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A Rusty Diamond Novel #3
Torn & Restored
Rusty Diamond could hide no longer on the beaches in Maryland. His past had finally caught up to him, all of his mistakes come wrapped in a package, beckoning him back to the wild life he lived, and left, in Las Vegas. Someone wants Rusty to pay for what he did years before, and if Rusty is going to survive, he’s going to have to take the fight to the desert.
Rusty was once the hottest act on the strip, a magician who could command sell-out crowds for his death-defying act. But with bigger risks came bigger enemies, and Rusty has accumulated one of the biggest Vegas has to offer, a mobster-turned-politician, who has every resource available to not only close the curtain on Rusty, but to make him suffer beforehand.
Rusty was once the hottest act on the strip, a magician who could command sell-out crowds for his death-defying act. But with bigger risks came bigger enemies, and Rusty has accumulated one of the biggest Vegas has to offer, a mobster-turned-politician, who has every resource available to not only close the curtain on Rusty, but to make him suffer beforehand.
260 pages, Paperback
Published May 23, 2017
3 people are currently reading
205 people want to read
About the author
Austin Williams
6 books189 followersAustin Williams is the author of the cult suspense novels Crimson Orgy and The Platinum Loop. He also wrote The Rusty Diamond Series of crime thrillers.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 17, 2017
Final book in the Rusty Diamond trilogy, but thankfully, it seems like there may very well be more books coming!
Rusty is getting packages in the mail from Las Vegas, the last place in the world he wants to go. These packages are evidence of crimes for which someone is framing him, and also include human body parts.
So to Vegas he goes, to find out who is framing him, as well as to make amends for his behavior in Vegas when he was a big star.
Very creepy, very exciting, with a lot of tension.
Rusty is getting packages in the mail from Las Vegas, the last place in the world he wants to go. These packages are evidence of crimes for which someone is framing him, and also include human body parts.
So to Vegas he goes, to find out who is framing him, as well as to make amends for his behavior in Vegas when he was a big star.
Very creepy, very exciting, with a lot of tension.
May 23, 2017
4.5 stars.
Torn & Restored, the third novel in Austin Williams' Rusty Diamond series, finds the former illusionist turned amateur sleuth returning to Las Vegas to face the final piece of his unresolved past.
While Rusty initially ignores the anonymous packages he is receiving, the contents in the latest missive are too grisly to ignore. Although he has no idea who is sending them to him or why, he knows it is finally time to return to the city where his career crashed and burned three years earlier. Once he is back in Las Vegas, Rusty reaches out to former co-worker Charlotte Rains to help him figure out the significance of the items sent to him. The information he uncovers leads him to a sketchy bar in a rundown part of town and a creepy site on the dark web, but Rusty still has no idea who lured him to back to Las Vegas.
As soon as he steps off the plane, Rusty is overwhelmed by the memories of the meteoric rise and spectacular fall of his career. Unable to forget the horrific events that preceded his hasty escape from town, he is a little off balance as he tries to make sense of the puzzling items he received in the mail. Charlotte is the only person in Vegas that Rusty implicitly trusts not to betray him and her assistance quickly proves invaluable. Despite the information she helps him uncover, Rusty remains uncertain who is masterminding the plan that forced his return to Vegas. However, he does quickly realize this person has intimate knowledge of the various acts he performed during his show at Caesar's. Rusty also cannot help but wonder how his final gig plays into the increasingly diabolical and horrifying events that are occurring.
Rusty's investigation takes him into some of the lesser known and seedier areas of Las Vegas. Far away from the glitz and glitter of the Strip, the homeless population is incredibly vulnerable to predators who find it easy to prey upon them without fear of reprisal. The flood tunnel system under the city is an enticing but unsafe haven for those seeking shelter. When Rusty is forced to become an active participant in the vengeful plan taking place in these tunnels, he once again relies on his skills as an illusionist to (hopefully) extricate himself from a tricky and highly dangerous situation.
The third (and perhaps final) installment in the Rusty Diamond series, Torn & Restored is a fast-paced and suspense-laden mystery. With plenty of action and unexpected twists and turns, Austin Williams brings this latest mystery to a pulse-pounding and action packed conclusion. An absolutely outstanding mystery that I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend to fans of the genre.
Torn & Restored, the third novel in Austin Williams' Rusty Diamond series, finds the former illusionist turned amateur sleuth returning to Las Vegas to face the final piece of his unresolved past.
While Rusty initially ignores the anonymous packages he is receiving, the contents in the latest missive are too grisly to ignore. Although he has no idea who is sending them to him or why, he knows it is finally time to return to the city where his career crashed and burned three years earlier. Once he is back in Las Vegas, Rusty reaches out to former co-worker Charlotte Rains to help him figure out the significance of the items sent to him. The information he uncovers leads him to a sketchy bar in a rundown part of town and a creepy site on the dark web, but Rusty still has no idea who lured him to back to Las Vegas.
As soon as he steps off the plane, Rusty is overwhelmed by the memories of the meteoric rise and spectacular fall of his career. Unable to forget the horrific events that preceded his hasty escape from town, he is a little off balance as he tries to make sense of the puzzling items he received in the mail. Charlotte is the only person in Vegas that Rusty implicitly trusts not to betray him and her assistance quickly proves invaluable. Despite the information she helps him uncover, Rusty remains uncertain who is masterminding the plan that forced his return to Vegas. However, he does quickly realize this person has intimate knowledge of the various acts he performed during his show at Caesar's. Rusty also cannot help but wonder how his final gig plays into the increasingly diabolical and horrifying events that are occurring.
Rusty's investigation takes him into some of the lesser known and seedier areas of Las Vegas. Far away from the glitz and glitter of the Strip, the homeless population is incredibly vulnerable to predators who find it easy to prey upon them without fear of reprisal. The flood tunnel system under the city is an enticing but unsafe haven for those seeking shelter. When Rusty is forced to become an active participant in the vengeful plan taking place in these tunnels, he once again relies on his skills as an illusionist to (hopefully) extricate himself from a tricky and highly dangerous situation.
The third (and perhaps final) installment in the Rusty Diamond series, Torn & Restored is a fast-paced and suspense-laden mystery. With plenty of action and unexpected twists and turns, Austin Williams brings this latest mystery to a pulse-pounding and action packed conclusion. An absolutely outstanding mystery that I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend to fans of the genre.
May 15, 2017
Thank you to author Austin Williams and publisher Diversion Books for this ARC of Torn & Restored. Thanks also to Goodreads for hosting this opportunity through First Reads.
Torn & Restored is a reference to an old and often used magic act, and the one selected as the grand finale to this book. Hence the title. The reasoning behind Diamonds biggest nut-case fan louring him back to Las Vegas to perform this act is unknown to me. I must have missed it. Because he felt jilted by Diamond leaving so abruptly?
The story moves along pretty quickly and holds the readers attention. I thought, in general, the story, characters, and scenes were all pretty good. I just had a few things that kept this book at three stars. One mentioned above, another being I felt at times there was to much effort made to conjure up imagery for the reader. The effort just didn't flow with the book. Another is the main character himself, a reformed drug addict. Good for him. I would have liked to have seen him become a better man at books end. He's portrayed as a self-centered, egotistical brat who turned a hobby into a cash cow. He seeks help from a few friends to help himself, and ends up throwing money around and leaving them again instead of being a friend back.
Other than that, I enjoyed the story. Book has a nice soft jacket and cover.
Torn & Restored is a reference to an old and often used magic act, and the one selected as the grand finale to this book. Hence the title. The reasoning behind Diamonds biggest nut-case fan louring him back to Las Vegas to perform this act is unknown to me. I must have missed it. Because he felt jilted by Diamond leaving so abruptly?
The story moves along pretty quickly and holds the readers attention. I thought, in general, the story, characters, and scenes were all pretty good. I just had a few things that kept this book at three stars. One mentioned above, another being I felt at times there was to much effort made to conjure up imagery for the reader. The effort just didn't flow with the book. Another is the main character himself, a reformed drug addict. Good for him. I would have liked to have seen him become a better man at books end. He's portrayed as a self-centered, egotistical brat who turned a hobby into a cash cow. He seeks help from a few friends to help himself, and ends up throwing money around and leaving them again instead of being a friend back.
Other than that, I enjoyed the story. Book has a nice soft jacket and cover.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews