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.
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.”
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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.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for DOUBLE TAKEDOWN (Mike Stoneman Book #6) by Kevin G. Chapman on this Black Tide Book Tour.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, an about the author section, and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!
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Book Description
What if everything you thought you knew was wrong?
The glittering lights of Broadway are just a cover for the dark secrets hidden behind the curtains. NYPD homicide detectives Mike Stoneman and Jason Dickson are about to find out how many layers one story can have in their latest case. As they prepare to testify in a high-profile murder trial, they begin to question if they got it wrong. The Broadway director claims evidence was planted to frame him and that Mike and Jason developed tunnel vision. If they did, can they live with themselves, knowing that an innocent man might be convicted . . . and that someone else got away with the perfect crime?
With orders to stay away from the closed case, Mike and Jason are plagued by doubts and can’t let it go. When new evidence leads to even more questions, the detectives race to put the pieces together and uncover the whole truth. But their unauthorized investigation could lead to catastrophic collateral damage, could cost them their badges, and the director may still be guilty.
DOUBLE TAKEDOWN (Mike Stoneman Book #6) by Kevin G. Chapman is another complex, intricately plotted addition to this NYPD homicide detective crime thriller series. Det. Mike Stoneman is back with his partner, Det. Jason Dickson and a familiar cast of supporting characters. Even though this is the sixth book in the series, it can easily be read as a standalone, but all of them are worth reading.
Det. Mike Stones and his partner, Det. Jason Dickson are attending a charity ballet event at Lincoln Center with their wives when a man in the front of the theater dies. They are assigned to the investigation. It is a straightforward investigation, and the main suspect is now set to stand trial, but even after a year and a half, he is still maintaining his innocence.
As Mike and Jason begin trial prep with the D.A., the private investigator for the accused comes to Jason and tells him his client is innocent and being framed. Second thoughts and witness deaths send Mike and Jason looking back over their work and discovering false alibis, lies, drug abuse, and jealousy.
With one man who has claimed his innocence from the start, clues leading to deceit, and witnesses dying, will Mike and Jason be able to uncover the truth before a devious killer eliminates all proof leading to him?
I always enjoy returning to this group of characters. Mike, Jason and all the supporting characters are believable, and the crime plots are always intriguing as well as twisted. This story has two police investigations that may or may not be connected, and I was completely caught up in both. Mr. Chapman always gives me a page-turner that I am unable to put down.
I highly recommend this police procedural/crime thriller and the entire Mike Stoneman series!
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About the author
Winner of the 2023 CLUE Award GRAND PRIZE (best suspense/thriller for The Other Murder), also winner of the 2021 Kindle Book Award (for Lethal Voyage, Mike Stoneman Thriller #3), the 2022 CLUE AWARD (for Fatal Infraction, Mike Stoneman Thriller #4), the 2023 CLUE Award (for Dead Winner), and #1 Amazon Best-Selling author Kevin G. Chapman is, by day, a buttoned-down corporate labor & employment lawyer who works for a major US media company. He frequently speaks at Continuing Legal Education seminars, has taught legal writing to law students, and is the past chairperson of the Labor & Employment division of the global Association of Corporate Counsel. When the work day is done, however, Kevin lives a much more exciting fictional life of crime and romance as the author of the award-winning Mike Stoneman Thriller series (and other novels, short stories, and screenplays).
When not busy writing, he enjoys playing tournament poker and cheering on his beloved New York Mets. Kevin loves talking fiction with readers (especially book clubs), or talking law, politics, or baseball.
The Detective Delaney Pace series is a modern-day western thriller. She can be described as a vigilante with a badge. People should read all the books starting with Her Silent Bones, then Her Hidden Grave, Her Last Cry, with the latest, Her Forgotten Shadow. The character Delaney Pace is street tough, tenacious, intelligent, and steps up to the plate to become a mother to her two adopted daughters, Kateena and Carrie. As with all these books the crime thriller is based on the abuse of women and will keep readers on the edge of their seats. The plot is action packed, fast paced and a page turner.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the series?
Pamela Fagan Hutchins: I have a friend that is a former ice-road-truck driver who must drive in horrific weather. My editor wanted me to write a tough female detective. I live in Wyoming, which is where my friend also lives. I thought how I could match a homegrown Wyoming tough woman that developed some special skills by being an ice-road-trucker and changes a career to become a Sherriff deputy. I chose Wyoming because I was already writing other books with this setting and knew readers wanted more Wyoming books.
EC: What is an ice-road-trucker?
PFH: There are ice roads through Canada and the Dakotas where they are open a couple of months a year, in the very depths of winter. People use these roads to get across which would otherwise be water.
EC: Was there a common theme throughout the four books?
PFH: I like to think about the setting, the people, and the timeframe. I wanted to write books that included the modern West. What would uniquely happen there, something culturally appropriate. I also look for a new way to kill people and how to solve the murder. I think of books in threes. The first three books dealt with Delaney’s brother. The next three books will emphasize the impact on her regarding the loss of her mother.
EC: Do you think your books are modern Westerns?
PFH: For me, yes. The characters have a rugged individualism, embrace their neighbors, and never shrink away from hard work in the Rocky Mountain West. They are cowboy-like. The setting and the culture are western.
EC: Each of the books has abuse of women, please explain.
PFH: The way I approach the bad guys is to have them have a reason for the brutal way they treated women, and to make sure the crime was a balance between protecting sensibilities with a sense of fear. If Delaney was not a deputy, she would be a vigilante. The bad guys deserved what happened to them. I am not a fan of unlikeable protagonists and unreliable narratives. This is a western sensibility in that the good guys should retain their goodness, and the bad guys are bad.
EC: How would you describe Delaney?
PFH: She is inspired by my friend who has mechanical aptitude, mental toughness, ruggedness, and a soloist. She has knowledge of the area since she already grew up there. These help in her career as a deputy. Delaney is a risk-taker, calm in a crisis, direct, protective, prickly, has a sense of humor, sarcastic, stoic, defensive, and has a sense of justice. She is very outdoorsy.
EC: How has Delaney’s backstory affected her?
PFH: What drives her is being abandoned as a child after her mother left and her father was killed. This informs a lot of her life choices. She has the attitude no one else will have a chance to hurt me.
EC: How would you describe the two girls, Kateena versus Carrie?
PFH: Kateena is sassy, loyal, and proud of her Aunt Delaney. Carrie had to overcome abuse, has control issues, and is a “gamer.” She has become more of a live gamer, learning to drive the big rig. Carrie was originally a video gamer because it was an escape mechanism for her where she was able to control this imaginary world.
EC: What is the relationship between Delaney, Kateena, and Carrie?
PFH: Kateena has this blood bond with Delaney. She is almost the ulterior ego of Delaney. It is very easy for Delaney to relate what Kateena is going through. Delaney felt duty bound by honor and code to take in Kateena to make sure she was not deserted. Carrie helped Delaney grow her heart. Delaney has become a champion of girls and the wrongs done to young women. Kateena and Carrie are recognizing each other as sisters, taking care of one another but also having their disagreements. The girl’s relationship with Delaney is based on love, emotion, and fear of loss. They come together with this trauma bond.
EC: What about the relationship between Leo and Delaney?
PFH: He compliments Delaney in solving a crime because he is the computer expert. He is smitten and in love with Delaney. They are well suited for each other. Because Delaney is afraid of being abandoned again, she is afraid of committing. They can relate to each other because both have moral ambiguity. I want to make sure he is tough enough for her. Their relationship is like a ping pong game where she trusts him, then doesn’t; cares for him, but cannot show it; angry at him, but loves him; does not like his secrets but she has her own secrets. She never trusted anyone so that when something occurs, a bump in the road, she easily backs out. She is inconsistent toward him.
EC: Was the latest book a cliffhanger?
PFH: Yes. My editor talked me into this. There was a whole other paragraph, but I took it out. I wrote book 4 as if the series was not going to continue, but there will be a book 5.
EC: Next book?
PFH: The title is tied into the plotline. Carrie and Delaney have forged a bond over the big rig where they have something in common. Leo is going to do something very shocking at the end of this book. This book has a raging wildfire. Delaney and Carrie find a body where the fire swept through this house. It will be published in April.
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.
Small-town labels are hard to shake. Hometown hero. Fallen angel. Can anyone ever escape their past?
A murder victim dumped at the dead end of a lonely country road, face and hands obliterated by a shotgun blast, is not the way sheriff’s detective Nick Fourcade wants to start his week. His only lead takes him to the family of a hometown hero suddenly gone missing. Marc Mercier left his home for a weekend hunting trip and hasn’t been seen since.
Meanwhile, sheriff’s detective Annie Broussard begins her first day back on the job after suffering a brutal attack by taking on the case of B’Lynn Fontenot, a mother desperate to find her grown son, a recovering drug addict. Robbie Fontenot has been missing for eight days, but the local police have no interest in the case, telling B’Lynn that an adult has the right to disappear, and a missing addict is no big surprise. But B’Lynn swears her son was turning his life around. Sympathetic to a mother’s anguish, Annie agrees to help B’Lynn, knowing she’s about to start a turf war with the city police.
As Annie searches for Robbie Fontenot and Nick investigates the disappearance of Marc Mercier, it quickly becomes apparent that nothing is as it seems in the lives of either man. And it’s still not clear whether either—or neither—of them might be the unidentified murder victim. Old jealousies and fresh deceits, family loyalties gone wrong and love turned sour all lay a twisting trail that leads deep into the Louisiana swamp, endangering all who cross the path of a bad liar.
BAD LIAR (Broussard and Fourcade Book #3) by Tami Hoag is a fast-paced, dark, and intricately plotted crime thriller/police procedural featuring a married couple, both Sheriff’s Detectives in Partout Parish in the French Triangle of Louisiana. This crime thriller is easily read as a standalone crime thriller, but it is based in a small-town and all the characters continue to grow and evolve in their everyday lives.
Sheriff’s Detective Nick Fourcade is called to the scene of a dumped murder victim in the tall grass off a country road. Identification is going to take time because the victim’s face and hands have been obliterated by a shotgun blast. As he begins to look for leads, he discovers a returned hometown hero has gone missing. Are his victim and the missing man one and the same?
Sheriff’s Detective Annie Broussard is on her first day back on the job after recovering from a brutal attack. She takes on the case of a mother, B’Lynn Fontenot, desperate to find her adult son. She has gone through ten years of drug addiction, but she truly believes this time he had finally turned his life around. Annie is willing to fight the city police detective to take over the case.
As Nick and Annie investigate their cases, they soon discover that there is much more to the lives of the missing men as they wait to discover if either is the unidentified corpse in the morgue. The investigation leads to surprising twists and turns that will endanger Nick and Annie until the pieces of all the lies fall into place.
This is another example of the strength of Ms. Hoag’s ability to produce an atmospheric crime thriller full of compelling, complicated characters, good and bad, and a twisted plot that keeps you guessing until all the pieces have been discovered. Nick and Annie are fascinating as a couple, while also being the ying and yang of investigative styles. This book realistically portrays many types of drug addiction, domestic abuse, family loyalties, good and bad, jealousy, and murder. It took me on a roller coaster ride of emotions throughout and left me guessing to the end.
I highly recommend this compelling crime thriller/police procedural!
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About the Author
Tami Hoag is the #1 international bestselling author of more than thirty books published in more than thirty languages worldwide, including her latest thrillers–COLD COLD HEART and THE 9TH GIRL. Renowned for combining thrilling plots with character-driven suspense, Hoag first hit the New York Times Bestseller list with NIGHT SINS, and each of her books since has been a bestseller. She leads a double life in Palm Beach County, Florida where she is also known as a top competitive equestrian in the Olympic discipline of dressage. Other interests include the study of psychology, and mixed martial arts fighting. A woman of eclectic tastes, to say the least, Tami was recently asked to list seven things people may not know about about her: 1. I was once offered a job by a private investigator. 2. I have a license to carry concealed weapon, but never do. I took the course for research purposes. 3. My high school guidance counselor encouraged me to become an actress, but I thought that was too impractical (Of course, there’s nothing practical about being a writer, either, but at least I’m not obligated to look good on a daily basis.) 4. I used to sing at weddings. 5. While I have no intention of ever getting married again, I love watching Say Yes To The Dress 6. I have legitimate knockout power in my right hand, and I’m not afraid to use it. 7. When I’m stressed out, all tech devices around me go haywire. I’ve stopped watches, and fried hard drives. I once killed a television in a store display by merely touching it. I’m better off sticking to life’s simple pleasures–like books!
