Maricopa County Detective Nathan Parker is a good cop, but he’s put his life on hold over the death of his partner. He’s left behind relationships, and his work has suffered – he can’t let go.

Working on the border means coyotes and illegals are crossing the border regularly. Cartels have their own style of border crossings and the terror and violence they bring permeates the surrounding communities.

It’s when hard scrabble Billie finds dead men in barrels that Parker knows something different is going on. Then he is suspended from work when a severely beaten cartel member he’s been keeping his eye on accuses him of assault. Of course, that doesn’t stop Parker as Billie has disappeared and now government agencies are getting involved.

A well plotted book with many moving pieces. There’s a steadfastness about L’Etoile’s writing that I really enjoy. The character of Parker is imbued with this and it’s a constant, underlying trait. You root for him as he struggles to come to terms with his life. Not showing up whole could mean the end of him in this dangerous border world.

James L’Etoile

James L’Etoile uses his twenty-nine years behind bars as an influence in his novels, short stories, and screenplays. He is a former associate warden in a maximum-security prison, a hostage negotiator, facility captain, and director of California’s state parole system. He is a nationally recognized expert witness on prison and jail operations. He has been nominated for the Silver Falchion for Best Procedural Mystery, and The Bill Crider Award for short fiction. His published novels include: Black Label, At What Cost, Bury the Past, and Little River -The Other Side of Paradise.