Russell Palmer, a young New York City attorney, is well-known for taking on unusual and high-risk cases alongside his private detective associate, Robbie Whyte. When the wealthy and alluring Christina Franco approaches him to represent her during divorce proceedings, he finds her story impossible to resist.
As Christina recounts the abuse she has suffered, Palmer’s protective instincts kick in. His interest deepens when she mentions a dangerous associate of her husband—someone Palmer has clashed with before.
Soon, a series of events begins to unfold that may or may not be related to Christina and her influential family. There is the apparent suicide of a prominent lawyer. That is followed by a murder for which another of Palmer’s clients is charged. Then, a federal investigation into a major pharmaceutical company is tied to Christina’s husband.
As Palmer and Whyte work to solve an increasingly complex puzzle, they follow a trail that leads them from New York’s underground to the rarified world of the ultra-rich—and even into the halls of Congress. Along the way they encounter a cast of intriguing individuals, including Christina’s parents—an influential politician and his reclusive wife; an attractive journalist with a personal interest in Palmer; and a number of others populating their client’s world.
As they peel back layers of deceit and corruption at every turn, Palmer and Whyte must navigate a treacherous path to protect their clients—and themselves—while ensuring that justice, in all its forms, prevails.
ILLUSIONS OF TRUST by Jeffrey S. Stephens is a twisted and engrossing legal/political thriller featuring an unusual New York City attorney and his private detective partner. This novel moves between the rich and powerful of Manhattan and Washington D.C. to a connected criminal boss and disposable criminals. This is a standalone novel that was difficult to put down.
New York City attorney Russel Palmer believes in justice for all and is known for taking on unusual cases from all strata of society with or without the ability to pay. Palmer is idealistic, a brilliant lawyer, naïve in his relationships with women, and a germaphobe. His partner, private detective Robbie Whyte is a tough retired NYC detective and like a father figure to Palmer. Palmer’s private practice is rounded out with Maurine, his secretary/office manager who is the sometime needed conscience of the group.
Palmer rarely takes on divorce cases, but when wealthy and alluring Christina Franco shows up with a story of abuse and threat, Palmer takes her case against Whyte’s warnings. Palmer gets pulled into a web of seemingly unrelated government subpoenas, illegal corporate maneuverings, murder, and underworld ties he as digs into this seemingly straight forward divorce case. Palmer and Whyte dive into trying to bring all the information into order, but everyone in this case seems to be keeping secrets and the lies are flowing.
I found this book very compelling with memorable characters and an intricate criminal legal plot with twists and lies abounding from the ultra-rich of Manhattan, corporate manipulation and corruption, and the connected and disposable in the NY criminal underworld. Palmer and Whyte are wonderful protagonists individually and perfect together as a powerhouse team. This story is very investigative leaning, rather than courtroom legal drama which I really enjoyed. I would love to see this book become a series because I want more of these characters and was sorry when the book ended.
I highly recommend this engaging legal/political thriller!
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About the Author
A native New Yorker, now living in Connecticut, Jeffrey Stephens is the author of the Jordan Sandor thrillers, TARGETS OF DECEPTION, TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY, TARGETS OF REVENGE and ROGUE MISSION; the murder mystery CRIMES AND PASSION; the international treasure hunt FOOL’S ERRAND; the Nick Reagan espionage adventures THE HANDLER and ENEMIES AMONG US; and the first book in his new legal thriller series, ILLUSIONS OF TRUST.
She thought she and her loved ones would be safe here. The lovely farm nestled in the heart of West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle looks like the perfect refuge from the backstabbing maelstrom of DC politics. But this seemingly peaceful new home is anything but safe for former FBI director Rivers and her children.
Troubles begin when Irene’s 12-year-old nephew finds a dead body in a cave on the property. Grim evidence points to a long-ago murder and cover-up. Powerful forces will do anything—including kill again—to protect their interests. Soon Irene’s family is the target of the kinds of threats and intimidation she’s seen before from major crime syndicates . . . but this time, the enemy determined to tear them down is homegrown.
Then comes the attack she most fears. With everything she cares about at risk and an impossible deadline looming, Irene knows she won’t get any help from the local police force. And she’s burned too many bridges in Washington to get help from the FBI. This time, Irene Rivers is on her own.
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Elise’s Thoughts
Burned Bridges by John Gilstrap is a riveting mystery. This series is a spin off from the Jonathan Graves series where the featured character, Irene Rivers, is moving on from her position as FBI Director. No matter what genre Gilstrap writes, whether a thriller or mystery, his stories are always gripping, intense, and action filled.
The plot shows how “you can take the job out of the woman, but you cannot take the no-nonsense attitude from Irene.” This becomes clearer as the story unfolds. She must combat a range of villains including corrupt officials and lawbreakers. They are greedy, powerful, like to intimidate, blackmail, and think nothing of resorting to violence.
The first couple of chapters explain that Irene took down a corrupt President and left the FBI. But now Irene Rivers is looking for a quiet life. She has moved to West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle in Jenkins County with her teenage daughter Kelly and 12-year-old nephew Wyatt. She thought they would be safe on her grandparents’ farm she had inherited. Irene’s trying for a fresh start, raising Kelly and Wyatt after both his parents died. She is hoping to improve her relationship with the children she is raising.
But her desire for a peaceful and quiet existence is shattered when Wyatt finds a dead body in a cave on the property. Grim evidence points to a long-ago murder and cover-up. Soon Irene’s family is the target of threats and intimidation she’s seen before from major crime syndicates.
In addition, she has become a private investigator and her first case lands her on the wrong side of a powerful family that seems to control the town. A teenage boy is in prison for a possible crime he didn’t commit. The evidence looks overwhelming, but Irene finds a lot of things that don’t add up. She must combat a sheriff who looks the other way, and a local kingpin whose legacy drips violence. Unfortunately, she’s burned every political bridge behind her so there will be no help she can seek and must solve both crimes on her own while protecting her family.
This novel is packed with nail-biting suspense, riveting drama, and blazing intrigue. The complex plot has good guys readers root for and bad buys they will hope to get their just do. This is a strong start to this new series.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: Why the Irene series?
John Gilstrap: I thought Irene deserved her own series. She has been in seventeen of the Jonathan Graves books. Irene is a cool character, and she was in my second book, At All Costs, that came out in 1998 as an FBI field agent. Ten years later I needed an FBI Director and decided to have Irene take that position. She now has her own book, and I do not think I will do any crossovers because Jonathan will be the hero of his books and Irene is the hero of her books.
EC: Yet Venice was in this book. Why?
JG: I needed her level of expertise for that plot point. Plus, it links this series with the Graves series. I think going forward the character Billy Stubblefield will take over the tech position in future books, but he is not near her level.
EC: In Zero Sum the last book, Irene saves the US from a corrupt President. Please explain the role that played in this book.
JG: In the second chapter I described why Irene chose to leave the FBI. Eighteen months ago, she proved the President, Anthony Darmond, to be corrupt. Unfortunately, the polls in the US showed how the nation was split down the middle on whether she was a hero or a spawn of Satan. During the Impeachment hearings it showed Darmond to be involved with drug smuggling, human trafficking, and treason. It effects Irene and Jonathan in his books because Irene is not there to help him out. But in future books I will moving away from this plotline.
EC: Why move her from Washington D. C. to West Virginia?
JG: I moved to West Virginia and decided to set a series of stories here with Irene moving here with her younger daughter, and nephew. She leaves the FBI and goes to her family’s land in West Virginia.
EC: How did you get the idea for this first book in the series, Burned Bridges?
JG: I was walking with my dog and saw some caves. My dog was trying to go into one. I thought that Irene’s nephew, Wyatt, who was with his black lab, Ruger, finds a part of body stuffed in this cave for a long time. She decides to investigate who was this person. My dog gave me the idea.
EC: How would you describe Irene?
JG: Strong-willed, has a lot of backbone, a single mom in Washington D. C. that has now moved to West Viriginia. She is tough as nails, zero BS, very, very honest, and frustrated because she does not have the FBI perks she had as a director. Part of the fun of the series is watching Irene discover herself. She still seeks out justice, a knight of the round table.
EC: Where will Irene be going professionally?
JG: She will become acting sheriff and has a private investigating firm she started. I do not outline so I do not know if she will become the permanent sheriff. In general Irene does not trust politicians and sheriffs are inherently politicians while deputy sheriffs are career police. The way I see it playing out right now is that she is not a politician. The deputies who worked with the corrupt Sheriff Monroe will not have a future but the ones there for actual police work will have a future.
EC: Does Irene also hate reporters?
JG: I have this book quote, “Reporters are Jackals…they wait till their prey is weakest and then they pounce.” It is safe to say that she does not trust the media. Does anybody trust the media?
EC: How would you describe the children?
JG: Kelly is the youngest daughter who never lets Irene forget she put career and country over mothering. As a typical teenager she blames her mom for everything wrong in her life and blames her for not being around enough.
Wyatt, her nephew, lost his father, and now his mother, and currently lives with Irene. He is a loner who does not have friends or enemies. He has been through a lot.
EC: How would you describe the villain, Finn?
JG: He is a sociopath, psychopath, with a lot of rage. He is part of the Rutledge clan. They own pretty much everything in Jenkins County. They made sure the elected officials were in their back pocket so they could get away with pretty much anything they wanted. Irene as sheriff will be the honest one so they want to get rid of her. They did bring a lot of prosperity to the area, but they do not like competition.
EC: Next book?
JG: The next Graves book, titled, Scorched Earth, comes out in late February 2026. Jonathan was an off the book’s contractor for Irene. People are taking revenge on these contractors. Graves is also trying to prevent a terror plot trying to take out a group of young people. There is an influence of October 7th that triggered this idea. These books are of the global scale.
Regarding the next Irene book, I know if Irene’s children are involved in the plot, they must be in some form of jeopardy. Irene books will be more of the local scale. But since I do not have it written yet who knows.
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 SINS OF THE FATHER (A Detective Nathan Parker Novel Book #4) by James L’Etoile on this Partners In Crime Book Tour.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, an excerpt from the book, the author’s bio and social media, and a Kingsumo giveaway. Enjoy!
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Book Description
Detective Nathan Parker discovers an unidentified man tossed to his death from an airplane is connected to the emergence of a new criminal organization, Red Dawn, when a secretive Joint Terrorism Task Force appears in Phoenix. The leader of the Task Force coerces Parker to support their efforts or his ex-coyote friend, Billie Carson, could face federal charges for supporting a terrorist organization. With Billie’s freedom in jeopardy, Parker agrees and one-by-one, people associated with the Task Force are picked off. When a target close to Parker is attacked, and the Task Force leader vanishes, Parker seeks help from an unusual ally to expose Red Dawn’s mastermind. Familiar foes, lies, secrets, and a father’s sin converge in a deadly standoff.
Genre: Thriller; Police Procedural Published by: Level Best Books Publication Date: July 15, 2025 Number of Pages: 320 ISBN: 978-1-68512-992-7 Series:The Detective Nathan Parker Novels, Book 4
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My Book Review
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
SINS OF THE FATHER (A Detective Nathan Parker Novel Book #4) by James L’Etoile is an action-packed police procedural crime thriller and another great addition to this series. The series follows Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Detective Nathan Parker, his co-workers, family, and friends as they deal with immigrants, cartels, gangs and drugs on both sides of the border. While each book has a main crime plot which is unique to that book, I feel the books should be read in order for character continuity and because of some carryover antagonists from prior books.
A new criminal organization, Red Dawn, is attacking the cartels over the border and has moved to killing FBI Terrorism Task Force members and innocents in Nathan’s jurisdiction. Nathan gets pulled into the investigation by the Task Force’s leader by applying legal pressure on his friend, Billie. While every clue in this investigation leads to Red Dawn, it also has Nathan believing it ties to his past with Esteban Castaneda, the vicious leader of the Los Muertos gang, but he is in solitaire in the Federal Colorado Supermax.
With several dead bodies and one of his own shot and fighting for his life, Nathan and his team are finding more questions than answers. With an unrelenting pace, danger all around them, and twists that continually change the direction of the investigation, Nathan and his team must discover the truth before any more people die.
I always look forward to a new Nathan Parker crime thriller. Nathan, his friends, coworkers, and adopted family are all fully developed and interesting. The information the reader receives through the character of Billie is informative and thought-provoking as she just wants to help people no matter who they are or their legal status. The locations on both sides of the border are all brought to life with Mr. L’Etoile’s descriptive and well researched writing. The crime plots could come right out of the current news cycles and have many layers, twists, and surprises that keep the reader turning the pages. I never quite get the entire picture before the resolution, which I enjoy.
I highly recommend this gripping crime thriller and cannot wait for more!
***
Excerpt
Chapter One
Death to a ten-year-old is a pause in a video game. It’s temporary. A momentary setback until you’re back into the game again. At their age, the boys of Boy Scout Troop 116 thought they were immortal. Or they did until they got their first glimpse of human remains.
Ken Dryden stood on the brakes, sending the fifteen-passenger van into a skid on the hard-packed desert road. A flock of eight turkey vultures pecked and tore hunks of flesh from their prey. The enormous birds didn’t budge at the approach of the speeding white passenger van. Only one bothered to look up with a flap of meat hanging from its curved beak.
The birds ignored a loud burst from the van’s horn. Dryden unbuckled and turned to the eight boys in the back. “Stay here.”
Dryden and the assistant scoutmaster, Bill Cope stepped from the van and approached the circle of birds.
“Must’ve found themselves a coyote or something,” Cope said. “Why you insist we take this road? It’s in the middle of—”
“This can’t be…” Dryden trailed off and crept toward the flock of scavengers.
“Whatever they found, they sure don’t want to give it up,” Dryden said as he waved his arms trying to chase the birds off the road.”
“Don’t blame them. Pickings are probably a bit thin out here.”
From behind, a high-pitched voice called out. “Oh, cool. What did they kill?”
Dryden turned and three ten-year-old boys stood a few feet away gawking at the feeding frenzy on the hardscrabble dirt road.
“I told you guys to wait in the van.”
“What did they find?” The tallest boy asked.
“Probably a coyote or something run over on the road, Chase.”
“There’s no tracks in the dirt but ours,” Chase said.
The birds fought and squawked at one another, tearing bits of flesh out from the beaks of weaker birds in the flock. Wings flared and cupped over the remains, claiming them.
“Mr. Dryden? What’s that?” Chase asked.
“What?”
“That,” the boy said with a trembling finger, pointing toward the largest vulture with a torn hunk of flesh hanging from its red beak.
Dryden followed the boy’s line of sight and under the bird’s talons were the remains. He felt sick when he saw it. A brown work boot. Coyotes didn’t wear boots.
“Oh my God.”
“Is it a dead person? Chase said.
“Back to the van boys,” Cope said.
“But—”
“Now!” Dryden barked the order, and the three scouts scurried back to the van.
“Why did you take us on this back road to begin with? What do we do now?” Cope asked Dryden. The two adult supervisors of this scout troop stood at the desert crossroads.
Cope pulled out his cell phone. “No signal out here. We need to call 911.”
Dryden looked back to the van and all eight boys pressed up against the windows gawking at the human remains as the carrion birds devoured their treasure.
“We gotta get them outta here,” Dryden said.
He charged the birds, and most of them backed away. Dryden got a good look at what lay in the desert crossroads—a man, twisted, mangled, and broken. Huge swaths of flesh torn away by the feeding birds. Dryden’s shoulders drooped at the sight—a dead man left in the crossroads.
“I’ll try and keep them away. Drive the boys back out to Quartzite. Call 911. I’ll wait.”
“You wanna stay out here? In this heat?” Cope said.
“It’s early, the heat won’t top out for a couple of hours. I’ll take my pack and all the water we can spare. I’ll be fine. There’s a little shade over there under that Palo Verde.”
Tall, dry creosote brush and a few taller gangly green Palo Verde trees and Saguaro cactus lined the crossroads
“You sure? It’s not like you can help that guy?”
“Whoever he is, he doesn’t deserve to get eaten by these feathered desert rats either. How would you feel if it was someone you knew?”
Dryden retrieved his day pack and two canteens from the van.
“Guys, Mr. Cope is going to take you out. He’ll stop in Quartzite for a pee break.”
“I’ll stay with you, Mr. Dryden,” Chase said.
“Everyone’s going with Mr. Cope.”
A sigh of disappointment filled the back of the van. Dryden knew Chase’s mother was going to meltdown over her precious offspring’s exposure to the dark fringes of life. He figured the Scottsdale socialite would spirit her son away to a resort in Sedona for a crystal bath and chakra realignment.
Dryden hefted his pack and slung the canteens over his shoulder while the van cut a three-point turn and returned in the direction they came.
Once the dust and engine noise died down, all that remained was the breeze cutting through the dried brush and the cackling of the vultures fighting over their prize.
Setting his pack down, Dryden broke off a creosote branch and swung it in front of him forcing the birds away from the remains. Reluctantly, the birds gave up and hopped to the other side of the crossroads.
Dryden closed in on the dead man and grimaced at the mess the vultures made. Unrecognizable. Legs twisted and folded under the body, with a boot sticking out at an impossible angle. No way Chase would earn his first aid merit badge here.
The arms were flayed out over his broken head.
“Oh God.”
Dryden noted the wrists bound with zip ties. This wasn’t a lost hiker. This was a murder victim.
He snatched his cell phone and tried calling Cope to warn him, but the screen reminded him there was no cell signal out here. He shot a series of photos of the dead man, figuring the police would want to see what they found before the vultures could finish it off.
Dryden backed off into the shade and moved out when the vultures grew brave enough to advance. Back and forth for an hour until Dryden spotted a dust trail.
It was too soon for Cope to have summoned help. Quartzite was more than an hour away and the authorities would need time to respond after Cope called them. And this dust plume was coming from the other direction and building fast.
A dead man. Murdered. Alone in the desert. Only a twinge of relief. It wasn’t someone he knew. He knew what that kind of loss felt like and felt guilty about feeling thankful. The dust plume was coming in fast and there was the faint whine of an ATV engine—high pitched and loud.
Dryden snatched his pack and blended into the brush along a game trail, hoping he didn’t encounter an unfriendly javelina. Fifty feet from the road, he hunched down as a green ATV tore into the crossroads and skidded to a stop a few feet away from the body.
Two men stepped from the six-wheel ATV, and one used a bulky satellite phone. After a quick call, the two men donned gloves and picked up the remains, tossing them into the rear cargo compartment of the ATV. They weren’t gentle about it—they were hurried. They needed several trips to gather the bits and pieces.
Once they finished loading the dead man, they sped off in the direction they came from.
Dryden waited until the dust plume died down before he stepped out from his hiding place. He approached the spot in the center of the crossroads where the body had been. There was little to prove a life ended there. The red dirt was marked by a dark circle—what Dryden believed was blood. A single human finger was left behind by the men on the ATV.
A second trail of dust appeared on the horizon in the direction Cope and the boys used on their way out.
Dryden sank back into the brush again until the Black and Yellow Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office SUV pulled to a stop near the intersection.
He couldn’t stop thinking about the finger. Had they left the finger by mistake, or was it a message?
***
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, Served Cold, and Sins of the Father are his most recent novels. Look for Illusion of Truth coming soon.
A woman and her young son flee to a convent on a remote island off the Breton coast of France. Generations of seafarers have named the place Ile de la Brume, or Fog Island. In a chapel high on a cliff, a tragic death occurs, and a terrified child vanishes into the mist.
The child’s godmother, Maggie O’Shea, haunted by the violent deaths of her husband and best friend, has withdrawn from her life as a classical pianist. But then a recording of unforgettable music and a grainy photograph surface, connecting her missing godson to a long-lost first love.
The photograph will draw Maggie inexorably into a collision course with criminal forces, decades-old secrets, stolen art and musical artifacts, and deadly terrorists. Her search will take her to the Festival de Musique, Aix-en-Provence, France, where she discovers answers to her husband’s death, an unexpected love—and a musical masterpiece lost for centuries.
THE LOST CONCERTO (A Maggie O’Shea Mystery Book #1) by Helaine Mario is an exciting, fast moving, intricately plotted mystery/thriller that had me completely engrossed and guessing throughout. I am very glad this is a series, so I am able to follow these characters on future adventures.
Concert pianist Maggie O’Shea was devastated by the death of her best friend and the disappearance of her friend’s young son who is her godson. When her investigative journalist husband goes overseas to look into the murder and disappearance, he is killed in a boating accident. Now withdrawn, unable to play and find solace in her music, she hides away in her music shop.
When a CIA officer drops off an envelope with a recording of a piano concerto and a grainy picture, Maggie and the military officer sent to protect her are drawn into an international mystery and investigation into terrorism, politics, and a historic original music score. Will she find her find her missing godson before an international assassin kills them all?
This is one of those books that are impossible to put down. Maggie is depressed and has suffered so much loss in such a short time and yet she is determined to find her godson. The journey all over the beautifully described European sites made me feel like I was there with Maggie. The classical music content added a special interest for me throughout the story besides just being a fast-paced chase thriller. The mystery/thriller plot was intricately plotted with many red herrings and twists that continually surprised me even knowing that you just cannot always trust your belief in who is a good man and who is an evil man without knowing their pasts and reasons for what they believe in. The good and bad were all fully developed. The romance elements in this story were quite romantic with two broken people finding each other with no sex involved.
I highly recommend this well written, exciting mystery/thriller!
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About the Author
Best-selling author Helaine Mario grew up in NYC and is a graduate of Boston University. Now living in Arlington, VA, this mother of two, grandmother of five, and passionate advocate for women’s and children’s issues came to writing later in life. Her first novel, The Lost Concerto, won the Benjamin Franklin Award Silver Medal. Echoes on the Wind is her fifth novel and the fourth in her Maggie O’Shea Classical Music Suspense Series. Royalties from her books go to children’s music and reading programs. Helaine recently lost her husband, Ron, after 57 years together. Her new book echoes with loss, grief and, ultimately, the healing power of love.
A personal note to my readers,
There is a lovely quote that says, “Happiness is finding the first good book in a series, and knowing there are more to follow.”
If you want to learn my pianist Maggie O’Shea’s story from the beginning, then begin with THE LOST CONCERTO. DARK RHAPSODY and SHADOW MUSIC follow. ECHOES ON THE WIND, newly available summer 2024, is #4 in my award-winning Classical Music Suspense series. Each story comes from my heart.
My only stand alone is FIREBIRD, a novel of espionage, art, dance and enduring love.
In all of my books, the emotional heartbeat is a strong woman. It’s been said that my books are like music. They take you on a journey, they tell a story, they make you feel something. More than anything, I want my readers to fall into the story, to care about the characters. I want them to ask, What would I have done? While there are too many moments in life that we cannot change or control, I know that it’s how we deal with what happens to us that matters. This always will be a theme in my novels.
I like to say that ‘Music tells our stories.” I want to be a storyteller forever. Beyond grateful.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE ORGAN BROKER by Deven Greene 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. Good luck on the giveaway and enjoy!
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Book Description
A devoted wife and mother faces the unimaginable as her life crumbles.
Crystal Rigler seems to have a perfect marriage. Derek, her handsome and charismatic husband, and their adult daughter, Cordelia, are her whole world. In addition to her already busy life, Crystal supports the volunteer organization she and Derek started: STOP (Stop Transplants of Organs from Prisoners).
STOP aims to end a new government policy of harvesting organs from executed prisoners. They learn that these organs are not distributed by the national transplant list, established to allocate organs fairly. Instead, a shadowy figure known as Broker Al pulls the strings. He expedites the execution of young and healthy prisoners and sells their organs at a high price to the rich and well-connected.
After Crystal learns a disturbing secret, events are set in motion that will potentially dismantle STOP, change her life, and cost her everything. Unless she is willing to do the unthinkable.
Genre: Psychological Suspense Published by: Panthera Publishing Publication Date: April 2025 Number of Pages: 321 ISBN: 9781964620060 (ISBN10: 1964620066)
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My Book Review
RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars
THE ORGAN BROKER by Deven Greene is a dark thriller which poses many ethical questions surrounding the morality of organ donation from death row prisoners. I have a feeling this is going to be one of those books that the readers either love or hate.
Crystal and Derek Rigler are a married couple with a grown daughter, Callie. They run the local office of a volunteer organization called STOP (Stop Transplants of Organs from Prisoners). Crystal does a lot of the work and writes all of Derek speeches, but Derek gets most of the attention due to his looks and magnetic personality. An investigative journalist, who helps with STOP, gets insider information about corruption in the distribution of the transplant organs from prisoners facilitated by a shadowy figure called Broker Al.
When Callie comes home from college ill and needs a liver transplant, this sets into motion very personal decisions and moral dilemmas that will change all their lives.
The questions are intriguing and made me interested in reading this book and I was not surprised by the morally bankrupt, money hungry evil antagonists but what I was not expecting was the main characters to be unlikable, also. Derek is a narcissist, and I did not like him from the start, so I was hoping Crystal would be a strong female character to balance his character out, but no, while not evil, I had difficulty with many of her decisions. Usually, this would put me off the book, but the author writes them into so many thought-provoking situations that I could not put it down. I do think the story has too much devoted to their marriage and its problems in the beginning of the book that could have been edited out.
The moral questions surrounding who gets donated organs and in what order have always interested me. You hear about corruption, but supposedly the system is set up for it not to happen, but this author takes you down the rabbit hole of “what if?” There are plenty of plot twists and surprises that do lead to a satisfactory ending even with the slower start.
I recommend this dark thriller for its ability to keep me engrossed with its intriguing concept.
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Excerpt
Chapter 1
The East Texas sun was hotter than usual for September, the few clouds high above providing no relief. A half-hour earlier, overcome by heat and exhaustion, Crystal had let her sign reading “Save Kwami” slip to the ground. Standing near the front of the crowd, Crystal pushed up the visor on her baseball cap to get a better look at her surroundings. She was pleased with the impressive turnout which she estimated to be close to one thousand people. It was the largest they’d ever had. Most of the other protestors continue to hold their placards high, displaying myriad slogans such as “Justice for Kwami,” “Let Kwami Live,” “Impeach Gov. Percy,” and the most popular, “STOP.” She took a deep breath and lifted her sign again, fighting the pain in her fingers as she held it as high as she could.
The crowd of protestors was comprised of a cross-section of the community— young, old, couples, families, Black, White, Hispanic, and Asian. A colorful array of baseball caps, bucket hats, visors, straw hats, and cowboy hats protected most of the heads from the constant flood of the sun’s rays.
The makeshift podium and public address system were rudimentary, and there was the usual milling around often seen in large gatherings, but the audience, for the most part, was paying attention to the pudgy young man with a man bun speaking to them. At times, the crowd burst out in synchronous claps and hoots of approval. The assembly was peaceful, with only a few skirmishes breaking out at the edges where police stood watch.
Still thirsty after having finished her bottle of water, Crystal let her mind wander as the speaker droned on about the immorality of what was about to take place. Her clothes clung to her sweaty body, and despite wearing sunglasses with polarized lenses, the bright sun hurt her eyes. Looking down, she swatted away a bug that landed on her arm. Uncomfortable and impatient, she was eagerly awaiting the next speaker.
Finally, the man at the podium looked up and announced, “And now, the man you’ve all been waiting to hear, the leader of our organization, Mr. Derek Rigler.”
The mood of the crowd changed, and participants started chanting “STOP” in unison as they raised and lowered their signs. A tall, muscular man with tan skin and wavy blond hair, took to the stage next to the previous speaker and scanned the crowd with his magnetic blue eyes. Crystal looked up and smiled. His handsome, chiseled features gave him the look of a confident leader. Although he was nearly fifty years old, he looked at least ten years younger. He hasn’t lost the ability to attract attention whenever he enters a room.
Derek took his place on the podium and held out his arms as if to give a benediction. After almost a full minute of roaring applause, he raised and lowered his hands several times to quiet the crowd.
Crystal looked around, energized by the enthusiasm bubbling over. She noted more press vans set up around the perimeter than in the previous protest. Their organization, STOP, was gaining traction.
She wondered if Derek had picked her out of the crowd. If she were taller, he’d probably see her—she wasn’t far from the front—but she imagined her five-foot two-inch frame made her visage difficult to identify in the sea of people. From what she could glean, Derek hadn’t spotted her. After all, she was just another brunette under a baseball cap, surrounded by many others. Even so, Crystal smiled widely, wondering if anyone nearby recognized her. After all, she was notable as Derek’s wife and the mother of his child, Cordelia.
As Derek started his familiar diatribe against the Texas death penalty laws, Crystal tried to lock eyes with him, but his eyes never found her. Instead, he focused on members of the audience near and far, concentrating his gaze on one person for several seconds before moving on to the next pair of waiting eyes.
Crystal recognized the usual arguments against the event that was scheduled to take place momentarily—the uneven death penalty sentencing, the ugliness of exacting revenge, and the irreversibility of the punishment once meted out. The speech was powerful, and she agreed with everything Derek said. She could recite the words by heart, not only because she had heard them during Derek’s practice sessions, but because she had written them herself. Every time the crowd reacted with hollers and claps, she felt taller, each breath a bit more satisfying. She’d been to over six of these rallies in the past year, each protesting the execution of a prisoner found guilty of a crime deemed fitting for capital punishment.
The death penalty had never sat well with Crystal, but over the past two years, the practice had escalated, with four more executions scheduled over the next six months in Texas alone. Not only was the ultimate punishment meted out more often, but the evidence leading to convictions was frequently less convincing. She’d made up her mind to do something to stop the injustice and had established STOP almost a year earlier. A small, grass-roots collection of like-minded people, it was taking hold, thanks to her speech writing, community outreach, and organizational skills, bolstered by her husband’s charisma. He was the face of the organization.
Derek’s address was interrupted by a loud commotion as the officers stationed around the perimeter began to forcefully clear a path through the protestors to the entryway of the large building looming behind the speaker. Despite shouting and resistance from the crowd, with the most passionate demonstrators being handcuffed and dragged away, the police were able to open a wide berth.
“We are nearing the time,” Derek shouted above the commotion, “the time when our brother Kwami will be taken from us in an act that can only be described as state-sponsored murder. Let all those who have participated in this mockery of justice one day pay for their crimes, and let all those who directly benefit from this violent act realize the wrong they have participated in.”
A police transport moved through the clearing in the crowd as demonstrators chanted “Kwami, Kwami” in unison. Although the windows of the vehicle were covered, all knew who was inside—Kwami McKinney, sentenced to be executed that day. The van didn’t stop until it was a mere five feet from the door to the building. A massive construction of cement and glass six stories high, the structure dwarfed the trees and other buildings nearby. Derek was silent as he turned to watch the Black prisoner, his head shaved, exit the van’s side door.
Dressed in an orange jumpsuit accessorized with ankle and wrist shackles, Kwami was escorted by two armed guards, each holding onto one of his arms. Two more prison officers took up the rear. As the party of five walked towards the glass doors of the building, a Black woman around fifty years old ran towards them screaming. She was forcibly stopped by police, who grabbed onto her arms long before she could interfere.
Everyone there knew the woman was Sally McKinney, Kwami’s mother. She yelled and cried hysterically, flailing against those restraining her as her son was led through the automated doors that opened before him and the guards. They disappeared inside the structure as the glass doors shut.
People in the crowd yelled and cried, drowning out Ms. McKinney’s wails. Frustrated tears filled Crystal’s eyes; their protest had done nothing to dissuade the authorities from carrying out their sentence. She hadn’t expected the proceedings to be halted, but held onto a glimmer of hope until now, irrational as it was.
She looked to Derek for comfort, hoping they might finally lock gazes and convey their sadness to each other, but Crystal’s thoughts were interrupted by a female acquaintance. “Fantastic speech,” the woman said.
“I can’t disagree,” Crystal answered, buoyed momentarily by the woman’s words.
“You must be very proud, being his wife. He’s so handsome, and brilliant to boot. You two are the perfect couple. I’d sure like to be a fly on the wall at your dinner table to hear about all his great ideas.”
The words stung slightly, as Crystal chuckled politely. She was accustomed to being thought of as a mere appendage of her charismatic husband, but, she’d tried to convince herself that a successful protest, with Derek delivering a resounding speech, was all that was important. She didn’t need the admiration of others like he did. “Our dinners aren’t as interesting as you might think. Mostly, we talk about how we’re going to pay our bills.”
Members of the press, who until now had been scattered amongst the protestors while taking notes and silently recording videos, were now talking and interviewing people on camera. The crowd thinned, but Crystal didn’t want to leave. She’d have liked to remain until she knew Kwami had taken his last breath, but that moment was hours away.
She listened as a nearby male telecaster spoke into a camera. “Emotions are again high as another execution is about to take place. While many people feel that the crimes Kwami McKinney was convicted of, armed robbery and hostage-taking, justify the death sentence, some feel the punishment is too severe for the crimes the prisoner was convicted of. Still others believe he is innocent of the charges against him.”
The reporter turned to a middle-aged female bystander and asked, “What do you think of today’s events? Do you think justice is being carried out today?” After posing the question, he shoved the microphone close to the woman’s mouth.
“This is a travesty of justice,” she answered. “The real criminal was wearing a ski mask during the robbery, and escaped capture immediately following the crime. That was made clear during the trial. We also learned that Mr. McKinney was picked out in a lineup by two unreliable witnesses days later. There was a boatload of evidence that the so-called witnesses had drug charges against them dropped shortly after identifying Mr. McKinney. What kind of justice is that?”
The telecaster quickly turned to the camera and continued his reporting. “Despite the controversy, Kwami McKinney is still scheduled to be executed here and now at New Lake Hospital. While we are happy for the families of the six unnamed individuals who will be the recipients of much-needed organs, many are questioning the legality and morality of what is now becoming a common method of organ procurement. The objections are being led by the organization STOP, which stands for Stop Transplants of Organs from Prisoners.”
***
Author Bio
Deven Greene lives in Northern California, where she enjoys writing fiction, most of which involves science or medicine. She has degrees in biochemistry (PhD) and medicine (MD), and practiced pathology for over twenty years.
She has previously published the The Erica Rosen MD Trilogy (Unnatural, Unwitting, and Unforeseen), and Ties That Kill, as well as several short stories.
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.
