Harry Hunsicker

Author Harry Hunsicker spins tales of Dallas that don’t fit the glitzy image advocated by the Chamber of Commerce. His Dallas is one of dope dens, backstabbing in the barrios as well as city hall, a river and a roadway system that was deliberately constructed to divide the rich and poor, where the ends justify the means in you are on the winning side of the deal. Where the streets are paved with broken dreams amidst the cracked asphalt and where babies are born with no hope and no chance show more to get out. This view was part of the backbone of his very good Lee Henry Oswald Mystery Series (begin with Still River) and is also present in the Jon Cantrell Thriller Series. The second book in the series, Shadow Boys, picks up a few months after, The Contractors and leads readers on a history lesson while dealing with a violence fueled here and now though not all of the violence comes by way a weapon.

When he isn’t messing with the tourists at the Grassy Knoll by tossing around empty rifle cartridges, Jon Cantrell works for a law firm out of Washington, D. C. He is paid well to discreetly handle situations that arise when government shipments of important cargo are not returned or fall into the wrong hands. While the law firm prefers that he not moonlight, in this case, his boss has granted Jon Cantrell permission to meet with someone that they would like to have a relationship with going forward.

That someone is Deputy Chief Raul Delgado of the Dallas Police Department who is a rising star in the DPD despite, or maybe inspite, of his violent background. The movers and shakers have begun grooming Delgado and offering advice as they believe that he is a person who someday might be sitting in the governor’s mansion down in Austin or occupying a legislative seat in Washington. The same drive that got Delgado to where is now is the same drive that in some ways is preventing him from rising further. While aware of that dichotomy, Delgado is more focused on a mission of a personal nature. Delgado wants a certain 13 year old autistic boy who lives with his elderly grandmother in West Dallas found. The child has been possibly missing for a few days now and the details of his living situation are very sketchy. Delgado can’t use the vast resources of the DPD and needs a man with the proper skills as well as being sufficiently motivated to get the job done. Considering the boy’s name is Tremont Washington Jon Cantrell is most definitely the man on both counts. Not only does he have the skill set, Jon Cantrell owes a debt to Tremont’s father that he can never repay. Cantrell is also seriously annoyed that despite what he had been told by the Texas Department of Public Safety ten years ago the family was never relocated to California and has remained in a very bad situation in West Dallas.

Tremont Washington has to be found. That storyline is the primary storyline for the book which features several other storylines all interconnected in various ways to the primary hunt for the child. Throw in a missing government weapons shipment, an out of control SWAT officer, city politics, and a series of vigilante murders, among other items, and things get very interesting in the Texas heat.

Shadow Boys is a fast moving and intense read that surpasses the first book, The Contractors. Interspaced with the action and the mystery are small flashes of cynical and often sarcastic humor. Violence comes in many forms in this thriller as does political expediency and deceit. As in the first book of the series, there is some hard edged sarcasm about the city along the Trinity River that has no real reason for being other than sheer force of will. While the Chamber of Commerce may hate Hunsicker’s non photo shopped version of Big D, the author showcases yet again that he has a very good understanding of makes the city and its residents tick in various ways. Along the way he delivers a complex thriller that crisscrosses time and space all across the city proving that Shadow Boys is one book to make sure and read.

Book Three in the series is titled THE GRID and was released August, 2015. The book is in my tbr pile and will be read and reviewed soon.

Shadow Boys (A Jon Cantrell Thriller Book 2)
Harry Hunsicker
http://www.harryhunsicker.com
Thomas & Mercer
http://www.apub.com
December 2014
ISBN#: 978-1477825754
Paperback (also available in e-book and audio forms)
384 Pages
$8.99

Material was supplied by the author quite some time ago in exchange for my objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2015 show less

What an engrossing and emotionally charged mystery this one turned out to be.

The story in a few words:

Dallas PI Dylan Fisher hasn’t seen his ex-wife, Rose in three years. Rose is a homicide detective wanting them to meet. She needed his help with a murder investigation she was working on. After leaving each other, Dylan felt uneasy when he noticed seeing someone tailing her car, he wanted to warn her…. but it was too late, the driver had shot her, killing her instantly. Then things show more turned seriously wrong when the police fast determined that Dylan had done the deed…..

My thoughts:

I love the PI genre a lot they are suspenseful and keep you on the edge of your seat. When Detective Lutz tries to pin Rose’s murder on Dylan Dylan’s lawyer Mia Kapoor had his back and out on bail pronto. Can Dylan stay idle? No way. Doing so brought us into a series of twisted events.

“The Life and Death of Rose Doucette” grabbed me from the get-go. The author’s writing style is so smooth that I found myself almost through the book so captivated by the going on that time had just passed by in a jiffy.

I like the Dylan’s character, a determined man wanting to clear his name while looking for answers. It is hard not to be rooting for him. Teaming with Rose new husband Tito, a defense attorney, was something else to read. As the investigation unfolds this story gives secrets and surprises and danger galore lurking in the darkness….No doubt, we are into one exciting mystery to follow.

Pleasantly, the narrative is very active and is said in the first person by Dylan. As for the supporting cast, they are varied and unique giving the perfect touch to this engrossing mystery.

This story is well-written and move smoothly at a leisurely-pace. Passing time reading this story was not wasted time.

I received a copy of this book from Oceanview Publishing show less

All Arlo wants is to be left alone. Since his family was murdered has he been drifting from place to place and now he has come to Piedro Springs. What he didn't anticipate were the woman begging him to help her and her children and neither did he anticipate everything that happens next. The woman ends up dead and the sheriff seems less than thrilled about having Arlo in his town. This is a town with secrets, secrets that they are hellbent on keeping, but Arlo will not give up his hunt for show more the woman's children's.

The Devil's Country is a thrilling book about a man with a tragic past. In many ways did Arlo Baines reminded remind me of Jack Reacher especially since the last Reacher book I read had a similar concept as this one. I quite liked Arlo. Arlo's life as a Texas Ranger ended when his family was murdered and we get the full story in this book in flashbacks to the past.

The missing kids and the woman that were killed belonged to a cult and there is something wrong with it. However, the cult basically owns half the town so it's hard to get anyone to talk. But, there is a journalist there whose sister joined the cult and together they try to find out what happened to the children as well as the journalist's niece.

Lots of action, an interesting story, and a very tragic ending. I liked this book and I liked Arlo. I hope to read more books with him because he was such an interesting character and I would like to see some happiness in his life again.

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review! show less

Texas Sicario is the sequel to The Devil's Country that I read two years ago. I really liked The Devil's Country and hoped that this book would be as good. Arlo Baines wife and children were murdered some time ago and even though the ones that did the deed has been punished can't Arlo move on. Now is he working with security at a bazaar in Dallas. A while back did he find a street kid Miguel that he's taken under his wings. However, a brutal killing will change everything for both Arlo and show more Miguel.

Texas Sicario is well written and fast-paced. I quite liked the book, the only drawback for me is that I just don't like stories about drugs and cartels. I liked reading about Arlo again, and I liked how he's protecting Miguel. As for the murders, the links they have to the cartels, well as I wrote before, I just don't find stories like that especially interesting no matter how well written the book is. I'm not saying the book is bad, the story is good. I just feel I was not as invested in this story as with the first book. Still, there are some good parts (Arlo bonding with Miguel) and I never felt the book bored me. Also, I was surprised by the identity of the killer although not at all surprised about who is behind the cartel.

This book is perfectly alright, I liked that the story was not bogged down with a lot of extra details or unnecessary side stories. Lately, I've felt that some books would have been better if they had been trimmed down. This one felt refreshingly fast-moving.

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review! show less