Reviewed by: BigAl
Genre: Thriller
Approximate word count: 105-110,000 words
Availability
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Author:
“Milt grew
up in Colorado, though he spent most of his adult life as a Navy doctor, caring
for those at the forefront of many conflicts, including Vietnam. He graduated
from the Naval Academy and Creighton Medical School. His medical career
included tours with the Marines, a Navy Security Group in Scotland, Pensacola
Naval Hospital, and now at the Veteran's Hospital in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
He has been
a fly fishing guide in Rocky Mountain National Park, and continues to ply these
waters with a long stick and pieces of fur and feather.”
For more,
visit the author’s website.
Description:
“Is your
fly fishing guide willing to die for you?
Stony lives
for fly fishing in the wilderness. It literally saved his life. After Stony
massacred an entire village in Vietnam, addiction and PTSD almost killed him.
Alaska, fly fishing, and a woman and her wolves brought him back from the
brink. He made a vow to her on her deathbed to always help people, and to never
kill another man.
Now he has
a new lover, and is finally clean. So when he takes a seemingly ideal client
deep into the wilderness of Rocky Mountain National Park, he never dreams that
his most sacred vow will be tested to the breaking point. He will have to save
his client from a serial killer, a murderer so devious he has managed to become
a respected doctor—and his client’s partner.
It’s taken
Stony thirty years to disentangle himself from psychological hell. Now,
hampered by all the dangers high altitude wilderness can throw at him, Stony
must risk sinking into mental hell forever by killing an evil doctor—or risk
losing not only his client, but his new soul mate.”
Appraisal:
This
thriller, which largely takes place in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, has a
lot going for it, starting with the setting. The author does a good job of
giving a feel for the mountains, their rugged beauty, and the business and
culture of guides like the protagonist Stony who can be hired for their expertise
and local knowledge. The main plot took a tried and true idea, a psychopath who
rationalizes his evil deeds as “for the greater good,” appointing himself both
judge and executioner in the process. But how this is done is a unique twist on
the basic premise.
The past
that continues to haunt Stony (especially, but not limited to, his time as a
soldier in Vietnam) adds a lot to the story as he battles not only the obvious
villain, but also his own internal demons. This one is a page turner.
FYI:
Some adult
language.
Format/Typo Issues:
No significant
issues.
Rating: **** Four stars
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