A Dark Path

Katrina Williams #3

by Robert E. Dunn

 Sheriff's detective Katrina “Hurricane” Williams confronts deep-rooted hate and greed in the Missouri Ozarks in this riveting police procedural…
 
What at first appears to be a brush fire in some undeveloped bottom land yields the charred remains of a young African-American man. As sheriff’s Katrina Williams conducts her inspection of the crime scene, she discovers broken headstones and disturbed open graves in a forgotten cemetery.
 
As Katrina attempts to sort out a complex backwoods criminal network involving the Aryan Brotherhood, meth dealers, and the Ozarks Nightriders motorcycle gang, she is confronted by the sudden appearance of a person out of her own past who may be involved. And what seems like a clear-cut case of racially motivated murder is further complicated by rumors of hidden silver and dark family histories. To uncover the ugly truth, Katrina will need to dig up past crimes and shameful secrets that certain people would kill to keep buried . . .

Genres: Suspense

330 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 7, 2018

About the author

I wasn't born in a log cabin but the station wagon did have wood on the side. It was broken down on the approach road into Ft. Rucker, Alabama in the kind of rain that would have made a Biblical author jealous. You never saw a tornado in the Old Testament did you? As omens of a coming life go, mine was full of portent if not exactly glad tidings.

From there things got interesting. Life on a series of Army bases encouraged my retreat into a fantasy world. Life in a series of public school environments provided ample nourishment to my developing love of violence. Often heard in my home was the singular phrase, "I blame the schools." We all blamed the schools.

Both my fantasy and my academic worlds left marks and the amalgam proved useful the three times in my life I had guns pointed in my face. Despite those loving encounters the only real scars left on my body were inflicted by a six foot, seven inch tall drag queen. She didn't like the way I was admiring the play of three a.m. Waffle House fluorescent light over the high spandex sheen of her stockings.

After a series of low paying jobs that took me places no one dreams of going. I learned one thing. Nothing vomits quite so brutally as jail food. That's not the one thing I learned; it's an important thing to know, though. The one thing I learned is a secret. My secret. A terrible and dark thing I nurture in my nightmares. You learn your own lessons.

Eventually I began writing stories. Mostly I was just spilling out the, basically, true narratives of the creatures that lounge about my brain, laughing and whispering sweet, sweet things to say to women. Women see through me but enjoy the monsters in my head. They say, sometimes, that the things I say and write are lies or, "damn, filthy lies, slander of the worst kind, and the demented, perverted, wishful stories of a wasted mind." To which I always answer, I tell only the truth. I just tell a livelier truth than most people.

Reviews

[Linda Strong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meet the Ozarks' force of nature ... Katrina "Hurricane" Williams, Deputy Sheriff.

Katrina is sent to investigate a fire in some dormant land. Her investigation turns up broken headstones, open graves ... and the charred remains of a young African-American man.

Her search for the killer leads to a backwoods criminal network, a vicious motorcycle gang, meth dealers, and the Aryan Brotherhood. She feels that the murder was racially motivated, but things get really muddled when there's rumors of silver.

Shameful secrets, lies, crime, corruption, complicate her life in more ways than one. An unexpected appearance of someone from Katrina's past shows up. Her budding romance with Deputy Billy Blevins is headed for the rocks ... by her own defenses.

This is a well-written action-packed story that shows how family secrets can be held in silence through generation after generation. The ending is ... ferocious.

Katrina is tough, smart, dedicated to her job ... but she suffers a form of PTSD from her military days. Her anger and flashbacks has caused some problems with her job, resulting in her boss' demand that she undergo counseling. She makes a terrific series character.

Although third in a series, this is easily a stand-alone. However, as always, I highly recommend starting at the beginning.

Many thanks to the author / Kensington Books /Lyrica Underground / Netgalley for the advanced digital copy. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

[Maxine (Booklover Catlady) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert is an author who know how to make a book hook the reader. I was very impressed by the quality of writing amongst so many other great things.

Firstly, this has entered my shortlist of my Top 18 Reads of 2018. Skipping the long list. I’m fussy and this tells you how much I loved this novel.

Katrina (nick-named Hurricane) is a survivor. Now working in law enforcement in the area of the Ozarks USA, she is ex-military. Her tour of Iraq did not end well. Her wounds are internal and external but she’s a cop who believes in fairness and she is like a dog with a bone on a case.

We are dealing here with racism at its worst. A Pro-Nazi white power “church” organisation with local power. A bunch of cowardly but violent and hate filled people who start big trouble on Katrina’s patch. Adding more fuel to the fire is a motorcycle gang. Not a nice bunch of blokes at all. Violence and hatred also running through their blood.

There is a murder. Dark secrets and years old unresolved feuds rise up from the depths and challenge Katrina to find the truth in it all.This book is not only non-stop action that grips you hard but each and every character is brilliantly portrayed. From those you like to those you hate. These are not simple characters. No sir. Complex and many of them bearing secrets and surprise reveals during the book.

The plot is gritty and fascinating. This scenario could very well be real somewhere in the USA where white supremacy is seen as the right path to walk and be proud of. Some dark moments in the plot had me angry and choked up.

I wanted to be kicking-ass right there next to Katrina. She is one brave, strong, admirable woman. She’s not without her inner battles and vices. A brilliant character I want to meet again.Intertwined in the plot for justice there are sidelines of human connections, family relationships, personal people in Katrina’s life. This is no soppy romance or wushu-washy tale. It also won’t bog you down in police procedures. Just gives you a damn entertaining read. I really loved this book.

5 stars from me. The ending was spectacular as were a few key scenes leading up to it.I was shouting at characters! I’m glad I’ve discovered a new author I like and I’ll be reading more of this series. By the way this read perfectly as a stand alone. A book that will appeal to both male and female readers, those that like crime, ones that like action, those who enjoy mystery and anyone who likes a book with a powerful message. I hope you grab it for your own bookshelf. Released on 7 August 2018.

Many thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley. All review opinions are my own and totally unbiased.

[Mike Finn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think Robert E Dunn should be much more widely read than he is. His books are dark, powerful and feel truthful. I started reading him with 'The Sound Of Distant Engines' (2020) his disturbingly feasible story of a near-future America run by the Christian Right and constantly at war with the rest of the world. Then I went to his back catalogue and found the Katrina Williams series, four books that tell the story of a woman who, having survived atrocities inflicted on her by her own side while serving in the Army in Iraq, returns to her home in the Ozarks and becomes a Sheriff's Detective. 

The first two books, 'A Living Grave' (2016) and 'A Particular Darkness' (2017), were harrowing but compelling reads. Katrina Williams is a survivor but that doesn't mean she's doing well. The main emotion she's capable of is anger. She's an alcoholic. She has a reputation for violence and recklessness with her personal safety. She knows she's broken and she's not sure she can do anything about that. 

In the previous books, the Army and the Federal government have loomed large as sources of the bad things in Katrina's life. In 'A Dark Path' (2018), her trouble starts closer to home as she confronts white supremacists and drug-dealing biker gangs who have unexpected connections to her family that only she is unaware of. 

It was another stark, violent, gripping book with a plot wrapped around a good mystery and with Katrina's struggle to fix herself, or at least not hurt the people she loves, at its heart. The characters in the novel are complicated. They are not now who they once were but they still carry their past with them. Katrina understands this but her own past has left her filled with a rage that she has difficulty containing. 

One of the things that calls me to this book, and the series as a whole, is that there are no easy answers except violence and violence always has a price.

I have only one more Katrina Williams book to go. I find myself reluctant to finish the series but I want to read more of Dunn's work. His standalone novel 'Dead Man's Badge' is calling to me.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent installment in the series. The secrets ran deeper than I could imagine. My full review can be read here ---> https://wp.me/p5t5Tf-1DP

[Elaine Tomasso · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would like to thank Netgalley and Kensington Books for an advance copy of A Dark Path, the third novel to feature Sheriff's Detective Katrina "Hurricane" Williams, set in the Ozarks.

Katrina is nourishing her new relationship with Detective Billy Blevins when she is called out to a suspicious fire. When the fire is cleared a burnt body is found and several old, unmarked graves. When white supremacist Johnson Rath shows up, claiming ownership of the land things take an ugly turn. Katrina's hunt for the killer delves deep into the past.

I thoroughly enjoyed A Dark Path which is a real slice of rural noir, violent, uncompromising and lyrical. It is reminiscent of James Lee Burke's writing with it's troubled protagonist, its theme of the past casting a long shadow deep into the present and the beautifully evocative descriptions which bring the location to life but Hurricane, as she hates to be known, is her own woman and brings the novel to life with her flawed thinking and decision making. I find Mr Dunn's style of writing extremely inviting and was engrossed from start to finish, in fact my attention never wavered and that is something that happens less and less often nowadays.

The actual murder plot is nothing spectacular as the culprits are fairly obvious and it's just a matter of identifying an individual but the interest lies in all the interconnecting relationships, both past and present, and the characters' motivations and actions. It's fascinating and powerful stuff as everyone has an agenda and secrets.

Katrina is not an appealing character and I would defy anyone to really like her. She is a recovering alcoholic with a horrific trauma in her past, both which make her secretive, emotionally guarded, selfish and self destructive and give her a propensity to violence. Surprisingly she is surrounded by good men who try to help her and protect her from herself, unsurprisingly she doesn't appreciate much of this concern. There are signs early in the novel that she is trying to change but the self destruct button is never far away, so, while she's not someone you'd want in your life, I find her journey and missteps compulsive and can't wait to see what's next in her train wreck of a life.

A Dark Path is an excellent addition to a great series so I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending it as a good read.

[Karen PH · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Dark Path is well titled as it is one of the darker crime novels I've read lately.

Sherriff’s Deputy Katrina Williams is aptly nicknamed Hurricane, not because of her first name, but because she is a hurricane. Standing at six feet tall, she is beyond the cliched alcoholic deputy/detective. She brings with her a past rape by two superior officers who left her for dead when she served in the Mid-East, a recently deceased father, a mother who abandoned her at six, and a never-ending craving for alcohol. When she drinks, she drinks herself blind. She lives in small town Arkansas, wears jeans and boots, and is the wealthy widow of a successful artist. She has anger management issues that she doesn’t always control on the job, and is assigned to therapy for past actions.

Robert E. Dunn displays strong imagery with passages like:

Dr. Kurtz had given me one thing that had nested in my mind. That bit about wearing an identity. She was right. Since I had come home from the Army, I had worn a badge, manly boots, and unflattering jeans as armor against the world. It was a take-me-seriously façade that transitioned easily into a fear-me look. I needed to make some changes in my life.
Hurricane’s husband has been dead long enough to for her to be attracted to a kind and personable detective that she pushes away.

I liked the unfolding story of Katrina most about the book, although several times I felt she thought more like a man than a woman. I guess that’s why authors are encouraged to write characters with the same race and gender.

The plot is one I’ve seen before: Arian Brotherhood motorcycle gangs against and African-Americans in small town America, all of whom search for rumored buried treasure.

The book is a well-paced and solid read.

[Owl._. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found another author and another series to read!!!! This is the first one I've read in the "Hurricane" Katrina Wlliams series and I loved it. I didn't feel like I was missing any information from the first in the series and was able to read this as a stand alone. I really got a feel for the characters and their relationships to each other and can't wait to see how those relationships continue to develop. I look forward to the next one.

Thank you #netgalley and #kensingtonbooks for the eARC.

[Peggy Jaeger · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the third installment of the Katrina “Hurricane” Williams books, Katrina continues to attempt to swim thorough a quagmire of personal, professional, and past issues.

On the personal side, her husband has died and she has given in to the mutual attraction for fellow co-worker Billy Blevins. On the professional side, a new case brings her into the crosshairs and right hooks of and Aryan brotherhood-type fascist, racist motorcycle group. As for the past, the mother that abandoned her on her uncle’s dock when Katrina was just six years old comes back into the picture.

Personal and past crash together in a series of murders and incidents and her present life is turned upside down by a job offer Billy wants to take.

As with all the Hurricane Williams books, this one was rife with violence –most of it to Katrina herself, both physically and mentally. She’s still seeing her shrink for her anger issues. Hint: the therapy works about half the time in controlling the rage within her. In this book she even attempts to soften her physical image by dressing in “girl clothes” for work. In my last review of book two I stated it was unusual that Katrina was surrounded only by men, no woman even forging herself into her life as a friend, or mentor. The only female in her realm is her pyche doctor, whom Hurricane equally despises and admires. Katrina is simply not a girl’s girl. In this book we find out why.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington for an ARC of this book. Another well done Katrina Williams novel. 5 stars.

[Momma Says: To Read or Not to Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

This third Katrina Williams novel starts with a brief moment of normal and even some semblance of happy for our feisty heroine, but it's short-lived. After all, she is called Hurricane and she's earned it. Katrina finds herself smack in the middle of a murder case, white supremacists, a motorcycle gang, and drug dealers. In addition to the action and danger on the professional side, she's also hit with problems in her personal life. Much like the first two book in the series, there's a little bit for everyone who enjoys the genre. It's full of action, suspense, and drama. While I enjoyed all of those things, the place where this author shines is with his rich and complex characters. From their little quirks and personalities, to the wonderful descriptions of how they interact with others, Dunn has created a group of people that you can't help but want to know more about. Love them or hate them, they're all interesting and each stands out in his or her own unique way. All in all, another entertaining read from this author.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

**Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.**

The third book in the Katrina Williams series is A Dark Path. Again, this series really needs to be read in the appropriate order and not just because I say that on every series! For fans of this series and those who hope for just a smidgen of happiness for Katrina, the book starts with that chance. To be honest, I had hope that it would finally happen. I noticed a real difference in Katrina in the beginning of this book. She was letting down some of her walls she built, she acted more stable, she was putting effort into working with her therapist. After everything she’s been through and worked to overcome, it was such a difference.

Of course, Katrina is called when a body is found and as expected, it’s an ugly case from start to end. What starts out as a body burned in a pile of brush turns into a field of bodies. Katrina’s investigation is going down a dark hole and the stories that are uncovered are horrific. This author really confronts some of the ugliest parts of people. In the first book, it was the abuse that happened and was ignored in the military, along with abuse in family that is hidden and can warp the mind of the abused. In the second book, it was the secrets that hide behind the tent revival. In this book, it’s the ugliness of white supremacy and its history with even the people you know. And yes, this book and series is a work of fiction.

Again, I absolutely loved how well done the police procedural is. Every step of the detective work is done with the reader riding along for the investigation. Katrina does a great job of picking apart each clue and following it to the next one. The author has her truly investigating a murder, not shortchanging it with magical findings. Despite my feelings about the personal parts of the story, the author’s writing of the police procedural is what will keep bringing me back for each new book in the series.

This case that Katrina is working is heartbreaking. With the other books, you can think, oh this is just fiction, it would never happen. **eyeroll** With this one, you know the ugly history of white supremacy and you know the chances that something like this happened anywhere in the US is pretty high. My heart broke as Katrina unraveled the mystery in this case.

I’ve said before that I thought the author did a fantastic job, but I thought this one really showed his writing strengths. The history of white supremacy is a multi-dimensional issue. Yes, in my mind it’s a right/wrong issue, but the reality is there are people who we’d be shocked by the hatred they had based on skin tone. And in this story, those people were forced to confront their behaviors and hate that they had hidden or moved on from.

The author doesn’t give Katrina a break and she’s faced with violence and abuse that sends her spiraling out of control again, plus the reappearance of someone from her past. Honestly, Katrina can’t catch a break, it’s no wonder she’s called the Hurricane. Her controlled behavior was short lived and she was again in a spiral. And though I struggle with Katrina’s professional behavior, personally, I love her. She’s strong, fierce, independent and a badass.

Again, for those who enjoy police procedures and mysteries, this is a series you must read! In this regard, I think this is definitely one of my favorite series. And as much as I don’t like what the author puts Katrina through, it fits naturally into the story. It’s not like he’s just abusing her for the heck of it but maybe soon he’ll write some self-preservation characteristics for her! Grab the books in this series now!

Rating: 4 stars

[Melody Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Dark Path – Robert E. Dunn

I was fortunate to receive this novel as an Advance Reader Copy, in exchange for an objective review.

Katrina “Hurricane” Williams is a Detective in the backwoods of the Missouri Ozark mountains. As a military vet with both personal and professional scars, she has gained the nickname “hurricane” for her sometimes violent, “kick ass” type of policing. As this novel opens, Katrina is roused from sleep by a call indicating that a charred body has been found. As Katrina arrives to the scene and begins her investigation, the property owner drives up and attempts to throw them off the land. This is just the first time you’ll meet Johnson Rath.

As Katrina investigates the murder and learns the victims identity, the case quickly takes on racial undertones and becomes even more dangerous, with threats lurking around every corner. Then her absentee mother very suddenly re-appears in her life, but for uncertain reasons. As Hurricane works to solve the case, her past returns to haunt her with a vengeance, and she must battle those demons once again, as she fights to solve the case.

I LOVED this character! “Hurricane” almost reminds me of a female Jack Reacher, even if she’s not the proverbial loner. Great characters, great plot development, and relationships with uncertain endings that will have you waiting impatiently for the next installment in the series! Fabulous book!!

[Cathy Geha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Dark Path by Robert E. Dunn
A Katrina Williams Novel #3

I truly enjoyed this dark gritty story of Katrina “Hurricane” Williams as she dealt with mental demons while working to solve a murder. She is a bit heavy handed and in your face with the bad guys and not the most open with her feelings but she is definitely a force to be reckoned with and I would love to see what happens next. I had not read the first two books in the series and was able to read without problem though it might have been nice to have known more about Katrina and others mentioned in the book that no doubt were in the previous books.

With rape, murder, racists, Aryan Brotherhood, bikers, drugs, treasure hunters and more this was an interesting story that kept me reading through the night. Katrina was complex and layered and angry and so much more. I don’t know if she will ever find true peace or be able to share with others but have a feeling that the therapy she is going to may help her in the long run.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Will I read more by this author? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books – Lyrical Underground for the ARC ~ This is my honest review.

5 Stars

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katrina isn't your average woman. She doesn't primp, do mani's or pedi's, she doesn't meet the girls for girls night. She's a cop. A darn good one too. Daily she fights the wall of blue that is a resemblance of the military in their treatment of women. She has a past. One that continues to assault her but she is finally embracing healing and her mandated visits to her psychiatrist. As she moves on from her loss she starts dating but still holds her past close to the vest. It's a constant worry while she battles more of her past and secrets are revealed as she investigates a murder that opens some old wounds for her. She isn't going to make it out of this mess without more scars, for the life of me I can't understand her need to continue to self torture.

Great read. The more I read of her the more connected I become and understand the attitude that makes her seem untouchable or robotic is what she uses to protect herself. While we see a calmer side of her, her handling of her drinking and her response to her flashbacks, there is still much work ahead of her. Loved it.

[Linda Strickland · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting book, kept me interested.

[James Weaver · Rating 5 out of 5]

This latest installment in the Katrina Williams series is a must read. A Dark Path follows the latest adventures of Ozark's Sheriff's Detective Katrina Williams as she searches for answers about a murder of a young black man on a violently racist group's property. There are decades old secrets that prevent the truth from coming to light and Katrina finds herself battling a local radical hate group, a local motorcycle gang and the Aryan Brotherhood, not to mention her own inner demons that refuse to let her go.

Dunn's writing is deep, his descriptions jaw dropping and he paints a gripping tale on a dark canvas, but it's a journey well worth taking. If you haven't read the first book in the series, A Living Grave, start there. But don't forget to work your way up to the best installment yet.

[Karen Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book

This book was really good. I didn't like the way it ended but you will have to read it and make your own decision. It is a fast Bolingbrook and hopefully the ending will be the start of a new book. I do like this arthur and will keep reading his books. Thank you Mr. Connor and enjoyable read and please continue with you great writing.

[Jen Mac · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a page turner

Some books you want to finish the same day you start,this is not one of them. Maybe you need to read the first ones in the series to be interested in the characters in the book.i had to force myself to finish it

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good, although violent story.