Tom Jefferies has done a lot of things over the
years. He used to be a member of Special Forces and still maintains links to
his old group. He used to be a Dallas cop. A cop with, according to some, a rather
checkered history though nothing was ever proved. These days he is a private
investigator in Broward County, Florida.
That means he hands out a lot of business cards with his signature and the
slogan--“If I can help, call me.”
The young dead woman in the morgue was found with
such a card between her fingers. No doubt a final indignity given by those who
raped her and beat her to death. While
the cops have his card, they don’t have her identification or much of anything
else. PI Tom Jefferies is in no rush to help them either as he has another way
of getting justice.
Mary Lou Smithson was her name and she was in that
often difficult time between a young teenager and womanhood. Found in Coral
Lakes, the woman was the daughter of old friends Charlie and Lonnie Rogers.
Seventeen and sure she knew what she was doing, she was hanging around with a punk
boyfriend who sported a certain kind of tattoo. Her parents tried everything to
stop her escalating dangerous behavior with no effect. Now, she is in the
morgue dead and Tom Jefferies wants answers and justice. That tattoo is going
to be a major piece of the puzzle.
What follows is a far more complicated story than
your typical vigilante style book. Far different in style and tone from the ACE series, author Randy Rawls has created a much harder character who isn’t
bound by what law enforcement would consider permissible. While there are the
occasional inside nods to readers familiar with his other series based in
Texas, Tom Jefferies has very little in common with ACE.
He also has little time for outsiders no matter
their intentions as he is on a mission for Mary Lou Smithson. A mission
increasingly jeopardized by solid police work, a romantic entanglement, and
other issues including the toll the quest is taking on this heavily conflicted
character.
Published by L & L Dreamspell, this is the powerful
start no doubt of a new series from Randy Rawls. Dark in tone with occasional flashes
of humor and romance, the 264 page read takes readers on much more than a vengeance
ride. Thorns On Roses is a good one and well worth your time.
Thorns
on Roses
Randy
Rawls
L
& L Dreamspell
July
2011
ISBN#
978-1-60318-375-8
Paperback
266
Pages
$14.95
Material supplied by the author quite some time ago
in exchange for my objective review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2012
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