ODYSSEY'S END

4 stars out of 5

Private investigator Rick Cahill isn't having a great time of it, what with fighting what probably is a terminal brain disorder and missing the heck out of his wife Leah, who chose to get out of the line of fire that's all too common in his line of work and take their young daughter Krista (whom he misses even more) with her. His disease seems to be worsening a bit, with the accompanying rages of violence cropping up when he least needs them as he fights his urges to save humanity.

From out of nowhere, he gets a visit from an adversary who once inexplicably saved his life. Now, it seems, an aging Peter Stone has kidney failure and wants Rick to find his daughter in hopes that she can be a donor and save - or at least prolong - his life. Problem is, Stone, who opted out of the Witness Protection program to contact Rick, has no idea where the daughter is - and the daughter has no idea he's her father. Rick finds the job downright repugnant, at least until he learns that he'll be paid $50,000 for the job - money he can set aside for Krista's future.

Compounding the issue is that another deadly adversary, Russian mobster Sergei Volkov, is about to get out of prison much earlier than expected. Volkov has axes to grind with both Rick and Stone, albeit different ones; Stone's testimony helped seal Volkov's prison sentence, while his beef with Rick is more of a family matter. Either is quite capable of ending Rick's life at any given moment - either personally or by ordering their minions to do the job.

Rick really doesn't know who to trust - including the daughter - except for his loyal partner Moira, who agrees to help and plays a big role in the investigation that tries to get somewhere fast but for the most part gets bogged down in motel rooms and endless speculation. Alas, I can't be more specific without giving away too much, except to say that getting to the end isn't without serious complications for all the characters in this, the 10th installment of the series. As for me, I'll be waiting for the next one as usual - with these books, there's rarely a dull moment. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review this one.

Odyssey's End by Matt Coyle (Oceanview Publishing, November 2023); 321 pp.