Thread of Fear

Thread of Fear is the fifth book in the Joe Tyler series by Jeff Shelby. I’ve written highly favorable reviews of the first four books in this now seven-book series, and Shelby’s effort in this book did not disappoint. This could be a stand-alone novel, but I would not start with this one. The character development through the first four novels is critical to appreciating the cast of characters about which he writes. And, if you’ve already gotten through the first four, just like me, I doubt that you’ll want to quit there. This is a fantastic crime series.

Just to spoil the plot regarding the first four books, Joe now has his daughter, Elizabeth, and pregnant ex-wife, Lauren, back in the Coronado house where Elizabeth had been kidnapped eight years before. While he was searching for Elizabeth, Joe developed an expertise in finding kids, and he was sometimes hired to find other runaways. Not always, but he was usually successful. But the search for Elizabeth also led him to deal with and get favors from some highly unscrupulous and dangerous guys like John Anchor. One of the cases he never solved was Aaron Dennison, and in this story, Dennison’s mother contacted Joe to help find her husband who had suddenly disappeared. In a guilt-invoking message and in the second sentence of the book, she said to Joe, “You weren’t able to find Aaron, Mr. Tyler.” As if Joe could forget. It was coincidental and critical that Aaron’s father had worked for John Anchor.

Over the course of the book, Joe and Elizabeth spend time together and get to know each other better. One of the things that Joe has not figured out is what sort of work he’s going to do now. He’s not welcome back at the Coronado Police Department and he no longer wants to hit the road to find lost persons. He wants to stay home with his wife and child. And then there’s that new pregnancy.

I’m impressed with Shelby, and when I get through his seven books about Joe Tyler, I’m going to dive into one of his other series of novels. He’s been a prolific writer. Shelby just might belong on my list of 10 go-to authors, but I don’t know who I could kick off the list to make room for him. I think my “island” of writers has to expand.