The Butcher Books In Order

Publication Order of The Butcher Books

Butcher Series by Michael Avallone
Stuart Jason wrote the “Butcher” series of action adventure novels. The series began publication in the year 1972, when “Kill Quick or Die”, was released. After 35 novels, the series ended publication in the year 1982, when “Gotham Gore”, was released.

“The Butcher” series was created by Lyle Kenyon Engel, a legendary producer that created a writers syndicate, which is appropriate for a series like this. This sydicate was made up of individual writers that, under contract, took the basic idea and wrote books for it. They all used the Stuart Jason house name. Each writer was handed a short synopsis of the story and at times a very short outline of the plot.

James Dockery penned all but two of the initial 26 novels. The two he didn’t write were done by Lee Floren. The final nine books of the series were penned by prolific author Michael Avallone.

Bucher is an agent for White Hat. For several years, the guy became known as The Butcher due to his real last name of Bucher and the simple fact that he wasn’t afraid of a bit of blood, he was also the highest paid enforcer that the Syndicate had. No matter just how much power a miscreant had, he stepped out of line, the Butcher would straighten him out. Or just eliminate him entirely and make some room for somebody that would behave.

However, he started to grow tired of all the killing and wanted to call it quits. The mob bosses all told him in no uncertain terms that nobody quit the business and survived. He just thumbed his nose at all of them and walked on out. They responded by putting a bounty on him. The few that attempted to claim it died.

That was when the government came to call on him. The agency was a tiny and unnamed outfit which called itself White Hat. Bucher would be referred to as Iceman. Their offer was a badge, something he laughed at, a decent salary, something he sneered at, and an opportunity to serve the people rather than what he was doing. He surprised when he agreed.

Bucher didn’t have a first name since the priest that found the newborn left behind on the orphanage’s doorstep never realized that he’d forgotten to bestow one upon him since he gave him a made up one on the forms. Bucher despised this place and was able to run away at the age of ten. He ended up in Chicago where he befriended a young boy, an up-and-coming mobster’s son. This boy died from leukemia, his grieving parents kept Bucher and continued raising him like their own.

While the boy grew up, his adopted dad recognized incredible skills he had when it came to fighting and winning and the utter lack of fear for tackling those that were bigger than him and in bigger number.

Bucher followed his dad into the business and became an enforcer, an especially efficient one. Close to a decade later, his dad was murdered, and he took over and ran that part of the action for ten more years. During this time, he had enough money on hand, but got sick of what he saw as being on the wrong side of things.

With White Hat, he takes on jobs that interest him and plays by rules of his own.

“Kill Quick or Die” is the first novel in the “Butcher” series and was released in the year 1970. The missing Chinese nuclear physicist was sought after by both the Chinese and the Americans. Bucher is handed the job and has to dodge the bullets from the other side and from those that want the bounty that’s on his head.

“Come Watch Him Die” is the second novel in the “Butcher” series and was released in the year 1971. White Hat tasks Bucher to investigate the claim by one young bride that the junior Senator she just married was not the same guy that joined her on their honeymoon.

“Keepers of Death” is the third novel in the “Butcher” series and was released in the year 1972. Somebody’s got a plan to ruin the nation’s capital with an atomic bomb. The Butcher has to battle East German agents and some drug crazed hippies in order to track the culprits down.

“Blood Debt” is the fourth novel in the “Butcher” series and was released in the year 1972. The guy called himself the King of Spades and had a plan to bring the country right to its knees. Unless, of course, Bucher could figure out who this King of Spades was and where he was operating from.

“Deadly Deal” is the fifth novel in the “Butcher” series and was released in the year 1973. The President passed on word to White Hat that a warning had come in, promising to cripple the country by depriving it of something that was “more valuable than just money”. Whatever it could be, Bucher’s job was to protect it.

“Kill Time” is the sixth novel in the “Butcher” series and was released in the year 1973. White Hat has turned its interest to a syndicate civil war where the two factions weren’t worried any longer about innocents. Bucher’s task was to stop the carnage by making a bunch of his own.

“Death Race” is the seventh novel in the “Butcher” series and was released in the year 1973. Somebody is replacing the people that man the DEWline facilities, rendering useless the nation’s early warning system. Bucher is sent out to locate who is behind the substitutions and to figure out how they’re being done.

“Fire Bomb” is the eighth novel in the “Butcher” series and was released in the year 1973. All of the tremendous amounts of heroin that was being smuggled in was pleasing to both the pushers and the junkies. Not to the government, however. So they told Bucher to locate who was behind this increase and this lead him to his plan to begin a war with the Soviet Union.