Helpful Score: 2
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.
Helpful Score: 1
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.
Helpful Score: 1
The first Kevin Kerney novel and I loved it.
Helpful Score: 1
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.
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.
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.
Michael McGarrity is a great writer, have read almost all of his books, they range from really good to great.
good start to series
A definite brain candy book, once you pick it up it is hard to put down.
loved the book, McGarrity provides a good story with great description of the setting and its characters.
This book is in the excellent tradition of Mens Fiction. Im not being sarcastic, Im being serious. We got the hero, the girl and Mission Accomplished
Mens Fiction is a truly awesome category in the best tradition of virtually every great writer. Its always a page turner. The protagonist (an anti-hero) reluctantly gets dragged into a mission/quest because Its. The. Right. Thing. To. Do. . Usually the reader does not want to put it down because the action is intense and non-stop. Once the quest begins, our anti-hero suffers greatly, both physically and mentally but through great moral strength the mission/quest is brought to a successful conclusion. There is always a love interest, and this varies with the writer. The love interest is a literary device, who gets to be the mirror that the anti-hero reflects off of. Often, the love interest is an intellectual equal who also shows great personal character and strength, and is similarly emotionally stunted. The best part of Mens Fiction is you know it will be a solid read and that The. Reader. Will. Not. Be. Disappointed. .
I strongly recommend this book. Im sure it will appeal to anyone who likes Mens Fiction. It has all the right elements in all the right places with a special bonus of horses. Its satisfying. Its comfortable and our anti-hero gets the girl and solves the mystery/obtains the treasure/and smites the bad. It even has international mystery.
Why, you may ask, did you give this a three star rating instead of a four if you liked it so much. Fair question. Answer: Our hero failed to smite the evil overlord, a smuggler and purveyor of drugs. If anyone deserved to be smited
Triggers: Homicides (at least 3 on camera, and many off camera), torture as an interrogation technique, grieving parents that lose their all-American son, death of a horse, hunchbacks (jorobado), sale of drugs, corruption of officials, theft, treasure hunting, attempted rape and M/F consensual sex. Probably less violence and certainly much less sex than a prime time TV show.
Other than the author failing to smite a person that richly deserved it, this is a great read. Its a perfect traveling companion for an airline trip.
Im going to go out on a limb and suggest that even that teenage boy who hates to read would enjoy it. (Of course its up to you to shove the book into his hands, open the book to page one and force him to get through the first couple of sentences) As they say when it comes to teenagers, no guarantees and your mileage may vary.
Mens Fiction is a truly awesome category in the best tradition of virtually every great writer. Its always a page turner. The protagonist (an anti-hero) reluctantly gets dragged into a mission/quest because Its. The. Right. Thing. To. Do. . Usually the reader does not want to put it down because the action is intense and non-stop. Once the quest begins, our anti-hero suffers greatly, both physically and mentally but through great moral strength the mission/quest is brought to a successful conclusion. There is always a love interest, and this varies with the writer. The love interest is a literary device, who gets to be the mirror that the anti-hero reflects off of. Often, the love interest is an intellectual equal who also shows great personal character and strength, and is similarly emotionally stunted. The best part of Mens Fiction is you know it will be a solid read and that The. Reader. Will. Not. Be. Disappointed. .
I strongly recommend this book. Im sure it will appeal to anyone who likes Mens Fiction. It has all the right elements in all the right places with a special bonus of horses. Its satisfying. Its comfortable and our anti-hero gets the girl and solves the mystery/obtains the treasure/and smites the bad. It even has international mystery.
Why, you may ask, did you give this a three star rating instead of a four if you liked it so much. Fair question. Answer: Our hero failed to smite the evil overlord, a smuggler and purveyor of drugs. If anyone deserved to be smited
Triggers: Homicides (at least 3 on camera, and many off camera), torture as an interrogation technique, grieving parents that lose their all-American son, death of a horse, hunchbacks (jorobado), sale of drugs, corruption of officials, theft, treasure hunting, attempted rape and M/F consensual sex. Probably less violence and certainly much less sex than a prime time TV show.
Other than the author failing to smite a person that richly deserved it, this is a great read. Its a perfect traveling companion for an airline trip.
Im going to go out on a limb and suggest that even that teenage boy who hates to read would enjoy it. (Of course its up to you to shove the book into his hands, open the book to page one and force him to get through the first couple of sentences) As they say when it comes to teenagers, no guarantees and your mileage may vary.
For two years, Kevin Kerney has lived alone on a small ranch, nursing the wounds that retired him from the Santa Fe police department. But Kerney's solitude is shattered when his ex-partner, Terry Yazzi, arrives one afternoon to plead for Kerney's help.
Fast moving. First book I have read by this author, have ordered more. Main character Kevin Kerney is very believable.
