Most Recommended Books

Track reading, wishlists & new-book alerts

Get
Skip to content
Share:

The Gunfighter Books in Order

Part ofRalph Compton Books in Order

This page lists The Gunfighter books by Ralph Compton, with reading order, short summaries, series background, and where to start.

Last updated: June 7, 2026

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases (at no extra cost to you).

The Gunfighter books in publication order

Sort:

18 books

1

Blood of the Hunters

by Ralph Compton

2020

John Stockbridge, once a peaceful doctor, now wanders as Dr. Vengeance after losing his family. In the Rockies, he protects a woman and her children from ruthless highwaymen.

2

Broken Rider

by Ralph Compton

2020

A damaged rider with a violent past enters a fight he cannot ignore. In the Gunfighter tradition, survival depends on whether a broken man can still stand when lead flies.

3

Death Valley Drifter

by Ralph Compton

2020

A gunman wakes in Death Valley with no memory, no answers, and men hunting him. A widow and her son help him survive, but his forgotten past brings danger to their door.

4

Return to Gila Bend

by Ralph Compton

2020

Lewis Taylor leaves prison after serving time for a crime he did not commit and returns to Gila Bend. Home has changed, and a greedy land baron now rules by fear.

5

Reunion in Hell

by Ralph Compton

2020

Farmer Clay Breckenridge is pulled into outlaw country when his estranged brother Cal arrives home dead in the saddle. Clay rides west for vengeance and uncovers a wider criminal enterprise.

6

Ride for Justice

by Ralph Compton

2020

A hard rider takes the trail when ordinary law is not enough. With enemies ahead and a debt of justice behind him, every mile brings him closer to a deadly showdown.

7

Ride the Hammer Down

by Ralph Compton

2020

Marshal John Beck keeps order in Mother Lode, Arizona, until Bram Hogan's gang nearly kills him and leaves him in the desert. Beck survives, then rides back for justice.

8

Blood on the Prairie

by Ralph Compton

2021

On the open prairie, a hard trail turns violent when greed and revenge ride in. A lone fighter must stand against men who spill blood as casually as dust.

9

Dalton's Justice

by Ralph Compton

2021

Marshal Ben Dalton rides to Fort Worth to prove an old friend innocent of murder. The case leads him into a dangerous tangle of lies, hired guns, and frontier power.

10

Die Trying

by Ralph Compton

2021

A desperate fight for justice pushes one man past the point of turning back. Outnumbered and hunted, he has only one choice left: win, or die trying.

11

Face of a Snake

by Bernard Schaffer

2021

After years in prison, former outlaw Ashford Sinclair wants to live quietly as a trapper. When his son is murdered and his grandson threatened, he must join forces with his bitterest enemy.

12

Frontier Medicine

by Ralph Compton

2021

Young doctor Gabriel Kincaid heads west to help an overworked frontier physician and start fresh. A saloon incident earns him the nickname Dr. Death, and his hidden past starts catching up fast.

13

Guns of the Greenhorn

by Ralph Compton

2021

A newcomer to the West learns that owning a gun is not the same as surviving with one. When trouble finds him, he must grow up fast or be buried young.

14

Hell Snake

by Bernard Schaffer

2021

A man with a snake-bitten past rides into a violent fight where old sins refuse to stay buried. Family, vengeance, and frontier justice coil together as the bullets start flying.

15

Shot to Hell

by Ralph Compton

2021

Leif, the trick-shot star of a Wild West show, makes a living turning gunplay into spectacle. Then real killers test him with live stakes, and applause gives way to survival.

16

The Devil's Snare

by Ralph Compton

2021

A frontier trap tightens around a man who thought he could outride his enemies. With outlaws closing in and trust running thin, escape may take nerve, bullets, and a little luck.

17

The Wrong Side of the Law

by Ralph Compton

2021

A man who knows the law finds himself pushed onto its dangerous edge. To stop worse men from taking control, he may have to risk his name, his freedom, and his life.

18

The Guns of Wrath

by Ralph Compton

2022

A hard frontier lawman is pulled into a case where old grudges, murder, and gun smoke all point toward a reckoning. Justice will take more than a badge when wrath rides armed.

The Gunfighter books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "Reunion in Hell"

    Reunion in Hell

    by Ralph Compton

    2020The Gunfighter, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "Blood of the Hunters"

    Blood of the Hunters

    by Ralph Compton

    2020The Gunfighter, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "Broken Rider"

    Broken Rider

    by Ralph Compton

    2020The Gunfighter, Book 3
  4. Book cover for "Return to Gila Bend"

    Return to Gila Bend

    by Ralph Compton

    2020The Gunfighter, Book 4
  5. Book cover for "Death Valley Drifter"

    Death Valley Drifter

    by Ralph Compton

    2020The Gunfighter, Book 5
  6. Book cover for "Ride for Justice"

    Ride for Justice

    by Ralph Compton

    2020The Gunfighter, Book 6
  7. Book cover for "Ride the Hammer Down"

    Ride the Hammer Down

    by Ralph Compton

    2020The Gunfighter, Book 7
  8. Book cover for "Frontier Medicine"

    Frontier Medicine

    by Ralph Compton

    2021The Gunfighter, Book 8
  9. Book cover for "Face of a Snake"

    Face of a Snake

    by Bernard Schaffer

    2021Gunfighter, Book 1
  10. Book cover for "Dalton's Justice"

    Dalton's Justice

    by Ralph Compton

    2021The Gunfighter, Book 10
  11. Book cover for "Shot to Hell"

    Shot to Hell

    by Ralph Compton

    2021The Gunfighter, Book 11
  12. Book cover for "Hell Snake"

    Hell Snake

    by Bernard Schaffer

    2021Gunfighter, Book 2
  13. Book cover for "The Wrong Side of the Law"

    The Wrong Side of the Law

    by Ralph Compton

    2021The Gunfighter, Book 13
  14. Book cover for "Guns of the Greenhorn"

    Guns of the Greenhorn

    by Ralph Compton

    2021The Gunfighter, Book 14
  15. Book cover for "The Devil's Snare"

    The Devil's Snare

    by Ralph Compton

    2021The Gunfighter, Book 15
  16. Book cover for "Blood on the Prairie"

    Blood on the Prairie

    by Ralph Compton

    2021The Gunfighter, Book 16
  17. Book cover for "Die Trying"

    Die Trying

    by Ralph Compton

    2021The Gunfighter, Book 17
  18. Book cover for "The Guns of Wrath"

    The Guns of Wrath

    by Ralph Compton

    2022The Gunfighter, Book 18

Series background & context

The Gunfighter series is a broad Ralph Compton line built around the classic Western figure who lives by skill, nerve, and a hard sense of justice. Unlike the earlier Nathan Stone trilogy, this series is not only one man's long revenge trail. It moves from one dangerous setup to another, with different lawmen, drifters, doctors, ex-cons, and old outlaws taking the lead.

That gives the series room to roam.

Some books lean toward revenge, like Reunion in Hell, where Clay Breckenridge is pulled from farm life after his estranged brother turns up dead. Others use a redemption setup, as in Return to Gila Bend, where Lewis Taylor leaves prison after serving time for a crime he did not commit and finds his hometown under the control of a greedy power broker.

The line also likes heroes with unusual pasts. In Frontier Medicine, Dr. Gabriel Kincaid heads west to help an older doctor, only to discover that a reputation with a gun can be as dangerous as any disease. Blood of the Hunters follows John Stockbridge, a former man of medicine remade by loss into a shotgun-carrying avenger known as Dr. Vengeance. Face of a Snake even turns old outlaw rivalries into a family problem when former enemies must protect the next generation.

These are not cozy Westerns. The danger usually comes fast, and the moral lines are drawn in dust, blood, and money.

Still, the series is not just a string of shootouts. Its best setups give each fight a reason. A town is being squeezed. A family has been murdered. A man has been framed. A doctor is trying to outrun his past. A sheriff thinks he is chasing robbers, then learns a larger gang is hunting him instead.

Because the books are mostly standalone, readers can start almost anywhere. A good route is to pick the kind of Western you want first. Try Reunion in Hell for family revenge, Return to Gila Bend for an ex-con trying to reclaim home, Ride the Hammer Down for a marshal coming back from near death, or Frontier Medicine for a doctor whose past refuses to stay buried.

The thread that connects them is simple: when the law is weak, slow, or bought, somebody has to stand in the open and take the first shot.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

Comments

Did we miss something? Have feedback?

Help us improve this page by sharing your thoughts

We only use your email to notify you about replies.

All comments are moderated.

Discover and track your reading on the go

Track your reading, manage wishlists, and get notified when new books are added.