FFB Review: Long Fall From Heaven by George Wier and Milton T. Burton

 

From the massive archive….

 

Cueball Boland, owner of NiteWise Security Company as well as a couple of other things in Galveston, Texas, has a very unpleasant task when he knocks on Micah Lanscomb’s trailer. Cueball needs Micah’s help because a fellow guard, Jack Pense, is dead. Jack was on the job in the Demour warehouse when somebody hit him on the head, tied him up, and then beat him to death.  Cueball wants Micah to go have a look at the crime scene before they have to call the cops.

 

Jack Pense died in a warehouse owned by the legendary Demour family. They are old island money with plenty of power and connections and a desire to keep things quiet. Having a night watchman killed in their warehouse is not going to sit well with them or those that do their bidding. It also doesn’t sit well with either Micah or Cueball, both of whom have extensive law enforcement backgrounds and distaste for local law enforcement.

 

That means they intend to make it their case and will work it as they see fit. Wrongs have to be set right, as best as they can, in a case that will has links to crimes decades old that still reverberate with modern consequences. The truth may not set them free, but there can still be justice, not just for Jack Pense, all these many years later.

 

Featuring twin Texas story lines with one set in the late 1980’s and the other in the mid to late war years of World War II, Long Fall from Heaven is a powerful novel co-written by George Wier and the late Milton T. Burton. Rich in Texas history and details, the book is a complex multilayered read that is not easily summed up in any review without revealing a vast number of spoiler details. Suffice it to say that Long Fall from Heaven is incredibly good and very highly recommended.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3AdXBMZ

 

Review copy was provided by George Wier for my use in an objective review.

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2013, 2024

FFB Review: Arrowmoon: A Bill Travis Mystery by George Wier

While my friend, George Wier, is no longer physically here with us, he lives on through his many books. For FFB today, I remind you of one of his books in a great series.

The land is truly in the middle of nowhere in deep East Texas. Isolated, with nothing of any significance at all besides an ageing barn on it, nothing has disturbed the land and it secrets for decades. That is until now because a road is coming through to serve the increasingly population in Texas. The isolated and decaying barn and its secrets lay in the path of that road. Secrets that people will kill to keep hidden from all.

 

Bill Travis manages money from his office on the western edge of downtown Austin. He has done a few things and knows quite a few people in all walks of life as the preceding novels in this series that began with The Last Call make clear. But, when all the mysteries are cleared up and he has extricated himself from the latest mess he got into, his main job is managing folks money so they make money no matter the shape of the economy. To do that you have to keep your clients happy.

 

Lief Prescott is a client and right now he is not happy at all. Lief is building highway 119.  The same highway that is eventually going to go right through that isolated barn. Some hot shot lawyer out of Boston has slapped Lief and his company a restraining order banning construction for 14 days.  Lief is incensed as time is money and he can’t have the road building crew sitting around while he is on deadline. He needs help, he needs it now, and he expects Bill Travis to help.

 

That means Bill Travis is going to have to head over towards the College Station vicinity and make his way to the small town of Hearne, Texas to get with Lief and address the situation.  A situation that will ultimately get bigger and far stranger than Bill, Lief, or anyone else expected. What should be a civil business problem clearly isn’t based on the sniper’s bullet. They should have taken the warning as there are those who won’t stop to protect the secrets of the past.

 

Once again, Texas author George Weir spins a wild tale featuring many players along with plenty of mystery and adventure.  History, real or fake, plays a huge role in these books and such is the case here in the eighth book of the series. Also present are the usual observations about Texas and family from Bill Travis who may or may not have had a legendary relative at the Alamo. Like every book in the series, Arrowmoon: A Bill Travis Mystery is a fun, fast paced, complicated mystery read that keeps readers well entertained.

 

 

Material provided by the author in exchange for my objective review.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2012, 2021

FFB Review: The Last Call: A Bill Travis Mystery by George Wier

Earlier this week, the horrible news that Texas author George Wier had passed was posted to Facebook. I was stunned as I had no idea that he was fighting cancer. George was a very talented author and I am a big fan. He was also a cyber friend who occasionally reached out to me as Sandi fought her own battle and far more often after she passed as he tried to make sure I was sticking around and not having stupid thoughts. I suspect he deliberately did not tell me he was fighting cancer these past months so as to not upset me. I wish he had told me, but I get why he did not. The news has been very hard to take. I still have a number of books of his to read in the old eBook TBR pile and it is going to take quite some time before I can even think about trying to do so.

On this final Friday in July 2021 when the world seems mad on so many levels, I offer you my review from many years ago of the first book in this series, THE LAST CALL. George made it a permanently free read in eBook format several years ago, ignoring the naysayers who said not to do that sort of thing, and it did very well for him. If you have not read him, you really should.

 

Bill Travis first saw the beautiful woman while he was driving in heavy traffic on the loop near downtown Austin. The beautiful reddish blonde in the red roadster didn’t seem to mind that Bill Travis was staring at her. For a few minutes they played a cat and mouse game passing each other in the heavy morning traffic. After a smile his way and a couple of quick moves on her part in the stop and go traffic, she was gone down the interstate and out of his life. That left the nearly 40 year old Bill Travis with only one option---head to work as if nothing had happened at all. 

That is until a short time later, as his first client of the day, she walks into his office. 

Julie Simmons may have flirted and then cut him off in traffic, but she has bigger issues then being a sexy and rude flirt. She has crossed Archie Carpin, a North Texan Liquor Baron and legendary figure with a violent family lineage dating back to the 20’s in Texas. This is one family that you leave very well alone if you have any brains at all. Julie was desperate and took two million dollars and ran. Of course, Archie Carpin very much wants his money back.

 

Bill Travis, a man that helps well off people with their money problems can’t help falling for her in every way possible.  Even if there is far more to her story and he knows it from the very start.  The beautiful woman wasn’t kidding when she said her name was trouble. He just didn’t care. He should have as she was not lying about that much at least.

 

On the run and trying to stay alive on a trail that takes them from Austin to North Texas and back again, Texas author George Wier crafts an intriguing tale full of twists and turns. Populated with complex main and secondary characters, plenty of clues, and plenty of action this recently released novel first in a planned series is a good one. Even seasoned mystery readers will be surprised by some of the twists the complex case takes while imparting some legendary Texas history.

 

 

The Last Call: A Bill Travis Mystery

Gorge Wier

http://www.georgewier.com/

Flagstone Books

2011

eBook (also available in print and audio formats 

 

Material supplied by the author in exchange for my objective review.

 

Kevin R. Tipple © 2011, 2021

Short Story Wednesday Review: The Feast Of All Souls: A Short Story by George Wier

From the Archives….

Well known for his Bill Travis Mystery Series, Texas author George Wier has made quite a name for himself in the realm of short stories as well. Many of them are stand alone tales with a hint of the paranormal in some aspect. Such is the case here with The Feast Of All Souls: A Short Story. 

It has been fifty-eight years since Glenn Robinson had his pocket knife. He knows exactly where and when he lost it all those years ago. At seventy-two, he knows that the clock is ticking on his life. He also knows that the sudden return of his pocket knife as thanks for a pilfered breakfast is significant and means a lot. That morning would change everything as there are many other pieces of his life he would love to have back. 

He also knows that some people are watching for signs of anything that would give them an excuse to throw him into a nursing home and effectively end his life. He knows he has to be super careful and have a plan that will work and deal with all contingencies. 

The Feast Of All Souls: A Short Story is a tale of the past, present, and future. It is a tale of what was, what is, and what will be. It also is a tale that is not easy to explain even after one has read it and thought about it awhile. It is a good read and well worth your attention.

 

The Feast Of All Souls: A Short Story

George Wier

http://www.billtravismysteries.com

Flagstone Books

December 2018

ASIN#: B07M5NCSZG

27 Pages

 

Material was purchased in early February 2019 to read and review by way of funds in my Amazon Associate account.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2019, 2021

Short Story Review: The Feast Of All Souls: A Short Story by George Wier

Well known for his Bill Travis Mystery Series, Texas author George Wier has made quite a name for himself in the realm of short stories as well. Many of them are stand alone tales with a hint of the paranormal in some aspect. Such is the case here with The Feast Of All Souls: A Short Story.

It has been fifty-eight years since Glenn Robinson had his pocket knife. He knows exactly where and when he lost it all those years ago. At seventy-two, he knows that the clock is ticking on his life. He also knows that the sudden return of his pocket knife as thanks for a pilfered breakfast is significant and means a lot. That morning would change everything as there are many other pieces of his life he would love to have back.

He also knows that some people are watching for signs of anything that would give them an excuse to throw him into a nursing home and effectively end his life. He knows he has to be super careful and have a plan that will work and deal with all contingencies.

The Feast Of All Souls: A Short Story is a tale of the past, present, and future. It is a tale of what was, what is, and what will be. It also is a tale that is not easy to explain even after one has read it and thought about it awhile. It is a good read and well worth your attention. 

The Feast Of All Souls: A Short Story

George Wier

http://www.billtravismysteries.com

Flagstone Books

December 2018

ASIN#: B07M5NCSZG
ZG27 Pages

$0.99

Material was purchased in early February 2019 to read and review by way of funds in my Amazon Associate account.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2019

Review: Mexico Fever: A Bill Travis Mystery by George Wier

It has been awhile since the events of Desperate Crimes and as Mexico Fever opens it is not long before the peace and quiet of Bill Travis’ world is broken. Walt Cannon is missing somewhere in Mexico. He’s a retired Texas Ranger and saved a few folks over the years including a Governor of Texas, Richard Sawyer, and our family man and reluctant hero, Bill Travis. While Sawyer has been out of his office for the last 4 years, he wants to see Bill Travis at his home down in River Oaks in Houston. When a Governor of Texas asks to see you, you go see him.

Governor Sawyer may be dying and a shadow of his former self, but his mind is still sharp. He knows that their mutual friend, Walt Cannon, is missing down in the state of Yucatan in Mexico. He even knowns exactly where Cannon was conducting business before he vanished. Governor Sawyer should know as he sent Cannon down there to track down and deal with a former religious leader that these days is arming rebels and seeking to overthrow the Mexican government. Some of his followers acting on his behalf executed a family on the Texas side of the border near Eagle Pass and Sawyer wanted Cannon to get him.

It was over two months ago that Cannon went down there chasing the elusive figure known as “Sunlight” and he has not been heard from since. Sawyer wants Travis to go down after Cannon and get him back home where he belongs. The last personal request of a dying man who feels responsible would be difficult to refuse as it is, but Travis also owes Cannon so going is never the question.  A debt has come due.

Explaining it to Julie and leaving her and the kids behind is going to be hard. Dealing with looking for Cannon, the local politics, a guerrilla movement, and more in Mexico Fever is going to be very hard.

Mexico Fever is the twelfth in the Bill Travis Mystery Series that began many years ago in The Last Call. While the family continues to grow and long running characters continue to evolve in the series, the hallmarks of action and adventure are as strong as ever in this read. Also present are the frequent and often humorous observations about Texas, Texans, the weather, and the human race in general.

While the series began with The Last Call and readers that have been onboard since the beginning will get more out of this read, those folks new to the world of Bill Travis could easily start here. There are references to several earlier events as we play catch up with folks we have seen before, but those references would not destroy earlier reads in the series. As always there is a hint of pulp adventure to the read. Events and actions slide dangerously close to the edge and may push the ability to suspend disbelief for some readers.

That same thing could be said about almost of the books in this fun and engrossing series. Those readers who want everything to be totally logical and realistic might find Mexico Fever a bit of a challenge since the author does not play by those rules. This read is another engrossing tale in a long rail of great reads by prolific author George Weir. 

Mexico Fever: A Bill Travis Mystery

George Wier

http://www.billtravismysteries.com

Flagstone Books

May 2016

ASIN: B01FYEU48E

eBook (paperback available)

160 Pages

$4.99

According to Amazon, I picked this up back last August to read and review. I believe I did it by way of the Author’s free read promotion.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2018

Review: Desperate Crimes: A Bill Travis Mystery by George Wier

For Bill Travis everything revolves around family. His eight-year-old daughter, Jennifer, is supposed to give a piano recital on Saturday. Unfortunately, her piano teacher, Todd Landry, has gone missing. Jennifer is very upset and worried and she wants daddy to find him. Normally, Bill Travis gets involved in things to be paid so he can pay for things like piano lessons.

Money is important, but it is not everything. His daughter’s happiness means more than just about anything else does. His little girl is heartbroken and her tears are a powerful thing. He agrees to look for Todd Landry despite the fact that he has a really bad feeling about things.

He also knows who to call for help and does so. He calls Hank Sterling, a good friend who is also a freelance investigator. As it happens, Hank is already on the case of the missing Todd Landry. He is also very concerned though he has very different reasons for why he is worried. 

Bill and Hank team up and take eight-year-old Jennifer with them on the road to search for the missing Todd Landry. They as well as Jennifer’s pet ferret, Morgan Freeman, hit the road headed to Elysium, eighty miles west of Austin, Texas as they follow their first lead. They will all spend a lot of time in the car together working a case that is complicated and not easily solved.

Desperate Crimes is the 11^th book in the Bill Travis Mystery Series that began with The Last Call. Personal relationships, humor, and observations about the Lone Star State have been hallmarks of this running series. They are very much present here with characters that continue to evolve, references to past books, and more. A mystery that is far more complicated than it first appears is also present in this latest read.

If you are new to the series by Texas author George Wier, you could easily start here. While there are a few references to earlier books, they are not so detailed as to ruin previous reads in the series. Those readers that have read the preceding books will enjoy this one a bit more as the Travis family continues to add members and age. Part of the fun of this series is to see what is now going on with the family. Either way, Desperate Crimes: A Bill Travis Mystery is another solidly good read in a very good series.

Desperate Crimes: A Bill Travis Mystery

George Wier

http://www.billtravismysteries.com

Flagstone Books

March 2016

ASIN: B01DHM1EUM

eBook (paperback available)

131 Pages

$4.99

According to Amazon, I picked this up back last July to read and review. I believe I did it by way of the Author’s free read promotion.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2017

Review: They No Here: A Short Story by George Wier

Nothing much happens in Fort Davis, Texas or in the surrounding Jeff Davis County. People drift in, stay awhile, and leave. Ralph MacAfee hadn’t thought of the Cynds—Melvin and Judith—until he was reminded of them by Jerry Miles over at the local bookstore. It was only then that Ralph realized he hadn’t seen them in as long as a couple of years.

Miles tells Ralph about how Melvin had been looking for an obscene book by J. Frank Dobie and Miles had come across it. When he went to try to reach Melvin, he could not get ahold of him. He had been trying several times over a couple of months and never has been able to get ahold of him. He has also been talking to the local real estate guy and the property has not been sold.

Ralph MacAfee is spooked by all of this and decides to go out to the Cynd place up on a mesa outside of town. The drive out to the mesa about ten miles outside of town is easy enough, but the drive up the last little bit onto the mesa is quite an adventure. Being the county coroner means Ralph has a truck with four-wheel drive to get up and over the abrupt edge of the mesa. What he finds up there changes everything they in They No Here: A Short Story by George Wier.

Known for having a touch of the supernatural in his long running Bill Travis Mystery Series that began long ago with The Last Call as well as in numerous short stories, George Wier does in again in this short story. Couple that fact with his usual ability to create a sense of place in a few quick sentences as well as conjure up a strong mystery makes it very clear that George Wier is again weaving his storytelling magic in They No Here: A Short Story. The result is a fun read that entertains from start to finish. 

They No Here: A Short Story

George Wier

http://www.billtravismysteries.com

Flagstone Books

http://www.flagstonebooks.com

May 2017

ASIN: B0719P764J

eBook

16 Pages

$0.99

Material was purchased to read and review using funds in my Amazon Associate account.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2017

Review: "Ghost of the Karankawa: A Bill Travis Mystery George Wier"

In a mystery series that started with The Last Call several years ago, Bill Travis has been known to get involved one way or another in some very strange situations. Often he gets into cases where one can almost hear the Twilight Zone theme music playing in the background. Such is the case here with the Ghost of the Karankawa.

Bill Travis handles money and Evanston Cooper is one of his clients. At least he was until he pulled most of the money awhile back. Now Evanston wants to pay Travis to go from Austin down to the small and isolated town of Anahuac and see Evanston’s sister, Catherine. She thinks a ghost is going around there murdering people. Anahuac is located on the north side of Galveston Bay and, because of the murdering ghost, his sister is threatening to leave town. Evanston is afraid she might come to Austin and he does not want her anywhere around him or any closer to Austin than she is now. To keep her down there he is willing to throw money at the problem by hiring Bill. All Bill Travis has to do for the money is drive down there and calm Evanston’s sister down.

After enlisting Bill’s wife, Julie, into the deal, Bill is forced to agree to do as Evanston asks. Before long and with the kids safely accounted for, Julie, Bill and their dog, Franklin, are taking a road trip south to Anahuac. After all, just because Bill has turned fifty and is contemplating what that means, it does not mean one should ignore a scream in the night, a mummified body, and one heck of a road trip without the kids.

Ghost of the Karankawa: A Bill Travis Mystery is the tenth book in this long running series. As such the characters of Bill Travis, and his wife, Julie as well as other regulars in the series were fleshed out long ago. The focus is on the mystery, Texas history and legends, and things that go bump in them night as they often are in this series. As one expects, author George Wier again strains reader suspension of disbelief at a couple of points, but the read is very well worth it.

The e-book also includes the entertaining short story The Woodsman as it plays a key role in the novel.

Ghost of the Karankawa: A Bill Travis Mystery

George Wier

http://www.billtravismysteries.com

Flagstone Books

November 2014

ASIN: B00PBF0ATK

E-Book (paperback available)

154 Pages

$3.99

Material to read and review was purchased last February by way of funds in my Amazon Associate account.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2016

How to Write Fiction Stories Creative Writing Lesson Tips 1 with George Wier (YouTube)

How to Write Fiction Stories Creative Writing Lesson Tips 1 with George Wier (YouTube)

Review: "After The Fire" by George Wier

For Bill Travis, financial advisor and sometimes a bit more, everything started with Sol Gunderson’s goats. The man has ten areas of land out of east of Austin, Texas. On the land he raises 40 or 50 Spanish goats. Now one is dead at the base of a hill on his property. It does not take Bill Travis long as he stared at the dead goat to figure out that something really bad and unnatural had happened to that goat.

Sol Gunderson, who lives alone these days having divorced his wife Eloise after 25 years of not so wedded bliss, thinks that there is something radioactive down at the base of the hill. He thinks whatever is down there killed Bebe. Whatever did it two days ago has caused the goat to be nearly mummified with tufts of fur scattering away from the body all around and even as far as to the hogwire fence fifty feet away. Sol Gunderson is a bit odd to say the least, but he is also a millionaire many times over which is why Bill Travis keeps him as a client. Sol is also right that something abnormal killed that goat.

Sol still cares deeply about Eloise, but his ex-wife does not want anything to do with him. She also is not interested in the dead goat or anything else involving her former husband, but does tell Travis there is a cancer cluster over in the subdivision across the creek from where Bebe died. She also tells Travis that it would be best to leave things alone. While she has her reasons and won’t say what they are, she warns him off and tells him that those responsible would not hesitate to remove him as well as his family.

Readers know from earlier books in this series, Travis isn’t going to leave anything alone. Eloise just waved a red flag in front of a bull and while Travis may take some precautions he isn’t about to stop investigating no matter what happens.

After The Fire: A Bill Travis Mystery is the ninth book in the series which started long ago with The Last Call.  Author George Weir has put Travis through quite a lot and the same is true here in a very complicated tale filled with interesting characters, plenty of action, and more than one twist. A series that shows no signs of stopping After The Fire: A Bill Travis Mystery is another solidly good Texas sized mystery. While it could be read as a stand-alone, it would be far better to read this series in order.

After The Fire: A Bill Travis Mystery

George Wier

http://www.billtravismysteries.com

Flagstone Books

http://www.flagstonebooks.com

July 2014

ASIN: B00LKQNJK6

E-Book

130 Pages (estimated)

$2.99

Material was purchased to read and review using funds in my Amazon Associate account.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2015

The Gold Pot -A Short Story by George Wier

The Gold Pot -A Short Story by George Wier

Short Story Review: "The Woodsman" by George Wier

Wolf Dillard had been having a great carnal dream involving himself and a local waitress until he was woken up by a very loud screech. A screech in the night that continued long  after he awoke and seemed to sort of

contain words in some sort of unintelligible language. Wolf made his way through his home to his screened in porch where he grabbed his shotgun from where it rested next to his freezer. By the time he got there the horrible loud noise had stopped. Karakawa County was silent and yet he knew that whatever it was out there it was in his backyard. It was big and coming for him and a shotgun may not mean much.

The Woodsman-A Short Story by George Wier is a moving and powerful East Texas tale that is not easy to explain or review. Reminiscent of his short story, The Eternal, this work also taps into elements beyond all of us that will live on far beyond the blink of humanity.

The story is also very good.

 The Woodsman-A Short Story

George Wier

http://www.billtravismysteries.com

Flagstone Books

January 2014

ASIN: B00F45F7WC

E-Book

22 Pages

$0.99

Word file was provided by the author for my use in an objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2014

Review: "The Eternal: A Short Story" by George Wier

Nellie Wertz is seeing yet another winter set in on her East Texas farm. Being 107 means she has seen quite a few winters and she isn't about to stop now. While outliving three husbands was okay, she hates the fact she has outlived four of her five children. And while she often dreams of her own passing, she is very much alive and that means it is time to pay her respects to the recently departed Emily Cook.

To do so she will walk with her cane the two miles or so into town for the funeral. The road is a narrow winding one and she isn’t the only one on it in The Eternal: A Short Story by George Wier. She also isn’t the only one to dream of the dead.

Well known for his excellent Bill Travis series, Texas author George Wier has a far different kind of tale here. Inspirational and everlasting in one sense and a complex mystery in another sense, The Eternal is one of those very complex stories that can't be easily labeled. Multiple things are at work here on multiple levels. It is very good and you need to read it. Enough said.

The Eternal: A Short Story

George Wier

http://www.billtravismysteries.com

Flagstone Books

ASIN: B004U6TD44

March 2011

E-Book

31 Pages

$0.99

PDF supplied by the author a very long time ago in exchange for my objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2014