Jugglers at the Border

Robert Fate's fourth excursion into the fast-paced world of Baby Shark will have you ducking at loud noises, especially gunfire. And there's plenty of it in this page turner, Jugglers at the Border, that starts out with the murder of Otis Millett's estranged wife, Dixie, who spent her good years as a stripper. Private Detective Millett and his young partner, Kristen Van Dijk, are notified by an old friend of Millett's at the Fort Worth Police Department that Dixie had been murdered. The crime scene is a series of blood splatters, overturned furniture, and yanked out drawers. Somebody was looking for something and it resulted in two deaths at the scene and a trail of blood leading away from the apartment. It looks like Dixie got her man, but he is still on the move. Another killing and some bank robberies connected to them says a gang is involved. In order to flush out these rats, the cops decide they need a little bait. Maybe a long lost niece looking to inherit Dixie's belongings and whatever it is the killer was looking for would be the right cheese. Kristen becomes the tasty little tidbit, but one of the rats not only bites, but he whips his victims. Kristen didn't learn self-defense for nothing and exacts revenge big-time. Then a suave little man in a particularly nice set of threads, Manny Martin, enters the picture, spins a sad tale, and says he can answer all Kristen's questions. But even rats can set traps. The chase continues, taking Kristen and Otis all over Texas in cool old 50's era cars before the final showdown. But after the gunsmoke dies down there is still more to this tale of the famous Texas stripper, known as The Dallas Firecracker, who actually had something to hide, and Otis didn't know about it. This is a fast read, action-packed, with no holds barred. Robert Fate is a master at capturing characters, large and small, making them not only three-dimensional, but flesh and blood. And he can spin a yarn with the best of them, and this is one of the best. Published by Capital Crime Press.

I usually pre-order the Baby Shark books. I really do love the character of Baby Shark. However, it seemed in this book that Robert Fate was getting tired of his character and she was getting soft. It just didn't have the old electricity. However, I did enjoy the book and I will pre-order the next one.

Baby Shark, Kristin Van Dijk, got her nom de plume by learning from her father to be a top flight pool player. And that talent has played a prominent role in prior novels in the series, but none in the current installment, especially since she became a full-fledge partner as a PI with Otis Millett. They make for a good team, and they combine their seat-of-the-pants talents to pursue an unusual and resourceful maniac. It begins when Otis is called by Lt. Carl Lynch to visit the morgue to identify his estranged wife, Dixie Logan, known as the Dallas Firecracker in the Texas striptease circuit. Apparently she and a boyfriend were shot by a gang of bank robbers with whom she worked but were conned out of the loot. This leads the pair to work undercover with the Dallas police to find and attempt to capture the gang and their boss, leading to a merry chase and a series of dangerous situations for Kristin. Baby Shark is one tough cookie, a female worthy of James Bond and Mickey Spillane rolled into one woman's curves. She's hard-boiled, but is able to express her feminine attitudes with aplomb and wise-cracks. This latest entry in the series (three novels have preceded "Jugglers") continues an entertaining and well-written string, and it is recommended.

Robert Fate's fourth Baby Shark mystery begins much like the third, with his tough protagonist, Kristin Van Dijk confronting thugs in an abandoned farmhouse at the end of a dusty road. There is the requisite shoot out, arrival of the police, and proud "atta-girl" from her PI partner Otis Millett. But JUGGLERS AT THE BORDER veers sharply from that point into a case that stirs up bittersweet memories for one of the oddly matched pair. This time, as the story unfolds, readers will glimpse a slice of Otis' past; of a tender, not-quite-forgotten love that begs closure. When Lieutenant Lynch of the Fort Worth Police asks Otis to identify a body, the tough PI is shocked to find his estranged wife lying in the morgue. He's less surprised to learn that the ex-stripper was a victim in a bank heist gone wrong. She'd been holding out on the gang, but which of them had come back to settle the score? And where had Dixie stashed the $3 million? As Kristin goes undercover in an attempt to lure the killer, she's knocked around by a pair of mean-faced thugs despite her partner's watchful eye. But nothing deters this gal. She gives head-butts, eye-gouges, and punches as good as she gets. And she'll shoot a man without blinking an eye. There are times when this female "fighting machine" comes across as almost too masculine. It's a risk the author took when he decided to write hard-boiled crime fiction from the POV of a young woman. But it works most of the time, and it doesn't prevent readers from rooting for his heroine. Those who've read the first book in the series and watched Kristin change from helpless victim to avenging angel will not be surprised or disappointed by the strangely gratifying brutality in Fate's books. It's what they've come to expect. In contrast to the violent action is Otis' unexpected introspection, almost nostalgia, as he recalls his good times with Dixie. Instead of softening him however, it drives his determination to capture her murderer. The manhunt is tortuous. The killer stays just out of reach while leaving a grisly trail of wounded and dead in his wake. Kristin and Otis persevere, but are as surprised as the killer (and the reader) at how it all ends - satisfying, but definitely unusual. Fate's fast-paced, action-packed BABY SHARK books are hard to put down. They are short enough to read in one breathless, heart-pounding sitting, yet meaty enough to satisfy the thoughtful armchair detective. And this one has great character development which will carry Fate's PI partners through several more exciting books.