realized was working with an evil Colonel that is destroying towns and looting them they get caught up in trying to take him out. I liked the way that the two friends worked together and wish there where more relationships like theirs. Although the is a lot of violence (killing men,women and children by shooting) evil is portrayed in the right way and the good side wins. Since in this time period there weren’t many laws against many evil things some of the things being described are nasty and disgusting .

[Shelle Mondon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love a good Western!

[Gerald Matzke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Former outlaws, Slash and Pecos, are rescued from hanging and are put to work by an unscrupulous Marshal. With the threat of revoking their pardon, they are sent out to bring down a blood thirsty gang that has been destroying and looting towns in Colorado. With Johnstone’s Cowboy dialect and humor, he weaves an adventure that includes excitement, romance and surprises with every turn of the page. Slash and Pecos use their experiences as outlaws to anticipate the moves of the bad guys and have the help of some brave and clever lady friends to finally complete their mission. William W. Johnstone continues to entertain with his unique brand of stories of the Old West.

[Beatrice Whiteman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book at a dollar tree by accident, by the first chapter I was already hooked. I love the characters. I love the writing style. You can tell the authors put a lot of time researching this period and put a lot of effort into making things accurate. You can really imagine yourself there. This will be one of my favorite books forever and its only the first of the many Johnstone books I will read in the future.

[John Bishop · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great series

Another crazy adventure with so much fast-paced action the pages flew by. The author's talents are shown on each page with the way he weaves the storyline to another level of excitement. Great stuff.

[Nolan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm the minority on this one for the score and how I felt about this story. I got tired of the talking all the time between Slash and Pecos. Less talking and more action. One of the Bad Hombres asked Slash and Pecos if they were the village idiots. I thought, well yes, they are.

[Raafi Ghaffar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well… I was excited for this one but it’s sadly really mid. The premise and plot sound very grand but it’s the writing style that suffocates the telling of the story. Too few details poor dialogue transitions, and a blase ending leaves a lot to be desired.

[Rob Novo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just OK. I thought it was very choppy and sometimes hard to follow. Strong finish raised it to a three star rating.

[Darrin Greene · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another excellent book by my favorite author of the time

[David Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic!!!

[Janalyn, the blind reviewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series and these two old timers or two of my favorite gunslingers if you love great western send you definitely should give Bad Hombres a listen Thanks to the evil Judge Luther Bledsoe Slash and Pecos were still Free men something the judge love to throw in their faces. On this day they’re Transporting a load of goods to a man named McCall but when he refuses to pay the ex robbers they don’t take too kindly to it. Before they can draw and shoot three other guys who knew McCall and had been dogging their route to the warehouse got the drop on them and told them to leave and not look back. When they got no satisfaction from the Marshall they could do nothing but turn and go back home but they wouldn’t stay there the town and it’s Marshall we’re up to nefarious things in/in Pecos wanted to know what. Before that happened however a guy named Benson was visiting the town of paradise doing a reconnaissance mission and learning the ins and outs and the towns worth he did this so he could go back to his lieutenant a man name Raymond who ran a group of Raiders that looted whole towns and killed its citizens. These are the guys that Slash and Pecos will have Pecos face in order to quench their curiosity in the meantime Pecos will fall in love and once again/will contemplate killing the judge but thanks to Jay cooler heads prevail. It is always a race to the finish in a gun fight royale at the end of any John stone novel in Bad Hombres is no exception I cannot get enough of these books and I’m so glad they’re such proficient riders. I want to thank Kensington books Ann net Galley for my free Ark copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

[J Kromrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bad Hombres is the sixth book in the Slash and Pecos series, featuring two adventurous and fearless freighters who travel across the Wild West. In this installment, they face their most formidable enemy yet: a mysterious and ruthless stranger named Benson, who has taken over their town with his army of outlaws. Slash and Pecos must use their wits, courage, and guns to reclaim their home and stop Benson's reign of terror.

The authors deliver a fast-paced and action-packed story that keeps the reader hooked from the first page to the last. The characters are well-developed and realistic, with distinct personalities and motivations. The dialogue is witty and authentic, capturing the humor and grit of the western genre. The setting is vividly described, transporting the reader to a time and place where life was hard and danger lurked around every corner.

Bad Hombres is a thrilling and entertaining read that will appeal to fans of westerns and historical fiction. It is a standalone novel that can be enjoyed without reading the previous books in the series, but it also offers enough references and connections to satisfy loyal followers. It is a book that celebrates the values of friendship, loyalty, and justice, while also exploring the dark side of human nature and the consequences of greed and violence. It is a book that will make you laugh, cry, and cheer for the good guys, while also making you think about the complex and often ambiguous moral dilemmas of the frontier.

[Denice Langley · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is no such thing as a bad Johnstone western. Each series is built around main characters whose belief in the law and family is absolute, even if they've had to be reformed to get there. From Preacher, the original mountain man to the Jensen family to Perly Gates, to.....well, you get the point. Many times, characters from one series will show up in another as supporting hands. The communities are true to the era, clothing, guns, food and troubles are all what you'd find if you looked them up in the history books. No two stories are the same, each character or set of characters is unique and so are their stories. The writing is skillful, readers are pulled into the story and you will laugh and cry right along with the characters. I made the mistake of picking up a Johnstone western my uncle was reading. Ive been hooked ever since. Now I share them with my reading family and will continue as long as new Johnstones are released.

Slash and Pecos, two semi-retired outlaws that just can't seem to remain retired. These two only fight when the odds are against them, but somehow, always seem to pull through at the last. But the show they put on as they fight......pull up your chair and get the popcorn....the show is about to begin.

[Rob Smith, Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book launched with top notch writing and intriguing scenes. The two main characters are pure-Johnstone brand. Well rounded and strong enough to have readers follow them in their treks.

This time the evil they are sent so solve builds up to a near-save-the-world level. It gets ridiculous, but fun. The duo interaction really adds to this series.

One line that really caught me and defined the bad guy, "...then placed it carefully on the table with a move so precise there wasn't even a tiny click of glass toughing wood." Outstanding line.

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 7 out of ten points.
Access to review this book was made via NetGalley.com

[Marian Wallace]

Slash and Pecos come up against the worst group of bad guys ever, so many lives lost but justice prevails against very big odds!