Former Army detective Kate Holland finally remembers what happened during her eleven hours as a POW in Afghanistan. She wishes she didn’t.
Her PTSD raging, Kate’s ready to turn in her badge with the Braxton PD, but she can’t. The wife of a Muslim US Army soldier has been found stabbed and left to burn in a field, and Kate’s boss has turned to her. Again.
Kate suspects an honor killing…until the wife of another soldier is found in the next town over, also stabbed and burned. When a third military wife is murdered, Kate uncovers a connection to a local doctor. But the doc is not all she appears to be. Worse, Kate’s nightmares and her case have begun to clash. The fallout is deadly as Kate’s lured back to where it all began.
IN THE NAME OF: A Hidden Valor Military Veteran/K-9 Suspense (Hidden Valor Book #2) by Candace Irving is another edge-of-your-seat action suspense/mystery/police procedural mash-up featuring a small-town deputy who’s past as a former Army detective seems to continue to follow her. Both books, one and two have been great reads and with Kate’s continuing battle with PTSD and the overlap of important characters, I feel they are best read in order of release.
Deputy Kate Holland’s PTSD is taking over her life and even though she has started seeing a VA psychiatrist, she feels it is best to turn in her badge. Then she gets called to a horrific scene of a female with stab wounds and her burned body in a field. It brings back flashbacks from her attacked burning Humvee during her deployment. When a second body is found the same way in a neighboring town, Kate is reunited in her investigation with Deputy Aresh, who is still in the Army Reserve and helped in The Garbage Man case. Both believe these are “honor killings”. Both women are Muslim, and their husbands are Muslim Americans in the active services.
The women all seem tied to a doctor who claims no knowledge of either, but Kate knows she is lying. When a CIA operative warns them off the case, Kate and Aresh only dig deeper after a third murder, and Kate discovers that she must return to a place she swore never to return to.
I cannot say enough about this series. Kate is a complex, realistic, fully developed protagonist that makes me feel every emotion as I discover more and more of her story. She is a complex mix of fragile and yet strong. I enjoyed the scenes with Kate’s German Shepard, Ruger once again, even though he does not play a pivotal role in this plotline. It is also nice to see Kate take another chance on a “maybe” romance after so many men have let her down or betrayed her in the past. There are graphic descriptions of stabbed and burned women, but I never felt it was gratuitous. Kate’s PTSD is realistically portrayed, and the author does provide information on PTSD and the treatment regimen Kate is receiving in a postscript. The suspense plot in this story is intricately plotted and fast paced to lead Kate and Aresh in many different directions due to their own personal past experiences and it kept me guessing all the way to the climax. I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series.
I highly recommend this powerful and thrilling action suspense/mystery!
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About the Author
A former US Navy Lt., Candace Irving is the daughter of a librarian and a retired boatswain’s mate chief. Candace grew up in the Philippines, Germany, and all over the United States. Her senior year of high school, she enlisted in the US Army. Following basic training, she transferred to the Navy’s ROTC program at the University of Texas-Austin. While at UT, she spent a summer in Washington, DC, as a Congressional Intern. She also worked security for the UT Police. BA in Political Science in hand, Candace was commissioned as an ensign in the US Navy and sent to Surface Warfare Officer’s School to learn to drive warships. From there, she followed her father to sea.
Candace Irving writes gritty military thrillers. She is the author of the Deception Point Military Detective Thriller Series and the Hidden Valor Military Veterans/K9 Psychological Suspense Series. She also writes military romance and romantic suspense as Candace Irvin (without the “g”).
There are similarities between both series in that each has great characters, very unlikeable antagonists, an intense plot, some romance, and a riveting story that readers will not want to put down. The author allows readers to connect emotionally with the characters. The differences are that the “Hidden Valor Series” takes place mainly in Arkansas, with the heroine, Kate, a retired CID officer, now working with the State law enforcement, while in the other series the heroines move around the globe and are active duty, having a partner both romantically and professionally: Kate with Arash, Regan with John, and Mira with Riyad.
With both series, books should be read in order. The Deception Point Series should be read in this order: Aimpoint, Blind Edge, Back Blast, and Chokepoint. These books involve an active-duty Army investigator, Regan, and an active-duty Navy investigator, Mira, both who are women. It is obvious that Irving has done her due diligence, with the research put in making the stories realistic and believable.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: Which series came first?
Candace Irving: I wrote Blind Edge of the “Deception Point Series” before the Kate “Hidden Valor series.” Also plotted a few chapters to the next books in the Deception Point Series, Back Blast and Chokepoint. All these books were thought out. Then I was told that many people want plots set inside the US. As I was riding my bike in Arkansas and saw this seat deserted in a field, a brown bag filled with body parts popped into my head. I went home and The Garbage Man was born featuring Kate Holland. This was published first even though I wanted Blind Edge published before the pull out of Afghanistan.
Originally, I was going to write one book in this series and then another book in the other series, but it did not turn out that way. Those reading the Kate series realized that there is another series, “Deception Point,” and began to read it and love it.
EC: What is the big difference between the two series?
CI: Hidden Valor has an overriding arc about the characters’ backstory, but each book has a different plot. Deception Point has a continuing arc throughout the books that is the plot line. Both these series must be read in order.
EC: Do you agree that the similarity between each series refers to the characters’ backstory?
CI: Every character has a bad fathers and a Mother MIA.
EC: How would you classify the “Deception Point Series?”
CI: They involve the military but for me they are really crime thrillers. They are not like Tom Clancy’s books. Some people thought they are like the Jack Reacher series, but they are not. They are women and active duty.
EC: The Hidden Valor series has more PTSD references than the Deception Point Series?
CI: Yes, because Kate was very debilitated at the beginning of the series. She could no longer function in the military. Regan and John do not really have PTSD.
EC: Would you ever write a third series with just Mira, the featured character in Chokepoint?
CI: No, she will remain in the “Deception Point Series.” I consider this the active-duty series with Mira featured in a Navy plotline, any Army story will have Regan featured, and a veteran story will feature Kate from the “Hidden Valor Series.” I will give a heads up that there will be a crossover between Regan and Kate in the “Hidden Valor series.” Regan is undercover as herself and is investigating a case in Arkansas. Remember in the book, In the Name Of, there were a couple of phone calls between Regan and Kate. But in the crossover book, Regan and Kate will be together since Regan is Kate’s protege.
EC: Why did you have Regan get pregnant?
CI: At first, I was going back and forth if I should take it out. But then I decided to keep it. I know some people ask why she would have sex without protection, but she really thought she could never get pregnant.
EC: How would you compare your three female heroines: Kate, Regan, and Mira?
CI: Regan can mask her feelings: reading facial expressions, while only to a certain extent, Kate and Mira can, because they were taught that as part of their jobs. Regan can lie and people cannot tell, including pretending shelikes someone when she really doesn’t, while Mira cannot quite mask her feelings.
Kate has more compassion because of what happened to her and is more forgiving of others’ mistakes than Mira and Regan. Mira has a chip on her shoulder because she was charged with a crime yet was innocent.
All of them feel guilt. Kate because her best friend was beheaded, and she is determined to prove to her father’s ghost that she is a good investigator. Regan because her dad was a dirty cop; and Mira feels guilty because she never had to deal with the emotional abuse inflicted on her brother by her dad.
All are confident and self-assured. Mira has a temper, especially when people get in her face she gets right back in that person’s face. All are gutsy, if knocked down they all will get back up. They are all loners but are not lonely because they have friends and good support systems.
EC: Why was Kate retired and Mira/Regan active duty?
CI: I took some real elements that are common to those who served and combined them together so a lot of veterans can relate to part of her having PTSD. Because she had so much trauma, she knew she could no longer serve. I also want to differentiate between each series, so she is not active-duty, and the others are. Regan has her arm problems that when stressed she does not have a lot of control over, but it would not force her out of the Army. She did have to learn how to make her left hand her dominant hand.
EC: How would you compare your three male heroes: Arash, John, and Riyad?
CI: I wanted them all to be different although parts of Arash and John are my husband. Many readers think Riyad is a jerk, but it is because of his background. He takes no prisoners and makes no excuses. John is willing to own up to his mistakes. Riyad and John are active-duty Special Forces where they know how to be confrontational, while Arash was in military intelligence, knowing how to get what he wants without getting in someone’s face. Riyad does not consider any other opinions and expects people to do it his way, the SEAL mentality. To a certain extent Riyad has tunnel vision because of what happened to him when he was a SEAL commander. In their own way each are stubborn, sarcastic, but stoic.
EC: How would you compare all three relationships: Kate/Arash, Regan/John, and Mira/Riyad?
CI: Each hero gets under the heroines’ skin. Kate and to some degree Regan will cut Arash and John slack, while there is no way Mira allows Riyad any slack. Riyad would get in Mira’s face and say no and John would do the same things with Regan. Arash is clever on how he approaches his disagreements with Kate. All are driven. John and Riyad blame first and then questioned later regarding Regan and Mira, although John is willing to realize he was wrong, and say he is sorry, for his assumptions. Riyad gets upset with himself for calling Mira ‘woman’ because he cares for her, while she is starting to understand him after knowing his background. All the heroes are chauvinistic. All the heroes and heroines are caring, intense, compassionate, persistent, and protective.
John/Regan and Arash/Kate feel secure in their relationships. I would say that John is on one end of the spectrum of their feelings and reactions, Arash is in the middle, and Riyad is on the other end.
EC: Next Book(s)?
CI: With both series I know what will happen in the current book I am writing, maybe with the next book, but not with other books in the future. I am a linear writer in that I start at the beginning and plot every single chapter in succession. In the next Regan book, Pitch Black, which will come out in January 2026, Mira will be kidnapped after she and Riyad travel to Saudi Arabia for an investigation. Mira and John end up in Yemen with Regan and Riyad working together to find them.
The next Kate book, Blood on the Wire, will be published in August of this year. The relationship with Arash will progress. Also, her former partner Seth’s story will be a part of this story. The case involves a psychologist at a Little Rock VA hospital who was found brutally stabbed to death. In the victim’s house, Kate is stunned to discover a cache of military-grade explosives. Plus, the psychologist was conducting a private investigation into a heinous crime that occurred more than two years ago in an active war zone. Bodies have begun to multiply.
THANK YOU!!
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BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.
FBI Agent Gardner Camden is an analytical genius with an affinity for puzzles. He also has a blind spot on the human side of investigations, a blindness that sometimes even includes people in his own life, like his beloved seven-year-old daughter Camila. Gardner and his squad of brilliant yet quirky agents make up the Patterns and Recognition (PAR) unit, the FBI’s hidden edge, brought in for cases that no one else can solve.
When DNA links a murder victim to a serial killer long presumed dead, the team springs into action. A second victim establishes a pattern, and the murderer begins leaving a trail of clues and riddles especially for Gardner. And while the PAR team is usually relegated to working cold cases from behind a desk, the investigation puts them on the road and into the public eye, following in the footsteps of a killer.
Along with Gardner, PAR consists of a mathematician, a weapons expert, a computer analyst, and their leader, a career agent. Each of them must use every skill they have to solve the riddle of the killer’s identity. But with the perpetrator somehow learning more and more about the team at PAR, can they protect themselves and their families…before it’s too late?
HEAD CASES (PAR Unit #1) by John McMahon is an engaging and exciting first book in a new series featuring a group of extremely talented and specialized FBI agents, who while brilliant in their specific areas, have had a serious misstep in their careers and are now grouped together for a last chance to keep their jobs. While the PAR (Patterns and Recognition) unit is quirky, the book’s crime plot is gripping, gritty and graphic as they chase a serial killer of serial killers.
FBI Agent Gardner Camden is an analytical genius with an eidetic memory who loves puzzles but is extremely socially awkward. The PAR unit is not deployed to the field but is used when all others have failed to solve a case by analyzing data from their office and finding that missing piece that helps solve the case.
But this case is different. The DNA of a murder victim has come back as a match to a serial killer who was presumed dead. Gardner’s supervisor and the head of the FBI have chosen him to lead this hunt in the field. While the Gardner and the team look forward to the field work, they also realize that if this case is not solved, the recriminations will blow back on them and they could be reassigned or terminated.
The killer has personal information on Gardner that could only come from his FBI file as he taunts and threatens him and his family after another kill. Can Gardner and his unit stop this killer before his endgame and final disappearance?
This is an exciting serial killer crime thriller that kept me reading from page one to the end. Gardner is such a great protagonist, and the author brings him to life as a fully developed and believable character. While not stated in the story, you realize he is somewhere on the spectrum, but his mother has taught him how to deal with his special intellect and social awkwardness from childhood. All his other teammates are brilliant and interesting in their own quirkiness and specialties and will probably be more in the limelight in future books.
The crime thriller plot in this story is perfectly paced with a God complex serial killer and the step-by-step hunt to capture him. Some of the surprises along the way come from more than just the antagonist and Gardner must make decisions that not only affect him, but his whole unit. There are graphic descriptions of blood and body parts throughout, but it is a serial killer thriller and to be expected.
I highly recommend this crime thriller police procedural with great new characters that I am looking forward to following in future books.
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About the Author
John McMahon studied Creative Writing at The University of Arizona. In his role as an ad agency creative director, his work has won a Gold Clio for Fiat, and he’s written a Superbowl spot for Alfa Romeo. He currently lives in Los Angeles with his family and two rescue animals. He’s hard at work on another P.T. Marsh book and dreams of splitting time between Cabo San Lucas and Lake Lanier.
Accidents happen, no matter how careful or well-intentioned you are. Psychiatrist Eve Thayer frequently reassures her patients of that fact. There are even times when accidents have good consequences—like when Eve met her now-husband, Nathan, at his collision shop after another car ran her off the road.
After a whirlwind courtship, Nathan and Eve have settled into domestic life. They have a lovely home on a quiet street, a beautiful baby girl, and even the perfect babysitter to care for her. And yet, something isn’t quite right.
The stress in Eva’s life is mounting, both professionally and personally. Though the clinic where she works has been remodeled since its notorious days as an institution for the criminally insane, she feels increasingly uneasy there. And in her own neighborhood, a break-in at a nearby empty house hasn’t helped, either.
Detective Rita Myers hasn’t yet figured out whether Eve is a target or a suspect, but every disturbing discovery in this usually peaceful neighborhood seems to revolve around her. Only as a deadly ice storm crashes through does it become clear just how far from perfect Eve and Nathan’s lives really are. And as the cracks in the surface come to light, so do the sinister secrets that lie beneath.
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Elise’s Thoughts
Watch Your Back by Terri Parlato intertwines suspense, romance, retribution, and redemption in a compelling measure. It realistically shows how young couples handle stress and trying to make ends meet, which can affect their relationship. The main characters’ professions and personal lives play a significant role in the unfolding of the plot.
The two main characters, Nathan Liddle and Eve Thayer, have settled into domestic life after a whirlwind romance. Shortly thereafter they become the parents of a baby girl, Rosewyn. Due to the stresses of her job, they do not have much time together for their marriage with Nathan spending a lot of time taking care of the baby. As a psychiatrist, Eve Thayer has been tapped to lead the medical staff at a new psychiatric center in the Boston suburb of Graybridge, leaving her little time to help her husband with their infant daughter. He decides to seek companionship elsewhere by having an extramarital affair. The cracks in their relationship become huge after their baby girl is kidnapped from the babysitter’s home and their secrets are revealed. There is a multitude of suspects including Eve, her best friend Rachel, some of Eve’s psychiatric patients, and the babysitter. The detective on the case, Rita Myers, must unravel the secrets and find out who is responsible.
The narrative is told in multiple points of view of Eve, Nathan, and Rita. This helps to make the plot fast paced and intense as well as weaving together the family’s turmoil, the detective’s ability to connect the clues, and the hunt for the culprit.
This plot will have readers guessing all the way through. The prologue starts the story out with a bang, and it does not let up from there. The author writes very multidimensional characters, and the effective red herrings add to the twisty plotline.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the story?
Terri Parlato: I often start out with writing the characters. I thought of my children and the young adults who seem to be working very hard with long hours. They have a hard time balancing home, career, and family. This gave me the idea for Eve and Nathan. Because I write thrillers, I had terrible things happen beyond the difficulties of life. The villain is out for vengeance.
EC: How would you describe Eve?
TP: She is a psychiatrist who feels overwhelmed. She is steely, workaholic, quiet, introspective, and wants to control her emotions and keeps them in check. Growing up she did not get a lot of warmth and nurturing, especially with her father cheating.
EC: How would you describe Nathan?
TP: Protective, attentive, down to earth, personable, and puts his child ahead of his own desires.
EC: Do you think the relationship between Eve and Nathan has gone downhill?
TP: After Eve finds out Nathan cheated on her she becomes very distant, and he takes to drinking and smoking. He feels very guilty, and she withdraws, becoming angry. Nathan was seeking companionship because he felt so ignored by Eve. I wanted readers to think about this moral dilemma. Both had a responsibility to talk it out but neither did, but because of having parents MIA, communicating was harder for them. Being from the social media generation they were not good communicators.
EC: What kind of parents are they to their young daughter, especially after the child went missing?
TP: Nathan is very indulgent. For Eve, she loves her daughter but is not sure how to be a mother. She struggles with ‘Am I doing this correctly?’ Then when the child goes missing both worry that the kidnapper has evil intentions. Once the child went missing it magnified the type of parents they had become. Plus, having a child kidnapped is one of the worst things a parent can go through. It brings out their doubts as a parent and tests them to their limits.
EC: What about Eve’s best friend Rachel?
TP: I wanted her to exemplify how the relationship shifted between Rachel who was single and Eve who is now married. Eve is not as dependent on her. Relationships are difficult and tricky. They used to have good old times as single women.
EC: Was Rita, the police detective, also in other books?
TP: She is in all three books set in this fictional town. Rita is the common thread with her own narrative arc. She is growing as a character and has her own demons that shows from book 1 to this book, 3. In this novel, Rita’s drawing plays a role in solving the crime. The first book explained why she draws. In elementary school, the teacher had her draw something to distract her. This really worked and helped her to handle her life. Being the youngest of nine children she lost her brother to leukemia and an older brother to the Vietnam War. Drawing taught her to deal with her feelings. Now it works with her profession because as a detective she can see clues visually. It is a coping mechanism that turned into a tool for her detective work.
EC: Is Rita a lot like Eve?
TP: Yes. Both are lonely, workaholics, and tenacious. I wanted Eve to be a different female lead than in the first two books. She parallels Rita’s personality in that both have demons and are not sure how to handle them.
EC: Next book? TP: It will be out March 2026 and is a domestic thriller. Rita will not be in it. There will be family drama with a villain who will be causing havoc as well as a murder.
THANK YOU!!
***
BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for RIVER OF LIES (A Detective Emily Hunter Mystery Book #2) by James L’Etoile on this Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tour.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, an excerpt from the book, the author’s bio and social media links, and a Kingsumo giveaway. Enjoy!
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Book Description
Detective Emily Hunter must be the voice for the voiceless
The homeless camps spread throughout the city of Sacramento are a topic of heated debate among residents. They’re considered undesirable—a nuisance—an eyesore. But when the camps fall victim to a string of devastating arson attacks, Detective Emily Hunter and her partner, Javier Medina, dive into the investigation and become acquainted with the real people whose lives have been destroyed.
The attacks only begin to draw attention when two of the victims are identified as the city’s former anti-homeless mayor and a camp social worker—but rather than strengthening the push for justice, the movement to completely abolish the camps intensifies.
The investigation becomes politically charged when Emily discovers who stands to gain from burning the homeless out of their shelters. She struggles to balance the high-stakes investigation with caring for her Alzheimer’s-stricken mother, whose condition is rapidly deteriorating. The investigation uncovers an unlikely suspect and a reluctant witness standing between Emily and the shocking truth. Can Emily overcome resistance and her personal obstacles to halt the attacks?
Genre: Police Procedural; Thriller Published by: Oceanview Publishing Publication Date: January 7, 2025 Number of Pages: 320 ISBN: 9781608095896 (ISBN10: 1608095894) Series: A Detective Emily Hunter Mystery, 2
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My Book Review
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
RIVER OF LIES (A Detective Emily Hunter Mystery Book #2) by James L’Etoile is an intriguing, socially relevant, and twisted crime thriller/police procedural featuring a smart and determined female detective in Sacramento, California. This is the second book in the series which can easily be read as a standalone, but the first book, Face of Greed, is an excellent read that I highly recommend, also.
Homicide Detective Emily Hunter and her partner, Detective Javier “Javi” Medina are given the politically charged case where homeless encampments are being torched by men in black when a dead man is discovered to have been killed, and it turns out to be the ex-mayor. When another body is discovered at the scene of the next arson and it is once again not a homeless victim, Emily and Javi are caught between investigating the deaths and the new mayor’s office working to abolish the camps and disbursing the homeless while eliminating the crime scenes.
Emily discovers a homeless mother, and her young daughter are somehow tied to the deaths, but with the political interference and threats, the potential profits involved in the elimination of the homeless camps, and the public perceptions of the homeless population, she and Javi must work fast to unravel the motives behind these murders to catch the killer.
Emily and Javi are a great pair of detectives with the perfect blend of smart investigative skills, empathy for victims, and care for each other as partners. Their personal lives are blended seamlessly into the story and add moments of levity to the otherwise serious situations. Besides her high stress job, Emily is also dealing with a mother who has Alzheimer’s and is deteriorating rapidly. The crime plotline is intricately written and realistic with many twists throughout this fast-paced story. When I think I know what is going on and I have a solution in mind, Mr. L’Etoile always has another surprise in store for me and what I think is the ending, is not. These books always need to be read to the very last word and I love that.
I highly recommend this tremendous crime thriller/police procedural from Mr. L’Etoile. If you haven’t picked up any of his books yet, you are missing out.
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Excerpt
CHAPTER ONE
It would be easy to float away in the darkness and let the current pull her under, too. She’d thought about it several times before—in her “dark times,” as her ex-husband used to call them.
Lisa’s life hadn’t turned out the way she’d hoped. Abusive parents, a failed marriage, the booze—so much booze—all swirled together to set her on this path. Losing her apartment finally put her out here. Now this. She thought she’d escaped, but running from her past hadn’t worked. The ghosts of years past had stripped everything away. Lisa had nothing left, not even hope.
The tug of the Sacramento River on her legs was temping, and the spring snow runoff numbed Lisa’s thighs as she waded out.
Lisa closed her eyes and pictured herself lying back and allowing the river to put an end to it.
“Momma?”
Lisa’s eyes shot open.
Glancing over her shoulder, she spotted the faint outline of her daughter standing on the riverbank. The eight-year-old wore a thin blue t-shirt with a unicorn on the front, a threadbare pair of jeans, holding a stuffed bunny with one ear missing. The girl’s face registered confusion.
“Baby, go on back to the tent,” Lisa said.
Lisa felt her daughter would be better off without her. The mother’s sins cast a damning shadow. But she couldn’t abandon Willow. Not like this. Lisa knew what it was like to be an orphan in an unfriendly world. The future of an eight-year-old alone in a homeless camp wasn’t the life Willow deserved.
“Momma, what are you doing?”
Lisa’s eyes welled. She didn’t need to tell her daughter the world was a hurtful place. She’d keep the secrets and not let her know there was nothing worth living for—for now.
“I’m coming, baby.”
Lisa turned and waded back toward the bank. Her daughter spent the last two years in one homeless camp or another. The tightly packed shelters made Lisa’s claustrophobia itch.
Lisa reached for her daughter and grabbed her, lifting the girl into a tight hug. Tears streamed down Lisa’s cheeks. Not because Lisa wanted to end her suffering. She’d considered that option before. The tears came from nearly making Willow an orphan and leaving the innocent girl behind in a homeless camp. Willow couldn’t fight off the predators who lurked in the darkness—like they did tonight.
From the river’s edge, the camp spread a quarter mile in either direction. There was never any official count because people came and went, died, were arrested, or simply disappeared from the camp. Lisa guessed there were over two hundred people living here in the city’s forgotten shadows.
It was time to move. When the camps get too big, bad things happen, and people talk.
Lights flickered from small campfires and lanterns throughout the settlement. Lisa thought they looked like fallen stars. She hugged Willow a little closer and followed the trail back into the camp.
She unzipped the fly on their tent and scooted inside. Their belongings—a change of clothes, a towel to share, and two children’s books lay on one end of the nylon dome tent. A pair of sleeping bags took up most of the space. Lisa knew they were lucky to have them—others didn’t.
“All right, sweetie, let’s get you settled in for the night.”
Willow wiggled into her sleeping bag with her stuffed rabbit. Lisa grabbed a book, The Mouse and the Motorcycle, one of her daughter’s favorites. The eight-year-old could recite most of the story by heart.
Lisa opened the book when a loud commotion erupted outside. It wasn’t uncommon in the camp. Fights over property, drugs, or imagined slights fed by drugs, alcohol, and glitchy mental health were a daily occurrence. Lisa learned the best thing to do was stay out of it and never get involved.
It sounded like the usual dust-up until the screams began.
“Stay here, Willow.”
Lisa crawled to the tent flap, zipped it open, and poked her head out.
Fire.
Flames erupted on the far side of the camp. It was always a risk in the cardboard condos and plastic tarp shelters along the riverbank. This was different. At least six structures were ablaze. People were running, backlit by the orange and yellow glow. The evening delta breeze fanned the flames, igniting another dozen tents.
The cheap nylon shelters went up like dried rice paper.
“Baby, get your shoes on.”
“What is it, Momma?”
“We need to—”
Lisa spotted two men in the chaos, both outlined by the flames behind them. They weren’t running. One set the next row of tents ablaze. The second man wielded a baseball bat and swung the aluminum cylinder at anyone who came near. A sickening tink sound echoed among the rows of tents when he bounced the bat off a man’s shoulder.
Lisa grabbed her daughter’s hand, pulling her from the tent. The girl’s eyes grew large when she spotted the fires.
Willow pulled away and ducked back into the tent.
“Willow Marie, don’t you pull away from me. Come here. We need to get away.”
Lisa felt the heat from the fire. It was spreading fast, and the flames jumped up into the trees within the camp.
Bending into the tent, Lisa found Willow gathering her stuffed animal and the books.
“Come now, we need to—”
Tink.
Lisa fell flat on the ground. The rounded end of the baseball bat shoved at her ribs. Dazed from a blow to the head, she didn’t move. Lisa registered a man’s boot stepping over her.
The flames grew closer.
Willow’s fear backed her into the far corner of the tent.
Lisa’s ragged voice called to her daughter. “Willow. Listen. I need—I need you to run. Hide. Go to the safe place—the rock where we hide things. Stay until I come for you.”
“I don’t want to go. I’m scared.”
“I know, baby. You have to be brave. Take Mr. Bunny and go, now.”
Willow clutched her stuffed animal, the book, and stepped through the tent flap.
“Momma, you have an owie.”
“I know, baby. I’ll be okay.”
It was a lie. Lisa knew she was far from okay. She could feel the pressure in her head building with each heartbeat.
“Go to the place we talked about, honey. Go quick.”
Willow’s eyes welled. She didn’t budge, frozen in fear before a scream from someone nearby broke her from the trance. Another row of tents went up in flames.
“Go.”
Willow hugged her bunny and trotted toward the river. Lisa lost sight of her through the smoke billowing through the camp.
She tried to get up and couldn’t move her legs. She crabbed forward using her arms, inching away from the burning camp.
Her tent flashed, and the flames consumed it in seconds. The melting fabric, plastic and nylon fibers fell on her. The molten material burned through her clothing and ate into the flesh on Lisa’s back.
The pain seared into her. Screams around her meant she wasn’t the only one. The two arsonists headed in the same direction Willow had fled.
“Stop them,” she cried. No one could hear over the chaos of the burning camp.
Lisa now wished the water had brought a calm end to everything. She didn’t expect this—the fire, searing flame, and torture. Part of her believed she deserved this fate for the pain she’d caused. Willow didn’t. The girl didn’t understand. Now, Lisa worried about what would happen to her sweet little girl. Mr. Bunny would not be enough.
The last thought before the flames ate at her pant legs. “I’ve failed you.”
***
Author Bio
James L’Etoile uses his twenty-nine years behind bars as an influence in his award-winning novels, short stories, and screenplays. He is a former associate warden in a maximum-security prison, a hostage negotiator, and director of California’s state parole system. His novels have been shortlisted or awarded the Lefty, Anthony, Silver Falchion, and the Public Safety Writers Award. River of Lies is his most recent novel. Look for Sins of the Father and The Red List, coming soon. He is the host of Authors on the Air, served as a board member of his local Sister-in-Crime chapter, sits on the Mystery Writers of America national board, and serves as the Director of QueryFest at ThrillerFest for International Thriller Writers.
When a prominent Sacramento businessman is killed and his wife injured in a brutal home invasion, Detective Emily Hunter and her partner, Javier Medina, are called to investigate. At first glance, it seems like a crime of opportunity gone horribly wrong, but Emily soon finds there might be more to both the crime and the dead man.
The high-stakes investigation also comes at a time when Emily is caring for her mother, who has early-onset Alzheimer’s, and Emily struggles to balance her job with her personal life. The city’s political elite seem to want the case solved quickly, but darker forces want it buried.
Could there have been a motive behind the attack, making it more than a random home invasion? Emily uncovers clues that cause her to reconsider her understanding of the crime. A deadly game of greed and deception pulls Emily deeper into the shadowy world of gang violence and retribution. She has to walk the razor’s edge to identify the killer—without becoming the next victim.
FACE OF GREED (A Detective Emily Hunter Mystery Book #1) by James L’Etoile is a gritty, intricately plotted, and fast paced crime thriller/police procedural set in Sacramento, California. This is the first book in a new series by this author with a pair of detectives that I already know I am going to love to follow in future books.
Detective Emily Hunter and her partner, Detective Javier Medina are called to the scene of an apparent home invasion. They find the husband, a prominent Sacramento businessman, is brutally murdered and the wife injured, but alive. As they begin their investigation, they are hindered by political interference and the pressure for a quick resolution and a widow who seems to be not that upset by the murder of her husband.
With the death of the dead man’s lawyer, Emily and Javi soon find themselves embroiled in a case full of dirty money and cops, greed, gangs, and violence. Can Emily untangle the evidence before either herself or someone she loves wind up dead?
This story pulls you into the investigation and the lives of Emily and Javi to the point that I could not put it down. Emily is an intelligent and tough protagonist who doggedly follows the clues and walks a fine line at times, but while seeming to stretch it at times, there is always a reason, and she does not cross it. Emily is also dealing with a mother who has dementia and is no longer able to care for herself. Emily’s partnership with Javi feels realistically written and occasionally adds humor to the otherwise intense story.
Mr. L’Etoile’s writing is smart, realistic, gritty, and immersive. The crime plot is twisted and continued to surprise me. I always love this author’s books, and this one was no exception. I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series, River of Lies.
I highly recommend this crime thriller/police procedural!
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About the Author
James L’Etoile uses his twenty-nine years behind bars as an influence in his award-winning novels, short stories, and screenplays. He is a former associate warden in a maximum-security prison, a hostage negotiator, and director of California’s state parole system. His novels have been shortlisted or awarded the Lefty, Anthony, Silver Falchion, and the Public Safety Writers Award. Face of Greed and Served Cold are his most recent novel. Look for River of Lies and Sins of the Father, coming in 2025.
Major social themes weave through his work, including the world of human trafficking, black market organ transplants, homelessness, domestic terrorism, immigration policy, political corruption, and the pharmaceutical industry.
