Unstoppable Jonathan Grave uncovers a major threat to American security in the latest action-packed adventure in the long-running, bestselling black-ops series.
Twelve missionaries have been snatched in a remote area of Venezuela and are being held for ransom. The high-priority rescue mission comes as a personal plea from FBI director Irene Rivers. It also carries a Presidential demand: no international incident. Just get in and get out—with hostages who are far from cooperative, but nonetheless precious cargo.
America’s enemies hope to leverage the kidnapping into a major crisis. Fighting his way to the hostages is Jonathan’s first battle. The second is to deliver them, alive and well, to the extraction site – and let no one stand in his way.
***
Elise’s Thoughts
One of the best qualities of a John Gilstrap book is his ability to draw readers into the plot and characters. Just like the early Vince Flynn books his plots are intense, his bad guys horrifically violent, and his team heroes hardly politically correct with a determination for justice to be served.
Harm’s Way by John Gilstrap takes place in Venezuela where a vicious drug cartel has kidnapped ten missionaries and are holding them for ransom. FBI Director Irene Rivers has asked the independent contractor, Jonathan Grave, and his team to rescue one hostage. But Jonathan being Jonathan, tells her he will rescue all or none. He plans on doing what he and his team always do, save hostages. The rest of the gang are back that includes Jonathan Grave (Digger), Brian Vande Boxers (Big Guy), Venice Alexander (Mother Hen) and Gail Bonneville (Gunslinger) as well as Jesse Montgomery (Torpedo), a thief and boat driver, and Davey Montgomery (Chief), a former Navy SEAL.
As with most of his books the theme always questions the commitment of Washington, especially the bureaucrats, to put the welfare of the country ahead of personal gain.
Word of warning to readers, the rescue mission is not the only plotline and this book ends with a slight cliffhanger. Anyone who has not read the Grave books should because they have drama, intrigue, and great characters.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for Harm’s Way?
John Gilstrap: It came from a real news story. There was a news item where twelve missionaries were kidnapped in South America. Each were held for different levels of ransom by the bad guys. I thought it was an interesting premise.
EC: Throughout the books, one of the team members, Gail Bonnerville aka Gunslinger has come to grips with her role?
JG: Gail can be passive-aggressive, logical, thoughtful, sarcastic, and very analytical. She is often the only adult in the room when the men team members start to act as boys. She as well as everyone has a strong moral compass. She sometimes has trouble drawing the lines that Jonathan has no trouble drawing since she was a Sherriff and is a lawyer. In Scorpion Strike she realized there was nuisance and balance versus violence and fortitude. She started accepting her role and in the current book Harm’s Way she has reached that threshold. Jonathan is very mission oriented where he wants to have the hostages returned to their family. Gail cannot close down after a mission like Jonathan does. It angers her that she cannot and also angers her that Jonathan can. She will do what she must do but afterwards might not like it, while Jonathan will do what he must do and move on.
EC: You like to have Gail get injured a lot?
JG: In Damage Control she was injured very seriously and two books after that she was gone for a while as she recovered. I almost killed her off, but when I brought her back, I found the handle for her character. Then in Lethal Game, the book before Harm’s Way she had to be rescued after her house was set on fire and she was injured.
EC: The relationship between Gail and Jonathan?
JG: She considers him a crusader and is accepting of him. Just as with Jonathan she now realizes that by fighting, she can have a say in her future, going home alive. Gail realizes that Jonathan’s way of thinking is not as outlandish as she originally thought. She has come to see that the rule of law sometimes comes to slowly for true justice to happen. Because they accept each other they can now have an intimate relationship.
EC: Was President Tony Darmond based on anyone in any political party or is he an equal opportunity politician?
JG: The plot line of this book involving the President’s stepson selling access started in 2014 with the book High Treason. It is pure coincidence that the plot line is still alive. The Darmond administration has been corrupt since 2009. In the Grave books time pretty much stands still and travels very slowly. I do not write politics I write fiction. President Darmond does not have a party affiliation. People read the books and I have received angry letters about Darmond’s corruption from supporters of President Bush 43, President Obama, President Trump, and now President Biden. I get equal levels of hate mail. The Grave books do not work unless Washington is horribly corrupt.
EC: There is a quote that is anti-Washington in Harm’s Way. Please explain.
JG: You are referring to this quote, “In light of recent weaknesses and stumbles from the government of the United States, it was often too easy to lose respect in the effectiveness of American operators. The Border Patrol and the Drug Enforcement Administration had both been thoroughly neutered by President Darmond’s political henchmen, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation has neutered itself with political infighting.” This is from a Russian who perceives the weakness of power. The Darmond administration is owned by the Cartels who can do whatever they want on the Southern Border. I believe in the fictional world, Washington’s senior elected leadership can search for Directors to do their will.
EC: Are the Russians really behind bringing drugs into this country?
JG: I do not have a firsthand knowledge but people who do, this is what they tell me. From what I heard the Russians have tried to gain a foothold in Venezuela and pre-Ukraine have provided a lot of aid. In my fiction world it just makes sense the Russians are doing it.
EC: Why Venezuela?
JG: Venezuela is in this hemisphere. Because I must get Jonathan and the gang in and out there is only so much of the world where I can do it. In my various previous books, I have used Mexico and wanted a change. Part of the reason for Venezuela, I wanted to criticize socialism, and it is the poster child for where socialism never worked in the practical world. The economic system here has collapsed so it has become a playground for bad guys.
EC: Next book-did you leave this one with a cliffhanger?
JG: Yes, although each book can survive as a stand-alone. In the next book, the Darmond Administration will have a very bad time. It will be titled Heat Seeker, a Jonathan Grave book.
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.
Will Trent and Sara Linton are back in an electrifying thriller featuring GBI investigator Will Trent and medical examiner Sara Linton from New York Times bestselling author Karin Slaughter
After that night, everything changed . . .
Fifteen years ago, Sara Linton’s life changed forever when a celebratory night out ended in a violent attack that tore her world apart. Since then, Sara has remade her life. A successful doctor, engaged to a man she loves, she has finally managed to leave the past behind her.
Until one evening, on call in the ER, everything changes. Sara battles to save a broken young woman who’s been brutally attacked. But as the investigation progresses, led by GBI Special Agent Will Trent, it becomes clear that Dani Cooper’s assault is uncannily linked to Sara’s.
And the past isn’t going to stay buried forever . . .
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Elise’s Thoughts
After That Night by Karin Slaughter is typical of her books. She intertwines a fascinating thriller with a very important relevant subject matter, drawing readers into the story from page one.
Fifteen years ago, Sara Linton’s life changed forever when she was violently assaulted and raped. With a strong support system, she became a successful doctor and is now engaged to Detective Will Trent, a man she dearly loves. She has tried to put her past behind her. But one evening changes everything.
She is now working at Atlanta’s Grady Memorial Hospital when 19-year-old Dani Cooper is admitted with fatal injuries from a car accident. Sara recognizes signs of rape, which Dani confirms with her dying breaths. Having been raped herself 15 years earlier, Sara vows to bring Dani’s assailant to justice.
Fast forward three years and Sara is now testifying in court against Thomas Michael McAllister IV. He is the son of two of Sara’s former medical school peers, pediatric surgeon Mac McAllister and his wife, Britt. Even more surprisingly, Britt McAllister, when Sara encounters her in the courthouse restroom, smugly informs her, “What happened to you. What happened to Dani. It’s all connected.” Sara decides to tell Will and his partner Faith and works with them to take down the bad guys.
As with all her books the story is riveting and touches on important subjects of the day. Slaughter not only shows readers the effect that rape has on victims but shows how predators get away with it. It is gripping and shocking from the very first page. This book had a nice number of twists, turns and revelations. There are plenty of little quips, bickering, and witty banter sprinkled throughout to ease some of the tension of the story.
***
Author Interview
Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for this story?
Karin Slaughter: I write about stuff I have seen going on in the world. It was time to write more about what happened to Sara Linton, a character readers like. Now would be a good time to talk about where she is at. At my heart I am a thriller writer and that has always been my goal, to write thrillers.
EC: Can you talk about why that quote at the beginning of the book?
KS: You are referring to this one, “Remember to speak from the scar, not the wound.” It is from the trauma counseling community. Those sexually assaulted should give themselves some distance. It takes time to process, for a woman to get through it, to recognize and understand it, and to get to a point she can speak about it.
EC: This is like sex trafficking?
KS: Sex trafficking is a good corollary. There was this movie, “Sound of Freedom,” made about it. One of the main investors was just arrested in sex trafficking. People put themselves in the spotlight as advocates for children and women as they speak about family values but are using it to hide their true selves. They have an “alibi” if ever accused because they appear to be such a supportive person. It is the same way for rape where a lot of men hide in plain sight. My point is that a predator is not someone who can be easily spotted.
EC: There is a scene in the book where Sara says she is not sure how she should feel: Outrage, matter of fact, emotional, or devoid of emotion. Please explain.
KS: Sara is talking about how as a victim she also must manage others’ feelings around rape. It is true that this is one of the few crimes where society puts value judgements, especially other women. I think these women are not nasty, but fearful. Every woman has lived with this fear that they could possibly be raped. The fact is rape can happen no matter what a woman does. Women should not be saying ‘she should not have worn that or done this.’
EC: There is a statistic in the story that fewer than 1% of rapes lead to a felony conviction. Please explain.
KS: A lot of police are driven by numbers. They do not prioritize cases. Sometimes they ignore the cases because maybe the victim was a prostitute. Once again, it is a judgement call. Sara feels this weight to suppress her own emotions and help others in the story work their way through what happened to them. Everyone thinks the system works until they are in the system. Rape consistently gets pleaded down to a lesser offense, so men are not put on a sex offender registry.
EC: How did the rape affect Sara?
KS: I openly write about her rape since book 1, Blindsighted, and how it affected her life. Sara feels however people responded to being rape is how they should respond. She managed to rebuild her life including falling in love with a man and to be able to trust him. She did have her family as a support structure.
EC: What about the relationship between Will and Sara?
KS: I have this quote in the book about her relationship with Will, “This is the miracle of her recovery. She trusted with every fiber of her being that he will always be there. He can pick up her moods.” This is one of the strongest parts of Will’s character that he is intensely loyal. He always has Sara’s back and is very supportive.
EC: How would you describe Britt, one of Sara’s medical school peers?
KS: She is a ‘pick me.’ She always is talking about how she does not get along with other women, but the fact is other women do not like her. She will always choose a man over her women friends no matter what. She has no identity outside of a man. She identifies herself only as being the wife of this powerful man. All her self-worth and power come from the fact that she is married to Mac, a top surgeon. She wants to be the cool girl, one of the guys. It is a sad way to live. She is spiteful, insecure, and bitter.
EC: How would you describe Mac, Britt’s husband, who was also a medical school peer of Sara?
KS: He is a control freak. This is not a bad thing considering he is a surgeon. He needs to pay attention to the important details.
EC: How would you define the rapist?
KS: He uses coercion, control, brainwashes, and false imprisons his victims. He uses charm in the beginning, the brain washing part. He does not show all women that part of himself but only the victims are showed this part of his personality. All this work is put into being the thing that they are not.
EC: Are all the rape victims in the story similar?
KS: Sara later talks with Sloan, another medical school peer who was raped. There were different women from different walks of life. They had different ways they chose to deal with it. There is no one way to recover. Sometimes the police have a hand in it also. When a woman files a complaint there are some who say ‘I do not believe you and I will arrest you for filing a false complaint. I am not going to investigate.’ I wanted to show how all these women had different responses and different outcomes.
EC: Next book?
KS: It will be another Sara and Will story. I am working on it now. It will be out next year this time.
EC: What about the TV series on ABC?
KS: I hope people are enjoying it. There will be a second season out when the strike is over. I look forward to the series continuing.
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.
At a Texas county fair, amidst carousels and a bustling midway, children’s book author Elle Portman is enjoying a rare night out with her favorite cowboy: her two-year-old son, Charlie. But just as they’re about to head home, the unthinkable happens: a shooter opens fire into the crowd, causing widespread panic to erupt all around them.
Also caught in the melee was corporate consultant Calder Hudson. Arrogant, self-centered, and high off his latest career win, he’s frustrated and confused when he wakes up in the hospital after undergoing emergency surgery on his arm. The doctor tells him that he was lucky—that as far as gunshot wounds go, he pulled through remarkably well. Others weren’t so lucky, which instills in Calder a furious determination to get justice . . . a goal shared by Elle.
Their chance encounter at the police station leads to a surprising and inexplicable gravitation to one another, but even as the attraction grows, Elle and Calder can’t help but wonder if the unimaginable tragedy that brought them together is too painful and too complicated to sustain—especially while the shooter remains at large.
OUT OF NOWHERE by Sandra Brown is an intense romantic suspense/crime thriller that begins with a random mass shooting that leaves physical and mental devastation in its wake. Out of the devastation, two of the survivors come together only to discover they still have more to fear.
Elle Portman writes children’s books and is the single mom of two-year-old, Charlie. She meets her best friend, Glenda, for a fun afternoon at the county fair. As Charlie begins to fuss, Elle decides it’s time to leave for home. The exit is congested, and Charlie is in full meltdown as shots ring out throughout the crowded midway. Elle loses control of Charlie’s stroller.
Calder Hudson is a slick, arrogant, and successful business consultant on a high after finishing a prosperous job. He is less happy about meeting his TV reporter girlfriend at the county fair. After clearing the entry gate, shots ring out and Calder recognizes what is happening and shouts for people to hit the ground. As he attempts to stop a runaway stroller, he is shot and loses conciseness as his head hits the ground.
Both Elle and Calder are determined to get justice and are shocked when the detectives tell them the shooter is still at large. When they have a chance meeting at the police station, they begin to gravitate to each other but is it just the tragedy that brought them together for now or can their feeling be real and last?
This is a fast-paced crime thriller with a plot with many twists and unexpected surprises. The reveal of the shooter is a big one. The hero and heroine of the romantic suspense part of the plot changed emotionally throughout the story. At first, I believed Elle was the average mom who suffers a tragedy, but as the story continues, you discover she has a very strong sense of self. Calder was not the most likable hero, but as the story progresses, he changes almost completely. The sex scenes are explicit, but not gratuitous. One thing that left me feeling slightly unsettled, though it was good for the progression of the plot, was the not safe safehouse set up by the detectives. Overall, an emotional, action-packed page turner of a romantic suspense.
I highly recommend this romantic suspense/crime thriller from one of my favorite authors.
***
About the Author
Sandra Brown is the author of more than sixty New York Times bestsellers, including STING (2016), FRICTION (2015), MEAN STREAK (2014), DEADLINE (2013), LOW PRESSURE (2012), LETHAL (2011), and the critically acclaimed RAINWATER (2010).
Brown began her writing career in 1981 and since then has published over seventy novels, bringing the number of copies of her books in print worldwide to upwards of eighty million. Her work has been translated into thirty-three languages.
Brown recently was given an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Texas Christian University. She was named Thriller Master for 2008, the top award given by the International Thriller Writer’s Association. Other awards and commendations include the 2007 Texas Medal of Arts Award for Literature and the Romance Writers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for ECHO FROM A BAYOU: One Man’s Journey to Hunt Down His Murderer by J. Luke Bennecke on this Partner’s In Crime Virtual Book Tour.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, an excerpt from the book, and the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!
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Book Description
Murder. Treasure. A supernatural twist.
John Bastian is plunged into a dangerous journey to uncover the truth about his past life after a freak skiing accident unlocks hidden memories. With unshakable visions of a brutal attack, the cursed Lafayette treasure, and a captivating redhead, John searches to find answers and confront the man who murdered him. On a perilous path and with a hurricane fast approaching, John fights for his survival and the safety of those he loves, threats haunting him at every turn.
Will he find redemption, or be consumed by an unquenchable thirst for revenge?
Genre: Suspense Thriller Published by: Jaytech Publishing Publication Date: August 2023 Number of Pages: 400 ISBN: 9780965771559
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My Book Review
RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars
ECHO FROM A BAYOU: One Man’s Journey to Hunt Down His Murder by J. Luke Bennecke is an exciting mix of suspense/action thriller/treasure hunt adventure and reincarnation. This is a standalone story that kept me turning the pages well into the night.
John Bastian awakes after a three-day coma after a skiing accident with memories that are not his own. He learns the memories belong to Jack Bachman from Louisiana who was married to a red-headed beauty.
He is compelled to take a trip to Louisiana to follow his memories, find the red-headed beauty, and find the man who murdered him over a buried treasure. And then there is a hurricane.
This is an intriguing look into reincarnation, betrayal, murder, and true love all combined into an action-adventure thriller. All the characters are fully fleshed and the descriptions of all the locations throughout the story add to believability. I did have a bit of difficulty with the past and present differences if I did not pay attention to the chapter headings, but eventually it all came together. There are plenty of plot twists and surprises throughout.
This is an intriguing thriller and more.
***
Excerpt
Chapter 1
John Bastian
November 8, 2016 – Mammoth Mountain, CA
Never had I seen so many angry trees in one place.
Through a gondola window covered with spider cracks, ominous mountains loomed in the darkened distance. One peak in particular, a white, snowcapped giant, laughed at me with his frozen face and pointed pines, pompous with knowledge he had risen to life, fallen, and rebirthed his dominance over countless millennia.
Ignoring the familiar tug to spiral down another rabbit hole of negativity, I instead envisioned myself racing down a crazy-steep, treeless, triple black diamond slope at the summit of Mammoth Mountain: Huevos Grande.
Passengers continued to pack inside the already-full car, oblivious to our collective need to breathe oxygen, already limited in the high-altitude air that smelled of sweaty gym socks.
“And I don’t see you wearin’ no helmet,” Kevin said.
“Enough about Sonny Bono already, that was a long time ago,” I said, glancing down at Kevin, who, at a foot shorter than me, sported matching black ski pants and jacket with a rainbowcolored voodoo doll embroidered on the back. The snowboarding boots boosted his height by two inches, bringing his height up to five feet five inches.
My closest friend for the last two decades and best man at the wedding of my disaster of a marriage, we’d met at track practice during senior year of high school.
With my last shred of patience wearing thin, I waited with Kevin in the front corner of the room-sized orange cube, near the sliding doors. Skis propped and steadied with one hand, I gave his down-insulated shoulder a friendly punch with the other and said, “Stay positive, man. We need as much optimism as we can handle.”
“Glad you finally gettin’ your head outta them clouds,” Kevin said. “Sooner you forgive Margaret, sooner you can get on with your life, Johnny Jackass.”
“You know I hate it when you call me that.”
“Exactly.”
Two months ago, he’d suggested this trip to some of California’s highest slopes in order to check off the last item on our mid-life crisis bucket list.
One final group of skiers jammed inside, jerking the box that would soon glide us up to the peak of peaks. My heart flopped around inside my chest as I ignored the instinctive urge to go back to our room and down a double bourbon. Instead, I adjusted my black beanie, giving Kevin a forced smile. A tinge of alcohol withdrawal headache pinged my noggin. I dug out two Tylenol gel caps from my inner jacket pocket, popped them into my mouth and swallowed without water.
I tightened my lips and turned my head, glancing through a different gondola window, up to the 11,000-foot peak riddled with wide, white, invincible slopes.
But a shiver crawled up from my legs to my neck, deflating any remnants of confidence.
I tapped open a weather app on my phone. “This might be the last run. That huge storm front’s almost here.”
“Word.”
We both enjoyed the occasional humorous embellishment of stereotypical hip-hop culture, even though Kevin had two masters’ degrees from Berkeley, one in American history and another in theater arts.
After separating from Margaret three years ago, the entire divorce process continually marinated in my head, but I wanted—needed—to lick my mental wounds, get on with my life, and find a new purpose. Hence my agreeing to this trip.
Heads bobbed among the other snow enthusiasts, along with a colorful assortment of mirrored goggles and insulated garments. My height allowed me an unobstructed view of my fellow sardines.
“Think of all the times they said it was supposed to rain back home in Newport Beach,” I said. “Nothing. Just a few drops here and there. Damned drought’s horrible.”
A man with dark, heavy-lidded eyes stood five feet away from us in the rear of the gondola, wearing a baby blue sweater and black jeans. Then for no apparent reason, he started tapping his forehead repeatedly on the gondola wall.
Dude wore no ski jacket.
No ski pants.
Odd.
***
Author Bio
J. Luke Bennecke is a veteran civil engineer with a well-spent career helping people by improving Southern California roadways. He has a civil engineering degree, an MBA, a private pilot’s certificate, and is a partner in an engineering firm. He enjoys philanthropy and awards scholarships annually to high school seniors.
In addition to his debut novel, bestselling and award-winning thriller Civil Terror: Gridlock, Bennecke has written several other novels and screenplays, a creative process he thoroughly enjoys. His second Jake Bendel thriller, Waterborne, was published in 2021 by Black Rose Writing and received several awards. Echo from a Bayou is his latest suspense thriller with a supernatural twist, available now.
Bennecke resides in Southern California with his wife of 32+ years and three spunky cats. In his leisure time he enjoys traveling, playing golf, voiceover acting, and spending time with his grown daughters.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for DEVIL WITHIN: ANathan Parker Detective Novel 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
The border is a hostile place with searing heat and venomous serpents. Yet the deadliest predator targets the innocent.
A sniper strikes in the Valley of the Sun and Detective Nathan Parker soon finds a connection between the victims—each of them had a role in an organization founded to help undocumented migrants make the dangerous crossing. Parker discovers no one is exactly who they seem.
There’s the devil you know and then there’s the devil within—when the two collide, no one is safe.
Devil Within is the sequel to the Anthony and Lefty Award nominated Dead Drop.
Genre: Procedural/Thriller Published by: Level Best Books Publication Date: July 2023 Number of Pages: 310 Series: The Nathan Parker Detective Series, Book 2
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My Book Review
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
DEVIL WITHIN: A Nathan Parker Detective Novel by James L’Etoile is an adrenaline rush of a thriller/ police procedural that is impossible to put down. I loved the first book, Dead Drop, in this series and this follow-up second book is just as gripping from start to finish. I feel that for the reader to really enjoy this book, they should read book one first because all the characters are carried over with continuing storylines.
Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Detective Nathan Parker is assigned to investigate a series of shootings that are being labeled the Sun Valley Sniper murders. At first, the victims all seem random, but as he digs deeper, he discovers a disturbing connection between the Immigrant Coalition an organization that aides undocumented migrants, a Mexican gang, and the Aryan Nation. Nathan also must deal with the revelation that Estaban Castaneda, the gang leader who killed his partner is back on American soil and has kidnapped his foster son, Miguel.
This is another fantastic thriller/police procedural that kept me on the edge of my seat. All the characters we met in book one are back and just as dynamic and believably crafted. The mysterious Billie is once again integral to Nathan’s investigation and his education on immigrant problems. This multi-layered plot is intricately woven with varying hate groups, Mexican gangs, law enforcement, corrupt politicians, legal and illegal immigrants, human trafficking, and those fighting to aide the immigrants. I was completely surprised by the reveal of the sniper.
I highly recommend this thriller/police procedural and I am looking forward to many more in this series!
***
Excerpt
Chapter One
Nia Saldana didn’t think today would be the day she died. Why would she? She was careful and avoided situations which drew too much attention. She never wanted to be noticed. When you got noticed, it only led to trouble, or worse.
She cursed herself for snooping around her employer’s office as she tidied up. The big man wasn’t who he pretended to be. If others knew what she saw…
Nia fought off anxiety driving home after another twelve-hour day cleaning homes on Camelback Mountain, the upscale enclave in Central Phoenix. Commuter traffic on this section of the 101 loop was a field of brake lights and her hands gripped the wheel, knowing she’d be home after her two girls were asleep. Her sister Sofia never complained when she watched the girls and loved them as if they were her own. Nia regretted every minute away from them, and the envelope of cash on the seat next to her meant she could stop and pick up a little pink box of day-old Mexican pastries for the girls as a sweet surprise.
A job that didn’t require hours away from her girls was a dream. She didn’t dare look for a better-paying job. There was too much at risk for a single, undocumented mother. One wrong move, like getting caught in her employer’s office, and she would join her deported husband in Hermosillo. What would happen to the girls then?
She pushed a worn stuffed animal away from her leg when she caught a sudden blur from the right. A familiar black SUV cut across her path, nearly clipping the front end of her Nissan Sentra. She knew her boss was furious; in a way she’d never seen before. But to chase her on the freeway because of what she’d discovered? Reckless.
A pop caught her attention. Seconds later, the heavy SUV lurched and bumped Nia’s sedan into the left lane, pushing her into the gravel median. A second pop sounded moments before the wheel wrenched from Nia’s hands sending the Sentra into a hard spin to the left until it faced back into the oncoming traffic.
Rubber barked on the asphalt as a semi-truck slammed on its brakes and the trailer jackknifed, a wall of metal rushing toward Nia’s windshield. The Sentra crumpled from the impact of the heavy eighteen-wheeler. The thin metal roof folded in pinning her against the seat. The steering wheel crushed against the driver’s seat, and Nia with it. The pressure against her chest made breathing impossible. If her brother-in-law hadn’t sold the airbag for a few dollars…. Nia glanced at the blood-spattered stuffed animal and pulled it close to her.
Inside her broken passenger side window, Nia watched as the SUV plowed into the metal rails in the center divider without slowing down. The driver slumped over the wheel after his vehicle came to rest. Why? Why did he? The grip on the stuffed animal loosened as she grew cold. The faces of her two young girls were the last images she held while she slipped away.
Chapter Two
Detective Sergeant Nathan Parker weaved his way through the snarl of traffic on the freeway. Phoenix dwellers took it in stride because commute hours meant a sludge across the valley with a daily multi-car pile-up, or a disabled vehicle in the tunnel. None of the usual reasons for traffic meltdowns would justify a Major Crimes detective call out.
Parker’s Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Ford Explorer was unmarked, but the antenna bristling on the roof and the flashing red and blue lights in the grill gave it away. As he approached, he wasn’t certain what warranted a major crimes investigator. Parker spotted the vehicles spun out in the median, the front end of a compact sedan crumpled under a big rig trailer. No one would survive this one.
Fire engines stopped traffic in the two lanes near the accident. A single lane of cars bled through the remaining gap in the freeway, going slow enough to glimpse the gruesome wreckage.
Deputy Marcus Stone called Parker on his cell phone rather than make the call over the department radio frequency. The call was quick on detail, other than Deputy Stone needed Parker at the scene. Parker’s mind shuffled through the possibilities as he pulled his Explorer to the far left median. He spotted the wrecked SUV on the center divider, twenty yards from the jackknifed semi-truck. A high-profile victim, or an influential Phoenix power player caught in a deadly drunk driving crash? Maybe. Politics was king, even in the desert. The twisted remains of the Nissan underneath the big rig, however, didn’t scream of valley nobility.
Parker spotted deputy Stone near the rear of the Phoenix Metro Fire Department engine. Stone looked gray.
“Marcus.” Stone didn’t take his gaze from the fire crew using an air powered extraction device, sometimes called the Jaws of Life, to peel back the exposed left front quarter panel of the gutted Nissan Sentra . “We’ve got two deceased.” Stone jutted his square jaw at the Nissan. “A young woman. In the SUV against the guardrail, our second victim, a middleaged white male.”
“Looks nasty. Any statements from witnesses about how it happened. Why’d you call me out, anyway? Traffic accidents aren’t usually our thing.” Stone started toward the SUV. “Come with me.” Stone didn’t wait for Parker and made a path around the littered wreckage toward the black SUV. Parker noticed the driver slumped over the wheel after the fire department opened the driver’s door and left him in place. From experience, Parker knew fire crews extracted accident victims from the vehicles and tried to administer lifesaving treatment.
The driver’s razor cut gray hair lay matted in crimson. His skull disappeared in a jagged mess of blood and bone behind his ear.
“He’s been shot. Dammit, this makes three in a month,” Parker said. “That’s why I called you.”
Instinctively, Parker glanced at his surroundings. The freeway sat in the bottom of a wash, with city streets twenty feet above on both sides. An unnatural valley, but a natural killing ground for the Sun Valley Sniper. “Get any ID on this guy?”
Stone held a plastic evidence bag in his hand. Parker hadn’t noticed the deputy gripping the plastic envelope since his arrival.
“Roger Jessup. Local attorney, according to the Arizona Bar card in his wallet.”
“Can’t say I’ve heard of him before. Gives us an angle to look at—you know, the whole disgruntled client thing.”
They both turned at the sound of ripping metal pulled from the Nissan Sentra. Two fire fighters crouched into the passenger compartment, cut the seatbelt, and pulled the driver from the car. They placed her gently on a yellow tarp spread on the gravel shoulder.
“I take it she wasn’t a shooting victim?” Parker said.
“No. The collision with the SUV spun her out and then the big rig finished it. Wrong place, wrong time, poor thing.”
“You call in the Medical Examiner?”
Stone shook his head. “Didn’t know how you would handle it.”
“No problem. While I call the M.E., could you ask the fire crews to set up some tarps to give our victims a bit of respect?”
“On it.” Stone strode off to the closest fire fighter and started pointing at the scene.
Parker approached the Nissan as the fire department crew draped a tarp over the dead woman. Parker saw she was olive skinned, young, perhaps in her early thirties, with dark black hair pulled back in a ponytail. She was attractive, but even in death, she carried signs of stress, lines creasing her forehead, and dark bags under her eyes. Parker dropped to one knee and scanned the passenger compartment. The driver was crushed. If it wasn’t bad enough, Parker spotted a well-loved stuffed animal on the seat.
“Oh man. She’s got kids.”
He reached for her purse and pulled the inexpensive plastic and cardboard handbag from the floorboard. Parker had seen these knockoff items before, carried by women coming over the border. He fished through the purse for a wallet and ID. Nothing. No driver’s license, insurance cards, or credit cards. When he stood, he spotted a blood-stained envelope. When he lifted it from the seat, it held one hundred dollars. No note or message in with the five twenty-dollar bills. The face of the envelope bore a simple inscription: “Nia.”
“Nia, what happened?”
Parker thought deputy Stone might be right. He was about to write it off as another case of a random victim until he found the bullet hole in the Nissan’s front tire. The tire exploded outward on the opposite side of the path of entry. Likely sending the compact sedan into an uncontrolled skid, careening off any vehicles in the next lane.
What were the chances of two cars being shot at in evening commuter traffic?
***Excerpt from Devil Within by James L’Etoile. Copyright 2023 by James L’Etoile. Reproduced with permission from James L’Etoile. All rights reserved.
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Author Bio
James L’Etoile uses his twenty-nine years behind bars as an influence in his award-winning novel, 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. Black Label earned the Silver Falchion for Best Book by an Attending Author at Killer Nashville and he was nominated for The Bill Crider Award for short fiction. His most recent novel is the Anthony and Lefty Award nominated Dead Drop. Look for Devil Within and Face of Greed, both coming in 2023.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for DEADLY DEPTHS by John F. Dobbyn 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
The death by bizarre means of his mentor, Professor Barrington Holmes, draws Mathew Shane into the quest of five archeologists, known to each other as “The Monkey’s Paws”, for an obscure object of unprecedented historic and financial value. The suspected murders of others of the Monkey’s Paws follow their pursuit of five clues found in a packet of five ancient parchments. Shane’s commitment to disprove the police theory of suicide by Professor Holmes carries him to the steamy bayous of New Orleans, the backstreets of Montreal, the sunken wreck of a pirate vessel off Barbados, and the city of Maroon descendants of escaped slaves in Jamaica.
By weaving a thread from the sacrificial rites of the Aztec kingdom before the Spanish conquest of Mexico through the African beliefs of Jamaican Maroons and finally to the ventures of Captain Henry Morgan during the Golden Era of Piracy in his conquest and sacking of Spanish cities on the Spanish Main, Shane reaches a conclusion he could never have anticipated.
Genre: Mystery, Crime Thriller Published by: Oceanview Publishing Publication Date: August 2023 Number of Pages: 320 ISBN: 9781608095483 (ISBN10: 1608095487)
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My Book Review
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
DEADLY DEPTHS by John F. Dobbyn is an edge-of-your-seat treasure hunt thriller and intricate crime mystery mash-up novel that kept me turning the pages well into the night. This is a standalone novel that is a great mystery/thriller read and while the author is new to me, he does have other published books I will be checking out in the future.
Law professor Matthew Shane also has a love of archeology from his mentor, well known archeologist, Professor Barrington Holmes. Holmes is found dead at his office desk, and it is determined a suicide, but Matthew knows his mentor would never commit suicide.
His search for the truth leads him to a group of five archeologists, including the deceased Barrington, that call themselves “The Monkey’s Paw”. They were entangled in a mysterious expedition and since their return, they are being killed one by one.
Joining forces with the remaining members of “The Monkey’s Paw” and the help of an enigmatic Turkish antiquities dealer in France, Matthew is on a worldwide chase that may cost him his life, too.
I really loved this story. It is full of surprise twists, red herrings, and treachery. Matthew is determined to discover the truth, no matter the peril. He is an honorable, adventurous, and strong protagonist that is easy to cheer for throughout the hunt. The history of the Aztec artifact everyone wants, and the history of the Maroons of Jamaica were both interesting and well positioned throughout the plot to never interfere with the pace. The plot is well paced, fast and seldom lets up even when the plot goes back in time to the diary of a Welsh privateer. The climax was intense, and it leads to a very satisfying conclusion to both the mystery and the treasure hunt.
I highly recommend this high intensity action-adventure mystery/thriller!
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Excerpt
We arrived at an area of private docks in a town called Oistins. The driver stopped at the base of a wharf that anchored power boats of every size, speed, and description. One power yacht stood out as the choice of the fleet. The Sun Catcher. My guide hustled us both directly to the carpeted gangplank that led on board a vessel that could pass for a floating Ritz Carlton.
The engines were already revving. I was escorted to a padded deck-lounge with maximum view on the foredeck. I had scarcely settled in, when we were slicing through late-afternoon sea-swells that barely caused a rise and fall.
My guide, still in suit and tie, brought me, without either of us asking, a tall, cool, planter’s punch with an ample kick of Mount Gay Rum. For the first moment since Mick O’Flynn told me that someone was asking for me, I made a fully-considered decision. This entire fantasy could easily turn into a disaster that could outstrip New Orleans and Montreal together, but to hell with it. It was just too elating not to accept it at face value – at least for the moment.
My mind was just settling into a comfortable neutral, when I heard footsteps from behind that had more heft than I imagined my guide could produce. I made a move to swing out of the padded deck-chair, when I felt the touch of a hand with authoritative strength on my shoulder. The voice that went with it had the same commanding undertone.
“Stay where you are, Michael. I’ll join you.”
A matching deck-chair was set beside me. I found myself looking up at a shadow against the setting sun that appeared double my bulk and yet compact as an Olympic hammer-thrower. The voice came again. “You’re an interesting study, Michael. I may call you ‘Michael’, right? I should. I probably know more about you than anyone you know. You might have guessed that by now.”
An open hand reached down out of the shadow. I took it. The handshake fit the shaker. It took some seconds for the feeling to come back into mine.
Before I could answer, the voice was coming from the deck-lounge beside me. “No need for coy name games. You know that I’m Wayne Barnes. And you know that I’m one of the, shall we say, associates in that little clique we call the Monkey’s Paws. In fact, your escort here, Emile, tells me it was the mention of my name that swung your decision to get on that plane.”
He nodded to my nearly empty Planter’s Punch. “Another?”
Before I could answer, he gave a slight nod to someone behind us. Before I could say “Yes”, or possibly, but less likely, “No”, a native Bajan in a server’s uniform was at my left taking my empty and handing me a full glass.
I was three good sips into the second glass before I said my first word since coming aboard. I looked over at Wayne. I seemed to have his full focus. His engaging smile seemed to carry a full message of relaxed hospitality, and none of the threatening undercurrents I was scanning for. “You have an interesting way of delivering an invitation, Mr. Barnes”
He raised a hand. “Wayne.”
“’Wayne’ it is. You must have an interesting social life.”
“I do. Do you find it offensive?”
I looked over the bow, past the deepening blue crystal water to the reddening horizon. I felt the soothing caress of the slightly salted ocean breeze. I took one more sip of the most perfectly balanced planters punch of a lifetime, and looked back at Wayne. “Not in the slightest. Yet.”
“Ah yes, ‘yet’.”
“Right. I’m sure this won’t impress you, Wayne, and it’s not a complaint, but I’ve had a week full of enough tragedy to fill a lifetime. Hence the ‘yet’.”
His smile and focused attention remained. “I know more about your week, perhaps, than even you do. But go on.”
The second planter’s punch was having a definitely mollifying effect. “I have no idea what you mean by that last statement, Wayne, so I’ll just pass on. Given that week, and the abrupt transport from hell on earth to . . . paradise on earth, I’d have to be Mrs. Shane’s backward child not to listen for a second shoe to drop.”
The smile expanded. Still no alarms. “Or perhaps you’ve come into a sea-change of good luck, Michael. Why not go with that?”
“Why not indeed? For the moment. Just one question. ”
“Alright. One question. For now. Make it a good one.”
“Oh it is. It’s a beaut. Ecstatic as I am with all this, why the hell am I here?”
That brought a bursting laugh. “I think I’m going to enjoy having you around for a couple of days, Michael. You have an instinct for the jugular. No chipping around the edges. We won’t waste each other’s time.”
“Thank you. But that’s not an answer.”
“No it isn’t.” He looked out to the diminishing sunset. “The only answer I can give you at the moment that would do justice to the question is this. And you’ll just have to live with it for now. You’re here for a quick but depthful education. I think you’ll find it well worth two days of your life. Are you in?”
“Do I have a choice?”
We both looked back at the rapidly diminishing shore-line behind us. “None that comes to mind. Now are you in?”
That brought a smile from me, another healthy sip of the planter’s punch, and a deep breath of the ocean-fresh breeze. “I’m in.”
We chatted through the sunset on far-ranging subjects that had no association whatever with Monkeys Paws, Maroons, murder-suicides – in fact nothing that gave a clue as to why my gracious host had chosen my company over the undoubtedly vast range of his acquaintances. By then, the moon had risen.
At some point, I was aware that the engines had stopped. The splash of two anchors could be heard on either side. The sun had set. The shift from twilight to a darkness, penetrated only by a quarter moon went unnoticed.
I was slowly sipping away at my third or possibly fourth Planter’s Punch, when I became aware of a bobbing light approaching from the port side. Without interrupting the flow of conversation, I noticed that Wayne was following its approach with more than the occasional glance until it reached the side of the yacht.
Within a few minutes, my original guide, still in suit and tie, approached Wayne’s side with an inaudible whisper. I sensed that a bit of steel crept into Wayne’s otherwise conversational tone. “I’ll see him.”
I began to get up to provide privacy. Wayne held my arm in position. “Stay, Michael. Let your education begin.” My guide nodded to someone behind us and lit his path with a small flashlight.
I settled back, as a fiftyish man with narrow, cautious eyes and thinning grey hair that might have last been combed by his mother came up along Wayne’s right side. The loose wrinkles in his ageless cotton suit indicated that he might have been close to six feet, but for a constant stoop as if to pass under an unseen beam. The stoop caused his head to bob and gave him the look of one asking for royal permission to approach.
Wayne’s eyes turned to him. I noticed the stoop of the back became more noticeable. Wayne’s voice was calm and soft, but it commanded his visitor’s full attention. “Do you have it? I assume you wouldn’t be here without it, yes, Yusuf?”
The thin mouth cracked into a smile that conveyed no humor. “Of course. Of course. But perhaps our business . . .”
Wayne nodded toward me. “No fear. Mr. Shayne is here for an education. We shouldn’t deprive him of that, should we?”
The smile on the man’s lips did not match the apprehension in the tiny eyes, but he nodded. “As you say.”
“Then what are you waiting for?”
The man gave a slight glance to either side as if it were the habit of a lifetime. He reached into some deep pocket inside his suitcoat. I noticed a slight but tell-tale hesitation before he slipped out what appeared to be a hard, flat, roundish object, about seven inches across. It was wrapped in several layers of ragged cloth.
He held it until Wayne extended a hand and took it onto his lap. He laid it on the small tray on his stomach. He looked back at the man, who simply forced a smile .
“I assume it all went well?”
“Oh yes, Mr. Barnes. No problems,”
Wayne smiled back. “How I do love to hear those words.”
My eyes were glued to Wayne’s hands as he carefully peeled back one layer of cloth after another. When he turned over the last layer, the object in the shape of a disc sent out instant glints of reflections of the rising moonlight.
I could see Wayne running the tips of his fingers over the entire jagged surface of the disc. He took a flip cigarette lighter out of his pocket, opened it, and lit the flame. When he held it close to the object, I could make out the resemblance of a human face, coarsely pieced together from chips of green stone.
Wayne held it up toward me and ran the flame in front of it.
“Do you recognize it Michael?”
“I’m afraid not.”
He nodded. “Most wouldn’t. Your friend, Professor Holmes, would spot it immediately. The Mayans made death masks to protect their important rulers in their journey to the afterlife. They go back to around 700 A.D.”
“What stones are these? They look like jade.”
“Good spotting. The eyes were made of rare seashells.”
“And I assume valuable?”
He laughed again. “Right to the crux of the issue. Right, Michael.”
He turned the object over and ran his fingers over the back side of it. “One that apparently goes back as far as this, and belonged to the ruler we have in mind, the right collector will pay half a million. Isn’t that right, Yusuf?”
Yusuf’s grin was beginning to become genuine. “Oh yes. Oh yes. And more, as you would know, Mr. Barnes.”
Wayne swung his legs over the deck-lounge toward me. He sat up and very carefully replaced the wrapping that had covered the mask. He stood up and walked toward the man. “And the key to its value is that it is absolutely authentic.”
Wayne looked down at the grinning eyes of Yusuf for several seconds. I think I let out a yell that came from the pit of my stomach when Wayne hurled the wrapped object over side of the yacht, into the pitch blackness that absorbed it with barely a splash.
I thought that the man would crumble to the deck. He barely held his balance. In the blackness of the night, I couldn’t make out his features, but I know to a certainty that every drop of blood left his face.
Wayne called a uniformed attendant.
Before the man moved, Wayne took hold of his arm. I was almost as frozen to the spot as the man. I think we were both certain that he would be following the object into the blackness below.
Wayne held him close enough to speak directly into his ear, but spoke loudly enough, I’m sure, so that I could hear.
“It’s a fake, Yusuf. I’m sure you know that. But you’ll live to do me a service. You’re a delivery boy. Nothing more. I want you to take a message back to Istanbul. I want you to say just this. ‘You had my trust. I give it sparingly, and not twice. Rest assured, we’ll speak of this again.’ Do you have that Yusuf?”
The man had all he could do to nod.
Wayne signaled his attendant. “Take him back.”
The man was escorted, practically carried toward the back of the vessel. In a few minutes, I could see running lights heading away from the yacht.
Wayne sat back down. “What do you think, Michael? One more Planter’s Punch before dinner?”
I could only smile at the abrupt change of tone and subject.
“No? Then shall we go in to dinner. The chef should be prepared by now.”
When he stood up, I saw that he took something from under his deck-lounge. My mouth sprung open when a glint of light from an opening door of the yacht cabin lit up the death mask. I could see amusement in the smile of my host.
“What on earth did you throw overboard?”
“Oh that. I substituted my lap tray in the wrapping for the desk mask. I’ll keep the mask.”
“But if it’s a fake.”
“It is, but a fake by a well-respected forger of these antiquities. It has enough value for that reason alone to pay the expenses I’ve already incurred in acquiring it. Shall we go to dinner?”
***
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Author Bio
Following graduation from Boston Latin School and Harvard College with a major in Latin and Linguistics, three years on active duty as fighter intercept director in the United States Air Force, graduation from Boston College Law School, three years of practice in civil and criminal trial work, and graduation from Harvard Law School with a Master of Laws degree, I began a career as a Professor of Law at Villanova Law School. Twenty-five years ago I began writing mystery/thriller fiction. I have so far had twenty-five short stories published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery magazine, and six mystery thriller novels, the Michael Knight/Lex Devlin series, published by Oceanview Publishing. The second novel, Frame Up, was selected as Foreword Review’s Book of the Year.
