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Joe Tyler #8
Thread of Doubt
Joe Tyler is done with investigations. Or at least he tells himself he is.
He has a new job teaching history at the local high school, and his daughter, Elizabeth, is no longer at home, as she's living nearby, in her third year of college.
But something isn’t right. Not with Joe…and not with Elizabeth, either.
When Mike Lorenzo asks Joe for help in finding his missing nephew, Joe doesn’t turn him down. He owes Mike, for favors too numerous to mention, and as his search for the kid intensifies, he realizes he’s looking for more than just clues to solve this particular case.
He’s looking for answers to bigger questions, questions he didn’t even know he was asking.
And Elizabeth is, too.
He has a new job teaching history at the local high school, and his daughter, Elizabeth, is no longer at home, as she's living nearby, in her third year of college.
But something isn’t right. Not with Joe…and not with Elizabeth, either.
When Mike Lorenzo asks Joe for help in finding his missing nephew, Joe doesn’t turn him down. He owes Mike, for favors too numerous to mention, and as his search for the kid intensifies, he realizes he’s looking for more than just clues to solve this particular case.
He’s looking for answers to bigger questions, questions he didn’t even know he was asking.
And Elizabeth is, too.
ebook
Published September 7, 2017
28 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Shelby
63 books173 followersJeff Shelby grew up around the beaches of Southern California and graduated from the University of California at Irvine. He is the author of the bestselling Noah Braddock series (Killer Swell, Wicked Break, Liquid Smoke), the stand alone thriller Thread of Hope, and the Deuce Winters series (Stay At Home Dead), written under the name Jeffrey Allen. He lives in Dallas, TX.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 7, 2017
In the latest Joe Tyler story, Joe's friend, Mike, asks for help in locating his nephew who's gone missing. Elizabeth, Joe's daughter, is home for winter break and acting mysterious. Joe is questioning his own line of work--is he really happy teaching high school students, or would he rather be doing something else?
As always, Shelby draws the reader into the story and it's almost impossible to put the book down before finishing in one sitting!
I love the Joe Tyler series and my only disappointment is that I have to wait until the next adventure, which I know will be another gripping read.
As always, Shelby draws the reader into the story and it's almost impossible to put the book down before finishing in one sitting!
I love the Joe Tyler series and my only disappointment is that I have to wait until the next adventure, which I know will be another gripping read.
April 13, 2019
The author flip-flops with plots. Some of the series have been page turners. Book 7 and 8 not so much. It was $10 not well spent. He used the same "shows" again and again. I skipped many pages because they had no real relevance. That's why I finished reading it in one day. Most of the books are "telling" and long-winded and repetitive dialogue. To his credit, I did enjoy the first five books in this series.
September 7, 2017
Great book. Joe is teaching high school and Elizabeth is home from college for the holidays when Joe's friend Mike asks for a favor. Mike is one of the people that Joe can't turn down so even though he swore that he was done with missing cases he goes on a search for Mike's nephew. A good plot and as usual well written.
November 3, 2017
Not one of my favorites in this series can of flat. I think the Author has gone as far as he can in this series.
August 28, 2018
I love this series
October 2, 2020
Making a deal with the Devil is pretty much guaranteed not to end well.
Joe Tyler's daughter was kidnapped seven years ago and new evidence may point the way to finding her. Enter a Mob Boss who offers a favour in return for a favour done. That favour comes gratis, but when circumstances require more help it comes at a cost.
The kidnapping cost Tyler his marriage and his job (he was a police officer on the track to becoming a detective), in the intervening years he has had remarkable success in finding other missing children but his relentless search for Elizabeth draws a blank until some forgotten/hidden evidence surfaces.
As the series progresses (warning: stop reading now as there are spoilers ahead), he recovers his daughter, reconnects with his wife .... but a debt remains unpaid, one that will, once again turn his life around.
John Anchor is the ultimate go-to man, he has resources that would seem to match those of the government, and he is calling in his debt. But, while earlier criminals in the series sometimes show a shred of humanity, Archer is a cypher, until it becomes agonisingly clear that he considers your debt his to define.
I thought at the beginning of the series that it would continue almost forever, book after book, until Tyler's daughter was eventually found (dead or discovered). When that is resolved, the series continues with gusto because of Archer - but when that is sorted (and I have only read one book after it), the series seems to lose impetus - now there is no driving force except Tyler's unhappiness with being a teacher.
Joe Tyler is a man whose life came to a juddering halt the day his daughter was taken. His life after that is, in some ways a downward spiral, he exists to search and hunt, he moves from place to place ... there is no joy. There is a point where his daughter asks him if he ever considered suicide - his response is that he did, but he couldn't go through with it because if he did he couldn't continue to search for her.
Summing up the series - it was excellent as long as the hunt for his daughter continued, the introduction of John Archer - and the shocking outcome - seemed to add longevity, but once he is no longer in play ... it just becomes standard fare.
I've no complaints - I enjoyed reading every book - but I think it may be time to let the series rest. I can't see how Jeff Shelby can resurrect the tension .. but he has done it once before and I am sure he could do it again.
An edit - I initially gave it 3 Stars because the final book I read was disappointing - but I wasn't happy with that judgement - one disappointment should not take away from the rest of the series.
And, one final observation, 4 Stars is about as high as I go - after 50 years of reading it takes something exceptional to get that fifth star - I can thing of only few authors that merit it - P. G. Wodehouse (I don't even like many of his books, but the writing is exceptional), Terry Pratchett, Kyril Bonfiglioli (too few books!) and Dashiell Hammett.
Joe Tyler's daughter was kidnapped seven years ago and new evidence may point the way to finding her. Enter a Mob Boss who offers a favour in return for a favour done. That favour comes gratis, but when circumstances require more help it comes at a cost.
The kidnapping cost Tyler his marriage and his job (he was a police officer on the track to becoming a detective), in the intervening years he has had remarkable success in finding other missing children but his relentless search for Elizabeth draws a blank until some forgotten/hidden evidence surfaces.
As the series progresses (warning: stop reading now as there are spoilers ahead), he recovers his daughter, reconnects with his wife .... but a debt remains unpaid, one that will, once again turn his life around.
John Anchor is the ultimate go-to man, he has resources that would seem to match those of the government, and he is calling in his debt. But, while earlier criminals in the series sometimes show a shred of humanity, Archer is a cypher, until it becomes agonisingly clear that he considers your debt his to define.
I thought at the beginning of the series that it would continue almost forever, book after book, until Tyler's daughter was eventually found (dead or discovered). When that is resolved, the series continues with gusto because of Archer - but when that is sorted (and I have only read one book after it), the series seems to lose impetus - now there is no driving force except Tyler's unhappiness with being a teacher.
Joe Tyler is a man whose life came to a juddering halt the day his daughter was taken. His life after that is, in some ways a downward spiral, he exists to search and hunt, he moves from place to place ... there is no joy. There is a point where his daughter asks him if he ever considered suicide - his response is that he did, but he couldn't go through with it because if he did he couldn't continue to search for her.
Summing up the series - it was excellent as long as the hunt for his daughter continued, the introduction of John Archer - and the shocking outcome - seemed to add longevity, but once he is no longer in play ... it just becomes standard fare.
I've no complaints - I enjoyed reading every book - but I think it may be time to let the series rest. I can't see how Jeff Shelby can resurrect the tension .. but he has done it once before and I am sure he could do it again.
An edit - I initially gave it 3 Stars because the final book I read was disappointing - but I wasn't happy with that judgement - one disappointment should not take away from the rest of the series.
And, one final observation, 4 Stars is about as high as I go - after 50 years of reading it takes something exceptional to get that fifth star - I can thing of only few authors that merit it - P. G. Wodehouse (I don't even like many of his books, but the writing is exceptional), Terry Pratchett, Kyril Bonfiglioli (too few books!) and Dashiell Hammett.
September 7, 2017
In the latest Joe Tyler story, Joe's friend, Mike, asks for help in locating his nephew who's gone missing. Elizabeth, Joe's daughter, is home for winter break and acting mysterious. Joe is questioning his own line of work--is he really happy teaching high school students, or would he rather be doing something else?
As always, Shelby draws the reader into the story and it's almost impossible to put the book down before finishing in one sitting!
I love the Joe Tyler series and my only disappointment is that I have to wait until the next adventure, which I know will be another gripping read.
As always, Shelby draws the reader into the story and it's almost impossible to put the book down before finishing in one sitting!
I love the Joe Tyler series and my only disappointment is that I have to wait until the next adventure, which I know will be another gripping read.
September 7, 2017
Great book. Joe is teaching high school and Elizabeth is home from college for the holidays when Joe's friend Mike asks for a favor. Mike is one of the people that Joe can't turn down so even though he swore that he was done with missing cases he goes on a search for Mike's nephew. A good plot and as usual well written.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews