Crosshairs

The best of the three Hank Oswald books set in Big D. If you live in the area you will enjoy the descriptions of the neighborhoods that Harry H. must know well. Quick and worth the read, very fun...

Lee Henry "Hank" Oswald is one of those private eyes you come to like a whole lot. He's a smartass with guts and intellect. In the first two books in this series (Still River: A Lee Henry Oswald Mystery (Lee Henry Oswald Mysteries) and The Next Time You Die: A Lee Henry Oswald Mystery (Lee Henry Oswald Mysteries)) he's caught up in action sequence after action sequence. This one is a whole lot slower when it comes to the action. There's enough bloodshed, all right, but everything seems to move at a far slower pace than the previous novels. At the start of this one, Hank has decided not to be a PI any longer. He's been put through the wringer in the course of the two previous novels. His friends have been put in mortal danger because of their ties to him or because they're helping him. He's watched loved ones die, and he's lost his home due to his involvment with some pretty brutal characters. He's just whipped. It takes the reappearance of Olson--his weapons-dealing, life-saving gay compadre (and one of the many people hurt as a result of his involvement with Hank)--to draw him back into any sort of investigative work. Hank's determined to be a bartender, but even five minutes of Olson showing up at his workplace leads to Hank losing that particular job, and Olson ends up getting Hank to commit to finding the daughter of a dying veteran buddy. As a result of THAT, Hank's drawn into an even bigger web of killings and bloodshed. I like Hank a whole lot, but I really missed his interactions with Olson and Delmar (Olson's life partner in the previous novels), and I miss that sense of connection he had to so many people before. I suppose those connections are gone for realistic reasons, but Hank pretty much on his own throughout most of this book is tough. He's good, though. He can handle most of the crazy stuff thrown at him. But I miss his "circle." On the whole, I imagine the differences in this novel are understandable because they're in keeping with what's happening to Hank as a human being and as a man who truly loves his friends and extended family. Solid "four star" effort here.

In Dallas, Lee Henry "Hank" Oswald retires from being a private investigator as his recent cases have been too personally dangerous (see STILL RIVER and THE NEXT TIME YOU DIE). Instead he pays his bills tending bar as he assumes that serving drinks to belligerent drinks is a much safer occupation though his name can rouse an intoxicated person. However, dying Gulf War I friend Mike Baxter asks Hank for a favor that the bartender prefers to not perform. However, since he owes his war buddy big time, Hank agrees to search for Mike's missing daughter. The investigation takes Hank down twisted paths that lead him to Iranian Dr. Anita Nazari; she hires him to uncover the identity of the nasty culprit terrorizing her. However, before he can complete either assignment violence explodes with Hank caught in the middle. The third Oswald mystery is a well written suspense thriller starring a very reluctant sleuth. The story line is fast-paced and filled with non-stop action as Hank realizes every step of the way why he became a bartender. Readers will enjoy this fine investigation due to Hank although with his name he should consider relocating. Harriet Klausner