Deborah J LedfordCritiques

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.

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.

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.

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.

First Nations intrigue!

Eva “Lightning Dance” Duran, is a policewoman with the Taos County Sheriff’s Department. Eva is a member of the Taos Pueblo nation. She liaises between the Reservation Police and the County Department.
Her best friend Paloma “White Dove” Arrio has disappeared, along with three other First Nations women. All are Hoop dancers. It’s been some weeks, and it’s only now that the outside world becomes aware of what’s been happening. Eva finds a body in a hunting area on a borderline area between the County and the Rez. It’s one of the missing women, not White Dove, arranged in traditional ceremonial dress, that’s interestingly not genuine. The elders don’t want the FBI called in on Sovereign Land, even though it might give access to valuable data.
White Dove had been an amazing Hoop dancer until on the way home from competitions she’d been in a collision. She was left injured and her husband dead. Her pain, emotional and physical was unbearable. That was the beginning of Paloma’s drug addiction.
Eva, a Reservation cop, Cruz “”Wolf Song” Romero, and White Dove’s son Kai “Single Star” Arrio, continue their frantic search, but as another of White Dove’s friends turns up dead they are faced with the possibility that they might never find her.
A taut and rewarding police procedural working within the boundaries that restrain the County Department and the Reservation police. I was fascinated by the demarcation lines between the two.
A swiftly developing intrigue, told from various points of view. I was totally involved.

A Thomas & Mercer ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.

kindle file to review

At an electrifying pace from tribal ritual drums and flutes to the beat of the modern pop music scene Native American pop singer, Karina Salvo prepares to emerge from her reclusive cocoon to her first concert on a national stage.
Having written and performed her songs as a recording artist Salvo’s agent Petra Sullivan has prepared the singer to meet her adoring public for the first time in the heart of Appalachia, a small theatre in Bryson City, North Carolina. The concert is sold out and the local Sheriff appoints Deputy Steven Hawk to handle all security issues. Hawk’s preparation for the concert reveals that Salvo’s delayed introduction to the public has been because of her reluctance to have her private life peered into by journalists and paparazzi as she has a secret. Her father is in jail for killing her mother when Salvo was barely eight years old, and he has been released from jail the week of the concert and is considered to be behind the death threats that the young singer has been receiving in the form of hate mail for several months.
Salvo had been raised on the reservation by her mother’s people on the Taos Pueblo along the plains of New Mexico and is the first of her tribe to be recognized for her musical talent. It is to her aunt’s house that Salvo runs, needing a place to hide after the attempt on her life at the concert that has left her petrified and estranged from her manager, and has left Deputy Hawk injured in his attempt to protect her from a malicious Native American presence at the concert, the appearance of her uncle, Taima. Was he there in spirit or in person? Witnesses at the reservation swear he was on their land at the time of the attack but neither Salvo nor Hawk are convinced and as they heal, her spiritually and he physically, they conduct their own investigation from the confines of her aunt’s home.
Is it her revengeful father, the ghostly appearances of her uncle or the tribal drum beat itself that sound the death knell for Salvo and will Hawk, in Ledford’s second in a trilogy featuring the young African American deputy from North Carolina, be up to the task to protect Salvo from the snare he has inadvertently placed her in by bring her home to the Taos Pueblo?

When two young pianists live under the same roof, are carefully groomed for stardom by their ‘uncle’ and share a hard competitive edge jealousy is bound to rear its ugly head. When the more accomplished of the two, Nicholas, appears to have the winning hand then the other, Timothy, takes every pleasure in bring him down a notch.
When this comeuppance involves the death of Nicolas’ lover and his own near murder he has to fake memory loss to get enough time to gather the information he needs to get even with his rival. With the discovery of his father’s secret diary he is able to put together the missing pieces he needs to bring the whole ‘family’ to their knees. With the help of a new found love he forges a bond to get back to a real life again.
If I had not read Ledford’s second novel, Snare, out of sequence and known that the protagonist was to be detective Steven Hawk I would have thought that Nicholas was the hero of the novel and Hawk takes too long of a time before making his appearance in Staccato. Both books can be read as stand-alone novels and the second is much more satisfactory than the first showing the growth that this writer has made in her style between books. I know there is a third in the series due out and I am chomping at the bit to read it too.
Staccato is a fine novel, a thriller that is poignant, suspenseful and written to a broken beat that sets the stage for each successive story line to advance with allegro.

I read “Causing Chaos” with wild abandon and can’t get the plot out of my head. If
Ledford’s fourth book is the first for you, it stands alone like every great novel in a series should.
But if you’ve read the first three, then you’ll find that as good as the others are, they were all a
giant foreshadowing for what takes place in “Causing Chaos,” when they all coming crashing
together.
Once again, we are drawn into Inola ‘Hummingbird’ Walela’s world, the lone Cherokee
female on the Bryson City Police Department. As she recovers from the death of her partner and
physical and psychological damage, Inola prepares for her final week on the force. She will soon
join her boyfriend, Sheriff Stephen Hawk, as one of his deputies in the Swain County Sheriff’s
department.
Inola’s last week on the job implodes when her childhood friend, Paven Nahar, breaks
out of jail where he was charged with the disappearance and probable murder of his wife Shellie.
Previously a suspect in the disappearance of three local women, known as the Qualla Ghosts,
Nahar is ‘in the wind’ again. The tribe on the rez will protect him and so it is left to the one
person that knows him the best to head up the manhunt.
Convinced of Paven’s innocence in the disappearance of the Qualla Ghosts, Inola is sure
of his innocence in the current case. When it is revealed that a local art dealer, Vandra Gudren,
and her companion, Konrad, had been at Paven’s home the evening his wife vanished, Inola’s
investigation leads her along that path. Dragged further into the case by a revelation that a past,
personal attack may have been the precursor to the all the missing women, Inola closes out her
week determined to bring all the cases to a head, no matter the consequences.
A standing round of applause for this dynamite blast of a thriller. Bravo!

Crescendo, book three in the Steven Hawk/Inola Walela psychological suspense thriller series, follows in the fast-paced and mesmerizing tradition of Staccato and Snare, the first and second books in the series.

I’m not going to rehash the plot here, because there are already a plethora of summaries in reviews previously posted. What I do enjoy writing about, however, is the reaction I have to novels, and how the characters or plot affected me personally. I know, it’s a bit narcissistic, but those are the types of reviews I like to read, not just plot rehashes. ;o)

Since I read the first book in the series, Staccato, I’ve loved the character Inola, a Native American cop who’s constantly having to prove herself to her police department colleagues in the relatively backwoods town of the Bryson City, North Carolina. In spite of her stubborn nature, her inability to communicate with those she truly loves (Steven and her grandmother, Elisi), and her insistence on going out on her own despite obvious dangers that threaten – you can’t help but love her. Tough, focused, and smart, she’s everything you’d want in a heroine.

I particularly enjoyed her vulnerability in this book re. the evil villain’s charms. When she is told her bullet most likely killed her best friend and partner, Cody, she is understandably traumatized. She’s removed from her job, believes she is responsible for Cody’s death, and is obsessed over the mention of a missing child at the scene of the accident that opens the story. These three items weaken her confidence and resolve, and she’s inexplicably drawn to a fellow sympathetic listener, Preston, who happens to be a delicious villain. Preston—a wonderful actor—charms her into his arms. Problem is, Inola’s currently living with and involved in a relationship with the rugged black Sheriff, Steven Hawk.

There were many memorable scenes, including Inola’s visit to the villain’s hotel room, the shivery cold chase scenes through the woods, and the amusing scenes with the IT jailbird who is released to help out the cops. My favorites, however, were those showcasing Inola’s grandmother Elisi and the young abandoned boy they rescue from a hotel room. Her loving attention to this boy broke my heart, and I felt instantly moved. Although it seems Elisi didn’t connect with Inola when she was delivered to her to be raised, she apparently has grown and changed over time, and has a great deal of love to share.

I have recently learned that Ms. Ledford is planning a fourth book in the series – hurray!

Recommended by Aaron Paul Lazar, www.lazarbooks.com.

Snare was a very fast paced, fun read. It had solid characters that did things I wasn't expecting. Now I can only hope that there might be another Steven Hawk title in the future.

A very fast paced, hard to put down title with a solid story, and well defined characters full of emotion. I was entertained by Ledford's use of classical music to set the mood of each scene. The only thing I think would kick this title up a notch is if it had it's own soundtrack on CD set into the back of the book. However, this would work great as an audio book as well.

First Line: Katina's eyes locked on the straight-back chair she had wedged under the doorknob.

Katina Salvo has come a long way from her abusive childhood. The reclusive Native American singer/songwriter's music sells very well, even though she's never made a personal appearance or given a concert. Her manager feels that it's time to change all that and have Katina move another step up the ladder, so a concert is booked in a small North Carolina theater where Deputy Steven Hawk will be put in charge of the singer's security.

Something goes terribly wrong at the concert, and Katina and Hawk are attacked. No one is quite sure of the assailant's identity, so the singer and the deputy regroup in familiar territory for Katina: the Taos Pueblo Indian Reservation in New Mexico. Hawk is determined to find this mysterious attacker before he can get close enough to kill the talented young woman.

Snare was so good that I'm going to have to get my hands on a copy of Ledford's first book in the series, Staccato. The pacing kept the story moving at a fast clip, and the plot-- after giving readers two viable suspects-- kept me trying to guess the right one. (I guessed wrong, by the way.)

Ledford has created a compelling story where the main characters are all members of minorities. (I love it when the Lone Ranger doesn't show up and the day is saved anyway.) She's also very adept at adding small details that can pack a big emotional punch-- as when the very young Katina is hiding in her bedroom and marking time on her Hello Kitty alarm clock.

The scenes revolving around the concert-- both doublechecking the security set-up, the concert itself, and the near-riot and attack-- moved lightning quick, were frightening, and felt almost as though I were watching a video. Everything was crystal clear in my mind's eye. Also much appreciated were the details of Taos Pueblo life and culture during the scenes taking place in New Mexico.

All in all, I found Snare to be a very good read, and I'm hoping Deputy Hawk has a good long run of many books to come.

Review by Melissa Cornwell
First, I would like to say that I enjoyed Staccato very much. It was a very intense adventure right from the beginning. The characters were very enjoyable, especially Nicholas. He was a very convincing character, and I felt for him the entire way. I just really liked the intensity of the novel. It was to the point, and I liked that about it. I also felt that the background behind the story was thoroughly explained. As mentioned in the acknowledgments, a lot of research was required to make this book possible, and the effort shows in the result. I could also feel like I could connect to the characters on my own emotional level. Everyone has secrets, or skeletons in the closet, that they would rather not address, and I felt that coming from the characters. I could also relate to the musical side of the book, or that passion for music, or for any form of art. The characters were extremely complex, like Sampte. I felt that he was a character torn between loyalty and doing what is right. What person hasn’t been put in that position at one time and another? This novel was very realistic in terms of what the characters portrayed: Alexander, who was never truly loved, and Timothy, who wanted to find acceptance. The villains had a very human side to them. I was also really glad that Nicholas was able to continue playing after doing therapy. His was a well-deserved happy ending. This book brings out these qualities of humanity, and that is why I liked this book. Excellent writing technique and language, which made the book easier to read. All in all, an excellent debut novel, and I wish the author future success in her career.

http://www.romancing-the-book.com/2010/02/review-staccato-by-deborah-j-ledford.h...

Review by Judy Nickles

Deborah J. Ledford’s second novel, Snare (Second Wind Publishing), qualifies as a bonafide thriller. The author has mastered the art of changing the POVs of her well-developed characters from chapter to chapter without losing the thread of their individual importance within the story. While many writing gurus caution against multiple points of view, Ms Ledford has used them skillfully.

Mingling the potential victim’s American Indian heritage with her current world adds not only to the suspense but the general interest as well. While I enjoyed the somewhat lengthy descriptive passages scattered throughout the book, I felt they slowed the action somewhat. That said, I think removing them altogether would take away from the overall mood of the story.

Native American pop singer/songwriter Katina Salvo’s career is about to take off. There’s one problem: someone wants to kill her. Katina and her bodyguard, Deputy Steven Hawk, are attacked during an altercation at her first live concert. Could the assailant be a mysterious, dangerous man from her youth? Or her estranged father recently released from prison for killing her mother?

The action spins from California to the Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina and finally to the Taos Pueblo Indian Reservation in New Mexico in a relatively short amount of time. The author demonstrates an excellent brevity in the telling of Katina’s back story, which sets the stage for the chilling events to come. When the resolution careens onto the pages, with stunning, hard-hitting suddenness, it is both surprising and satisfying.

Snare is Book Two of the Steven Hawk/Inola Walela Thriller Series. Fans of the genre will want to pick up Book One, Staccato, and watch for Book Three to come.

http://www.romancing-the-book.com/2011/03/review-snare-by-deborah-j-ledford.html

This novel reads to its own inner score of classics expertly played on the piano. Staccato by Deborah J Ledford is set in the beautiful scenery of the Smoky Mountains and revolves around the mansion and summer home of super-rich musician Alexander Kalman. Kalman was born in Hungary. Afflicted with a club foot, but blessed with music, and empowered by an enormous drive to succeed, he now supervises the musical careers of two young men, Nicholas who his sister adopted many years ago, and Timothy who has lived with him from childhood. But—listen to those powerful chords—Nicholas has found a notebook from his natural father, and things are not as they seem.

Eight months from now, Nicholas will come into his inheritance and be free. Eight months from now, he will publicize his romance with Alexander’s niece. Eight short months… But time is cut shorter than that and tragic events unfold as the music plays.

The author switches the narrative pace beautifully, like a well-played piece; tense arguments, slow ponderings, urgent climbs and pregnant pause. Then the first act ends. New characters appear; Steven Hawk and Inola Walela, working for the police in search of a missing person. The music plays differently—Smoky Mountain tracks replacing the grand opera, and the two strains twist and combine with an evil beat lurking underneath.

The difference between skill and hard work is beautifully played, between care and ambition, between help and control, and the whole is a fascinating book that brings music and the Smoky Mountain scenery to life. It will be interesting to see where Hawk and Walela take us when the author’s next novel comes out.