Jack Keller was good at finding people, but tried to quit looking for bail jumpers in NC to rehabilitate himself in the desert outside of Phoenix. Found a dive bar he kinda liked and became a regular. One night he ingratiated himself to Julianne, the owner, by breaking up a particularly nasty bar fight. Some weeks later, he moved in with her in her trailer behind the bar. Life was looking pretty reasonable for Jack.
Senator Shea has recently died. Served in 'Nam, then did a career in public service all the way up to the Senate. Now his daughter, Kathryn, is looking to ride his legacy to her own place in DC. But she's worried something from her father's past might derail her ambitions. Puts her chief-of-staff, Cordell, on the task to make sure any evidence is squashed and any people with any knowledge are silenced, "by whatever means necessary." Cordell has used a former DEA sniper for some touchy work in the past and calls on Riddle again. One of the loose ends involves Keller's father.
Guy named Maddox shows up at the bar right about the same time as two of Riddle's thugs. Maddox wants to deliver a parcel to Keller from his father. The thugs think otherwise, but Keller manages to persuade them from venturing any further. One of the guys ambushed by Keller was the son of the head of a Mexican cartel.
Keller and his father, Trammel, are estranged to say the least. Jack never met him. Trammel was on leave from Ft. Bragg, impregnated Jack's mother, and was never heard from again. After his tour in 'Nam, he too went into government work doing wet work for various agencies. Trammel is dying of cancer and has sent Maddox with an enticement that might encourage Keller to meet him.
The parcel contains only a DVD. The gunner's video of a helicopter attack during Gulf War 1. Keller was a squad leader and a good one, up until his squad members were all killed in an explosion. Keller went off the rails and was eventually discharged for medical reasons. The DVD opens old wounds when he sees that his squad was killed by friendly fire.
At first Keller is reluctant to go meet his father. Dad had no time for him then, Keller has no time for him now. But Keller is curious. When he tries to board a flight back east, he is stopped and detained by TSA. About the same time, Riddle breaks into Julianne's bar looking for the parcel missed the first time. When Jack gets to go to the can, he tries to call and checkin in on Julianne, gets no response, freaks, steals a cargo van from in front of the terminal only to find his girl dead. Needless to say, law enforcement is after Keller and Keller has a new target.
The chase is now on. He gets jailed, released, taken in by his lawyer and her wife, captured by the Cartel head, drives across country to SC, up to Bragg, and finally to the DC area where he meets his father, learns the real truth behind what Kathryn Shea is so scared of before finally coming face to face with the pilot who was pressured to pull the trigger that night in Iraq.
I think this is #5 in the Jack Keller series and everyone is better than the previous. For me, Rhoades is one of the very best at telling a complex story that is filled with sudden and exhaustive violence. Keller is who he is because of his father's rejection that changed the very nature of his being when his squad was destroyed. Yes, Keller has some serious issues, but not so serious that we aren't fully on his side no matter who is his foe is at any point in time.
Rhoades has cornered a unique dungeon in the mystery genre referred to as Redneck Noir. I've read some similar titles from lesser authors and can say without hesitation that Rhoades is the crown prince of redneck noir. No one else even comes close.
ECD
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