SOUTH OF NOWHERE

5 stars out of 5

Remember that old Barbara Mandrell song, "I was Country when Country wasn't Cool?" Well, that sort of applies to this series, which began with The Never Game in 2018 - well before the smash hit TV show, "Tracker," which debuted on Oct. 13, 2024. I haven't missed a book - this is the fifth - nor an episode of the show, but just between you and me, the books are better.

The star of the show, Colter Shaw, spends most of his time doing work similar to that of a bounty hunter; when people need help finding other people and offer a financial reward, if the case sounds worthwhile, he'll take it on. Other times, as happens here, he plies his trade pro bono. Colter's sister, Dorion, makes her living as a disaster response specialist; when something goes horribly wrong, she comes in to direct cleanup of the mess. This time, a levee has collapsed in the tiny town of Hinowah in northern California, and she asks Colter to join her to help find a family whose car has been swept away in the rushing water with them still in it.

That's a tragic situation, but even more so is the real possibility that the rest of the levee will collapse, sending a torrent of water that could obliterate the town. Residents are being asked to evacuate and most do - the most notable exception being an elderly native Ohlone woman who refuses to budge. As the responders do their thing to shore up the levee and get residents out of harm's way, Colter learns that the collapse may not have been an accident. But if that's the case, who was behind the dastardly deed and what was the motive?

As if that weren't enough to deal with, writings from Colter's late survivalist father, Ashton, suggest a heretofore unknown family connection that could rock Colter, Dorion, his brother Russell and his mother Mary Dove right to the core - and bring the threat of physical danger. But here too, what's real and what isn't? And can Colter figure it all out in time?

I don't think it's a spoiler to say the star of the series lives to see another day, but the devil is in the details - and the book is full of them as well as plenty of action. Certainly it's another winner in my book, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to catch up with one of my favorite heroes. Well done!

South of Nowhere by Jeffery Deaver (G.P. Putnam's Sons, May 2025); 416 pp.