Review: Thunderbird Ranch by Laura Griffin

 

When I realized that Laura Griffin, author of the very good Innocence Road, had a new book coming out, I put my request in on NetGalley. I would not have noticed if not for the awesome Lesa Holstine who brought it to my attention. She did, I went and looked, and soon was approved. While I liked that book more, this one is also a solidly good read.

 

Like Innocence Road, Thunderbird Ranch has a strong female detective being marginalized by her boss. The read also has a lot going on and gets very complicated very fast.

 

As Thunderbird Ranch opens, Lilian Lasko is going with her boyfriend, Will, to meet the family. It is a Friday, deep in the searing heat of a Texas summer, and the day before a birthday party for his widowed mom. Faye’s birthday also will mark the one-year anniversary since her husband, Will’s father, died. It has been a horrible year, the ranch has major issues that some point on the old barn will not fix, and the drought that is searing Texas is taking a toll everything. At least part of the place is still looking good thanks to the reach of a spring fed creek.

 

Faye Bowen McCann is a strong-willed woman and certainly does not seem to be devasted by grief, no matter what Will said. Faye McCann is not impressed with Lilian and has the resources to address that issue. She also has big plans for the ranch. Plans that Will’s brother and sister do not like at all. They also do not seem to care for Lilian at all.

 

Then there is Sheriff’s Deputy Kate Graham. Late one day she has been out at Mason’s Quarry chasing away beer drinking kids from an adjoining county. Dispatch calls her on her cell phone to tell her that the sheriff wants her to get out to Thunderbird Ranch immediately. He won’t say why, but did tell dispatch to tell her to keep it off the radio.

 

Once Deputy Graham gets out there and finds the sheriff, she realizes he said to keep it off the radio for good reason. There has been a murder.

 

Before long, Sheriff Bruce Hard has made her the lead detective of the case. A case that gets more and more complicated as the pressure from the Sheriff as well as the District Attorney demand it be solved. This is her first murder case, and it easily could be her last, for more than one reason.

 

A complicated read full of interesting characters, Thunderbird Ranch is well worth your time.

 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://link.amazon/B0eWgiHxl

 

 

My digital ARC came from the publisher, Berkley Publishing Group, through NetGalley, with no expectation of a positive review.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2026