Strong Justice: A Caitlin Strong Novel

Caitlin Strong, fifth generation Texas Ranger, first introduced to us in Strong Enough to Die, is back on the trail, this time in pursuit of a serial killer. His name is Macerio, and he is suspected in the Las Mujeres de Juarez atrocities, where over four hundred dismembered and mutilated women were found along the Texas/Mexico border. According to locals, Macerio may also just be the devil personified, with evil powers preventing him from being killed. As if this wasn't enough trouble for Strong to deal with, she's also called out to the small town of Albion, where a man is holding hostages inside a convenience store. The man has killed some of the people already, and no one is sure how many--if any--hostages are still alive. Strong enters the store through the back, and sees the man with a gun held to the head of a young girl. Not able to get a clear kill without harming the girl, Strong decides to talk to the man, who claims that he had to murder the other people in the store--and his own family, earlier--because they had spiders living and breeding inside them. He had to stop the spiders from spreading and doing the same thing to others. Intuition suddenly kicks in, telling Strong that this bizarre incident is just the tip of an iceberg associated with all the violence that is occurring in the town. More terrifyingly, something beneath the surface has the potential to give America's enemies a new weapon to terrorize the country. And just when you've had a chance to catch what little of your breath is left, into this already explosive mix comes Colonel Renaldo Montoya, the commander of Mexico's renegade Zeta Special Forces, plotting a guerrilla war against the U.S. that he believes will launch the 2012 End Times foreseen by the Mayans. Strong eventually teams up with no-nonsense tough guy, Cort Wesley Masters, whose wife was murdered in Strong Enough to Die. Strong has had a romantic relationship with Masters, complicating matters further. One the many strengths of the book, though, is the conflicting relationship of the two opposite coins: Strong and Masters. The fact that Masters has a criminal past, and Strong has a pure Texas Ranger upbringing only adds fodder for fascinating reading. In unsure hands, this relationship would look a clumsy caricature. Instead, it is handled skillfully, making us yearn to believe in its possibility. There's also great tension created by this complication, making Masters and Strong question if they can genuinely re-ignite their relationship, or if violence and guns are the only things that they have in common. There is a cinematic beauty to Land's atmospheric writing, placing you right in the middle of all the action. You can smell the flavors of Texas and Mexico, and feel the heat scorching the back of your neck. There is also the acrid reek of gunpowder mingling with the coppery stench of blood and death. Land is to be commended for keeping the plight of the women of Las Mujeres de Juarez in ou

Caitlin Strong once again returns as the hero of this novel. She is joined and aided by her partner Cort Wesley Masters an ex Green Beret. Masters son rescues a young girl from a ring called Las Mujers. This is a very dangerous group with criminal ties in Mexico. These young girls are sold into prostitution in the United States. Also involved is a serial killer named Marcerio. He is leaving a trail of bodies in the State of Texas. Hollis Tyree III is a wealthy man who is mining water for future use. He has also discovered something else underground that could prove to be very dangerous to the United States. Caitlin also learns about her grandfather who had been brought into Sweetwater, Texas to clean up the town. The grandfather, Ranger Earl Syrong also did battle with the forces of Al Capone. Caitlin also learns a deep dark family secret about who she really is. Add to the mix Colonel Renaldo Montoya the head of the elite Zetas a military force. He intends to launch to launch a guerilla war against the United States. Colonel Guillermo Paz of Venezuala arrives on the scene to help stop the forces of evil. This is a page turner of a book. Do not miss it.

Fifth-generation Texas Ranger Caitlin Strong is back on a mission to see justice done for Las Mujeres de Juarez, over four hundred dismembered and mutilated women found murdered along the border between Texas and Mexico, in Jon Land's suspenseful thought-provoking mystery thriller, Strong Justice. In the first book featuring Ranger Caitlin Strong, Strong Enough to Die,Jon Land took a close look at government-sanctioned torture and the degradation of civil rights. Besides the action-filled, tense, page-turning plot of Strong Justice, in which Caitlin also has to go head-to-head with Colonel Montoya, a terrorist determined to bring America to her knees, I like that Jon Land incorporates the news headlines into his novels, like the often ugly and brutal reality of the cruel fates that Mexican women forced into prostitution sometimes face, of young lives cut short way too early and nastily. Strong Justice is that rare type of book that will live with you long after you have finished reading it, and it's one that both those who love the Western and Mystery genres should heartily embrace. She teams up in San Antonio with Cort Wesley Masters again, whose wife was murdered in Strong Enough to Die. Caitlin has had a romantic relationship with Cort, despite his criminal past, because he wants to become a better father for his two boys. There's a tension created by this complication, also, both wondering if they can reignite their relationship, or if violence and guns are the only things that they had in common and that brought them together. They head to the town of Nuevo Laredo to try to find the evil, bald-headed steroid freak Marcerio, whom some call El Demono, a man it's rumored cannot be killed. Besides being involved with a sex slavery ring, he also might be "the worst serial killer in history," the person who murdered the Women of Juarez. Maria Lopez, a young woman who'd been forced into prostitution by Marcerio and his men - and whom he will do anything to get back - draws Caitlin Strong a crude map in black marker to Nuevo Laredo and the house she and other women were held at, one with "birds on it big enough to house a lot of people." Cort's older son, fifteen-year-old Dylan Torres, had meet Maria on a day he skipped school. She told him her story, and that Marcerio was still after her. They are spotted by the police, and run for it, but the police catch Dylan and hold him on suspicion of possessing drugs, even though they find none on him. They reason, erroneously, why should he have ran, if drugs weren't involved. He uses his one phone call to phone Ranger Strong, and she has him released into her recognizance. . At the time, Cort is in New Orleans, trying to get money he's owed from Frank Branca, Junior. Cort had done some jobs for Frank Branca, Sr., who'd suffered a stroke and now was wheel chair bound, and Junior doesn't want to pay Cort what he's owed. He finally takes it from Junior's wallet, after saving him in a bloody shoot-out by ki

In Strong Justice, Land returns to three key figures of Strong Enough To Die a few months later: Guillermo Paz, Cort Wesley, and Caitlan Strong. Touched by Caitlin Strong's example, Guillermo Paz has returned to Mexico and tries to make amends for his past. Paz's willingness to protect the downtrodden won him a reputation that's part myth and part legend in his new town. Paz's admiration for Caitlin leads him to head North when he starts to suspect that she might be in grave danger. Caitlin has been busy investigating the kidnapping of young women along the border between Texas and Mexico. While it first appears that the victims are young women entering illegally from Mexico and being forced into white slavery. As Caitlin traces the first disappearances to a particular small town, a disturbing pattern slowly emerges. Meanwhile, Cort Wesley has been struggling to keep his family together. While Wesley's real and well deserved reputation for toughness has kept him safe, his reputation may cost him his sons. The social worker assigned to his case has been threatening to take away his children. Cort tries to convince Social Services that he should retain custody and that he is, in fact, a good father. Against his better judgment, circumstances force Cort to reach out to his former employers for the money he needs to raise his children. When Cort's teenage son Dylan stumbles into trouble, he calls on Caitlin for help. Somehow Dylan, Cort, and Caitlin (and eventually Paz) find themselves facing unexpected and unnatural evils together. Also, while on his way to help Caitlin, Paz researches Caitlin's grandfather, the legendary Earl Strong. Through flashbacks, correspondence, Texas Rangers archives, the memories of survivors and their descendants, and Caitlin's recollections, Land tells us the story of Earl Strong and Texas in the 1930s. Through Earl Strong, we can picture what life was like when Texas Rangers were given the mandate to keep the peace in isolated and lawless towns. Though things haven't changed that much in Caitlin's time, the stories of Sweetwater, Texas in the 1930s tell us much about Texas's history and Caitlin's legacy. Caitlin Strong is one of my favorite heroines, so I knew that I'd enjoy Strong Justice: A Caitlin Strong Novel. Land also builds on Cort Wesley's personality and history -- he's another hero of sorts who deserves more from the world. The introduction of Earl Strong and the events in the 1930s also give Strong Justice another important story and treat us to a glimpse into the Strong legacy. The book is about the trying to do what is right against desperate odds, just as it is about working to keep the peace and the Texas Rangers but it does this in two time periods and it does so with top notch action and fighting. In Strong Justice, Jon Land gives us heroes to root for and a fun, satisfying, action packed read! ISBN-10: 0765323362- Hardcover Publisher: Forge Books; 1 edition (June