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Victim Advocate Colleen Heenan #3
A Meth Dealing Bomb Maker They Call Redbeard
When Victim Advocate Colleen Heenan and Narcotics Detective Garrett Corcoran are summoned to a domestic violence call, the past comes roaring back to life. The victim is Nicole Ledbetter, who Colleen remembers from high school as an honor-roll cheerleader overshadowed by tragedy. But to Corcoran, Nicole is "Skinny Nikki," a meth addict with a direct line to Redbeard, a ruthless drug dealer with a taste for explosives.
Follow Dobbs into the darkness of drug trafficking and undercovers in the third book of the Colleen Heenan series, where enemies become allies, loyalties are tested, and chaos reigns.
Follow Dobbs into the darkness of drug trafficking and undercovers in the third book of the Colleen Heenan series, where enemies become allies, loyalties are tested, and chaos reigns.
313 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 15, 2025
4 people want to read
About the author
Deborah Dobbs
9 books9 followersDeborah writes gritty, realistic thrillers and crime fiction that lean into horror (think Stephen King's MISERY). While indeed fiction, her Victim Advocate Colleen Heenan series is inspired by cases she worked during her career as a victim advocate at a mental health organization in Texas. Her novels provide readers with a unique perspective on the criminal justice system.
"With a gifted flair for writing about the dark side of humanity, Dobbs is an author to watch." - Carter Wilson, USA Today Bestselling Author of Tell Me What You Did.
"With a gifted flair for writing about the dark side of humanity, Dobbs is an author to watch." - Carter Wilson, USA Today Bestselling Author of Tell Me What You Did.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 1, 2025
I met the author at a recent writer’s conference and struck up some excellent conversation with her over the course of several days, so it was nice getting more backstory on this book. It made me want to read it that much more. An experienced victim advocate herself, Dobbs weaves realism from her profession with solid storytelling skills. The result was a well-written, gritty crime thriller filled with lively characters and a storyline with high physical and emotional stakes.
The story opens with a harrowing gangster-type torture scene that engaged me right away (some character names were omitted, making it hard to sometimes tell who was speaking), and quickly introduces us to the three main characters—Redbeard, an abusive drug-dealer/bomb-maker who treats women as owned objects; Skinny Nikki, a drug-addict kept brutally under Redbeard’s thumb; and Colleen, a victim advocate teaming with the Dallas-area police. Although Colleen’s character is the most virtuous in the book, I found Redbeard and Skinny Nikki to be the most engaging and interesting of the lot—each for different reasons. Despite his abusive, criminal nature and all-around wretchedness, Redbeard just seemed more three-dimensional. Still, it’s easy to hate him, someone who’s own mother would want nothing to do with him. Yet like many well-depicted antagonists in literature and on film, the reader/viewer isn’t required to like them in order to be engaged by them. Not sure if the author intended this, but Redbeard was so sharply drawn that he overshadowed the good guys and girls, most times.
Even Skinny Nikki, Redbeard’s sexualized semi-captive, steals the spotlight due to the high stakes surrounding her. While Colleen and the detective she works closely with (her ex) live relatively comfortable lives due to them standing on the right side of the law, Skinny Nikki is always a moment away from something terrible happening to her. Even when she’s not, she seems stuck in quicksand and is desperate to escape to a better life. Perhaps that’s why her character was so much more engaging to me than Colleen (and especially the police, who seemed like afterthoughts much of the time). Whether this was intentional by the author or she just writes bad guys better, I’m okay with the outcome, since I enjoy my fiction on the darker side and believe crime stories work best when the bad folks shine. On that note, I found the dialogue between the bad guys much more authentic and fun than that of the police, in particular. As for Colleen, it was interesting seeing how a civilian advocate interacts with the police and the victims themselves, something I’ve never read about before.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and appreciated the short chapters. That increased the pace and kept me flying through the pages. Dobbs is a great writer, on par with many well-established authors I’ve read. I like her no nonsense style, and can tell she’s seen a lot during her advocacy career, something that I’m sure lent much flavor to the story. The book’s title had me thinking the bomb-making aspect would play a major role, but it didn’t. Also, I found the story’s climax a bit rushed (especially surrounding Redbeard’s part in it), and would have liked more description there. But I understand that this is the third part of a series, and not having read the first two books yet, I may not have all the required context. That makes me want to go back and read the first two books (and perhaps more, if another is in the works).
I’d definitely recommend this thriller to anyone who likes dark crime fiction and would enjoy learning about the rarely discussed aspect of victim advocacy as it relates to the criminal justice system.
The story opens with a harrowing gangster-type torture scene that engaged me right away (some character names were omitted, making it hard to sometimes tell who was speaking), and quickly introduces us to the three main characters—Redbeard, an abusive drug-dealer/bomb-maker who treats women as owned objects; Skinny Nikki, a drug-addict kept brutally under Redbeard’s thumb; and Colleen, a victim advocate teaming with the Dallas-area police. Although Colleen’s character is the most virtuous in the book, I found Redbeard and Skinny Nikki to be the most engaging and interesting of the lot—each for different reasons. Despite his abusive, criminal nature and all-around wretchedness, Redbeard just seemed more three-dimensional. Still, it’s easy to hate him, someone who’s own mother would want nothing to do with him. Yet like many well-depicted antagonists in literature and on film, the reader/viewer isn’t required to like them in order to be engaged by them. Not sure if the author intended this, but Redbeard was so sharply drawn that he overshadowed the good guys and girls, most times.
Even Skinny Nikki, Redbeard’s sexualized semi-captive, steals the spotlight due to the high stakes surrounding her. While Colleen and the detective she works closely with (her ex) live relatively comfortable lives due to them standing on the right side of the law, Skinny Nikki is always a moment away from something terrible happening to her. Even when she’s not, she seems stuck in quicksand and is desperate to escape to a better life. Perhaps that’s why her character was so much more engaging to me than Colleen (and especially the police, who seemed like afterthoughts much of the time). Whether this was intentional by the author or she just writes bad guys better, I’m okay with the outcome, since I enjoy my fiction on the darker side and believe crime stories work best when the bad folks shine. On that note, I found the dialogue between the bad guys much more authentic and fun than that of the police, in particular. As for Colleen, it was interesting seeing how a civilian advocate interacts with the police and the victims themselves, something I’ve never read about before.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and appreciated the short chapters. That increased the pace and kept me flying through the pages. Dobbs is a great writer, on par with many well-established authors I’ve read. I like her no nonsense style, and can tell she’s seen a lot during her advocacy career, something that I’m sure lent much flavor to the story. The book’s title had me thinking the bomb-making aspect would play a major role, but it didn’t. Also, I found the story’s climax a bit rushed (especially surrounding Redbeard’s part in it), and would have liked more description there. But I understand that this is the third part of a series, and not having read the first two books yet, I may not have all the required context. That makes me want to go back and read the first two books (and perhaps more, if another is in the works).
I’d definitely recommend this thriller to anyone who likes dark crime fiction and would enjoy learning about the rarely discussed aspect of victim advocacy as it relates to the criminal justice system.
October 6, 2025
Couldn’t wait to read Deb’s latest. She shares excellent characters. Some I’m very familiar with. She develops well between fact and fiction. Definitely had me scared for her characters. Highly recommend all her books. Is there a sequel coming?
September 24, 2025
After reading The Psychotic Son and Vile, I have been looking forward to reading the third book in the series (A Meth Dealing Bomb Maker They Call Redbeard). Deborah Dobbs did it again! Another must read book.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews