Scared Money

It doesn't take long. Within the first few chapters of this, the second pairing of retired Texas Ranger Jeremiah Spur and Washington County Sherrif Clyde Thomas, the reader will know that they are in for a special ride. The first indicator is the multiple narrative viewpoints, and the distinct voices that accompany them. None of them first person, but written in such a precise manner that you'd think three different people were responsible. Hime fires up this terrific book with the murder of a drug dealer on a dark night in an empty lot. Unremarkable on its face, but well-staged by the author and heavy with tragedy. Then, we find Clyde Thomas in the midst of a pleasant evening of basketball and bathing with his girl, who also happens to be a DA in the same county. We soon shift to Jeremiah Spur, retired Texas Ranger, Cattle Rancher, Reformed Smoker, sitting in a grandstand enjoying that most Texan of pursuits, high school football on a Friday night in Brenham. This folds into a historical narrative, that of a young boy witnessing history and revolution in his post-war Hungarian homeland. And off we go! As Clyde gets rolling on the drug dealer murder, Spur is approached by a Shadowy Government Type, to perform a special mission for a man known only as The Wolf. He is whisked away to Dallas where he is presented with the parameters of his task, almost none of which are satisfactory, but he takes the job anyway, mostly out of boredom while he waits for his beloved wife to return from alcohol rehab in Maine. Hime takes these two threads, along with the story of the young Hungarian boy, Jonathan Farkas, and weaves all three into a fascinating web of violence, betrayal, and family dysfunction. I wondered if he wrote each narrative separately, then edited them together, or if he knew from the get-go how he would sequence them. But I'm obsessive about that stuff, mostly so you as a reader don't have to be! Along the way, you'll meet Leslie Whitten, who runs the company that hires Spur. She is a most intriguing character, both appealing and appalling, for many reasons. Hime mixes in assorted situations and characters to roll things along, but keeps the focus on the three main characters. It's to his credit that you'll feel mixed emotions about at least two of the three, because of course, there is no black and white in the real world, only shades of grey. The only minor quibble I have is that as he brings events to a boil, Hime is forced to spin his narratives down to a single thread. It's necessary, of course, because he has a slam-bang ending to tell us, but I was a bit wistful as the amazing trio of story lines became one. But the bottom line is that SCARED MONEY is that most refreshing of novels, full of action, humor, character and theme. It makes your heart race and your brain cogitate. After all, as our new hero, Jeremiah Spur would say, "a thing can only be what it is." And this book, friends, is the real deal.

Just as with James Hime's first book "The Night of the Dance" I found "Scared Money" to be a book I wanted to finish. So I didn't put it down until I did. The character development coming out of the first book and the story line (which leaves me waiting anxiously for the next installment) are brilliantly woven. The Texasisms have taught me a whole new language and frequently during the book I smiled when I read one of the author's down home references (which a boy from New York City just never knew existed). My hat is off to Mr. Hime. I am glad to have Simplicated my Christmas shopping and will be giving this book to many of my friends.

Life is supposed to be quiet and tranquil in the small Texas town of Brenham but the criminals are moving out of the cities and into the rural areas. Local drug dealer Lamont Stubbs is gunned down when he gets out of his car to meet someone and the killer then shoots Deidre Brown, Lamont's girlfriend who is waiting in the car. Since the killings involved black people, the sheriff gives the case to Black Deputy Sheriff Clyde Thompson. Clyde thinks that Gutterball Jones did the deed since he did time for drug trafficking and has tries to the Canto drug cartel. On the other side of town former Texas Ranger Jeremiah Spin is ordered by the CIA to help Dallas businessman Mr. Farkas find an accountant who made off with ten million dollars from his company. Farkas was an independent contractor for the CIA and in return for his services they allowed him to enter the United States and become a legitimate businessman. On the surface a dead drug dealer and a missing accountant have nothing in common but when drugs are involved anything is possible. SACRED MONEY is a story about revenge and the lengths people will go to achieve it. This is an action packed crime thriller that doesn't neglect characterizations. The antagonist Mr. Farkas comes across as somewhat sympathetic because he wants vengeance on the men who killed his son and even though he breaks many laws to achieve his goal, he is still a grieving father. The protagonists have to wade through a cesspool of dark motivations to try and achieve justice. James Hime proves with SCARED MONEY he is not a one book wonder. Harriet Klausner

This book is second in the series that began with 'The Night of the Dance' in May 2003, and features two of the earlier characters: Jeremiah Spur, a retired white Texas Ranger; and Clyde Thomas, the first black deputy sheriff in their Texas county. Jeremiah is enjoying his retirement: taking care of his cattle, attending local high school football games, mourning his daughter's death, and missing his wife, Martha, who is back east seeking treatment for alcohol abuse. At first, he doesn't think there is anything that would make him go back to 'work' on an investigation with the FBI. However, when the agent mentions that the man the FBI seeks to help once knew his own father, Jeremiah can't say no. He's off in search of a man who allegedly embezzled a large sum of money from Benjamin Farkas, a refugee who years ago was mentored by Jeremiah's father as a button-man for the CIA. Meanwhile, Clyde is investigating a shooting in the parking lot of a local convenience store that left a known drug dealer and his girlfriend dead. As to Clyde's own relationship with white Assistant DA Sonya Nichols, pride seems to getting in the way. She and Sheriff Dewey Sharpe play only minor roles in this book. Slowly as the cases evolve, you begin to see a connection between them. When Jeremiah puts Clyde's life on the line to solve the case, you sure hope the Texas lawman is as good as his reputation tells. This book does not have the shockers of Hime's first book, but tells a solid story of two good detectives pursuing the truth from the US to Mexico to Europe, and of Jeremiah's quest to learn more about the father who left when he was a young boy. I really enjoyed this book, I thought, as I finished up. But in the very end, Clyde and Jeremiah each do something for the other that made my heart soar and kicked the book's rating over the top. I would recommend that you read 'Night of the Dance' first, if you haven't, so not to miss the impact of the ending of 'Scared Money.'

Fans of Jeremiah Spur and Clyde Thomas will be hard-pressed to put this book down once they've started it. Hime has managed to top his first novel with this excellent mystery that I enjoyed all the way to the last page. I highly recommend Scared Money to anyone who likes a smart novel, not even just a mystery. There's nothing rote about Hime's plots, and there's no easy wrap-up that you can see coming a mile away. Do yourself a favor and read this book!