A review by mojoshivers
Lone Jack Trail by Owen Laukkanen
5.0
As much as I like Laukkanen’s other series this one feels more natural to me. The problems Burke and Winslow face manifest organically from living in a bad part of the country and for Jess getting married to the wrong kind of man. And as much as I love Stevens & Windermere, sometimes the cases they catch are a little too cutesy and unique for uniqueness’ sake.
This series, though, feels like what could happen to anyone who was unlucky enough to be born near Deception Cove or Neah Bay. You too could get mixed up in murder-for-hire plots involving cruel boys and the even crueler men they grow up to be. You too could be forced to defend your band against multiple murder charges. You too could have a tense gunfight on the side of a godforsaken mountain. You too could die possibly.
But that brings up my chief worry going forward. I don’t know how this series continues without straining credibility. Bad men can’t keep showing up at Jess’s doorstep, even if she is the county deputy. Eventually the plots have to dry up or at least stop involving her. That’s why the next installment will be pivotal because it’ll tell me where this story goes from here or if book two is where it ends.
Which wouldn’t be so bad I think. I kind of like the idea of a limited two-book series. After all, Mason, Jess, and Lucy have earned some domestic bliss.
This series, though, feels like what could happen to anyone who was unlucky enough to be born near Deception Cove or Neah Bay. You too could get mixed up in murder-for-hire plots involving cruel boys and the even crueler men they grow up to be. You too could be forced to defend your band against multiple murder charges. You too could have a tense gunfight on the side of a godforsaken mountain. You too could die possibly.
But that brings up my chief worry going forward. I don’t know how this series continues without straining credibility. Bad men can’t keep showing up at Jess’s doorstep, even if she is the county deputy. Eventually the plots have to dry up or at least stop involving her. That’s why the next installment will be pivotal because it’ll tell me where this story goes from here or if book two is where it ends.
Which wouldn’t be so bad I think. I kind of like the idea of a limited two-book series. After all, Mason, Jess, and Lucy have earned some domestic bliss.