With Jim
Nesbitt’s recent Facebook announcement that the new book in the series, The
Fatal Saving Grace, is coming soon, I have been reminding you each Friday
of the series to date. This is a violent crime fiction series that should be
read in order. This is the fourth book in the series and the most recent
installment.
Dallas Private
Investigator Ed Earl Burch has a love/hate relationship with West Texas. Loves
the land and its stark beauty. Does not care for many of the people---
especially the ones that have repeatedly tried to kill him. But, truth be told,
he never felt more alive than when working out there being the manhunter deal
where one kills or is killed. It was like working Dallas Homicide without the
red tape. Get the bad guys and gals, dead or alive.
In the wake of the
savings and loan collapse the last decade, these days he is off the pills and
making a good living going after the fugitive partners of real estate deals
that went bad, finding hidden asserts, and nailing dead beat developers. He has
done so well that he got his lawyer paid off and that meant he was free and
clear from that shyster. Also did well enough to open an IRA and play in the
stock market a little. He is a regular guy these guys with bad knees, mental
and physical scars, and is absolutely bored out of his mind.
He’s spending his nights
at Louie’s when he can’t sleep. Drinking and sharing war stories with a bunch
of retired Dallas cops and other folks. Those old stories bring back a lot of
memories. Also tends to sooth the voice of his long dead partner.
One memory from the past
brings a lot of pain and guilt. Juanita Mutscher, at one time had an
ex-mother-in-law, Theda Bayer. That woman had a daughter, Rhonda May Bayer.
After Theda Bayer died as a result of her own toxic ways, Burch pulled a few
strings and greased the wheels so that Rhonda Mae, who was six or seven back
then, could go back to Juanita to live at her place out in the country between
Midlothian and Venus.
It should have been a
good deal.
It was until her Daddy
came back in Rhonda Mae’s teen years, got full custody, and had Rhonda Mae move
in with him. Things spiraled out of control. Burch intervened the first few
times as she did drugs, booze and more, and repeatedly found herself deep in in
consequences and trouble with the law. But, being off the Dallas PD by this
time meant he had far less sway or markers to call in to help. He also got fed
up riding to her rescue.
Now more than a decade
later, Burch decides to go see Juanita and to make amends as best as he can.
The years have not been kind to her and she makes it clear to Burch she is not
long for this world. Her husband is dead and the next stroke she has will no
doubt will send her on her way to him in the afterlife.
She would not have
called. But, since he is at her place seeking redemption, she wants him to find
Rhonda Mae. Been over a year since Juanita last heard from her. All she knows
is that means the young woman is in trouble, not surprising since she is out in
West Texas and mixed up in one of those Texas secession groups. While all the
various groups preaching that nonsense are bad news, some are far worse than
others.
Which one Rhona Mae is
in, Juanita does not know. Juanita did save the letters that Rhonda Mae sent
and she wrote some about what she was doing so that might help. Most of them
were postmarked in Faver. A small town along the border. A place that Burch knows
and he also knows the Sheriff down there pretty well.
With a starting point, a
couple of ideas, his guns, and a handful of memories and ghosts, Burch packs up
and goes down to see if he can find Rhonda Mae. It is a quest for redemption
and to save the living, if he can. It does not take long for Burch to find
blood, bullets, and mayhem. For Burch, this is the way.
The Dead Certain Doubt:
An Ed Earl Burch Novel is
the latest read in the series that began long ago with The Last Second Chance.
As such, one expects the read to be complicated, violent, and graphic in terms
of that violence as well as intimacy between partners of the night or long-term
relationship. Such is true here as author Jim Nesbitt pulls out all the stops
in every area.
At the same time, a
significant part of this book is about Burch’s history and past cases. He has
seen a lot and those deals are a major backbone of this book. Some situations,
major parts of previous books, are detailed here in multiple paragraph odes of
remembrance. As such, it would be best to have read the previous books before
embarking on this read.
The Dead Certain Doubt: An Ed Earl Burch Novel by Jim Nesbitt is a powerfully dark and very violent crime fiction read. It is also incredibly good.
Amazon Associate
Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4qEfquw
My reading copy was an
ARC provided by the author with no expectation of a review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2023, 2025
Posts
