Ride, Slocum, Ride (Slocum #2) (1975)

by Jake Logan

A glance at the cover of any Slocum book is bound to leave the impression that he is a violent ultra-competent force of nature blasting through the old West, leaving a trail of bleeding outlaws and satisfied ladies in his wake. And perhaps that’s what he becomes by the time he has his four-hundred-somethingth adventure. In these early books, however, he has his share of limitations and can even be helpful to a fault. He agrees to help out a pair of prospectors who are trying to defend their claim against bushwhackers. Despite realizing that he stands to make a considerable profit by betraying them, he follows through on his obligation and ends up hunted by a sadistic sheriff and entangled with the sexy Greta. Bound together by circumstances, they spend much of the book trying to get the upper hand on each other. It’s hard to find much critical opinion on these books, but this installment seems to be pretty poorly regarded. I think that may be because while it sells itself as a violent adult Western, it reads more like a comedy much of the time. Slocum’s charitable impulses keep getting the better of him and, as treacherous as Greta is, he just can’t resist giving one more chance to a beautiful woman. However, like Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown, she inevitably does him dirty yet one more time. Don’t worry, Slocum gets in a few licks of his own by the end. This book has an inconclusive ending that looks as if it will lead into the next book although my impression is that these are all standalones. An enjoyable read.