Solus by Peter Bowen

First Line: Du Pré looked at the young doctor who was looking at a file on his computer screen.

When you're a good man with a family who needs a place to hide out from the bad guys, there's no place better than Toussaint, Montana, and no better man to help you than Métis Indian and former cattle inspector Gabriel Du Pré. Du Pré already has his plate full; he has an ailing granddaughter back home from college, a meddling medicine man, and an eagle hunter from Kazakhstan keeping him busy.

Hoyt Poe was a guard at a Kabul prison and witnessed his fellow soldiers abusing the inmates. His testimony is going to expose the military contractor responsible for the prison's brutal interrogation program. That military contractor wants Poe dead, and he'll do anything to achieve his goal. How long will it be before his mercenaries find Poe and his family hiding out in Toussaint?

I've loved this series since the first book, Coyote Wind, but I do know that it is not for everyone. The main character is a Métis Indian-- a tribe descended from Canadian Indians and French trappers that moved down into Montana. He and his extended family and all their friends there in Toussaint are not politically correct. They speak in a gentle sort of dialect that shows their French roots, and it's amazing how Bowen accomplishes this using little more than well-placed commas and a few missing prepositions. These people may not behave the way we more "civilized" people want them to, but they are good people, fiercely independent, and much more willing to stand up for their principles than most of the rest of us. When Du Pré and his friends are given the task of protecting Hoyt Poe and his family, they take it very seriously indeed.

Solus is more social commentary than mystery, although readers will wonder who survives and how as they turn the pages. If you do not like politically incorrect people and if you dislike good people who speak out against the present government, please don't bother to read this book. It will only raise your blood pressure.

Besides the stories and the humor, one of the things I love the most about this book-- and the entire series-- is the cast of characters. From fiddle-playing Gabriel to his fizzy pink wine-loving Madelaine to Bart's wife who is ex-FBI and a steel-spined force of nature called Pidgeon, each character is special. Even the ones you never get to meet like Hoyt's Granny Dulcie, who "found the good in people and made them live up to it."

Reading Bowen's novels reminds me of my childhood when I would sit behind an easy chair or underneath the kitchen table and listen to the old folks talk. These relatives in their seventies, eighties, and nineties knew the previous century, and they certainly knew how to tell a tale. Listening to them, I learned that you took care of your own, you helped other folks when they needed it, you stood on your own two feet, and you never started a fight-- but when one was forced upon you, you finished it. And since I come from a long line of farmers, it sounds normal to me when customers walk into the Toussaint saloon for a meal and a good time and ask, "Who are we eating tonight?"

Solus ("a man alone" in Latin) isn't just about Hoyt Poe, although he's certainly one of the loneliest people on the planet with so many bad guys after him. It's also about people like Gabriel Du Pré and his friends. As I said before, this may not be a book or a series for you, but if it does sound intriguing, please give it a try. For the right reader, Peter Bowen is a very special writer.

Solus by Peter Bowen

eISBN: 9781504050906

Open Road Integrated Media © 2018

eBook, 226 pages

Law Enforcement, #15 Gabriel Du Pré mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon.


 

On This Week in 2005...from the Eagles to Vampires

Occasionally I have to move the things around on the shelf above my head so I don't risk concussion. This time when I was shuffling items around, I actually took some of my old book journals down and started paging through them. At first I simply wondered where the volumes for the missing years had gone, but then I remembered seeing posts on other blogs about the books bloggers had been reading in years past. 

As I paged through the volume for 2005, I realized that this was what I was reading three years before I started my book blog... and that I might not be the only person interested in what I was reading eleven years ago. (Yikes! That's a lot of books and most of my marriage ago!)

So let's step into my Wayback Machine and take a look at the four books I read on this same week back in 2005. Am I reading the same authors and/or the same type of books now? Let's find out!

Now Available on Kindle!

One of the books I read was The Hotel South Dakota by Kathleen Taylor. This is the third book in one of my absolute favorite series, but I haven't mentioned it very often because it went out of print. You should've seen the smile on my face when I looked it up for this post. 

All six books in the series are available on Kindle for $2.99 each, and it looks as though they are coming out in paperback, too.

Torie Bauer is a waitress in a diner in small town Delphi, South Dakota. She's overweight, single, and not at all proud of an affair she had with a married man. 

Why do I love this series? The characters are so well drawn that you can take them right to your heart. The mysteries are solid, too. But what butters the bread of this series is Kathleen Taylor's humor. There is a scene in one book involving Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass that made me laugh so hard I cried. (And it permanently warped my memories of "The Lonely Bull." Go ahead. Google it. I did just so I could listen to the song!)

Do I still read the same sort of books today? You bet! I still love well-drawn characters and strong mysteries. As for the humor, my tagline once said, "I love laughter," and that has never changed.

Eleven years ago, I was just beginning another of my favorite series, Peter Bowen's Montana mysteries featuring a one-of-a-kind cattle brand inspector named Gabriel Du Pré. I've loved stories set in the West ever since I was a small child, and Bowen's tales of Montana, Du Pré, his family, and his friends are some of the best you'll ever come across.

Du Pré is a bit of a mongrel: French, Native American, English... and he has many grandchildren (who are raised with the common sense of past decades and not the sensibilities of today). He also helps the local police when they're in a bind, which is how he gets to solve so many mysteries. I won't even get into how well he plays the fiddle.

I've since caught up with these books, and I miss them. Bowen is a master at weaving the local history and music into his stories, and at writing Du Pré's dialogue so that it shows the musicality of the patois he speaks without making it incomprehensible. The stories are also bound together by humor and by the love a group of people have for each other.  I'm so glad I came across this series in 2005!

I liked choosing this week because it shows mystery series I was just beginning, and it also shows series that I'd been following for a while, like Janet Evanovich's Eleven on Top. I would imagine that most mystery readers have at least heard of Stephanie Plum the hapless bounty hunter who's unable to choose between two gorgeous males. 

I adored the first six to eight books of this series. I would always take a book outside on my breaks and lunches, and whenever I was reading a Stephanie Plum mystery, I would laugh so hard that the co-workers sitting at the picnic table with me would insist that I read aloud. So then there would be an entire table of people laughing as I read the latest adventures of Stephanie Plum.  (I still remember the looks on the faces of the passersby on the sidewalk!)

I have to admit that by book eleven, the series was limping-- at least for me. This is definitely a series that follows a specific formula, and if it's a formula that you love, I am sincerely happy for you. For me, the recipe definitely lost its sparkle, and I finally stopped reading the series around book sixteen or so. But those first six books? Magic!

The fourth book I read that week was Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian. Looking at the cover of the book reminds me that I belonged to a few book-of-the-month clubs back then, and this book was one of my book club selections.

I dove headfirst into Kostova's story and loved every bit of it. The history, the locations from Ivy League libraries to Istanbul to Budapest to Eastern Europe, the quest for more details of the life of Vlad the Impaler. I've always been fascinated with history and stories that tell about searches through dusty archives filled with long-forgotten documents, and The Historian kept me spellbound.

If it were a new book, would I read it now? You bet! Would I re-read it now? One thing you must keep in mind is that I am not a big fan of re-reading. So many books, so little time, and... I've had some very special books ruined for me by re-reading them. Books that fulfilled a very important function in my life at a very specific time. Re-reading them when I was no longer "clinging to a broken spar in the midst of a stormy sea" stripped all the magic from them. Do I think it's silly to re-read books? No. It just means that our brains are wired differently, that's all.


I don't know about you, but I found this little blast from the past to be fun. I remembered some things that I haven't thought of for a long time, and it brought back some good memories.

I just might have to do this again!


   

Bitter Creek by Peter Bowen

First Line: Du Pré's sleep dissolved; he heard bacon sizzling in a pan, he rolled to Madelaine and found her gone.

Madelaine's son, Chappie Plaquemines, hasn't had an easy transition from serving in Iraq. When his lieutenant comes to Montana to convince Chappie to accept a medal, he and Du Pré have to find him first. Once he's located, a trip to a sweat lodge is in order, and it's there that things become a little strange.

Otherworldly voices within the lodge begin talking of a place called Bitter Creek and of a band of Métis who were last seen trying to escape from General Black Jack Pershing's men in 1910. The men decide to look for Bitter Creek, which leads Du Pré to the last living survivor of the massacre. Led by the frail, ancient woman, Du Pré finds that he and the others are about to uncover some long-buried secrets that no one in the area wants brought to light. Chappie, Patchen and Du Pré know what they're getting into, but they also know that the massacre victims deserve both justice and to finally rest in peace.

I have long been a fan of Peter Bowen's series. It's been several years since the last book (Nails) was published, so I was thrilled to see this one. It brings back everything I love about these books, although some of those things might not be for everyone.

Bowen writes about the Métis, a group of mixed French and Native American people, living in the wilds of Montana. The author does an excellent job in giving us a feel for the pidgin English they speak. The words that are left out give the Métis' speech a French cadence that is part of their heritage. I love it, but I can see why it might prove to be an annoyance to other readers. The Métis also often have outspoken views and ways of doing things. For instance, Du Pré's grandchildren are growing up to be fine human beings despite parenting of which many modern experts would disapprove. The Métis are a proud people-- independent spirits-- and for all intents and purposes, they are left alone now, mostly because they live where no one else wants to.

Bowen has created an excellent cast of characters that I love to read about. The old cowboy Booger Tom is the focus of most of the humor in Bitter Creek, thanks to a water buffalo named Eustace. The war between those two is hilarious.

The focus of this book is the 100-year-old mystery of exactly who was responsible for the massacre of the band of Métis trying to escape to Canada, and Du Pré and the others are dealing with the descendants of the people who were probably responsible. This creates a lot of tension as the story progresses because the reader is never certain what those people are willing to do in order to keep century-old secrets buried. Those scenes of Booger Tom and Eustace provide much needed levity.

There's also a modern-day murder in Bitter Creek, but it definitely takes a backseat to the old mystery. In fact, it almost feels tacked on-- as if Bowen wanted to prove that not all country sheriffs are stupid (and they're not).

I loved spending time with Du Pré and the others. I've missed them-- and I'm hoping that Bowen may have a Montana story or two left to tell us in the future.

Bitter Creek by Peter Bowen

eISBN: 9781497685123

Open Road Media © 2015

eBook, 237 pages

Amateur Sleuth, #14 Gabriel Du Pré mystery

Rating: A-

Source: NetGalley 

April 2015 New Mystery Releases!

While spring may finally be showing its pretty little head in some parts of the world, in others-- like the Sonoran Desert-- it's been here for a while. In fact, it's heating up, so it's time to hit the trail and get some adventures in before the egg-frying heat knocks on the door. 

Me? Sure, I'll get some of those adventures under my belt, but when egg-fryin' time comes, y'all know where I will be: in my swimming pool, in the shade, with a cold drink and a good book!

The following are my picks from the new crime fiction being released during the month of April. They are grouped by release date, and I've included all the information you'll need to find them at all your favorite "book procurement" sites. Synopses are courtesy of Amazon.  Happy Reading!

=== April 1 ===

Title: Green and Pleasant Land

Author: Judith Cutler

Series: #6 in the Fran Harman police procedural series set in England

ISBN: 9780727884657

Publisher: Severn House

Hardcover, 224 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books

Synopsis: "Newly-retired, ex-Chief Superintendent Fran Harman and her partner Mark have volunteered to assist West Mercia police in reinvestigating an unsolved crime. Twenty years ago, a car was found abandoned on an isolated road running through the Wyre Forest, its hazard lights still flashing, the passenger door open. In the back, were two child seats. One was empty; in the other lay a desperately ill baby. Neither the baby’s mother nor the elder child were ever seen again.

Where had Natalie Foreman been and where was she heading? As they question those who knew the missing woman, Fran and Mark uncover worrying discrepancies and mistaken assumptions underlying the original police investigation. In their new role as civilians in a police world, they find themselves encountering hostility and resentment from some of those they question – and it’s clear that more than one key witness is not telling them the whole truth." 

=== April 7 ===

Title: Demise in Denim
Author: Duffy Brown
Series: #4 in the Consignment Shop cozy series set in Savannah, Georgia
ISBN: 9780425274705
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books

Synopsis: "When Reagan Summerside turned the first floor of her old Victorian home into a consignment shop, she never imagined she’d be harboring a fugitive in her attic. But after a dead man is found in a bathtub and local lawyer Walker Boone is accused of doing the dirty deed, she suddenly has a new houseguest.

Having the lawyer who took her to the cleaners in her divorce settlement—and who has been getting under her skin ever since—in close proximity is enough to drive Reagan to distraction. For the sake of her sanity—and Walker’s freedom—they need to put their heads together to find out who is trying to get the lawyer out of the picture . . ."

Title: Blood Sweep
Author: Steven F. Havill
Series: #20 in the Posadas County police procedural series set in southwestern New Mexico
ISBN: 9781464203879
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Hardcover, 306 pages

Synopsis: "Gifted fifteen-year-old Francisco Guzman has become an internationally renowned concert pianist, touring the world under the auspices of his music conservatory. That gives his mother, Posadas County Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman, plenty of reason to worry--and that's magnified when she learns that he's in Mexico’s crime-ridden Mazatlan for a concert series where he may be the target for scam artists and kidnappers. Estelle’s worries go from bad to worse when her uncle—a man she didn't know existed—surfaces in an attempt to mend family ties and leaves a trail of corpses in his wake. Estelle’s attempts to glean family history—the story of her childhood in Tres Santos over the border—from her adopted mother, a woman now in her nineties, go nowhere. Meanwhile, escalating events put Sheriff Bobby Torrez in jeopardy, as they do newly wealthy rancher Miles Waddell and his pet project, the multi-million dollar theme park, NightZone, set high on a county mesa. Just when his sage advice might be most useful, former sheriff and family friend Bill Gastner takes a dive—in the shadows of his own garage. Now his far-flung family is added to the mix of people and events astir in the boot heel of New Mexico."  

Title: A Fright to the Death
Author: Dawn Eastman
Series: #3 in the Family Fortune cozy series set in western Michigan
ISBN: 9780425264485
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Mass market Paperback, 304 pages

Synopsis: "After their flight to Mexico is cancelled, Clyde and her detective boyfriend, Mac, end up snowed in with their families at a supposedly haunted hotel. Clyde’s tarot card reading mother, Rose, is making dire predictions for the weekend, and self-proclaimed pet psychic Aunt Vi is enchanted by the legend of the hotel’s ghost—until the power goes out and a body turns up.

With a hotel full of stranded suspects, Clyde will have to draw on all her skills—both the police ones she’d rather forget and the psychic ones she’d rather ignore—to solve the bone-chilling mystery before someone else gets iced…" 

Title: The Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco
Author: Laura DiSilverio
Series: #1 in the Readaholics Book Club cozy series set in Colorado
ISBN: 9780451470836
Publisher: NAL
Mass Market Paperback, 336 pages

Synopsis: "Amy-Faye has always loved her idyllic Rocky Mountain town of Heaven, Colorado. Her event-planning business is thriving, her fellow book-obsessed Readaholics are great, and her parents live only a few blocks away. But lately her hometown has felt a little less heavenly. First, she agrees to plan a wedding without realizing the groom is her ex-boyfriend. Then, Ivy, one of her fellow Readaholics, dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances.

The police rule Ivy’s death a suicide by poisoning, but Amy-Faye and the remaining Readaholics suspect foul play. Amy-Faye soon discovers that Ivy was hiding dangerous secrets—and making deadly enemies. Taking a page from her favorite literary sleuths, Amy-Faye is determined to find the real killer and close the book on this case. But finding the truth could spell her own ending…" 

=== April 8 ===

Title: Snake Pass

Author: Colin Campbell

Series: #4 in the Resurrection Man series

ISBN: 9780738743462

Publisher: Midnight Ink

Paperback, 264 pages

Synopsis: "Jim Grant is one of the best cops in Yorkshire, but the tactics that earn him respect from his fellow officers have drawn the scrutiny of the brass. And when a discipline and complaints inspector feels he’s gone too far after a particularly righteous bust, Grant is put on suspension.

Stopping at an all-night diner to flirt with his favorite waitress helps ease Grant’s mind—until a couple of goons with baseball bats show up. Never one to leave a damsel in distress, Grant takes matters into his own hands.

And that’s when all hell breaks loose." 

=== April 14 ===

Title: Every Fifteen Minutes

Author: Lisa Scottoline

Standalone

ISBN: 9781250010117

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Hardcover, 448 pages

Synopsis: "Dr. Eric Parrish is the Chief of the Psychiatric Unit at Havemeyer General Hospital outside of Philadelphia. Recently separated from his wife Alice, he is doing his best as a single Dad to his seven-year-old daughter Hannah. His work seems to be going better than his home life, however. His unit at the hospital has just been named number two in the country and Eric has a devoted staff of doctors and nurses who are as caring as Eric is. But when he takes on a new patient, Eric's entire world begins to crumble. Seventeen-year-old Max has a terminally ill grandmother and is having trouble handling it. That, plus his OCD and violent thoughts about a girl he likes makes Max a high risk patient. Max can't turn off the mental rituals he needs to perform every fifteen minutes that keep him calm. With the pressure mounting, Max just might reach the breaking point. When the girl is found murdered, Max is nowhere to be found. Worried about Max, Eric goes looking for him and puts himself in danger of being seen as a "person of interest" himself. Next, one of his own staff turns on him in a trumped up charge of sexual harassment. Is this chaos all random? Or is someone systematically trying to destroy Eric's life? New York Times best selling author Lisa Scottoline's visceral thriller, Every Fifteen Minutes,brings you into the grip of a true sociopath and shows you how, in the quest to survive such ruthlessness, every minute counts." 

=== April 21 ===

Title: Ghost Image

Author: Ellen Crosby

Series: #2 in the Sophie Medina photojournalist series based in Washington, DC

ISBN: 9781451659375

Publisher: Scribner

Hardcover, 320 pages

Synopsis: "When freelance photojournalist Sophie Medina finds Brother Kevin Boyle, a Franciscan friar and controversial environmentalist, dead in the magnificent gardens of a Washington, DC monastery, she is sure her friend was murdered. Shortly before he died, Kevin told Sophie he was being stalked, possibly because he uncovered a botanic discovery potentially worth millions of dollars. Left with few clues to his secret, Sophie is determined to figure out who killed Kevin.

Beginning with a key that leads to a priceless original seventeenth-century encyclopedia of plants, Sophie leaps into an international treasure hunt following a trail that begins in the US Capitol and eventually leads to London and the English countryside. Before long Sophie suspects Kevin’s murderer may have been someone who knew him well. With time running out and a suspect list that includes the world’s leading botanical experts and political royalty from both sides of the Atlantic, can Sophie solve the two-hundred-year-old mystery before Kevin’s killer finds her?

A tale of greed and betrayal involving politicians, diplomats, European royalty, and a century-old monastery, Ghost Image is filled with political intrigue, history, and an international high-stakes race against a killer that will keep you guessing until the very last page." 

Title: The Bone Tree

Author: Greg Iles

Series: #5 in the Penn Cage series set in Natchez, Mississippi

ISBN: 9780062311115

Publisher: William Morrow

Hardcover, 816 pages

Synopsis: "Greg Iles continues the electrifying story begun in his smash New York Times bestseller Natchez Burning in this highly anticipated second installment of an epic trilogy of blood and race, family and justice, featuring Southern lawyer Penn Cage.

Former prosecutor Penn Cage and his fiancée, reporter and publisher Caitlin Masters, have barely escaped with their lives after being attacked by wealthy businessman Brody Royal and his Double Eagles, a KKK sect with ties to some of Mississippi’s most powerful men. But the real danger has only begun as FBI Special Agent John Kaiser warns Penn that Brody wasn’t the true leader of the Double Eagles. The puppeteer who actually controls the terrorist group is a man far more fearsome: the chief of the state police’s Criminal Investigations Bureau, Forrest Knox.

The only way Penn can save his father, Dr. Tom Cage—who is fleeing a murder charge as well as corrupt cops bent on killing him—is either to make a devil’s bargain with Knox or destroy him. While Penn desperately pursues both options, Caitlin uncovers the real story behind a series of unsolved civil rights murders that may hold the key to the Double Eagles’ downfall. The trail leads her deep into the past, into the black backwaters of the Mississippi River, to a secret killing ground used by slave owners and the Klan for over two hundred years . . . a place of terrifying evil known only as “the bone tree.”

The Bone Tree is an explosive, action-packed thriller full of twisting intrigue and deadly secrets, a tale that explores the conflicts and casualties that result when the darkest truths of American history come to light. It puts us inside the skin of a noble man who has always fought for justice—now finally pushed beyond his limits.

Just how far will Penn Cage, the hero we thought we knew, go to protect those he loves?" 

Title: A June of Ordinary Murders

Author: Conor Brady

Series: Debut historical set in Victorian Dublin, Ireland

ISBN: 9781250057563

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Hardcover, 400 pages

Synopsis: "In the 1880s the Dublin Metropolitan Police classified crime in two distinct categories. Political crimes were classed as "special," whereas theft, robbery and even murder, no matter how terrible, were known as "ordinary."

Dublin, June 1887: The city swelters in a long summer heat wave, the criminal underworld simmers, and with it, the threat of nationalist violence is growing. Meanwhile, the Castle administration hopes the celebration of Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee will pass peacefully. Then, the mutilated bodies of a man and a child are discovered in Phoenix Park and Detective Sergeant Joe Swallow steps up to investigate. Cynical and tired, Swallow is a man living on past successes in need of a win. With the Land War at its height, the priority is to contain special crime, and these murders appear to be ordinary--and thus of lesser priority. But when the evidence suggests high-level involvement, and the body count increases, Swallow must navigate the treacherous waters of foolish superiors, political directives, and frayed tempers to solve the case, find the true murderer, and deliver justice." 

=== April 28 ===

Title: The Children Return

Author: Martin Walker

Series: #7 in the Bruno Chief of Police series set in southwestern France

ISBN: 9780385354158

Publisher: Knopf

Hardcover, 336 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books

Synopsis: "When an undercover agent tracking domestic jihadists is found murdered, it’s troubling enough for Bruno’s beloved village. But when this is followed by the return of Sami, a local autistic youth thought lost to Islamic extremism, provincial St. Denis suddenly becomes a front line in the global war on terror. Abducted and exploited for his technological genius in Afghanistan, Sami has used his talents to gather invaluable stores of al-Qaeda intel—but as an international tribunal descends to begin an exhaustive debrief, it becomes clear Sami’s former handlers are far from ready to relinquish him. Now the same jihadists who killed the agent aim to silence Sami, and as the eyes of the intelligence world turn toward his case, Bruno must scramble to track down the terrorists before they exact their own justice.

As if things aren’t complicated enough, Bruno finds himself contending with the mixed, alluring signals of one of the high-ranking U.S. intelligence officers on Sami’s case, even while juggling the affections of his neighbor and sometime lover. Add to that a member of the tribunal with dangerous skeletons in his closet, the mysterious history of two Jewish siblings who claim to have been sheltered locally from the Nazis during World War II, and a high-profile philanthropist whose presence in St. Denis seems to be attracting attention from the jihadists, and it’s all almost enough to absent Bruno from the village’s wine festival. " 

Title: Bitter Creek

Author: Peter Bowen

Series: #14 in the Gabriel Du Pré series set in Montana

ISBN: 9781497676589

Publisher: Open Road Media

Paperback

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books

Synopsis: "Lieutenant John Patchen has come to Montana to persuade Chappie Plaquemines, his former gunnery sergeant in Iraq and the son of Gabriel Du Pré’s girlfriend, to accept the Navy Cross. First, however, Du Pré and Patchen must find the wounded marine, who was last seen drinking heavily in the Toussaint Saloon. They locate him soon enough, disheveled and stinking of stale booze, but a sobering visit to a medicine man’s sweat lodge reveals a much greater mystery: the unsolved case of a band of Métis who were last seen fleeing from General Black Jack Pershing’s troops in 1910 before disappearing.

Strange voices within the sweat lodge speak of a place called Bitter Creek, where the Métis encountered their fate. To find it, Du Pré tracks down the only living survivor of the massacre, a feisty old woman whose memories may not be as trustworthy as they seem. But when Amalie leads Du Pré to Pardoe, an out-of-the-way crossroads north of Helena, he senses that they are about to uncover long-buried secrets. Discouraged by the US military, their lives threatened by locals whose ancestors may have played a role in the murders, Chappie, Patchen, and Du Pré bravely pursue the truth so that the victims of a terrible injustice might finally rest in peace."  

Title: The Promise

Author: Robert Crais

Series: #16 in the Elvis Cole and Joe Pike private investigator series set in Los Angeles

ISBN: 9780399161490

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons

Hardcover, 320 pages

Synopsis: "When Elvis Cole is hired to locate a woman who may have disappeared with a stranger she met online, it seems like an ordinary case—until Elvis learns the missing woman worked for a defense contractor and was being blackmailed to supply explosives components for a person or persons unknown.

Meanwhile, in another part of the city, LAPD officer Scott James and his patrol dog, Maggie, enter an abandoned building to locate an armed and dangerous thief, only to discover far more than they expected: The fugitive is dead, the building is filled with explosives, and Scott and Maggie are assaulted by a hidden man who escapes in the chaos, all as a bloodied Joe Pike watches from the shadows.

Soon, Scott and Maggie find themselves targeted by that man, and, as their case intertwines with Elvis and Joe’s, joining forces to follow the trail of the missing woman as well. From inner-city drug traffickers to a shadowy group of Afghan war veterans with ties to a terrorist cell, the people they encounter on that trail add up to ever-increasing odds, and soon the four of them are fighting to find the woman not only before she is killed . . . but before the same fate happens to one of them." 

April is filled with winners, isn't it?  Some of my favorite authors along with some intriguing new ones... yes, it's a good month for mysteries! I have to admit that the one I'm most excited about is Peter Bowen's Bitter Creek. The last Gabriel Du Pré book was written in 2006, and I've missed that character a lot. I'm looking forward to reconnecting!

What about all of you?  Which books found their way onto your wish lists? Inquiring minds would love to know!

Nails by Peter Bowen

Title: Nails
Author: Peter Bowen
ISBN: 9780312312077
Publisher: Minotaur Books, 2006
Hardcover, 240 pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth, #13 Gabriel Du Pré mystery
Rating: A
Source: Purchased from Bookcloseouts.

First Line: Du Pré looked east.

A family member has returned from Iraq missing a leg, an eye, and his grip on reality. His hellion of a granddaughter, Pallas, has returned from her studies in Washington, D.C., and a vanload of fundamentalist Christians has arrived in Toussaint, Montana. Du Pré is pretty sure he's going to have his hands full for a while.

Graffiti on the door of Father Van Den Heuvel's church and a panicked phone call from an unidentified girl cause people in the town of Toussaint to be worried, and when the nude body of a young girl is found by the side of the road, Du Pré and the others know it has something to do with the newly-arrived fundamentalists. The trick is in finding out how and why.

It is depressing when a much-loved series of books comes to an end, but in many ways, Nails is a fitting end to the story of Gabriel Du Pré and the people of Toussaint, Montana.

Throughout the series, Father Van Den Heuvel has been seen as a lovable but almost fatally clumsy man-- a figure of fun. In Nails, we are given a chance to see him fleshed out, and it becomes clear why the townspeople love him.

Gabriel Du Pré lives where he should-- in a land of fiercely independent people who take care of their own and who take responsibility for their own actions. He is the furthest thing from politically correct. He ignores the speed limit, smokes hand-rolled cigarettes, and drinks whisky like most people chug down bottled water. But he also plays fiddle like an angel, takes care of his friends, and defends the weak. These are his passions, and he serves them well.

Throughout the book are little stories that don't do much to advance the plot, but they make me smile and love these characters even more. These people are not rednecks. They are living the life they want to live and raising their families. Their children are scattered around the globe, serving in the military, working for oil companies, studying art.

A friend read one of these books. I had carefully told her about the non-PC elements because I didn't want her to have any rude shocks. When she was finished reading, she started to rant about child abuse and the myriad other things she found wrong. Well... she's thirty years younger than me. She's come to believe that parenting is in effect wrapping children in cotton batting so nothing can hurt them and giving them everything they want. When I read about Du Pré and Madelaine's methods, it feels familiar. I see lots of love, and I see people raising children to be responsible and to work for what they want. If this makes me an old fart, then that's what I am.

Nails is touched with sorrow, showing a small town that's dying around the edges. As a local schoolteacher says, "These days, if you don't have an education and often enough if you do, you work for nothing and you get nothing for a life of work." This book, more than all the others, shows how ignorance and fear beget violence.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt knew exactly what he was talking about when he said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Peter Bowen reminds us all that there are still people who do not fear to do what is right, and I cherish his portrait of them.

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