A Turtle Roars in Texas
By Russ Hall
Genre: Thriller/Suspense
Publisher: Red Adept Publishing
Trouble rides through Texas.
Detective Al Quinn had hoped to spend his retirement fishing at his lakeside home and taking care of the local deer. That bubble pops when Gladys Sanders, the sixty-year-old co-owner of an organic farm, is found dead by her two sisters, her body displayed like a scarecrow. On the same day, her son is run over in his kayak.
Evidence slips away from the scene right under the noses of two deputies, so Sheriff Clayton asks Al to mentor a younger detective. That simple task explodes into raw danger when three rival biker gangs with ties to Mexican cartels start mixing it up in earnest.
ICE Agent Jaime Avila tells Al that old turtles ought to leave the fighting to the young. But when the danger involves Al’s brother, Al dives into the heart of the ruckus. Before the war is over, the gangs just might get to hear the turtle roar.
MY REVIEW:
Okay, so first of all, please don't let anyone take offense at this next statement. THIS is the kind of motorcycle club fiction I want to read: raw, gritty, and violent!
I was happy to return to Al Quinn's world, visiting with the retired detective and the busy sheriff again. While this is a sequel to To Hell And Gone In Texas, this can be read as a standalone novel. I liked these characters and was glad when I found out there was another book about them being released.
The plot of this one is darker and a bit more realistic than the previous book's. It involves dirty cops, ICE agents, motorcycle clubs and Mexican gangs. It gets bloody at times, but it never crosses the line so as to alienate any readers. Mr. Hall knows what he's doing, and his characters are always spot-on, believable, and likable.
This book read as well and was over as fast as its predecessor. I really hope that more is forthcoming, because I loved this one.
5/5--gritty and interesting!
Author Bio
Russ Hall is author of fifteen published fiction books, most in hardback and subsequently published in mass market paperback by Harlequin's Worldwide Mystery imprint and Leisure Books. He has also co-authored numerous non-fiction books, most recently
Do You Matter: How Great Design Will Make People Love Your Company (Financial Times Press, 2009) with Richard Brunner, former head of design at Apple, Now You’re Thinking (Financial Times Press, 2011), and Identity (Financial Times Press, 2012) with Stedman Graham, Oprah’s companion.
His graduate degree is in creative writing. He has been a nonfiction editor for major publishing companies, ranging from HarperCollins (then Harper & Row), Simon & Schuster, to Pearson. He has lived in Columbus, OH, New Haven, CT, Boca Raton, FL, Chapel Hill, NC, and New York City. Moving to the Austin area from New York City in 1983.
He is a long-time member of the Mystery Writers of America, Western Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime. He is a frequent judge for writing organizations. In 2011, he was awarded the Sage Award, by The Barbara Burnett Smith Mentoring Authors Foundation — a Texas award for the mentoring author who demonstrates an outstanding spirit of service in mentoring, sharing and leading others in the mystery writing community. In 1996, he won the Nancy Pickard Mystery Fiction Award for short fiction.
On Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1OBCi7I
On Amazon: http://amzn.to/1ldEy9T
Thanks mucho for reading and reviewing, Kelly! The next book in the series, Throw the Texas Dog a Bone, is on its way!
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