Dark Sky by C.J. Box

 

Wyoming game warden, Joe Pickett is given a task that he detests by the Wyoming governor whom he doesn’t trust.  The task is to escort Steve Price, a Silicon Valley billionaire, on an elk hunt to help him converse with nature and brag about it on his social networking platform.  The governor is hopeful that a successful hunting experience will encourage Price to bring expansions of his company’s infrastructure to Wyoming.  So the pressure is on Joe to make it happen.

Joe packs up his winter gear and hires a local cowboy with plenty of horses and hunting equipment. He picks up Price’s entourage from a corporate jet at the local airport and heads for the mountains.  But a local hunting guide with a grudge against Price lies in wait with his two sociopathic sons to hunt the hunters.  Joe and Price are soon separated from camp, unarmed, without radios and on foot in the mountains.  Joe must use his cunning and knowledge of the terrain to avoid the hunters until help can get organized and come looking for them.  Of course his pal Nate Romanowski as well as wife Mary Beth and daughter Sheridan are involved in the search...major danger and excitement for all.

I’ve read all of C.J. Box’s Joe Pickett books and never tire of the character or the story lines.  In our world of liars and conspiracy theories it’s so refreshing to read about a character who is just what he appears to be with no hidden motives.  Thanks C.J. Box for the hope even if it is rooted in fiction.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance look.

Morehead, KY. East of Lexington on the downhill side of the Appalachian escarpment, still with plenty of backwoods hollers where blood, family, and cousins do their darndest to scratch out a life. Places where an unannounced visitor is likely to be greeted by an armed resident, at least until the proper pleasantries are exchanged. Places where children go by childhood nicknames into adulthood. Mick Hardin and his sister Linda are from here.

 

Marrying a Hardin wouldn’t be anyone’s perception of ‘marrying up’. Mick got married to his high school girlfriend, started out OK, but he soon joined the Army. The initial adventure was fine for them, but Peggy soon wanted home more than living overseas. Mick moved up from infantry to Airborne to the Criminal Investigations Division. And he's a pretty good CID investigator.

 

Sister Linda got a job working in the sheriff’s office and soon secured the needed training to become a deputy. Some indiscretions by the sheriff resulted in an early termination. The politically correct thing to do was to promote Linda to fill out the term. Turns out, the new responsibilities suited here, but still there are movers/shakers who'd rather see someone else in the position. But she's good at it. Law enforcement must run in the family.

 

Mick is stationed in Germany. Has been for a while. Peggy contacts him about something personal prompting a short-term leave of absence. Upon arriving, Mick seeks out his sister and she has her first ‘big’ case. Nonnie Johnson has been found dead up in a holler - she's a sister to 3 brothers and given the attitudes of the locals, one of them could be lining up to avenge her killing. Linda could use Mick’s experienced eye to see through the cobweb of loyalties tied up in the hollers.

 

Peggy’s ‘issue’ is that she is pregnant. Counting backwards, it might be that Mick is the father . . . but maybe not. Her infidelity weighs heavily on Mick.

 

It is with this backdrop that Chris Offutt takes us into the insular world of rural Kentucky with all the misconnections that are inherent when betrayal, rivalries and loyalties lock horns. A place where retribution means far more than justice as set down by politicians. The good book says. ‘an eye for an eye’ and words like that are the foundation of family honor. Within the outlying hollers and alleys in Morehead, murder and reckoning are explored on an almost primal level.

 

Chris Offutt’s “Country Dark” was reviewed very favorably on MRB so I won’t revisit Offutt’s history. Just know that he is an award-winning essayist with novels and collections of short stories in print, most of which were published some time ago. He sort of came out from hiding with Country Dark and thankfully he has stayed active with this elegantly prepared story (can a book about hill people be called ‘elegant’? I think so). Quick read, not just because his writing style is so comfortable, but also because it comes in a bit over a compact and thorough 200 pages.

 

But sorry, you’ll have to wait on this: Publication date: June 15, 2021. Mark your calendar. This guy is an artist with his prose.

Sleeping Bear by Connor Sullivan

Cassandra Gale grew up on a Montana ranch owned by her father, Jim. Sister is Emily who is recently married and they left their previous life to live on the ranch. Cassie was the outdoors child of the two. She is also a warrior. The 3^rd woman to ever graduate from the US Army Ranger school. Married a career soldier with multiple deployments. 

But Cassie is seriously depressed – six months ago, her husband is found dead and she miscarried.

In an attempt at healing, Cassie takes a short-term job as a back country guide in Alaska. On the drive up, she stops at a local Canadian dive for a bite and a night’s sleep before crossing into Alaska. The end of this first day’s drive into Alaska is a riverside campsite. She sets up camp . . . and disappears.

The outfitter calls Jim Gale about Cassie’s whereabouts. And the search begins. Jim, Emily and her hubby head up to Cassie’s last known location. Nothing. Jim is a pushy sort and gets the Alaska Bureau of Investigation, the RCMP, local cops, and the concerned citizenry to join the search.

Nothing. There are many ways to die in Alaska.

The search stalls and Jim goes to the Fairbanks office of the FBI. Not much help there either. But there is this retired agent who has been kept around and he keeps track of missing person cases in Alaska, of which there are thousands. And Cassie’s case fit a peculiar pattern he has been following.

Coming out of the FBI’s office, Jim notices he is being followed. Two vans unload, abduct and expertly subdue Jim. A plane awaits. As the plane climbs to its low-level cruising altitude, Jim calls on skills long abandoned from a time when an exfil went south. Memories from both sides of that failure have simmered, but never forgotten.

I hope I haven’t said too much.

Sleeping Bear is the debut thriller from Connor Sullivan. The brief bio says he won awards for creative writing as a student at Univ Southern California and now lives in Montana. That’s about it. Usually there are clues to the author's experiences. This is curious to me. Why?

Because THIS STORY KICKS SOME SERIOUS ASS!!!!!!!!!!!!

It starts out as a cry for help for Cassie’s loss. The loss escalates when she disappears, and the family pushes the hunt for her in the wilderness. Then, the hunt again escalates when we learn more about what might’ve happened to her. And escalates AGAIN when we learn about Jim’s past life and how a simple family photo causes a woman’s disappearance to become a potential prelude to a superpower confrontation.

I kind of like reading debut books. Puts you on the front side of the curve. My current fav is Brian Panowich who writes mountain noir and has three stunning books out. Another terrific debut was Alex Berensen’s The Faithful Spy. But I think this could be the most auspicious debut for a thriller writer I’ve ever read. At the risk of being derivative, I have to say that this book is STELLAR, PULSE POUNDING, EXCITING, BREATHLESS, CAPTIVATING, INTENSE, A WHITE KNUCKLER. Add any praiseworthy synonyms if you wish. Trust me. They’ll all fit.

A one sitting read? Oh, yeah. Late night reading? Absolutely. Can’t put it down? You won’t want to.

Oh, and I probably shouldn’t have to mention this . . . again . . . but I will. It’s an Emily Bestler Books title. How does she find writers with such extraordinary talent? To wit: Vince Flynn, Brad Thor, John Connolly, Chris Hauty, Jack Carr, etc. etc. etc. I don’t know how many toads (book proposals) she has to read to find a star in the making, but her stable of authors shows she knows of what she likes. From where I sit, she has the knack for uncovering new A-list authors.

And I have to offer some serious props to the great folks at Simon & Schuster’s Atria for sending the advance copy. Sleeping Bear is a top shelf sensational debut.

But before you get too antsy, the proposed release date is July 6, 2021 so mark your calendars. 

East Coast Don

The Atlantis Gene

 

If you are into supernatural thrillers, then this is a book for you. It's the third book in a recurring series about a number of characters, and the author does character development very well. This is the third book in what Roberts has titled the Destroyer series. The Atlantis Gene starts on the Island of Atlantis in the year 10,000 B.C. These are a genetically gifted people who face a cataclysmic destruction of their home. Most of the residents are killed, but a few scatter on ships and are able to mate with locals all over the world, thereby notching up the sophistication and longevity of the human population. The book ends in current times with a literal life and death struggle in the Vatican City. The battle is between good and evil, God and Satan. The supernatural is not a genre that I seek, but Pierce Roberts convinced me to have a look at it.

Gus, One Woman's Champion

Savage Road by Chris Hauty

 

I

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Haley Chill. Part 2.

If you took our advice and read Deep State, buckle up. Haley Chill returns. This time, the Army veteran and Deep State asset has jumped up the food chain from White House intern to chief of staff for a Senior Presidential Advisor where her street smarts, guile, ‘eidetic memory’, and political savvy get her the ear of the President.  

The nation is under a series of cyber-attacks directed at utilities and news organizations. Federal response is timid at best mostly due to rival security heads unwilling to put petty jealousies aside for the sake of the nation. One side says it’s Russia. Other side thinks jihadists.

The president is stuck. Our war hero has his own deep secret. He wasn’t born in the US. Actually born in Russia, but political vetting seemed to have missed that minor detail. Despite being raised from infancy in the US, he still clings to his Russian roots to the point of being a mole . . .  and the Deep State knows about him . . . and her handlers have  Haley keeping tabs on the President . . . a President who loyalties seem to be, how shold be say it, fluid. Its Haley’s job to make sure the President stays RedWhite&Blue and not just Red.

The source of the critical hacks is elusive. The hubris of the national security chain borders on childish arguments over who owns the sandbox they play in, forcing Haley to undertake her own off the books investigation.

Let’s get one thing straight. Adding Savage Road to his debut Deep State, Chris Hauty brings a knack for plot twists to the political thriller genre that cannot be denied. Savage Road kicks ass. Clear the calendar, start a fire, get comfortable, gather snacks and beverages, but dont' get too comfortable because Haley will have you on the edge of your favorite reading spot. I think all three of us here at MRB have responded very favorably to Savage Road. Three for three. Can't do much better.

Oh, and did I mention it yet? I know I suggested you all need to pay attention to the publisher. Emily Bestler Books is ground zero for top shelf mysteries and thrillers. Wondering what to read next? Browse the website. Pick one. Trust me. It’ll be a winner. 

Savage Road is brand new. Just released. 

Kill Chain by Dominic Martell

Pascual Rose could be called a terrorist. But he never pulled a trigger, lit a fuse, or pushed a button. His talent was setting it all up for others to do the dirty work. He was most active in the post-cold war years. His last assignment led to the deaths of a German couple. Since then, he has gone to ground in an attempt at atoning for his former life while stayting one step ahead of German investigators. Off the electronic grid, he now lives as Pascual March. His ‘wife’ (they never married. That would've put him on the grid) is a flamenco artist of note and they have a son who is a university student in the Netherlands studying what appears to be party science. 

The fact that Pascual is so fully ‘off the grid’, he is a perfect foil for blackmail. A criminal underground with some seriously long arms has found him. Threatening him with the safety of his wife and son, they force him to set up a string of shell companies and shadow accounts in the Caribbean, around the Med, and western Europe. Sounds like a money laundering scheme on a large scale. 

But Pascual isn’t some flunky. Planning and finding answers kept him alive back in the day. If he can back trace the electronic infiltration into his life, maybe he can find out who has a hold on him and, more importantly, what they are up to. With the help of a family friend, a young street tough from Tangiers, a computer security expert from Barcelona, and an investment lawyer from Madrid, Pascual searches for answers while doing this syndicate’s bidding.

He manages to determine the target, but still isn’t sure who is pulling the strings. Pascual realizes once he has established the last shell company that starts the laundering process, he is no longer necessary. Word gets to his wife and son to get to their secure, last ditch hiding spot in northern Spain. A few days of safety is just the lull before the eventual storm.

It appears that Martell had penned a trilogy about the repentant spy’s search for absolution in the 90’s. Fast forward to the mid 2010’s finds Martell asking himself what might’ve become of Pascual. Kill Chain is the beginning of the answer. Enough loose ends prevail to suggest that perhaps another trilogy is in the works. On one level, this re-engagement of an old spy sort of parallels Olen Steinhauer’s Milo Weaver – a once highly active ‘Tourist’ called back into the game. This book is based primarily in Barcelona so it’s treading territory less familiar to most political/mystery readers. And if one is looking for a primer about money laundering, this might be a reasonable start. Not to mention that I was glad I was reading this on my Kindle because I was checking word definitions in most every chapter – Martell audacious vocabulary takes us on quite the roller coaster.