Sean Lynch (1)

This book is a combination of a lot of old standard themes: the "buddy" cops gone rogue, older cop mentor/green rookie & the evil FBI. There are lots of bullets flying, bleeding and/or dead bodies & vigilantism. So if you're a fan of B grade action movies that are heavy on violence but light on character development & realism, this is for you.
Kevin Kearns, our rookie, has been an Iowa Dep. sheriff for about 6 months & his career may already be over. He tried to stop a child abduction but it ended up with the bad guy escaping & the little girl murdered in horrific fashion. Now he's been detained by the FBI, his boss is using him as a scapegoat & the whole town seems to blame him.
Bob Farrell, a former San Francisco police inspector, is trying to enjoy retirement. Finally divorced (again) & with too much free time, he's bored. Reading the paper one day, he comes across the story of a child abduction/murder. And he recognizes the killer's MO.
20 years ago when Bob was an MP in Vietnam, he tried to court marshall an american marine with a penchant for raping women & children before hanging them upside down with slashed throats. But the brass was more concerned with bad PR & quietly tucked him away in a psych hospital. Bob has never forgotten Lance Corp. Vernon Slocum, a man completely devoid of humanity. Now it looks like he's out & reliving the good old days & Bob decides it's up to him to put the freak down permanently.
One road trip later & Bob meets up with Kevin, disguised as his lawyer. Kevin identifies Slocum from the documents Bob has kept all these years & hears the whole story. Bob has a proposition. He convinces Kevin his career is basically over & they are the only ones who can bring Slocum down. And so the carnage begins.

What follows is the story of these two tracing our psychopath across the country as he leaves a trail of bodies in his wake. Along the way, they punch out FBI agents, break nto government files, steal cars & guns, threaten & rob police officers & kill bad guys. In alternating chapters, we travel with Slocum & learn of his horrific childhood as he murders everyone in his path, blows up a meth lab & continues stringing up his rape victims.
Besides the violence, this book is full of cliches. You have the alcoholic, good ol' boy sheriff, the world weary cop who drinks/smokes too much & virtually every FBI agent is depicted as arrogant and incompetent. Scanlon, the agent in charge, is portrayed as vindictive & completely inept & some of his actions defy credibility (he assaults an innocent woman in her hospital bed? seriously? Real FBI agents must love books like this). I know it's a popular plot device for authors, the age old turf battle between local cops & the bureau but it's taken to extremes here. Also, despite our dynamic duo breaking about a kabillion laws & constantly endangering the public, apparently it's ok because they're the good guys.
The dialogue is simple & short on any real humour that would have added much needed comic relief. Many passages deal with extreme child abuse so brace yourself for graphic & disturbing descriptions. There are lots of holes in the plot that require readers to completely suspend their disbelief & ignore logic but I think you get the gist. The ending is never in doubt & there's a nice, tidy resolution.
So it all boils down to what you enjoy reading & what you're prepared to give up for the sake of action.… (mehr)

Thanks to Netgalley for introducing me to this author. Although the second book in the series and there were mentions to the first, this reader did not feel as though they had missed anything by not reading the previous novel. But I will admit that this reader will be reading that book in the not too distant future.

This book is a well written, well-paced, page turner of a book. The development of the characters is good and there is a touch of humour especially between Kearns and Farrell. However, there is the regrettable repeated mention of the police being under funded (apparently the author is a former cop) and constrained by the Law whereas these two investigators face no such restriction. There is even a bit of a useless love story which, I am sure, will receive more attention in subsequent novels.

There are twists a turns a plenty and the link between the killer and the female protagonist is interesting and not in the least contrived. For those of us who love murder mysteries this one had a dark edge to it. It shows that the police are not always innocent in their actions and although some guy be questionable their motives are good.

The motives of the killer are irrational yet all too real. But he is not quite prepared a) for the female protagonist or b) for the private investigators. The story is relentless; a real thrilling thrill ride. Cleverly the reason behind the attacks is well hidden and this reader did not manage to identify them before they were revealed.

This is a thrill of a read and a real page turner. This book is solid and entertaining. I stayed up until 4am just to find what happened next. The characters, as I have said, are well developed and intruding enough for this reader to read about them some more. This reader in particular will be seeking out more of this author.

Full Disclosure: I received a free copy from Netgalley for an honest review.… (mehr)