First Line: It was an ideal gathering for murder.
Private investigator Owen McKenna is hired by millionaire hedge fund specialist Carston Kraytower to investigate the deaths of two of his colleagues who have died under inexplicable circumstances in the Lake Tahoe area. As McKenna begins to unravel the secrets Kraytower has worked so hard to hide, Kraytower's son is kidnapped. Now it's a race against time to save the teenager.
August just isn't August without a new Owen McKenna thriller, and Tahoe Hit, the eighteenth addition to this marvelous series, was just what I needed. I'm addicted to Todd Borg's intricate, fast-paced mysteries every bit as much as I'm addicted to the beautiful setting of Lake Tahoe and to his marvelous characters.
In Tahoe Hit, millionaire Carston Kraytower really kept me off-balance; I never knew which way that man was going to jump. When you've got a character like that, solving the mystery gives your little grey cells a workout. Even when McKenna starts uncovering secret after secret, it still took me some time to figure everything out-- and I still missed some of the twists. I like that.
But wait-- there's more! A fantastic Lake Tahoe setting? Check. A mystery that keeps you guessing? Check. A multi-faceted cast of characters that becomes just like family? Check. What else is there? It's the added extras that Todd Borg weaves into his narrative. Learning about a small town settled by Chinese immigrants who were brought over to build the railroad. Indian residential schools. The naturalist Aldo Leopold who believed we should leave blank spots on the map. Even a little philosophy that leads to the question "Is the life of a really bad man automatically more important than the life of a really good dog?"
Tahoe Hit-- and this entire series-- is the perfect blend of mystery, action, setting, and characterization. Tahoe Hit stands alone well, if you're worried about taking on a series with eighteen books, and I urge all of you to give it a try. Just don't be surprised if you find yourself looking for more. Owen and Spot are impossible to resist!
Tahoe Hit by Todd Borg
ISBN: 9781931296281
Thriller Press © 2020
Paperback, 352 pages
Private Investigator, #18 Owen McKenna mystery
Rating: A
Source: the author
Doncha just love it when there's a new release to an excellent series, Cathy? I know I do. And the sense of place in this one sounds terrific. Add to that the great ensemble cast, so to speak, and it's not surprising you enjoyed this so well. I do like it when authors can portray characters' faults without making all of them severely damaged, if that makes sense.
ReplyDeleteHaving stayed at Lake Tahoe for a few days a couple of years ago, I love it that I can really picture the scenes that Borg sets.
DeleteI think Borg does an excellent job of showing that people who have sometimes crippling "baggage" are still strong and a valuable member of society.
Well darn, another new to me author and series that I'm feeling compelled to investigate!
ReplyDeleteI think you'd enjoy it, Jenclair.
DeleteHave read the first five books in the series due to reading your reviews. Have the 6th book on my Kindle ready to read. They are fast reads and hold my interest. They made me interested in the Lake Tahoe area.
ReplyDeleteLake Tahoe is gorgeous, Lynn, although I don't think I'd want to spend the winter there!
DeleteI'm constantly amazed at the number of long-running detective series I've never heard of...another one for my list.
ReplyDeleteI certainly hope you give it a try, Sam. Borg's series is one that I've long thought to be worthy of a lot more attention.
DeleteI have to get a Kindle as the library is out of reach.
ReplyDeleteMine certainly comes in handy.
DeleteI have somehow not tried this series before - adding it to the list!
ReplyDeleteGood! :-)
DeleteInteresting issues here. I hope I agree with the writer.
ReplyDeleteAnd you ask quite an ethical dilemma: bad man vs. good dog? I'd pick the dog.
So would I. It was a little digression into anthropocentrism (humans being the primary focus on the planet) versus ecocentrism (all of nature-- which includes humans-- being the primary focus on the planet. I think we can all see where anthropocentrism has gotten us.
DeleteI mean, a dog that's loving and loyal vs. a serial killer, a bombmaker, a cruel landlord who evicts poor people, an exploiter, etc., Is that any question?
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree about anthropocentrism. It's an excuse to mistreat and abuse animals, to lock up chimpanzees in small cages, to enclose elephants in small pens, isolated from each other. And to kill beautiful animals doing what they were born to do in Africa and other continents.
Just read about a poor elephant kept for 25 years in a Buenos Aires zoo in a small enclosure, isolated from other Asian elephants, the only one.It was engaging in anxiety-showing behavior. Then a trip was made to bring it to a sanctuary in Brazil. This was in the NY Times Science section on Aug. 11.
No excuse to mistreat animals. They roamed the earth before humans evolved and then spread out onto their lands.
Yes, humans had to defend against predators and hunt for food. But Indigenous peoples in the U.S., for example, treat animals like they're sacred, thanking them when they've had to kill them for food or other necessities, necessities being the key word.
And you've left out some key elements-- plant and insect life-- of ecocentrism. We--every living thing on this planet-- are in this together, and humans ignore this at their peril.
DeleteYes, If course. And the biosphere is being destroyed in many places. When companies ravage forests in Borneo to make palm oil, they destroy the habitat of orangutans and many other animals, which probably impacts on the humans who live there.
ReplyDeleteAnd volumes have been written about damage to the Amazon rainforests which harm animals and humans and the entire ecosystem which impacts on the world.