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A Colton Parker Mystery #3
The Root of All Evil
Brandt Dodson follows the success of the first two books in his Colton Parker Mystery series—Original Sin and Seventy Times Seven—with another intriguing story.
Wealthy businessman Berger Hume is dying. And the one thing he wants most is the one thing his millions cannot buy—a relationship with the son he has never met. As Colton Parker, private investigator, searches to locate the son, he finds himself the target of threats from a powerful gang with ties that extend to high–level government.
The twists of this case cause Colton to question his own values. Will he risk the one thing that matters most? And will this race against time become a race for his own life?
287 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2007
3 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
About the author
Brandt Dodson
10 books23 followersBrandt was born and raised on the west side of Indianapolis and comes from a long line of police officers. He was formerly employed by the Indianapolis Field Office of the FBI before serving as a Lt. in the United States Naval Reserve.
He is a graduate of Ben Davis High School and Indiana Central University (now known as the University of Indianapolis) and received his doctorate in Chicago, Illinois.
Brandt is the creator of the Indianapolis-based Colton Parker series, the Chicago-based Sons of Jude series, as well as several short stories and stand-alone novels. He has had his play adapted by a dinner theatre and it opened in March of 2013.
Brandt lives in southern Indiana where he is at work on his next novel.
He is a graduate of Ben Davis High School and Indiana Central University (now known as the University of Indianapolis) and received his doctorate in Chicago, Illinois.
Brandt is the creator of the Indianapolis-based Colton Parker series, the Chicago-based Sons of Jude series, as well as several short stories and stand-alone novels. He has had his play adapted by a dinner theatre and it opened in March of 2013.
Brandt lives in southern Indiana where he is at work on his next novel.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 17, 2009
This detective novel was a nice change of pace from my usual contemporary women's fiction. Brandt Dodson writes a crisp, fast-paced story. His hero is easy to like, his characterizations natural and believable. I had the pleasure of meeting Brandt in person at a writer's conference this summer. His depth of law enforcement experience is impressive!
January 23, 2016
In THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL, the third book in the Colton Parker Series, Brandt Dodson engages us once again with suspense, murder, and corruption. When Colton Parker is hired to find the illegitimate son of a dying multimillionaire, he is faced with sorting through back alleys, biker gang hangouts, and the offices of a political official in order to get to the bottom of what seems to be a tangled web that has no boundaries.
Colton Parker is a modern-day gumshoe. He uses his tough exterior and dry humor to cover the pain he feels at the loss of his wife and his constant struggle to maintain a relationship with his teenage daughter. There's not a lot of flash or fancy dialogue in this series, just good old private investigative work. Though Brandt hints at Colton's feelings for his former FBI partner, Mary, there is little romance played out in the Colton Parker Series. These novels are definitely geared toward the armchair detective who wants to follow along as Parker pieces together faint clues and barely-there evidence. A great read. Especially for men who want a straight forward suspense novel without getting bogged down with the romance that most women readers prefer.
Colton Parker is a modern-day gumshoe. He uses his tough exterior and dry humor to cover the pain he feels at the loss of his wife and his constant struggle to maintain a relationship with his teenage daughter. There's not a lot of flash or fancy dialogue in this series, just good old private investigative work. Though Brandt hints at Colton's feelings for his former FBI partner, Mary, there is little romance played out in the Colton Parker Series. These novels are definitely geared toward the armchair detective who wants to follow along as Parker pieces together faint clues and barely-there evidence. A great read. Especially for men who want a straight forward suspense novel without getting bogged down with the romance that most women readers prefer.
July 26, 2012
This detective book will keep you up late. Short, snappy chapters. An unpredictable ending, (I love those...yes, I guessed the wrong person.) Believable plot.
July 8, 2019
Great story. I had read the first two Colton Parker books long ago and got back to the series. This is the third book and the stories are good with a great character. I have another to read before I get back to the fourth book in this series, the author has a varied career with being in the naval reserves, the FBI, and professional podiatrist. I see him as a patient and he is a good guy to boot!
September 1, 2008
Have you ever picked up a book and within the first 5 pages you know it’s a winner? That’s the way it is with Brandt Dodson’s Root of All Evil.
Colton Parker was fired from the FBI, spent 5 years on the Chicago Police Department and now runs his own investigation firm. He has been described as “a brash, insolent, narrow-minded ex-cop” that has the “subtlety of a jackhammer in a funeral parlor.” He is hired by Berger Hume a multimillionaire who helped put Indianapolis on the map but is now a frail, dying man. Hume wants Parker to find out if a man, Miles Poole, is truly his son. If he is, he wants to meet Poole before he dies which according to doctors could be very soon.
All Parker has to do is find Poole, talk to him and convince him to have DNA testing. Piece of cake, right? No problem.
The hunt for Miles Poole alias ’Pork Chop’ is not exactly an easy one. Pork Chop is not exactly what you would call an upstanding pillar of the community and he has many enemies. Parker finds him but then there are lots of twists, turns and deaths along the way to confirming that Pork Chop is Berger Hume’s son.
This is an action-packed tale that includes bombs, shootings, back-stabbing, gangs and much more. As the investigation goes onward it becomes more and more complicated. At one point two officials stop Parker on a jog and ask for his private detective license. They inform him there was a “discrepancy” in the paperwork that was previously overlooked. This doesn’t stop Colton Parker from digging deeper and deeper to find out if Poole is truly Hume’s son and more.
Colton Parker was fired from the FBI, spent 5 years on the Chicago Police Department and now runs his own investigation firm. He has been described as “a brash, insolent, narrow-minded ex-cop” that has the “subtlety of a jackhammer in a funeral parlor.” He is hired by Berger Hume a multimillionaire who helped put Indianapolis on the map but is now a frail, dying man. Hume wants Parker to find out if a man, Miles Poole, is truly his son. If he is, he wants to meet Poole before he dies which according to doctors could be very soon.
All Parker has to do is find Poole, talk to him and convince him to have DNA testing. Piece of cake, right? No problem.
The hunt for Miles Poole alias ’Pork Chop’ is not exactly an easy one. Pork Chop is not exactly what you would call an upstanding pillar of the community and he has many enemies. Parker finds him but then there are lots of twists, turns and deaths along the way to confirming that Pork Chop is Berger Hume’s son.
This is an action-packed tale that includes bombs, shootings, back-stabbing, gangs and much more. As the investigation goes onward it becomes more and more complicated. At one point two officials stop Parker on a jog and ask for his private detective license. They inform him there was a “discrepancy” in the paperwork that was previously overlooked. This doesn’t stop Colton Parker from digging deeper and deeper to find out if Poole is truly Hume’s son and more.
March 25, 2013
Described as being "as unexpected as a bullet hole in a Brooks Brother suit," PI Colton Parker returns in this adventure with Callie and Mary aiding him in his personal life.
A dying millionaire, Berger Hume, asks Colton to find his son. Colton accepts the seemingly routine assignment but later is caught up in the city's outlaw biker scene and also crosses paths with the deceptively nice Garrett Hume, Berger's legitimate heir. The plot is as taut as a highwire, and Colton's personal life and his questions about God take up a few pages of dialogue between him and Mary Christopher, a bright, articulate and intelligent FBI agent.
A dying millionaire, Berger Hume, asks Colton to find his son. Colton accepts the seemingly routine assignment but later is caught up in the city's outlaw biker scene and also crosses paths with the deceptively nice Garrett Hume, Berger's legitimate heir. The plot is as taut as a highwire, and Colton's personal life and his questions about God take up a few pages of dialogue between him and Mary Christopher, a bright, articulate and intelligent FBI agent.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews