Review: Hawke’s Prey: A Sonny Hawke Thriller by Reavis Z. Wortham

Unbeknownst to the good citizens of Ballard, Texas, as Hawke’s Prey: A Sonny Hawke Thriller by Reavis Z. Wortham begins, terrorists have crossed the nearby border and then violently through a nearby temporary border patrol checkpoint leaving bodies in their wake. While snowstorms and blizzards happen in this part of Southwest Texas, this one is a rare and massive super powered storm. The blizzard is not going to stop them from attacking and seizing the Presidio County Courthouse and taking those who survive the initial assault as hostages.

 

That includes Kelly Hawke, a teacher, and her civics class from the local school. That also means her own kids are also now held hostage with her and their fellow classmates in the occupied building. A legendary courthouse that is now occupied and full of innocent people, many terrorists, and a local legend in his own right, Sonny Hawke. The Texas Ranger is Kelly’s husband, father of their kids, and the only member of law enforcement in the building. The terrorists do not know that he is inside as he works to let Sheriff Ethan Armstrong know what is going on while doing recon and eliminating a terrorist or two along the way.

 

This book can pretty much be summed up as taking the concept for the movie Die Hard, making the setting a multilevel courthouse in far southwest Texas, make the terrorists homegrown and domestic with respective agendas, and let chaos ensue. This is a not a deep read nor is it intended to be as the thriller shifts among many points of view. Many of the characters are two dimensional and, as often happens, at least one of the on-site terrorist leaders is certifiably nuts. Of course, many of the foreign terrorists hate America for various sins while the home-grown ones seek to start a revolution that will, somehow, change America to what they believe were the good days back a couple of hundred years ago. This is billed as a thriller so one expects a lot of stereotypes and shallow characters as the focus is on constant action. 

One is not disappointed in that as Hawke’s Prey: A Sonny Hawke Thriller by Reavis Z. Wortham powers along the violence increases and events spiral out of anyone’s realistic control. A plan is only good until first contact with the enemy and that point is taught repeatedly throughout the entire read.

 

A tad jingoistic and more than a bit simplistic, Hawke’s Prey: A Sonny Hawke Thriller by Reavis Z. Wortham, despite the negatives for this reader, is an entertaining read. Might make a great movie through Bruce Willis is a bit old now for Hawke. He could easily be Sheriff Ethan Armstrong who is hamstrung by the intense weather and a lack of resources as well as trying to keep the locals from excising their second amendment rights on their own. The next book in this series is Hawke’s War and I am on hold for it at the library.

 

For another take on the book, make sure you check out Aubrey Hamilton’s review from last August.

 

Hawke’s Prey: A Sonny Hawke Thriller

Reavis Z. Wortham

http://reaviszwortham.com/

Center Point Large Print (Thorndike)

https://www.gale.com/thorndike/-/N-5p

October 2017

ISBN# 978-1-68324-535-3

Large Print Hardback (available in audio, eBook, Hardback, and paperback formats)

470 Pages

 

 

Material supplied by the Grauwyler Park Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2020

Aubrey Hamilton Reviews: Hawke’s Prey by Reavis Wortham

So here we are, at the height of vacation time, when we should be getting our annual sunburn on the beach or cracking our fillings on popcorn in a frigid movie theatre as we watch the forces of good battle those of evil against incredible odds. But 2020 had other plans for most of us. To make up for a bit of it, I offer for your consideration Hawke’s Prey (Pinnacle Books, 2017) by Reavis Wortham, which is the first appearance of Sonny Hawke, a Texas Ranger in the small town of Ballard in West Texas.

Everyone in Ballard and the surrounding area is watching the sky with concern as snow falls at a rapid clip and the wind speedily stacks it up in attractive but impassable drifts. Since blizzards are not generally seen in those parts, the residents scurry to town to lay in supplies and take care of other business that cannot wait. Sonny’s wife Kelly proceeds with her plan to take her teenaged students from high school on a tour of the county courthouse, knowing school will likely close around noon. Sonny follows her on Ranger business. After completing his tasks and visiting with a few folks, he goes to the very top floor in the courthouse to check out the weather. He lingers there, absorbed in the snowfall and its implications until he hears gunfire. A lot of it. A cautious peep over the balcony reveals a group of terrorists shooting their way into the courthouse, leaving a trail of bodies in their wake and shepherding everyone that is still alive into a courtroom at gunpoint.

Sonny quickly realizes that he’s the only person in the courthouse that the terrorists have not captured. He also recognizes they are being led by someone who knows his business. Most of the doors to the building are blocked and the terrorists are strategically deployed to ensure no one enters the remaining ones. He texts the sheriff with the information he can gather, using a cell phone with a fading battery.

The sheriff in his turn is reeling from a pre-emptive assault on his office. Phone calls to the state police, Homeland Security, and the FBI are no help, as the snow is rendering transport impossible. Even the media can’t get through to Ballard. He collects his remaining personnel, deputizes a few military veterans, and plans his own strike. To complicate an already bad situation, all of the parents of the children in the courthouse are demanding immediate action and threatening to mount a rescue on their own.

The action does not stop in this story. It could have been tightened effectively here and there, and characterization is not its strong suit, but if you liked the move Die Hard, you will like this book. A fine summer read.

·                     File Size: 1311 KB

·                     Print Length: 480 pages

·                     Publisher: Pinnacle Books (June 27, 2017)

·                     Publication Date: June 27, 2017

·                     ASIN: B01LYDQSBC

Aubrey Hamilton ©2020

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.

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FFB: "Singularity" by Kathryn Casey

Friday means Friday’s Forgotten Books hosted by Patti Abbott. Make sure you check out the other reading possibilities here after you read the review below……

For Texas Ranger Lieutenant Sarah Armstrong the summons to Galveston to investigate the death of some big shot didn't seem that important at first. The only criminal profiler in the Texas Rangers, she works out of Ranger Company A, based in Houston. It took her an hour to get from her Houston office to the multimillion dollar beach homes that signify a far different lifestyle than her own of a single mother raising a young daughter.

Almost from the start, the investigation is problematic as she has a history with the lead detective of the Galveston P. D. The fact that the two dead bodies are posed on the bed in the master bedroom under a bloody cross means only one thing to Detective O. L. Nelson. He is convinced that the wife of Edward Travis Lucas the Third, Priscilla Lucas, arranged to have him and his mistress, Annmarie Knowles, killed. Nelson's theory is that Priscilla got mad he was cheating, maybe he wanted a divorce, maybe there is a prenup, and so she hires herself a killer. The cross on the ceiling, the posing of the bodies using fishing line to orchestrate the tableau, and other details are camouflage to throw Law Enforcement off track.

Detective Nelson has been horrendously wrong before and as he makes the case for his theory, she is absolutely convinced he is very wrong again. She is convinced that a pro killer didn't do this for money. Instead, she believes it to be the work of a serial killer who targeted the lovers for some other reason. She believes from the details at the scene that he took his time to clean up after himself because he has done this many times before and enjoys doing what he does.

Unfortunately, Sarah Armstrong's opinion is a minority point of view with the case quickly becoming a media circus and Priscilla Lucas the target. Despite being able to possibly link other cases to the serial killer, Sara Armstrong's career becomes threatened by political pressures due to the prominence of the families involved and media hysteria forcing consequences on every one involved.

Known for her published work in non fiction true crime books, this is author Kathryn Casey's first fiction novel and it frequently shows for readers familiar with the mystery genre. Somewhat clichéd in terms of character development (Sarah Armstrong is a recent widow raising an eleven-year-old daughter with the help of her own strong willed Mom), the novel soon turns into the classic deal of the taunting killer and Sarah engaged in a battle of wits. One expects the mailed notes quoting scripture and isn't surprised that they show up. What is surprising is how long it takes for them to arrive.

Long on legend and lore regarding to Texas Rangers, readers never get the sense Sarah Armstrong really is one. Despite the fact that she works on facial reconstructions with clay in the dark of night when she can't sleep, there is no depth to the character in the law enforcement arena or any real specific unique details that make the Texas Ranger angle of the novel come across as real to readers. Instead, this material comes across as generic and the same basic character type stuff seen in many books in the genre despite the acknowledgements page. It also isn't surprising and rather clichéd when two FBI agents become involved in the case with one being a negative influence and siding with Detective Nelson and the other siding with Sarah Armstrong and becoming a romantic interest. Such conflict is a classic stereotype within the mystery genre.

Yet, such classic stereotypes exist because when the human element is added well the resulting novel can and usually does work. Such is the case here as the novel builds at a steady pace while adding in the human factor making the main character and her family come alive for readers. While Sarah as a Texas Ranger is never totally believable, Sarah as a parent dealing with the tragic loss of her husband, Bill a year earlier comes across extremely well to readers. Not only the impact on her but the impact on her young daughter Maggie rings all too true to readers who are parents. The relationship between Sarah and her own mother also comes across well to readers making the family dynamic one of the strongest plot points in the novel. The human element is what drives this novel forward and when Author Kathryn Casey concentrates on that the book is at its best.

While readers expect the showdown between crimminal and avenging Sarah Armstrong at the end of the novel, the setup to get there and the resulting outcome contains a few surprises. That fact, along with a strong character that frequently pushes at the boundaries of stereotype, plenty of action and depth to the mystery, make this a good novel that will keep readers entertained and turning pages.

This title is followed by Blood Lines (2009) reviewed here and The Killing Storm (2010) reviewed here.


Singularity
Kathryn Casey
http://www.kathryncasey.com/
Thorndike Press
http://www.gale.cenage.com/thorndike
2008
ISBN# 1-4104-1064-1
Large Print Version (also available as e-book, paperback, bargain hardback and audio)
459 Pages


This book was provided by the good folks of the Plano, Texas Public Library System.


Kevin R. Tipple © 2009, 2013