Two best friends. One deadly secret.Something dark and brooding stalks the mysterious Bosque nature reserve. Bird watchers fall prey to the menace and thefts of rare falcons are on the rise. But it is the body of a murdered girl discovered on the banks of The Rio Grande River that eventually brings Detectives Temeke and Santiago onto the trail.During a camping weekend, Jessie Bowman’s best … weekend, Jessie Bowman’s best friend, Bree, has disappeared. Guilt ridden, yet determined to do the right thing, she tracks the man she believes is responsible and begins to unravel a mystery that tests every ounce of her resilience. She has only two choices – fight or flight. And Jessie is done with running.
Now Detectives Temeke and Santiago must locate Jessie before the madman snares his final prey.
‘Stibbe handles the latest mystery in the Detective Temeke series with the dexterity of a master falconer. The climax will swoop down and seize you when you least expect it, leaving you feeling as if you too have become ‘easy prey’. Dr Maurice Singleton, PhD in Narrative Theory, Author and Lecturer
‘A gripping story with some of the most vivid writing I’ve read this year. Unpredictable and absorbing, it was one of those books that hooked me right from the start.’ Bonnie’s Books
‘If there is a crime fan who hasn’t discovered the Detective Temeke series yet, go and read them all immediately. I love books with that extra-special something, where the author puts you at every scene and doesn’t let go until the last heart-pumping chapter.’ 23rd Avenue Book Club.
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Jessie Bowman and her best friend, Bree, spend a weekend camping and bird watching. Bree has disappeared in the middle of the night. Jessie is heavily guilt-ridden and tracks down the man she thinks is responsible.
A girl’s body found on the bank of the Rio Grande River brings Detective David Temeke and his partner, Detective Malin Santiago to investigate.
The Detectives will have to track down Jessie to get at the truth and bring to light secrets that endanger them all.
Although this is part of a series, it can easily be read as a stand alone. However, as always I highly recommend starting at the very beginning. Temeke and Santiago are well drawn, giving the feel of credibility to the story. Gyrfalcon is a rather unique character that everything swirls around.
This well-written, highly suspenseful story goes back and forth with the voices of Jesse and then as seen through the eyes of the detectives. It’s full of action, rapidly paced and I found it hard to put it down once started.
Many thanks to the author and TBC Reviewer Request Group (FB) for the digital copy of this crime thriller. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
As a fan of Detective Temeke and his partner Malin Santiago, I was delighted to see a new book in the series. Easy Prey features a fascinating character, Jessie Bowman, who embodies the indestructible illusion of youth. When her best friend, Brianna Ortiz, disappears from their tent while on a camping trip, Jessie is thrown into a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a deadly opponent.
Waking in the tent to discover Bree is gone along with a gun Jessie had brought for protection, the seventeen-year-old sets out to find her. The girls had been searching for a rare bird, an arctic gyrfalcon, and had seen a gray-haired man with a shotgun who they suspected was hunting the same bird.
While Jessie searches for Bree, she notifies the police, drawing Temeke and Santiago into the case. The story is told both through Jessie’s eyes as well as Malin’s and Temeke’s. Stibbe does an excellent job of capturing the innermost thoughts of the young girl; her guilt about an argument she had with Bree before her disappearance, her determination to learn what has happened to her friend, and her ability to pursue the man she suspects has kidnapped Brianna.
Stibbe has a knack for describing police procedures with an intensity that carries the reader along, comfortable in the knowledge of what is happening and why things are done in a particular manner. Her ability to switch between Temeke’s detective vision and Jessie’s teenage view provides a well-rounded picture of the events.
Perhaps the most disturbing character in the book is Jago, a sick individual who leads Jessie on a chase that could end in her death. This is not a book for the squeamish. It is violent, frightening, and will keep the reader up well past bedtime. I truly could not set it down.
There are other important characters in the story, not the least of which is the gyrfalcon. Kept by Malik Shamoun who owns a bird sanctuary, the falcon is the focal point of the tale. It is this falcon that precipitates much of the activity, from its disappearance to the hunt by Jago, and the eventual discovery of its importance.
There are understories which are as intense as the main plot. Stibbe ties it altogether neatly at the end, leaving her reader satisfied and eager for the next Temeke adventure. As with all the Detective Temeke books, this can be read as a stand-alone. However, I encourage readers to start with the first one and move forward. They are too good to choose just one favorite.
I DIDN’T LIKE THIS BOOK. hEROINE WAS WAY OVERDRAWN AND JUST REALLY UNLIKABLE. dIDN’T FINISH IT.
I gave two stars because the only thing I liked were the two main detectives. If the write up on the book had mentioned a filthy old man deviant kidnapper and torture descriptions, I wouldn’t have downloaded the book.
Wanted to read it because it takes place in NM. Not much NM in it, and I skimmed most of it because it was boring.
I do not like the way the author jumps around with characters and places
The book was a bit scary and very unpredictable
Theresa
Not good.