I have to say I wanted to like this book, since I had lived in New Mexico for a time. But it really wasn't very good. Another friend liked the main character, Kevin Kerney, and said she would read another book featuring him.

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The first Kevin Kerney novel and I loved it.

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I'm only six pages into the book and already I've found four glaring errors that make me wonder if it gets better or worse. I don't think I'll bother to find out. This one is going in the trash.

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Michael McGarrity's Kevin Kerney is the kind of person you wish every lawman would be. He's honest, down to earth, non-judgmental, slow to anger, loyal to his friends. Tularosa introduces him as a former cop whose ex-partner's son is missing. Although previous events have caused Kevin to despise his ex-partner, he nevertheless agrees to go looking for the son. I started this series in the middle and came back to this first novel in the series, Tularosa, because McGarrity's style of writing, characters and plots simply leave you waiting for the next book, and the next.

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I've had this book, along with a few others in the series, on my shelves for a few years. I remember picking this up in a used book store because I had seen it compared to the Longmire series by Craig Johnson and also seeing a recommendation on the cover by Tony Hillerman, author of the great Leaphorn and Chee series. I enjoy both of these series so this seemed like a good bet.

Kevin Kerney is an ex-Santa Fe detective who was forced to retire after a bad injury on duty. But he is drawn back into action when he is approached by his former partner, Terry Yazzi. Kerney has no love for Yazzi who was instrumental in contributing to Kerney's injuries. But when Yazzi asks him to try and locate his missing son, Sammy, who has gone AWOL from the White Sands Missile Base in New Mexico, Kerney agrees, mainly because Sammy is Kerney's godson who he still has much affection for. The trail leads to a mystery involving murder, treason, and some priceless artifacts. Kerney is joined by Captain Sara Brannon from the base and together their lives are put in peril by a smuggling operation being run out of Juarez, Mexico.

Well, I was not disappointed in this one and glad I finally got around to reading it. The story takes place in New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico and was a real page-turner with lots of action. I thought the characters were well-written and the locale of the novel was also a plus. I am quite familiar with this area of the country; I was stationed at Biggs Field, near El Paso when I was in the military in the 1970s. My wife is also from El Paso and we have visited there quite often. I enjoyed McGarrity's writing including his descriptions of the desert landscape of the area. This did somewhat remind me of the Longmire books and even more so of the Hillerman novels which also take place in the desert Southwest. I'll be looking forward to continuing with this series.

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Michael McGarrity is a great writer, have read almost all of his books, they range from really good to great.

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loved the book, McGarrity provides a good story with great description of the setting and its characters.

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good start to series

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