Dire

This is the 8th book I have read by Mr.Carson…I have to say, that in general, they are entertaining stories. I do, however, see plenty of room for improvement. I spent many years in Law Enforcement and my feeling is, if you re going to have a protagonist that is a Law Enforcement Officer, you should have some general idea how it works. Mr. Carson needs to do some research. There is not an honest officer anywhere that would allow himself to be sexually assaulted by a City Council member without charging them immediately….It was pretty obviously just a sexually gratuitous scene. The book could easily have done without that. Detective Wolfe has been so beat up so many times, in real life he would be on medical leave…no one, not even Wolfe, could survive so many severe injuries and still function as an officer. Not to mention that some of his tactics are illegal and he would be on Admin leave, summarily fired if not charged with several felonies, and likely brought up on federal Civil Rights violations. There is also the fact that it is difficult to believe there is so much illegal, dishonest, and subversive politics going on in one small town…I mean, really? Seems it is present in every book. There is also the issue of every heroine being small, with a perfect figure, and for the most part, with big,
perfect, blue or green eyes…is there something in the water? I want to move there if there is…. There is also the issue of frequent grammatical errors. Either spelling errors, or simply the wrong word being used. Most of them are simple mistakes that would be covered in English 101. Yes, these books are Fiction but if the stories continue in the same vein, maybe they should be called Fantasy.

Chief Detective David Wolf risks his life to pull an accident victim out of the Chautauqua River after an accident… When Wolf goes to the hospital with his ankle injury, he meets the new girl in Rocky Points, Lauren Coulter… After he asks her out, Lauren invites Wold to lunch at her home for the following Monday… “Lauren is smart, beautiful, and just Wolfs type” or is she?

What a great read! This is another one of those books that I kept thinking “just a few more pages” and I had finished it before I knew it. I can easily visualise Rocky Points, Colorado and the characters in this series now and that makes reading the books fun. This was definitely an edge-of-your-seat page-turner that will have the reader experiencing many emotions while reading. Follow the clues along with Chief Detective Wolf and try to solve the case but watch out for the twists and turns! The big reveal is a shocker… I highly recommend this series and author, Jeff Carson!

This was my eighth book by this writer (and likely 8th review) starting with book #1 and going forward to this #8. The David Wolf series, of which these 8 books deal with has been a most pleasurable experience. What I most like about former Chief of Police, now, Chief Detective Wolf is his believe ability as a character. That is what drew me in at first read and what brings me back to the most recent read.
There are several other characteristics about this writer’s work that I also like, e.g., plot is always strong, and best of all, leaves me with great reader memory. In other words, when, if, I put the book down, I can come back to it without having to re read pages to remember what is going on. That speaks well, to me, of good continuity of plot. Character development is also well done. You know, and believe, why the protagonist is a good person, and why the antagonist is not. This book has several of each, all of whom carry this trait to the bitter end.
I like good rising action leading to good falling action with anti climax and then resolution. Again, this book does not disappoint.
I do not re-tell story lines in my reviews, but pick any in the series and be pleased. The good news is that Jeff Carson does not write cliff hangers, each book stands on its own bottom, so makes no difference where one starts. although I do encourage reading “Gut Decision” as a primer, which the author will provide in return for a review.
Carson is a gifted writer, among several that I read. One that comes to mind in that category is Lehane. If unfamiliar with Dennis Lehane, pick up a copy, or view the movie, “Mystic River” starring Sean Penn. But, I digress. Read this writer, you won’t be disappointed. Who knows, you may end up like me, a David Wolf addict!

This is the first book I have read by Carson, and I was pleasantly pleased. He has a knack for wording scenes in unusual but amazing ways
that work.

After reading hundreds of mysteries, it’s hard to find one that’s “different,” and keeps me guessing. He was able to do this with this story.

My only complaint is that one – it definitely is not a stand-alone book. Wolfe kept referring to the ‘awful things” he had been through with this wife. (was she dead, had she committed suicide, in jail?). I would have liked to have had a brief synopsis of somewhere in the book as a place of reference. Also, my biggest complaint with action type books – how one guy can keep getting out of death-defying situations over and over again.

Some of his scenes were very funny and well written. I could just imagine the officer who had to remove his fellow officers pants while she was in an emergency birthing position. He wrote it in such a way that you know that site will remain in that mans head every time he comes in contact with her in the future.

I have read 9 of the Wolf books (not always in the correct order!) and have given 4 or 5 stars to all of them.
I find them a change from the the usual murder mysteries, where the Detective interviews all the suspects and
goes over the same ground time and again.

I like Wolf as a character and Patterson as the strong minded female detective who works so well with Wolf.
In this book, the “fly in the ointment” is a detective on the team who is disliked and distrusted by everyone,
but as he was appointed by the Sheriff, Wolf cannot get rid of him.

I find it a strange system that the Sheriff is voted into the job, so, as with politicians, it depends on how much
money and influence you can conjure up. However, this part of the book was a small side issue and didn’t detract
from the main story.

Wolf and his team are following up on murders and a kidnap, but every time he thinks he is getting ahead of the game,
the “baddies” are two steps ahead of him. The bad snow also hampered his actions. There were some twists in the
story – most of which I guessed – which kept the book fast paced. I liked the ending with the heavily pregnant Patterson.

I recommend all the Wolf books, but I do worry how much more trauma his poor body can take!

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