Library Journal
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In his latest thriller (after Desperation Reef), Parker introduces Orange County Sheriff's Detective Lew Gale, a former U.S. Marines sniper who is sent out to hunt down the mountain lion that mauled wealthy developer Bennet Tarlow to death. Before he can find the big cat, Gale gets word that Tarlow was killed not by a mountain lion but by the two bullets someone put in his head. Tarlow's latest real estate deal was a plan to build a model city on five square miles of wild land near San Juan Capistrano. His plan had many opponents: among them, members of the Indigenous Acjachemen tribe, to whom the land belonged for thousands of years. Beyond the tribal protestors, Gale and his partner Daniela Mendez find there are other political and financial considerations that could have led to someone wanting Tarlow dead. The deeper they delve, the more they realize that this may only be the first death in a series of murders. VERDICT Parker is no slouch at plotting, but he particularly excels at creating flawed but sympathetic characters who are doing their best in a complex world. Gale and Mendez each have complicated lives but strive for justice even so.—Jane Jorgenson

Publishers Weekly
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Edgar winner Parker (Desperation Reef) excels in this shrewd police procedural that introduces Lew Gale, a “post-traumatic Marine with a taste for liquor and no desire to talk about what he’ been through.” After returning from Afghanistan, Lew has become an Orange County sheriff’s detective. He draws on his training as a hunter when he’s asked to track down the mountain lion that killed Bennet Tarlow, scion of a powerful real estate family, on land his relatives had donated to become a wilderness park. Before Lew can find and shoot the cougar, the case turns much more complex. Bennet’s autopsy reveals that he actually died from two bullets fired into the back of his skull at close range, and that the mountain lion only mauled him after he was dead. Along with his new partner, Daniela Mendez, Gale changes tack to track down the human killer, even as his once positive impression of the Tarlow clan is complicated by news that they were planning a development on the ancestral land of an Indigenous tribe Lew himself is descended from. With effective surprises, memorable characters, and simmering SoCal atmosphere, this goes down smooth. Parker has a promising new series on his hands. (Nov.)