Being Window Dressing Can Be Dangerous
When I reconnected with Jack Prester and the rest of the characters in the Jack Prester Mysteries earlier this year, I couldn’t wait to get back to them in Joshua Tree, the seventh book in the series. When I picked it up, I was immediately under its spell and enjoyed every page.
If you are new to the series, Jack is part of a special unit of the National Parks that travels to various parks to assist them with investigations. Either these are high profile cases or are cases where an outside viewpoint is needed. His wife, Ev, is also a part of the unit; in fact, they first met on the job.
Naturally, this time, Jack is off to Joshua Tree. He is asked to look into the death of a ranger who died of a drug overdose while riding a bull. All the investigators, from the park to the local authorities, have declared it an accident, but the man’s family is threatening to sue. Jack’s assignment is to poke around and confirm the official findings. Essentially, he’s window dressing. Should be an easy assignment for a change.
When Jack arrives, he begins to see some things that aren’t adding up for him. Including things that make him think something is going on in the park itself. Will he figure out what really happened? How much danger is he in?
The mystery intrigued me right away, and I was happily pulled into the story. I was caught off guard by a few of the developments, and I always had a hard time putting the book down. There were a couple of things that I might have complained about, but author Sandy Dengler pulled it off in such a way that those things became minor issues at best. And one thing in particular was explained to my satisfaction at the end.
Yes, this book does start out focused on Jack. However, some of the other characters come into play as the story unfolds. I figured that would happen, and I was thrilled to be right. It’s always fun to see them in action together. The new characters we met along the way are just as interesting.
I will say I found the use of profanity I little off-putting. Not so much that it was used, it just didn’t seem to be needed the majority of the times it popped up. It’s just a smattering of times, so it’s not a huge issue.
On the other hand, I have long loved this author’s use of language. Her writing can be almost poetic at times. Not only does it transport me to the locations and bring the characters to life, but it can make me smile and chuckle. All this without slowing down the story in the slightest. It’s well worth reading for that alone.
I enjoyed getting lost in Jack’s world again with Joshua Tree. If you are looking for a fun story set around this National Park, you’ll be glad you picked it up, too.
Enjoy the rest of the Jack Prester Mysteries.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for stopping by. In order to combat spam, I moderate most comments. I'll get to your comment as soon as I can.