Former DEA agent Hardin Steel is now the duly elected sheriff of Cameron County, Texas. Life along the Rio Grande is good. His two ex-wives are behaving, his girlfriend is beautiful, owns a condo on South Padre Island, and is helping him win—most of the time—his battle with booze. But then the Ochoa Cartel shoots down a DEA Blackhawk helicopter using a US-made Stinger missile, the wife of a … corrupt judge dies in a mysterious accident, and Steel’s friend, Dennis Deleon, is found murdered on his fishing boat—his privates impaled on a large fish hook.
Steel’s life is turned upside down as he goes after the killers the only way he knows how—down and dirty—winner take all….
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“You get the gist of it?” […] “Yeah, we’re all going to die on Tortola.”
This was a fast-paced, suspenseful read with some unexpected twists and turns. The characters have plenty of peculiar personality traits, “tough-guy”-attitude and dead-pan humor. It is impossible not to take an instant liking to them, even if they’re not always on the right side of the law. The story has a certain “Wild West”-feel to it.
Life is never quiet for former DEA-agent Hardin Steel. An old enemy resurfaces and, having acquired a dangerous weapon, is ready to bring havoc onto his part of the world. Steel and his hardcore buddies end up right in the middle of it all. When the enemy’s grasp is much longer than anticipated, they must ally themselves with some very unexpected people. Will they be able to take out the terrorists in time?
This is the second installment in the series about Hardin Steel. In my opinion, it is not necessary to read the first book to understand the plot. However, I suspect I might have enjoyed the opening chapters a bit more if I had done so.
The prologue was quite useful to me as a reader since it mentions the historical facts that the book is loosely based on and gives a hint of what is to come. It made me think of the phrase “something wicked this way comes.”
The action and feeling of suspense are on almost from the beginning, with some short breaks to make the reader relax a bit, only to throw you off balance again with a sudden twist. Guns are blazing, objects explode, and people get killed. Everything you expect from an action novel.
The characters were my favorite part. There are no typical heroes or damsels in distress; not even the bad guys are as you would expect. Instead, there is a sheriff who doesn’t mind breaking the law as long as it is done with good intentions or a judge’s wife who is plotting revenge against her husband. Reneau has managed to create characters that are entertaining and real, flaws and all. The same goes for the lesser characters as well, not only the main ones.
Reneau writes in a very visual manner, making it easy for the reader to envision the different settings. Though when the interactions are more intimate, he is more suggestive in his choice of words, leaving it to us to read between the lines. The one thing that annoyed me about the detailed writing was how the brand of every cigar smoked, and hand watch looked at, is mentioned by name and qualities.
The way the narration changes between a first and third point of view was a bit confusing at first. Whenever there is a description of a scene where Steel is not involved, Reneau uses third-person narration, whereas the rest is written in the first-person narrative, from Steel’s perspective. By letting the reader into Steel’s mind and no one else’s he creates a special connection to only his character, while the others have a more distant feel to them.
I enjoyed myself immensely while reading this novel and had a hard time putting it down. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good action-thriller.
I received a free e-book from the author via The International Review of Books in exchange for my honest review.