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Jake Houser #1
What Can't be True
Family Secrets. Corrupt cops. Missing persons. When Boy Scouts stumble on the skeleton of a man who has been missing for five years, Detective Jake Houser dives into the past to find the truth. Jake is comfortable in the past, where his wife is still alive and they have a future together. But in the dead man’s past, Jake discovers a disturbing link to politically connected members of his own family. Soon powerful forces are destroying evidence and leveraging his department against him. At least one of these forces is playing outside the system—and playing for keeps. Are Jake’s own relatives coming after him? As Jake closes in on the killer, he realizes how much he had wrong and must decide just how far outside the system he's willing to go to achieve true justice. And what it will cost him. If you like twisty plots, compelling criminals, and vengeance obsessed detectives, you will love this book! Buy it now and start your adventure today. What readers are "I couldn't put it down. I can't wait to read the other books in this series." "If Harry Bosch worked in the Chicago suburbs, he'd be Jake Houser." "Gripping, suspenseful, full of twists, and extremely well-written, this amazing debut will keep the reader turning the pages toward the shocking conclusion. Truly wonderful. I can't wait for the next in the series." "I loved the twist and turns." "This was police drama at its finest... with enough twists to keep you guessing. Hands down, this book knocked it out of the park... Looking forward to more of Jake Houser!!!"
342 pages, Paperback
Published September 5, 2018
176 people are currently reading
110 people want to read
About the author
Bo Thunboe
10 books17 followersBo Thunboe writes about regular people facing incredible challenges.
In the EMP Strike Series a family of four faces the end of civilization. As the world descends into chaos they are forced to fight to survive. How far will they go for food? For shelter? For each other? How far is too far?
Bo also writes the Jake Houser Mystery Series. Houser is a get-off-your-butt-and-knock-on-doors detective with a built-in BS detector who hates bureaucracy. Houser knows justice isn’t always found inside the system.
Please visit www.thunboe.com to sign up for news and to learn more about Bo, the Jake Houser Mystery Series, and the EMP Strike Series.
In the EMP Strike Series a family of four faces the end of civilization. As the world descends into chaos they are forced to fight to survive. How far will they go for food? For shelter? For each other? How far is too far?
Bo also writes the Jake Houser Mystery Series. Houser is a get-off-your-butt-and-knock-on-doors detective with a built-in BS detector who hates bureaucracy. Houser knows justice isn’t always found inside the system.
Please visit www.thunboe.com to sign up for news and to learn more about Bo, the Jake Houser Mystery Series, and the EMP Strike Series.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 13, 2018
Review: WHAT CAN'T BE TRUE
Sometimes I read a novel and think how glad I am it's the first in a series. Sometimes I read a debut novel, and am amazed at the author's gift. Both examples are true in this delightfully twisted, complex, and convoluted mystery set near Chicago. From the seemingly bumbling "can't-catch-a-break" killer in the terrific reader's hook, there was never a dull moment and the author utilizes some of my favorite odd types of characters. Really happy this is a series.
Sometimes I read a novel and think how glad I am it's the first in a series. Sometimes I read a debut novel, and am amazed at the author's gift. Both examples are true in this delightfully twisted, complex, and convoluted mystery set near Chicago. From the seemingly bumbling "can't-catch-a-break" killer in the terrific reader's hook, there was never a dull moment and the author utilizes some of my favorite odd types of characters. Really happy this is a series.
September 23, 2020
First rate detective story.
Top marks for a well-written modern detective story without getting bogged down in police-procedural detail. A good who-done-it with a twist ending. Thunboe gets top marks for giving Houser some background of loss, but not wallowing in it. An easy, enjoyable read well- worth the time.
Top marks for a well-written modern detective story without getting bogged down in police-procedural detail. A good who-done-it with a twist ending. Thunboe gets top marks for giving Houser some background of loss, but not wallowing in it. An easy, enjoyable read well- worth the time.
March 17, 2019
Pretty good
Definitely lots of twists and turns in this story. Wasn't one of those that captured your attention completely and absolutely HAD to read until done. Worth it to read another though!
Definitely lots of twists and turns in this story. Wasn't one of those that captured your attention completely and absolutely HAD to read until done. Worth it to read another though!
April 8, 2019
Very compelling reading
Nicely written, with many unexpected twists
Couldnt put it down till the end
Jake Houser is a decent person and a smart detective
Nicely written, with many unexpected twists
Couldnt put it down till the end
Jake Houser is a decent person and a smart detective
October 22, 2019
What Can't Be True
Police mysteries can be a dime a dozen. This book had so many twists and turns and great detective work, it kept me up trying to figure how it would all end. I was a little surprised at how many people got away with their crimes but I suppose it happens in real life. So many intervening factors before it was solved from private files to auctions and crooked cops that added to the twisting plot and intriguing characters. This was Bo Thunboe's first. I'll be looking for others. Suzanne
Police mysteries can be a dime a dozen. This book had so many twists and turns and great detective work, it kept me up trying to figure how it would all end. I was a little surprised at how many people got away with their crimes but I suppose it happens in real life. So many intervening factors before it was solved from private files to auctions and crooked cops that added to the twisting plot and intriguing characters. This was Bo Thunboe's first. I'll be looking for others. Suzanne
July 11, 2022
Loved the writing style and the fact that it took place in Chicago’s western suburbs. Great twist at the end
October 14, 2018
This is the debut book from the author and the first in the Jake Houser Mystery series. The beginning is a little slowly paced, but sets up the background for the events that follow. It starts with a group of Boy Scouts doing an organised clean-up, finding a car in the receding water, with a skull visible within. Detective Jake Houser is assigned to the case and this is where matters start to get convoluted.
Jake lost his wife to murder just over a year ago and he is still getting used to it. Now, any murder case is very personal to him and he needs to find justice for the murder victims. He will work the case until he gets it solved, no matter what anyone may do to try and derail him from his investigation. The car found in the lake was last on the road over five years ago and the victims been missing since then as well.
At first, it is presumed there is only one body, but more surprises are to come. Someone is ordering evidence to be destroyed and covered up and for procedures not to be followed correctly. The coroner, who never turns up to crime scenes, but for this case he has! He has his orders from someone higher up, who wants a piece of evidence found first and kept secret. An inventory of effects from the vehicle is not done on his orders.
Jake finds connections of the murdered man to his uncle, Bull Warren, and the cover-up of the case being orchestrated by his cousin Sheriff Bev Warren (Bull’s daughter). She wants the case to be investigated by her team and states they always cover the crimes in that park area, where the car was found. But, they have a much smaller force and aren’t used to dealing with major crimes and politically, it is all about stats and crime numbers.
Bev’s deputy, Hogan, is told to follow Houser and try to see what he finds out, and also from the person who is most at risk if a certain piece of evidence is found, he is told to delay him by any means necessary and to get the case transferred to under Bev’s control. Jake has to figure out how deeply his family members are mixed up in all of this and whether his family links will come first or his loyalty to actual justice for the murder victims.
Whichever path Jake chooses to follow, will cost him, maybe more than he can fathom. Once Jake gets going in his investigation, the pace certainly picks up and you certainly get involved with the main characters and their actions. This is a good start to a series and well written for a debut book. I will certainly look out for some more of the Jake Houser mystery series and especially see how the character of Jake develops.
An enjoyable read and good crime mystery case, which leaves you wondering until the end, what was behind the deaths and what was so important that needed to be kept from the Sheriff’s eyes and Jake’s discovery. I received an ARC copy of the book from Hidden Gems and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
Jake lost his wife to murder just over a year ago and he is still getting used to it. Now, any murder case is very personal to him and he needs to find justice for the murder victims. He will work the case until he gets it solved, no matter what anyone may do to try and derail him from his investigation. The car found in the lake was last on the road over five years ago and the victims been missing since then as well.
At first, it is presumed there is only one body, but more surprises are to come. Someone is ordering evidence to be destroyed and covered up and for procedures not to be followed correctly. The coroner, who never turns up to crime scenes, but for this case he has! He has his orders from someone higher up, who wants a piece of evidence found first and kept secret. An inventory of effects from the vehicle is not done on his orders.
Jake finds connections of the murdered man to his uncle, Bull Warren, and the cover-up of the case being orchestrated by his cousin Sheriff Bev Warren (Bull’s daughter). She wants the case to be investigated by her team and states they always cover the crimes in that park area, where the car was found. But, they have a much smaller force and aren’t used to dealing with major crimes and politically, it is all about stats and crime numbers.
Bev’s deputy, Hogan, is told to follow Houser and try to see what he finds out, and also from the person who is most at risk if a certain piece of evidence is found, he is told to delay him by any means necessary and to get the case transferred to under Bev’s control. Jake has to figure out how deeply his family members are mixed up in all of this and whether his family links will come first or his loyalty to actual justice for the murder victims.
Whichever path Jake chooses to follow, will cost him, maybe more than he can fathom. Once Jake gets going in his investigation, the pace certainly picks up and you certainly get involved with the main characters and their actions. This is a good start to a series and well written for a debut book. I will certainly look out for some more of the Jake Houser mystery series and especially see how the character of Jake develops.
An enjoyable read and good crime mystery case, which leaves you wondering until the end, what was behind the deaths and what was so important that needed to be kept from the Sheriff’s eyes and Jake’s discovery. I received an ARC copy of the book from Hidden Gems and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
March 4, 2023
Loved it! Looking forward to more books by Thunboe
June 18, 2024
A very good mystery/suspense.
October 13, 2018
What Can't Be True - A really good story but it needs a tightening edit. It's too wordy and a "Reader's Digest Condensed" style edit would keep the first few chapters from slowing the reading down and improve the rest of the story. It does take a few chapters before the story starts running like gangbusters. The storylines are well thought out, the characters develop as the story required their growth, and the intrigue and suspense are very good. The Detective is no dummy and has to battle on several fronts to solve the murders and the mystery behind the murders.
The twists keep the reader immersed in the story. The reader can't help but root for the Detective as he overcomes one hurdle after another. The descriptions are so precise (some details are the reason for the bulk) that the reader is there on site with the characters. The wordiness is the only thing I have to complain about since this book is in my preferred genre. I look forward to reading more by this author, after he does the condensing bit on his next book. I found this book on Hidden Gems. 5*
The twists keep the reader immersed in the story. The reader can't help but root for the Detective as he overcomes one hurdle after another. The descriptions are so precise (some details are the reason for the bulk) that the reader is there on site with the characters. The wordiness is the only thing I have to complain about since this book is in my preferred genre. I look forward to reading more by this author, after he does the condensing bit on his next book. I found this book on Hidden Gems. 5*
October 15, 2018
I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy. For me, this one was okay. I can’t quite put my finger on what kept me from just really enjoying this book, because I’m usually a sucker for police procedurals...cop stories. I didn’t feel like I really got to know Detective Jake Houser, outside of a tragedy in his personal life. I don’t know what makes him tick. Maybe that’s for later stories to come in the series, who knows? Maybe it was the constant back and forth perspectives between those who knew what happened and those trying to find out. Maybe it was some WAY overused phrasing – no deception indicators, indicators of deception, deception not detected, etc. It could be that was supposed to get us inside Jake’s head because that’s how he thought as a cop. But by the end of the book, it was just flat out annoying. I’ve always been told that anything that is a distraction to the reader takes away from your story. Anyway, I give it three stars – it was suspenseful and the resolution to the case caught me by surprise.
December 25, 2025
Setting: western suburbs of Chicago
What the author called Weston .. I took as Wheaton.
He made up lots of locations but towards the end of the book I recognized street names.
I was leery when I read he started this as a “black noir” novel. I don’t like that genre .. but this was not too much in that vein imho.
There were definitely two big surprises at the end.
I want to read the rest in this series.
What the author called Weston .. I took as Wheaton.
He made up lots of locations but towards the end of the book I recognized street names.
I was leery when I read he started this as a “black noir” novel. I don’t like that genre .. but this was not too much in that vein imho.
There were definitely two big surprises at the end.
I want to read the rest in this series.
February 8, 2019
How long was Jake married before his wife was killed? How did Bull's wife and son die? Did they die at the same time?
I liked the book and I really liked Jake until chapter 58. After that I didn't like (or agree) with anything he did.
And, please, can Mr. B0 Thunboe come up with a name that isn't quite so silly? It makes you almost not want to even give the book a chance.
I liked the book and I really liked Jake until chapter 58. After that I didn't like (or agree) with anything he did.
And, please, can Mr. B0 Thunboe come up with a name that isn't quite so silly? It makes you almost not want to even give the book a chance.
March 8, 2019
Received this book as an ARC. I really enjoyed this book. There were parts that were a little excessive and wordy but I was hooked right away. Detective Jake Houser is looking into what they believe is a vehicle in the water and they find bodies. There are many players in this book but it is easy to follow. I will read the next book.
April 27, 2023
The first 130, 200 pages or so were difficult to really get into. After that, like 230 onward was way better and I read the rest in all the same day. I would almost want to give 3½ stars because the guilty party was not at all what I expected, but then I could hardly stand the ending. I get it, that's just not my type of ending. Left me pretty frustrated; my husband can attest to that, haha.
December 13, 2018
This was a little different than your average murder mystery but is was very entertaining. A cop works to solve a best friends murder in a smaller town. The cast of characters is great, the story line has many twists and turns and there’s enough action to make you want to keep reading.
June 29, 2020
I was not blown away by this first in a series, but I am willing to give it another chance.
August 7, 2020
Jake Houser is no Harry Bosch. Someone compared him to Bosch. No way. The book had potential but it needed a lot more to really grab me.
May 18, 2022
I think I'm in love with Jake Houser. 😁 Well written.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews