Category: Authors

SCARECROW RETURNS by Matthew Reilly / Z-View

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SCARECROW RETURNS by Matthew Reilly

First sentence…

The plane hurled down the airstrip, chased by furious machine-gun fire, before it lifted off with a stomach-lurching swoop and soared out over the vast expanse of Artic sea ice that stretched away to the north.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Dragon Island, located near the Artic circle, was a Russian possession.  There the best Russian scientists conducted cutting-edge experiments with no guardrails.  When Russia collapsed in 1991, so did the program. Since then only a skeleton crew of scientists have lived and worked there.

Until today.

Today, a terrorist group that calls themselves the Army of Thieves let it be known that they have control of the island.  They have set in motion something that will literally burn the atmosphere above the USA, Russia and every country along that latitude/longitude.  The only way to stop the process is with boots on the ground.  Neither Russia nor the US has military ships/planes close enough.

There is one hope.  Marine Captain Shane “Scarecrow” Schofield is on site about 100 miles north of Dragon Island.  Schofield, a couple of marines and a few civilians have been testing extreme cold weather gear.  They could get to the island before the deadline.  Once there the odds would be overwhelmingly against their survival, let alone stopping the Army of Thieves.

When there is only one chance to save the world, you take it.  Even if it’s a suicide mission.

+++++

Matthew Reilly is the king of page turning nonstop action.  His villains are truly evil. Shane “Scarecrow” Schofield although outmanned and outgunned never gives up. Each cliffhanger will push you forward.  Reilly shocks and surprises readers with outlandish situations and roller-coaster thrills.

Rating:

“The Mask of Dimitrios” (1944) starring Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet and Zachary Scott / Z-View

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The Mask of Dimitrios (1944)

Director:  Jean Negulesco

Screenplay: Frank Gruber; based on THE MASK OF DIMITRIOS by Eric Ambler

Stars: Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Zachary Scott, Steven Geray, Eduardo Ciannelli, Kurt Katch, John Abbott, Monte Blue, David Hoffman and Vince Barnett.

Tagline: Thrilling successor to “The Maltese Falcon”

The Plot…

Cornelius Leyden, a mystery writer, is spending a night in Istanbul.  Leyden meets Colonel Haki, a Turkish police offical.  Haki is a fan of Leyden’s books.  Haki shares the story of Dimitrios Makropoulos, a famous international criminal who was recently found murdered.  Leyden is intrigued.  Colonel Haki allows Leyden to see Makropoulos’ corpse.  Haki also gives Leyden background info on the dead man.

Leyden decides to interview those who knew Dimitrios Makropoulos and perhaps write a book about the criminal mastermind.  As Leyden digs deeper he learns just how cunning and brutal Dimitrios Makropoulos was.

Maybe cunning enough to fake his own death.  Maybe cunning enough to kill anyone looking into his life.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Peter Lorre had the most screen time of anyone in the film.  Yet, he was given fourth billing.  Lorre was listed behind Sydney Greenstreet, Zachary Scott (in his first feature film) and Faye Emmerson (who had a small role).  Lorre felt that his lowered status was because Jack L. Warner (one of the studio heads) was not a fan.

Orson Welles played Colonel Haki in Journey into Fear.

The Mask of Dimitrios (1944) rates 3 of 5 stars.

BLOOD GROVE: AN EASY RAWLINS MYSTERY by Walter Mosley / Z-View

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BLOOD GROVE by Walter Mosley

First sentence…

I looked down from the third-floor office window onto the hastily built greenhouse in our back-fence neighbor’s yard.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Easy Rawlins is at his desk when a man enters the small office.  Easy has seen the look of a shell-shocked soldier before.  He’s seeing it again.  The man’s name is Craig Kilian.  Kilian’s a white man who wants to hire Easy.  Even in 1969, that’s not an everyday occurrence.

Kilian wants Easy to find out if Kilian murdered a man.  He thinks he did.  Kilian and a beautiful woman were alone in a citrus grove when a stranger attacked.  Kilian thinks in the struggle he stabbed the man.  Killed him dead.  Yet when Kilian came to the woman was gone.  So was the man he stabbed.

Easy feels sorry for the battle fatigued vet so he takes the case.

As Easy follows the clues, it becomes a tangled mess involving missing money, a sociopathic killer, cops and grifters.

+++++

I’m a Walter Mosley fan.  His Easy Rawlins tales are the best.  BLOOD GROVE is no exception.  If you’ve followed Mr. Mosley’s career, you’ll enjoy appearances in this one by Mouse Alexander, Fearless Jones, Jackson Blue and Christmas Black.

Rating:

HATCHET GIRLS by Joe R. Lansdale

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Joe R. Lansdale has a new Hap & Lenard tale set to premiere on August 19, 2025.  It’s titled HATCHET GIRLS.  Here’s the lowdown…

Hap and Leonard never go looking for trouble, and yet trouble, in the more vicious and ridiculous of forms always seems to find them. Your next dose of pitch-black comedy, mystery, and mayhem has arrived, just as the best friends may finally be calling it quits.

When Hap and Leonard are called in on a strange request (subduing a meth-hopped hog) by a desperate young lady, they quickly learn this woman is part of a fringe group: The Hatchet Girls, who have pledged their allegiance to a crazed and grudge-bearing leader bent on bloody societal revenge. The timing couldn’t be worse to be caught in such a vile, sticky wicket of a case: both boys are wrapped up in their domestic lives: Leonard is in the midst of wedding planning with fiancee, Pookie. And meanwhile, Hap and Brett are hard at work on their new home. Homemaking bliss will have to wait as Hap and Leonard are driven to stop the danger in its tracks and better understand the group’s mission and the plans they have already set in place for helter-skelter esque mayhem.

Life changes, midnight sneaks, and dark encounters with misguided dames who yell “Chop, Chop,” lead Hap and Leonard into one of their darkest adventures yet.

Pre-orders are available now.

REVELATION by Robert Knott / Z-View

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REVELATION by Robert Knott

First sentence…

Augustus Noble Driggs was lying inside the small stone room on a bunk, thinking about Jesus and whatnot.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

US Marshall Virgil Cole and Deputy Everette Hitch receive word that several convicts have escaped prison. Worse still, they have taken the warden’s wife with them.  One of the escapees is none other than Augustus Noble Driggs.  Driggs is “square-jawed, handsome, and built like a muscled thoroughbred stallion.”  He’s well educated, resourceful and a West Point graduate.  Driggs is accurate with both pistol and long rifle.  Smart, physically fit and capable.  Driggs is a stone cold killer and dangerous adversary.

Virgil and Everette ride out to track down Driggs and the convicts.  Little do they know that an equal danger is brewing in Appaloosa.

+++++

Robert Knott does Robert B. Parker proud with another Virgil and Everett yarn.

Rating:

KING OF ASHES by S.A. Cosby!

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S.A. Cosby’s next novel KING OF ASHES has been announced.  It sounds like another winner…

Award-winning, New York Times bestselling author S. A. Cosby returns with KING OF ASHES, a Godfather-inspired Southern crime epic and dazzling family drama.

When eldest son Roman Carruthers is summoned home after his father’s car accident, he finds his younger brother, Dante, in debt to dangerous criminals and his sister, Neveah, exhausted from holding the family―and the family business―together. Neveah and their father, who run the Carruthers Crematorium in the run-down central Virginia town of Jefferson Run, see death up close every day. But mortality draws even closer when it becomes clear that the crash that landed their father in a coma was no accident and Dante’s recklessness has placed them all in real danger.

Roman, a financial whiz with a head for numbers and a talent for making his clients rich, has some money to help buy his brother out of trouble. But in his work with wannabe tough guys, he’s forgotten that there are real gangsters out there. As his bargaining chips go up in smoke, Roman realizes that he has only one thing left to offer to save his brother: himself, and his own particular set of skills.

Roman begins his work for the criminals while Neveah tries to uncover the long-ago mystery of what happened to their mother, who disappeared when they were teenagers. But Roman is far less of a pushover than the gangsters realize. He is willing to do anything to save his family. Anything.

Because everything burns.

KING OF ASHES drops on June 10, 2025.  This is a must-get for me.  Pre-orders are available now.

THE AMATEURS by Marcus Sakey

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THE AMATEURS by Robert Crais

First sentence…

LATER JENN LACIE WOULD SPEND a lot of time trying to pinpoint the exact moment.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Every Thursday night for the last decade Alex, Ian, Jenn and Mitch have met for drinks.  A decade ago they were young and had dreams.  Now none are where they thought they’d be.

Ian is day trader stuck in a job going nowhere.  Mitch isn’t doing any better working as a doorman at the Continental Hotel.  Jenn is a travel agent who longs for adventure.  Alex is bartending for a jerk named Johnny Loverin aka Johnny Love.  He dresses fancy and flaunts his money.  Everyone is sure Johnny Love is into some illegal stuff.

So when Alex overhears about one of Johnny Love’s drug deals, he tells his friends.  Alex’s idea is to get to the meet before the thugs with the drugs show up.  They’ll rip off Johnny Love for his cash.  Then a clean getaway and a four way split with no one being the wiser.  If all four work together, they’ll provide each other with an alibi.  Alex says no one will suspect them.  Easy money and no one gets hurt.

The friends reluctantly agree.

Of course the ripoff goes sideways.  People are killed.  It wasn’t drugs that were being dealt.  Something much worse.

Now the cops are closing in.  So are the gangsters.  Friendship only goes so far when survival is at stake.

+++++

Marcus Sakey has created another winner.

Rating:

The Collected Will Eisner’s John Law by Will Eisner and Gary Chaloner is coming! 

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The Collected Will Eisner’s John Law by Will Eisner and Gary Chaloner is coming!  It will drop on March 4, 2025. Preorders are available now. Here is the lowdown…

Wherever men live, be they nomads or city dwellers, there they must have law and a man to enforce it.

Meet Detective John Law of Crossroads City. Strong, decent, hardworking and hard-nosed. He’s a man who believes in the law and order. He’s the last of a dying breed.

In 1948, Will Eisner produced the first issue of “John Law Detective”, which he intended to add to a line of self-published comics. However, after Eisner’s “Baseball Comics”, “Kewpies”, and “Pirate Comics” failed to find an audience, John Law never made it to the newsstand and was quietly dropped, with much of the original artwork reworked in 1950 for his most famous creation, The Spirit.

Featuring original stories by Will Eisner, Gary Chaloner’s award-winning reboot from 2004, including a previously unpublished John Law Story, and a foreword by long-time Eisner publisher Denis Kitchen, this is a must-have for not just Eisner fans but comic collectors of all ages.

“This is Zodiac Speaking” (2024) / Z-View

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This is Zodiac Speaking (2024)

Director: Phil Lott (Eps. 1-3), Ari Mark (Eps. 1-3)

Tagline:  None.

The Plot…

Arthur Leigh Allen has been one of the top suspects, if not THE top suspect, of being the Zodiac killer for years.  David, Don and Connie Seawater were children when their mother had a relationship with Arthur Leigh Allen.  As kids they thought Mr. Allen was just a nice man. He treated them and their mother well.  Now as adults they believe he was the Zodiac killer and they have evidence to prove it.

Robert Graysmith who investigated the case and wrote ZODIAC: THE SHOCKING TRUE STORY OF AMERICA’S MOST ELUSIVE SERIAL KILLER weighs in as well.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

This is the Zodiac Speaking does an excellent job of summarizing the case as well as presenting the new evidence in an interesting and compelling manner.  While many documentaries would have padded several episodes, the story is presented in just three.

This is Zodiac Speaking (2024) rates 5 of 5 stars.

RIP: Teri Garr

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Teri Garr died today due to complications from multiple sclerosis.  Ms. Garr was 79.

Teri Garr’s parents were both in showbusiness.  Her father was an actor/comedian.  Ms. Garr’s mother was a model, dancer and costumer.  As a young girl Teri Garr studied dance with a focus on ballet.

Ms. Garr graduated from North Hollywood High School.  She then attended San Fernando Valley State College, but dropped out after two years.  Teri Garr moved to New York City.  She studied at the Actors Studio and the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute while pursuing an acting career.

Teri Garr’s first roles were often uncredited roles in films and television as a background or go-go dancer. 1968 was a big year for Teri Garr.  She received a feature role on Star Trek in the episode Assignment Earth.  Ms. Garr earned her first feature film speaking role in The Monkees movie Head.  Jack Nicholson wrote the film and knew Teri Garr since they were in the same acting class.

Teri Garr is probably best known for her roles in Young Frankenstein; Close Encounters of the Third Kind; Tootsie and Mr. Mom.  Ms. Garr was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress for her work in Tootsie.  Throughout her career Teri Garr worked on television, in feature films as well as theater throughout her career.

In 2002, Teri Garr announced that she had multiple sclerosis. In 2006, she wrote her autobiography SPEEDBUMPS: FLOORING IT THROUGH HOLLYWOOD.  Ms. Garr retired from acting in 2011.

Television projects that feature Teri Garr include: Mr. Novak; What a Way To Go; Dr. Kildare; Batman; The Andy Griffith Show; Star Trek; That Girl; Mayberry RFD; Room 222; It Takes a Thief (2 episodes); This is the Life; The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour (12 episodes); The Ken Berry ‘Wow’ Show; Banyon; The Burns and Schreiber Comedy Hour; MASH; The New Dick Van Dyke Show; The Odd Couple; The Bob Newhart Show (2 episodes); The Girl with Something Extra (4 episodes); Barnaby Jones; McCloud (6 episodes); Cher; Maude; Law and Order; Hunter; Saturday Night Live; Fresno (6 episodes); Sesame Street; Tales from the Crypt; Good & Evil (11 episodes); Dream On (2 episodes); Murphy Brown; The Legend of Prince Valiant (2 episodes); The Larry Sanders Show; Adventures in Wonderland (6 episodes); Good Advice (13 episodes); Women of the House (12 episodes); Frasier; Sabrina the Teenage Witch; Friends (3 episodes); ER; Dr. Katz; King of the Hill; Batman Beyond (10 episodes); Felicity; The Downer Channel (2 episodes); What’s New Scooby-Doo? and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Feature films that Teri Garr appeared in include: A Swingin’ Affair; Fun in Acapulco; Viva Las Vegas; Roustabout; Red Line 7000; Head; The Conversation; Young Frankenstein; Oh, God!; Close Encounters of the Third Kind; The Black Stallion; One from the Heart; Tootsie; The Sting II; The Black Stallion II; Mr. Mom; After Hours; The Player; Dumb and Dumber and Ghost World.

I probably first saw Teri Garr in one of her many guest television appearances.  My favorite Teri Garr role was in Young Frankenstein.  She made quite an impact on this young boy.  It was always nice to see Ms. Garr’s name in the credits of television shows or movies.  She was also a fun guest on talk shows.  Ms. Garr always came off as a nice person, the kind you’d like to know as a friend.

Out thoughts and prayers go out to Teri Garr’s family, friends and fans.

WRECKED: AN IQ NOVEL by Joe Ide

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WRECKED: AN IQ NOVEL by Joe Ide

First sentence…

“Do you know what Abraham Lincoln said after a six-day drunk?” Jimenez said.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Isaiah Quintabe, who everyone calls IQ because of his superior intellect, is back.  IQ was in high school when his brother was killed in a hit and run.  It was at that point that IQ began earning money from neighborhood folks needing help. After IQ found a a runaway young girl word spread. Soon he was getting requests for assistance with “cases the police couldn’t or wouldn’t touch.” The cases didn’t pay much and sometimes the reward was food or a service IQ needed.

But that was over a decade ago.  Now IQ is famous in the neighborhood for the “cases” he’s resolved.  IQ’s the go-to guy when folks need a detective or issue resolved.  IQ became so busy that he brought on his childhood friend, Dodson to assist.  If IQ is the brains of the outfit, Dodson is the one with street smarts. Dodson used to run with a rough crowd, but those days are over.  Now he’s married with a young daughter.  His job is to make IQ a legitimate detective.  One with a social media presence.  One who gets paid with cash instead of new tires or a carpet cleaning.

When IQ meets a local artist named Grace, he begins to fall for her.  She needs help.  Grace hasn’t seen her mother in decade.  Grace wants IQ to find mom and fast.  Her mother has something that could get some bad men sent to prison for a very long time.  These guys are killers and will stop at nothing to get what they want.

To complicate matters, Seb, the African gangster responsible for IQ’s brother’s death has IQ in his crosshairs.

The race is on to find Grace’s mother.  Even IQ gets there first, how can he protect her from the killers closing in?

+++++

Joe Ide has another winner.

Rating:

RIP: Ron Ely

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Yesterday it was announced that Ron Ely died of natural causes on on September 29, 2024, at the age of 86.

Mr. Ely was best known for his role as Tarzan on the NBC series of the same name.  The series ran for 57 episodes over the course of two seasons.  Mr. Ely performed most of his stunts throughout the series and suffered multiple injuries.

Prior to Tarzan, Ron Ely appeared in supporting feature film roles and guest spots on television series.  After the series ended Mr. Ely continued acting on television and feature films for the rest of his career. Although Ron Ely retired from acting in 2001, he came back to appear in the television movie Expecting Amish in 2014.

Ron Ely also authored two excellent detective novels, NIGHT SHADOWS and EAST BEACH.

Television projects that feature Ron Ely include: Father Knows Best; Steve Canyon; Playhouse 90; How to Marry a Millionaire; The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis; The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp; The Aquanauts (18 episodes); Thriller; Tarzan (57 episodes); The Courtship of Eddie’s Father; Ironside; Marcus Welby, MD; Wonder Woman; Face the Music; The Love Boat (3 episodes); Matt Houston; Hotel; Fantasy Island (5 episodes); Blacke’s Magic; Sea Hunt (22 episodes); Superboy; The Hat Squad; LA Law; Hawkeye; Renegade (2 episodes); Sheena and Expecting Amish.

Feature films that Ron Ely appeared in include: South Pacific; The Fiend Who Walked the West; Night of the Grizzly and Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze.

I probably first saw Ron Ely in Tarzan.  I loved that Mr. Ely’s Tarzan was not only physical but also intelligent.  I have great memories of watching the series with my grandfather.  Then going out to play Tarzan with my other friends.  After the series ended I enjoyed seeing Mr. Ely in television roles and movies.

Mr. Ely was also an excellent writer.  I own his two detective novels and always hoped there would be more.

Out thoughts and prayers go out to Rob Ely’s family, friends and fans.

ONE SHOT by Lee Child / Z-View

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ONE SHOT: A JACK REACHER NOVEL by Lee Child

First sentences…

Friday.  Five o’clock in the afternoon.  Maybe the hardest time to move unobserved through a city.  Or maybe the easiest.  Because at five o’clock on a Friday, nobody pays attention to anything.  Except the road ahead.

The man with the rifle drove north.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

After a mass murderer kills five people with just six shots the police get lucky.  Evidence accidentally left behind leads to the killer’s capture before the day is done.

James Barr fits the profile.  He’s an ex-military sniper.  He’s had a difficult time adjusting to civilian life.  The police are giving high-fives all around.  This will be an open and shut case.  James Barr says two things: he’s innocent and he will only speak to Jack Reacher.

Reacher is a former military cop.  Now he’s a civilian.  Reacher sees a news report about the shooting.  He remembers James Barr well.  Reacher brought Barr up on charges for a killing spree in Kuwait.  Despite overwhelming evidence, Barr was never charged.  That never sat well with Reacher. Now he plans to inform prosecutors of Barr’s past.

Reacher is shocked Barr requested to see him.  They hate each other.  When Reacher asks to speak to Barr, he discovers that Barr was badly beaten while in custody.  Making things worse Barr cannot remember much about the day of the shooting.  Barr knows Reacher’s an exceptional investigator who won’t rest until the truth is revealed.  Reacher doubts Barr’s innocence, but decides to look at the evidence.

The shots came from just 35 yards out.  Yet, there were six shots and only five kills.  Barr wouldn’t have missed at that range.  Why was one shot a miss?  Then there’s the evidence that led to Barr.  He wouldn’t have left behind a shell casing with a fingerprint.  And what killer would take the time to put a quarter (with another fingerprint) in the parking meter where he was shooting from?  Things weren’t adding up.

As Reacher digs deeper, he becomes the next target.

+++++

Lee Child’s Jack Reacher novels are always a fun ride.  ONE SHOT is no exception.

Rating:

THE WIDENING GYRE: A SPENSER NOVEL by Robert B. Parker

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THE WIDENING GYRE by Robert B. Parker

First sentence…

I was nursing a bottle of Murphy’s Irish Whiskey, drinking it from the neck of the bottle sparingly, and looking down from the window of my office at Berkeley Street where it crosses Boylston.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Spenser is hired to find who is blackmailing Meade Alexander.  Meade is a congressman running for the Senate. He’s happily married. Meade’s a law and order guy.  The most important thing in his life is he’s  a Christian.  Meade’s as All-American as apple pie and baseball.  Meade’s also being blackmailed.  But not because of anything he’s done.

Ronni, Meade’s wife caused the problem.  There’s video of her having sex with college boys.  Lots of video.  And she’s into it.

Meade wants the problem to go away.  If the video gets out, his campaign is finished.  Spenser agrees to take the job, not so much for Meade, but because of Ronni.  As Spenser digs deeper he discovers so heavy hitters in the Boston underworld are involved.

Yikes!

+++++

Robert B. Parker’s Spenser novels have always been required purchases for me.  Parker and Spenser never disappoint.

Rating:

THE LAST FEW MILES: A CARTER MCCOY NOVEL by Eric Beetner / Z-View

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THE LAST FEW MILES: A CARTER MCCOY NOVEL by Eric Beetner

First sentence…

Carter McCoy closed the menu and handed it back to the waitress.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Carter McCoy doesn’t have long to live.  Six months give or take a few.  The doctor told him the name of the disease that’s killing him, but does the name really matter at this point?  There’s no cure.  McCoy is 72 years old.  Other than the disease he’s in great shape.  Some might say that’s ironic.

You might think that since McCoy’s wife and daughter are dead, he has nothing to live for.  You’d be wrong.  The man who caused his daughter’s death escaped justice and is still alive.  McCoy has wanted to kill the man for years.  Only thing stopping him was his wife.  Now she’s gone and Carter’s time is running out.

And there’s one thing he’s going to do before his time is up.

+++++

I’m a huge fan of Eric Beetner’s tales.  THE LAST FEW MILES: A CARTER MCCOY NOVEL is another winner.  An old man with just months to live wants to kill the man responsible for his daughter’s death.  The man isn’t a killer, he’s old and he’s dying. In any good writer’s hands that’s a great set-up for a crime novel.  In Beetner’s mits it’s just the kick-off for his yarn.

Soon a young woman in a tragic situation will against odds become Carter’s friend.  She’s in a terrible situation.  Perhaps Carter and a bullet could save her.  Carter’s dying so he has nothing to lose.  And if he’s successful she could have a chance at a good life.

The only thing that could stop him are the police that are getting close and the disease that’s even closer.

THE LAST FEW MILES: A CARTER MCCOY NOVEL is a fast read, with twists, suspense and ever increasing stakes.  I applaud the ending.  It wasn’t what I was expecting but works perfectly.

Rating: