Brendan DuBois

Hard Aground by Brendan DuBois is the highly recommended eleventh novel in the Lewis Cole series. In this outing Lewis finds himself "hard aground" as he recovers from major surgery.

Due to an experience when he was in the Department of Defense, Lewis Cole has to check his body for tumors. At the end of the last novel in the series, Storm Cell, a tumor was found. In Hard Aground Lewis is home bound as he recovers. This doesn't stop the action and suspense from coming to Cole. He is hearing someone entering his house at night, but there is no evidence of it. Then he has this couple who claim to be historical/genealogy researchers repeatedly coming to his door. The biggest news is that antiques dealer and a local historian Maggie Tyler Branch was murdered and it may be tied to the opioid epidemic.

There is more action than one would expect in a novel where the main character is home bound, recovering from major surgery and having to deal with draining the wounds. It is always good to see long time characters Felix Tinios, Paula Woods, and Det. Sgt. Diane Woods back. They are all also helping nurse Cole in his recovery. Hard Aground has a Rear Window quality to it. Our main character is very limited in what he can do, but his mind is still active and he can piece information and clues together.

This is a more subdued novel compared to others in the series. There are still several mysteries presented that will come to satisfying resolutions.I really love this whole series. Thanks to Severn River Publishing for providing me with an advance reader's copy. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2024/03/hard-aground.html… (mais)

Storm Cell by Brendan DuBois finds Lewis Cole under pressure to prove Felix Tinos is innocent of murder charges. It is the very highly recommended 10th thriller in the Lewis Cole series.

Felix is on trial for the murder of Fletcher Moore and inexplicably is using a sub-par lawyer called Hollis Spinelli instead of his long time go-to Boston based attorney Raymond Drake. Since Lewis is not on Felix's visitor's list he can't talk to him about it. The evidence seems conclusive on the surface, but Lewis refuses to believe Felix is guilty. Things become more odd when two FBI agents approach Cole and tell him if he has to prove Felix is innocent or Felix will be murdered in prison. Then, when Lewis tries to talk to Spinelli about his defense of Felix, Spinelli sends a tough young man to convince Lewis to back off. If Lewis had questions before, this really raises his curiosity, and an inquisitive Lewis is a force to reckon with.

As expected, the quality of the writing is exceptional and the plot is compelling and intriguing. The investigation Lewis undertakes is engaging and the information he uncovers is intriguing. Part of the enjoyment is following the investigation and the clues and pieces of information Lewis uncovers. It's also good to see reoccurring characters from the series make an appearance in the narrative.

The Lewis Cole series is an excellent crime fiction thriller set in New Hampshire that just gets better with every book. The series is being re-released by Severn River Publishing. Most of them can be read as stand-alone novels, but your reading experience will be deeper and more engaging if you follow the series and have more information about all the characters. Thanks to Severn River Publishing for providing me with an advance reader's copy via Edelweiss. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2024/02/storm-cell.html… (mais)