STONE COLD

5 stars out of 5


Starting a book by an author with whom I'm not familiar always makes me nervous. Will it make me eager to read another or want to toss it in the garbage? In this case, knowing I'd promised the author to write a review when I finished added another layer of distress; goodness knows, the last thing I want to do is hurt anyone's feelings. But I'm happy to say that within the first couple of chapters, my worries went out the window. Not only did I enjoy it thoroughly, I've found a new series that hit the ground running.

While she and partner Tony Francisco are trying to track down a particularly nasty serial killer in and around Eugene Falls, Florida, Detective Rebecca Watson gets called into court as a witness for the prosecution. A man convicted of murdering his girlfriend five years ago gets that original trial thrown out on a technicality and is granted a retrial. Watson's former partner was killed in an accident on his way to deliver evidence from the crime scene back then, and now the defense is determined to prove that the evidence was tainted by either the partner or Rebecca herself.

Early on, readers learn that Rebecca has a contentious relationship with her mother. And surprise: that same mother now has a relationship with the defendant, occupying a prominent seat behind him while Rebecca tries to focus on her testimony. Worse, mommy dearest may have provided fodder to the defense attorney that he can use to discredit her daughter.

As an aside, after years of reading books in the mystery/thriller genre, I've concluded that somewhere it must be written that female lead characters  must have lurid backgrounds; just once, I'd love to find one who had a relatively normal childhood like my own. My most "awful" memory, in fact, is the scent of cow manure wafting over the fields as I waited at the end of our farmhouse lane for the school bus to pick me up each morning. On the other hand, messy childhoods do make for more intrigue (not to mention plot twists), so I concede that if I were a fiction writer, I'd want my heroines to have endured something more soul-scarring than animal odors. To that end, Rebecca doesn't lack in that department; in addition to the aforementioned estranged mother, she's got a former husband who broke her heart plus years of dealing with far more psyche-damaging experiences - all of which jump to the forefront when she least wants them to.

It is the search for the serial killer, though, that occupies center stage throughout most of the book. Victims keep turning up with indications of particularly gruesome torture - but what fails to turn up is any connection among them. Rebecca is frustrated that the trial is making her miss out on some of the investigation, although her hunky partner, together with Jerry Carrubba of NCIS, seem to have that situation well in hand (amid a bit of levity provided by Rebecca's two "aunties" and her sweet dog). Finally, a link to the victims is unearthed, Rebecca's trial comes to an end (you really don't expect me to tell you how, do you)? From that point on, the case begins to pick up speed and, from the reader's perspective, edge-of-seat excitement. 

Clearly, this series is off to a great start. To the author, thank you - and please, sir, may I have some more?

Stone Cold by James Glass (The Wild Rose Press Inc., October 2018); 202 pp.

STONE COLD

4 stars out of 5

Depending on the source, this is either the 13th or 14th in the author's series featuring Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett, and I've read them all. As I've mentioned before, I started reading these books because of a special "connection" - Pickett is my family name. I've kept reading them, though, just because they're very good.

This one begins as Joe, who's officially still a game warden but unofficially assigned to handle special projects for the state governor, is given the task of finding out what's happening at a huge ranch in a remote area of the Black Hills. The owner, Wolfgang Templeton, is known as a philanthropist but also is powerful and mysterious. And, he's surrounded by dangerous men, not the least of whom is Joe's old friend Nate Romanowski, a falconer who's been living off the grid for quite some time. Meantime, Joe's daughter Sheridan, a resident assistant at the college she attends, is dealing with a potentially dangerous student, causing concern for Joe and his wife Marybeth. 

When he starts checking out Templeton and his property, Joe quickly learns the man literally owns everyone in the county - including local law enforcement and quite possibly old friend Nate as well. Has Nate crossed over to the dark side? Will Joe make it out of this wilderness alive once it becomes clear why he's really there? Can he get to his daughter before she becomes the victim of a sniper?

The way these questions are answered, in fact, are why I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5. Although everything moves along very quickly and it was hard to put the book down, parts of the plot - especially near the end - are more than a little contrived and hard to believe (an effort to set up the plot of the next installment, perhaps, or, as other reviewers have suggested, a rush to meet the publication deadline)? Still, it's a worthwhile read - just not the best of the lot. 

Stone Cold by C.J. Box (Putnam Adult, March 2014); 374 pp.