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The Hangmen of Sleepy Valley
Two easygoing gunslingers take on a gang of vigilantes to save a quiet Texas ranch town
Twister Malone and Chuckaluck Thompson have no love for the sun-blasted plains of West Texas. They made their names in the cool mountain air of Colorado, and are headed to a friend’s hacienda in Mexico because, both at the ripe old age of thirty, they’re ready to retire. No more high-noon showdowns for Twister and Chuckaluck. They have years of roping, riding, and dozing to look forward to—but first they must survive the crucible of Sleepy Valley.
The two friends are passing through the idyllic patch of ranchland when they come across a quartet of bandits, wearing masks that reveal only one eye, hanging an innocent rancher from the tree. The gang of killers has terrorized Sleepy Valley for months, stringing up anyone brave enough to refuse their greedy demands. But Twister and Chuckaluck have never backed down from a fight, and they aren’t about to start. The sinister plot they uncover, however, will bring them face-to-face with the most dangerous desperadoes north of the Rio Grande.
The Hangmen of Sleepy Valley is the 1st book in the Twister and Chuckaluck Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Twister Malone and Chuckaluck Thompson have no love for the sun-blasted plains of West Texas. They made their names in the cool mountain air of Colorado, and are headed to a friend’s hacienda in Mexico because, both at the ripe old age of thirty, they’re ready to retire. No more high-noon showdowns for Twister and Chuckaluck. They have years of roping, riding, and dozing to look forward to—but first they must survive the crucible of Sleepy Valley.
The two friends are passing through the idyllic patch of ranchland when they come across a quartet of bandits, wearing masks that reveal only one eye, hanging an innocent rancher from the tree. The gang of killers has terrorized Sleepy Valley for months, stringing up anyone brave enough to refuse their greedy demands. But Twister and Chuckaluck have never backed down from a fight, and they aren’t about to start. The sinister plot they uncover, however, will bring them face-to-face with the most dangerous desperadoes north of the Rio Grande.
The Hangmen of Sleepy Valley is the 1st book in the Twister and Chuckaluck Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
238 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1940
6 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Brett Halliday
511 books63 followersAKA David Dresser
Excerpt from Wikipedia:
Brett Halliday (July 31, 1904 - February 4, 1977), primary pen name of Davis Dresser, was an American mystery writer, best known for the long-lived series of Mike Shayne novels he wrote, and later commissioned others to write. Dresser wrote non-series mysteries, westerns and romances under the names
Asa Baker, Matthew Blood, Kathryn Culver, Don Davis, Hal Debrett, Anthony Scott, Peter Field, and Anderson Wayne.
Excerpt from Wikipedia:
Brett Halliday (July 31, 1904 - February 4, 1977), primary pen name of Davis Dresser, was an American mystery writer, best known for the long-lived series of Mike Shayne novels he wrote, and later commissioned others to write. Dresser wrote non-series mysteries, westerns and romances under the names
Asa Baker, Matthew Blood, Kathryn Culver, Don Davis, Hal Debrett, Anthony Scott, Peter Field, and Anderson Wayne.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 14, 2016
This olllllllld-school Western/mystery hybrid was an excellent read. The characters were engaging, the plot unfolded in layers, and the action scenes were well-written and exciting.
And the dialogue. Well...here's the thing. The corn-pokey "aw shucks" accents of the characters are all spelled out phonetically. Some people aren't going to like that. Heck, usually I don't like that. But in this case, it's perfect. It matches the characters and setting so well, I couldn't imagine it written any other way.
Finally, I love the partnership of Twister and Chuckaluck. I'm a big fan of the "bromance,"
especially when it's two dudes that have partnered up for many years. As a man myself (mostly), the connection between two friends just kinda touches me. People sometimes liken that sort of relationship to a marriage. Not so, because neither of the participants are trying to change the other, they just merely adapt to the personality quirks they may not like. (Was that sexist? That might have been sexist. Whatevz. Truth hurtz.)
I'd recommend this book to anyone that enjoys the Western genre. And don't be surprised to find it suddenly in your list of Top Five or Ten or Whatever.
And the dialogue. Well...here's the thing. The corn-pokey "aw shucks" accents of the characters are all spelled out phonetically. Some people aren't going to like that. Heck, usually I don't like that. But in this case, it's perfect. It matches the characters and setting so well, I couldn't imagine it written any other way.
Finally, I love the partnership of Twister and Chuckaluck. I'm a big fan of the "bromance,"
especially when it's two dudes that have partnered up for many years. As a man myself (mostly), the connection between two friends just kinda touches me. People sometimes liken that sort of relationship to a marriage. Not so, because neither of the participants are trying to change the other, they just merely adapt to the personality quirks they may not like. (Was that sexist? That might have been sexist. Whatevz. Truth hurtz.)
I'd recommend this book to anyone that enjoys the Western genre. And don't be surprised to find it suddenly in your list of Top Five or Ten or Whatever.
May 19, 2021
I have a weakness for Westerns, and this one is a classic. Manly men, willowy women, and some seriously bad baddies make for a fast-paced adventure. Halliday writes really well, considering that his oeuvre is classed as pulp, and he is a master storyteller.
July 3, 2025
Enjoyed the read mainly due to the character development of the two main characters. The two cowboys heading to Mexico, stop to water horses and end up interrupting a lynching. Their interference results in having to determine who did the lynching after They are accused of the murder.
August 17, 2025
Enjoyable western. Quick read, characters were fun and likable.
I liked it.
I liked it.
February 16, 2025
I picked this up because it was recommended in an article I came across by Erle Stanley Gardner (author of the Perry Mason books). I enjoy old Westerns, and in the article this book was said to be a “Western Mystery”. I found that to be true, but as a mystery it really misses. It is revealed fairly early the why, but the who is not revealed till the end, and this was a fun reveal. But the why the bad guys did it this way, which was a much more convoluted scheme than necessary, was never revealed. As a result I was left with a feeling the whole plot was contrived.
The Western story was pretty good, nothing too deep but the characters were fun and the author checks all the boxes for your typical cheesy Western; hero who is as good with his fists as his gun, damsel in distress, bad gunfiighter where a mutual respect develops, beautiful scenery described well, etc… this had all that so it probably could have hit three stars for me in spite of some plot holes. But what knocked it back down to a two star was the terrible decision by the author to try to spell out the way the two heros speak, phonetically spelling out their accented cowboy speak with words like “mebby” instead if “maybe”. This was very distracting and killed the pacing and flow as the words and phrases were not always quickly apparent by context and I frequently had to re-read lines until I understood the conversation in whole.
The author could have simply let the reader know these characters speak in cowboy slang and/or southern accents, maybe having one example, and thereafter when I read dialogue by that character that says “sir” in my mind I might read “suh”. I understand the author might have been trying to create atmosphere but it was not necessary and as I said hurt the flow. Just because Mark Twain pulled off something similar in several of his works doesn’t mean everyone can or should follow suit.
The Western story was pretty good, nothing too deep but the characters were fun and the author checks all the boxes for your typical cheesy Western; hero who is as good with his fists as his gun, damsel in distress, bad gunfiighter where a mutual respect develops, beautiful scenery described well, etc… this had all that so it probably could have hit three stars for me in spite of some plot holes. But what knocked it back down to a two star was the terrible decision by the author to try to spell out the way the two heros speak, phonetically spelling out their accented cowboy speak with words like “mebby” instead if “maybe”. This was very distracting and killed the pacing and flow as the words and phrases were not always quickly apparent by context and I frequently had to re-read lines until I understood the conversation in whole.
The author could have simply let the reader know these characters speak in cowboy slang and/or southern accents, maybe having one example, and thereafter when I read dialogue by that character that says “sir” in my mind I might read “suh”. I understand the author might have been trying to create atmosphere but it was not necessary and as I said hurt the flow. Just because Mark Twain pulled off something similar in several of his works doesn’t mean everyone can or should follow suit.
July 17, 2009
Loved this western. This is only my second Dresser novel, the first Mike Shayne novel being the other. By the time I'd begun to read the Shaynes being published at the time, Dresser had long since retired from the series.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews