Deborah J Ledford

The title of this one says it all, Havoc! If you are looking for a multicast thriller novel, then this is your series. Eva “Lightning Dance” Duran is back to duty and it is getting right back into the saddle for her. Now a member of the Taos Pueblo tribal police, she has her hands full with a bank robbery, a few murders and plastic 3D printed guns that keep turning up at the different scenes. But with there being other departments a part of these cases as well, she keeps getting pushed out but Eva is determined to connect the dots and bring justice for one of their own that was killed. Although there was a lot of characters and a few story lines going on, the novel flowed well and the author did an amazing job bringing it all together in a very realistic way. I also really enjoyed learning about some of the beliefs and rituals on the reservation as well as the everyday struggles they deal with. I will be looking forward to reading more in this series and now I need to go back and read the first book so I can learn more about Eva and her past. Thank you to the author and Netgalley for the complementary ebook. I am excited to be a part of show casing this novel with Thriller Book Lovers the Pulse this summer. This review is of my own opinion and accord.… (plus d'informations)

REDEMPTION is the first in a new contemporary series starring a Native American Sheriff's Deputy who is willing to put it all on the line to find her missing friend. Paloma has been her friend since childhood. But a car accident that killed her husband and two others and left her severely injured has left her with chronic pain an addiction to any sort of drug she can find to relieve it. Paloma was once the most famous hoop dancer in the Southwest.

When Paloma goes missing only Eva and Paloma's eighteen-year-old son Kai are willing to look for her. Paloma has burned her bridges with the tribe because she was stealing in order to support her habit.

This story is told from multiple viewpoints. We hear from Eva, and from Kai, and from Paloma, and from Alice the traveling nurse who is determined to find a cure for the drug addiction that is making inroads on the reservation and who especially wants to save Paloma since she has been a fan since she first saw her dance.

The story deals with real life problems. Drug addiction and dealing in drugs find a fertile ground on Indian reservations for a number of reasons including their large size and sparse population. This story also deals with people trying to meet other people's expectations which is something Eva is dealing with being the only Native American and one of few women in the Sheriff's Department.

This story wasn't a who dunnit. We knew the criminal. We knew her motives and watched her mental state deteriorate. The tension came from wondering if Eva would be able to follow the clues fast enough to save her friend before the villain killed her accidentally.

I liked the action. The rafting scenes to get to a body were graphic and exciting. I liked the characters.… (plus d'informations)

Having read previous books by the author, I looked forward to Redemption with anticipation, and I was not disappointed. I have visited the Taos, New Mexico area, and I appreciated learning more about Taos Pueblo, the reservation, and the traditions and beliefs of the people who live there.

Redemption touches upon the plight of missing Indigenous women and the problem of drugs on the reservation and shows how the tribal, city, and county police forces work together to solve crimes. The four women Eva is searching for are all highly talented in arts that are important to the Pueblo people: drum making, basket making, jewelry making, and hoop dancing. When their bodies began to be found, I felt as though a part of these artistic traditions died with them.

The cast is a strong one, with Eva at its heart. Her tribal name is Lightning Dance, but with her quiet demeanor and accurate marksmanship, she earned the nickname "Silent But Deadly" at the police academy. She often wants to go rogue to get the job done, but her intelligence keeps her in check. She knows being a loose cannon will not get the bad guys locked up in prison, and that such behavior will probably get her kicked off the police force-- and she loves her job.

Readers see the points of view of several characters. For example, we hear Paloma's thoughts as she hopes Eva will be able to find her. We hear from Paloma's son, Kai, a mercurial eighteen-year-old whose emotions sometimes get the best of him, and we hear from Alice, the woman who's holding the women captive. Although Alice's heart is in the right place, she still reminded me a tiny bit of Annie Wilkes in Stephen King's Misery. But my favorite character has to be Nathan "Little Bear" Trujillo, a little boy who's living a nightmare and wants it to end. I certainly wouldn't mind seeing him again.

Redemption is a fast-paced tale with a main character I want to hear more from. I look forward to the next book in the series.… (plus d'informations)

Somewhat Redeems Itself
Review of the Amazon First Reads ARC eBook (August 1, 2023) of the Thomas & Mercer paperback / ebook/ audiobook (to be released September 1, 2023).

I've had hit-and/or-miss luck with Amazon's First Reads, but a free ARC is still tempting. I chose Redemption from this month’s offers where it was promoted as a ‘police procedural.’ I saw that it had a New Mexico setting (the ominous cover art featuring the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge was also intriguing) and was written by a veteran author with one previous 4-book series known as the Inola Walela and Steven Hawk aka the Smoky Mountain Intrigue Native American police procedurals. Redemption had a lot of pros to it, but the cons knock it down a few points. In the end it flirted with an Unsatisfactory Ending Alert™.

With a first book of a series you don't necessarily expect a lot of character building, but the introduction to Taos County Sheriff's Deputy Eva Duran and associated characters was well done. The atmosphere and settings of the Taos Pueblo reservation and area felt very real. I was particularly happy that Duran is portrayed without a lot of angst (aside from regretting one brief romantic involvement). The other strong positive was actual cooperation between the various law enforcement agencies involved instead of the cliché turf guarding and backbiting.

The downside was that the main villain of the piece remains a cypher right to the end. There is also no mystery as to the identity of the culprit as it is revealed in the first few pages of the book. A subplot of manufactured 3D "ghost guns" is introduced but then ignored for most of the book, until it is again hinted at towards the end, likely as a setup for the sequel. A gang of drug dealers is dealt with, but it feels unsatisfactory. Revealing exact details would be a spoiler, but let's say that it feels off when the protagonist isn't involved in the takedown. They're supposed to be the lead!

A 3 rating is my best compromise. Others may find it more thrilling. I would read further in the Eva Duran series though as the world building and character setups were well done.

See photograph at https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Rio_Grande_Gorge_Bridg...
A view of the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge near Taos, New Mexico. Image sourced from Wikipedia by <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Dschwen" title="User:Dschwen">Daniel Schwen</a> - <span class="int-own-work" lang="en">Own work</span>, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

Trivia and Links
Amazon Prime First Reads advance reading copies (ARCs) are available to Amazon Prime subscribers. They offer advance reads of books in Kindle eBook format one month before the date of official release. The current month's selection is available here (Link goes to Amazon US, adjust for your own country or region).

The 2nd book of the Eva Duran series by Deborah J. Ledford is Havoc with an expected publication date of August 20, 2024.… (plus d'informations)