Swift Vengeance

Roland Ford #2

by T. Jefferson Parker

In this incendiary thriller from three-time Edgar Award winner and New York Times bestselling author T. Jefferson Parker, Roland Ford is hunting down a mysterious killer, jockeying for position with the FBI, and risking everything to save a friend in terrible jeopardy.

Returning hero and private investigator Roland Ford is on the trail of a mysterious killer who is beheading CIA drone operators and leaving puzzling clues at each crime scene. His troubled friend Lindsay Rakes is afraid for her own life and the life of her son after a fellow flight crew member is killed in brutal fashion.

Even more terrifying is the odd note the killer left behind: "Welcome to Caliphornia. This is not the last." Ford strikes an uneasy alliance with San Diego-based FBI agent Joan Taucher, who is tough as nails but haunted by what she sees as the Bureau's failure to catch the 9/11 terrorists, many of whom spent their last days in her city.

As the killer strikes again, Ford and Taucher dash into the fray, each desperate for their own reasons--each ready to risk it all to stop the killer from doing far more damage.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Detective, Audiobook

416 pages, Paperback

First published August 21, 2018

About the author

T. Jefferson Parker is the bestselling author of 26 crime novels, including Edgar Award-winners SILENT JOE and CALIFORNIA GIRL. Parker's next work is coming-of-age thriller, A THOUSAND STEPS, set for January of 2022. He lives with his family in a small town in north San Diego County, and enjoys fishing, hiking and beachcombing.

Reviews

[Barry who enjoys well-written thrillers, mysteries , & espionage & loathes romance, horror & supernat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roland Ford is not a conventional PI. He lives close to San Diego on a small ranch which, in addition to his house, has a half dozen casitas scattered around. He was given that ranch by the parents of his now-dead wife. Five of the casitas are inhabited by a unique collection of folks that he refers to as the 'Irregulars.' He always keeps one vacant because you never know when someone will need it, right now! And Lindsey needs one, right now, though she doesn't realize it at first.

Recently, she has spent some time with an unusual Arabic man. He is very bright, charming, wealthy and just a little scary, maybe because of the Arabian knife with a curved blade that he brandished on one occasion. True, he only used it to cut cheese and fruit but he did that very expertly, like a master of the knife. Lindsey received a very charming note from him asking her forgiveness for his behavior, written in Arabian calligraphy. Shortly thereafter, she receives a very threatening note written in the same type of calligraphy. Could both be from him? What other explanation is there? Does he have multiple personalities? Hmmmmm.

When she was in the Armed Forces, Lindsey was a member of a drone piloting team. Located in the Western US, she piloted drones flying in the Middle East. The two other members of her drone piloting team have also received threatening letters, also written in Arabian calligraphy. Roland's concern over all this drives him to call a hardnosed FBI Special Agent that he has known and worked with - if all FBI agents are Special then it would seem that none of them are. Hmmmph. Anyway... She is a bit skeptical but he convinces her that there is a real danger to Lindsey and the other members of the drone piloting team. Then one of her team members is brutally killed - slashed to death and beheaded.

Parker does his usual solid job of creating a plausible and engaging plot with just enough twists to keep it interesting. He does, however, go a twist too far in my not-too-humble opinion and, because of that, I almost DNFed the book but I persevered and am glad that I did. His brief dalliance from believability was not enough to wipe out the value and enjoyment of completing the book. Swift Vengeance is written in a straightforward style that I enjoy reading. His characters are generally believable, interesting, pretty well-developed and fun to read about.

I would give Parker a low four-star rating because of his failure to be believable in one very important sequence. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the book enough to recommend it to other Goodreads folks but you may want to read the first Roland Ford book before this one. It's not critical but it may be a good idea.

Finito

[DP Lyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roland Ford is back. In this follow up to THE ROOM OF WHITE FIRE, T. Jefferson Parker hits it out of the park. Two US drone pilots have been brutally murdered and beheaded by someone known only as Caliphornia. And a third, Lindsey Rakes, is now in his sights. Ford must protect her, while tracking down the secretive and clever killer. Once again he teams with FBI Special Agent Joan Taucher and they break more than a few rules to further their pursuit. The twists and turns are many, the ending explosive, and along the way the story, the characters, and the writing are remarkable. Want to know why Parker has won three Edgar Awards? Read SWIFT VENGEANCE and it will become clear.


DP Lyle, award-winning author of the Jake Longly thriller series

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading a wonderful book by one of my favorite mystery authors, Jefferson Parker. Swift Vengeance has everything. Roland Ford is a P. I. in San Diego, California. Lindsay Rakes is a retired Air Force drone operator whose team killed a suspected terrorist along with nine civilians. The civilians killed were not terrorists and therein lies the problem and the plot of this tremendously exciting and well written novel. Along the way our hero Roland Ford teams up with a truly dedicated FBI agent and has conflicts with another private investigator who may or may not be working for the suspected terrorist. The reader follows all this with rapt attention as time runs out before a terrorist attack plagues San Diego.
T Jefferson Parker is one of the world’s best crime and thriller writers. Swift Vengeance will be on sale 21 August. Rush to wherever you buy books and purchase this the second you do.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm halfway through an Advance Readers Copy and loved it from the start. Somehow reminds me of Parker's earlier novels. Moody. Poignant. Painful. Maybe I'll be able to make more sense when I've finished it.

A few days later...finished and continued to love it. Loved the last paragraph, too. Yay, Jeff!

[Eve]

4.5 stars. This is a high quality well written book with sharp writing, vivid imagery, tight plotting and engaging characters. The author uses the landscape beautifully and I really love the idea of the Southern California complex where Roland Ford, the MC, lives and acts as a laid back landlord to his eclectic troup of tenants. This is the second book of the series, I think, and I didn't read the first one, but I'm gonna go and do that now. :)

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Private investigator Roland Ford allows his friend Lindsey Rakes to move into a casita on his property when she receives a threatening letter. Lindsey is a former Air Force drone operator who ran missions overseas resulting in the deaths of terrorists as well as a few civilians that couldn't be avoided. Roland enlists the aid of dedicated FBI agent Joan Taucher when some of his suspects are persons of interest to the FBI. When two of Lindsey's comrades and fellow drone pilots are beheaded, Roland needs all the help he can get.

I haven't read a T. Jefferson Parker novel in a awhile and did not read the first book in this series. I had no trouble following the story. In fact, this book reminded me that I need to go back and find other books by Parker because he's an author who writes the type of stories I like. This particular story about terrorists/jihadists/bomb makers plays out in the real life news all too often and it's pretty frightening to think about. I enjoyed the unraveling of the mystery about who wanted to kill Lindsey. The story also contains a hero dog so what more could I ask for in a book.

[Elizabeth George · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I liked this book. No one has a better sense of place in Southern California than Jeff Parker. No matter where he places his books, his rendering of setting is second to none. I know because if you put a gun to my head and told me to do a memorable SoCal setting, I wouldn't be able to oblige you. Jeff's writing is described as "muscular" and I think this fits. This is a man's book in which the main character is...very manly. It's a man's book more than a woman's book. Great gift for the man in your life. In the interests of full disclosure, T Jefferson Parker and I have been buddies since 1984.

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roland Ford protects an old friend on his compound near San Diego with the help of his "Irregular" tenants. His friend is an ex Air Force drone pilot threatened with beheading from someone connected to one of her drone targets. Roland teams up with a tough FBI agent still reeling from the missed signals associated with the 9/11 terrorists based in San Diego. Together, they go "all in" pursuing the terrorist before he strikes again.

[Glen Guldbeck · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second in the Roland Parker series of San Diego based crime fiction stories, and the thirteenth of Parker's books that I've enjoyed. Roland Ford is a private investigator who is working with the local FBI to bring down a potential terrorist. The storyline accelerates like a finely-tuned muscle car and doesn't let up until the last page. Fans of Michael Connelly, Robert Crais, Neal Griffin, and Don Winslow, will really enjoy this masterful offering. Highly, highly recommended!!! Happy reading all you awesome peeps!!!

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roland Ford is back, the San Diego private eye is asked to help a friend navigate an investigation into the terror threat she received. Both former military with baggage and determination; this is a fast paced thriller.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

No happy endings and no easy answers. The characters in this series are fantastic and have depth. This story handled a difficult subject well. Terrorists and our response to them has many facets. A horrible accident led to the creation of an angry hate-filled young man. Understandable? Yes partly. Acceptable behavior? Absolutely not! This was well thought out and handled in a way that enabled understanding and sadness for everyone involved. And I also felt horror at the steps taken by this angry young man to get revenge. I won’t forget this anytime soon.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roland Ford is a hard boiled private investigator in a modern world. He uses cell phones, computer, GPS, etc. in order to find the facts and people he is seeking. He in one of the most interesting characters Parker has created: A former marine (served in Fallujah), a one-fight pro boxer (who knew his was outmatched in his first pro fight), a former cop (who crossed the blue line to testify that his partner didn't need to shoot a man who had a wallet instead of a gun) with tons of police and FBI connections.

This case is very interesting story! A former drone pilot and acquaintance of Ford has received a threatening letter that smacks of Jihad. The letter threatens to decapitate her. It is written using Arabic sounding English and using Arabic caligraphy. Ford quickly eliminates an obvious suspect and soon is knee deep in a terror plot along with an FBI friend.

The clever plotting leads Ford to make some extremely clever deductions and uses all sorts of odd methods to track down the real culprit-- culminating and a well-thought out showdown. I prefer Parker's other writings, but he is slowly winning me over with this series. Clever characters with interesting backgrounds really add to the depth of this series.

[Darcy · Rating 3 out of 5]

With this book Roland comes to the aid of a friend and things quickly escalate. Quickly Roland realizes that Lindsay is in real trouble, the kind of trouble that the FBI helps and he enlists a woman he has worked with before, Joan. The 3 of them manage to figure things out, find out who the bad guy is and what is planned, but not before some of those plans are enacted causing some big fallout.

The best moments in this one are the quiet moments between Joan and Roland, talking about the case and life. You get the feeling that their business relationship is moving to a true friendship, something both of them need. Knowing that makes the ending all the more sad.

[Tom Tischler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Returning hero and private Investigator Roland Ford is on the trail of a killer who
is beheading CIA drone operators and leaving puzzling clues. His friend Lindsey Rakes
is afraid for her own life and also her son after a fellow crew member is brutally
murdered. Even more terrifying is the note left behind. Welcome to Caliphornia. This
is not the last. Ford strikes up an alliance with FBI agent Joan Taucher who is tough but
haunted by what she sees as the Bureau's failure to catch the killer. As the killer strikes
again Ford and Taucher dash into the fray each desperate for their own reasons to risk
it all to stop this killer. This story was readable but not overly impressive. I gave t a 3.

[Mac Daly · Rating 3 out of 5]

When an old friend of Roland's shows up looking for his help, at first he thinks it might be a rejected suitor targeting her. But when army mates of hers start dying, he realizes it is a bigger conspiracy. Parker doles out the action and clues in a way that keeps you reading and makes the ending surprising yet plausible.

[Jeff Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this online and then found out I had already bought a copy, three years ago. Happens more often than it should.

But I read it on the anniversary of 9-11, appropriate because the book's plot involves terrorism. Absolutely love this book, especially because it takes place in San Diego and Fallbrook, my stomping grounds. Not surprising, as I live just down the road from TJ Parker. His descriptions of this area were detailed, precise and fun to read. And the books plot and characters - great as always. Roland Ford is a classic PI protagonist, the same thing I'm trying to do in my own book - so on this second read I took time to dissect Parker's writing and learned a lot.

Highly, highly recommended.

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

l enjoyed this one more than the first in the series. A friend of Roland has received a graphic death threat and requests his help.

This leads to him investigating, and teaming up with an FBI agent he's worked with in the past. Possible terrorist intent gives Roland another tack to pursue

Very good procedural, along with some unexpected action.

[JK.Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars … Interesting storyline, but I think the Author’s writing style is just not for me. Very detailed, very descriptive. This book took me awhile to finish because I just wasn’t interested in picking it back up.

[Hrn1947 · Rating 4 out of 5]

More crazy bad people. The geography was great. Hope to read another. An old saying, but apt. Mans inhumanity to man.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast read and couldn't put it down

[Chuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Roland Ford “On the edge of your chair” story. 5 ⭐️

[Dan Downing · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you read a book that will not let you go in a reasonable amount of time, and to which you return as soon as possible regardless of what you are neglecting, then you by definition have yourself a 5 Star story. Exactly how T. Jefferson Parker works his magic remains, if not a mystery, then certainly well concealed. Plenty of authors write better, and many create more intriguing characters. California, full as it is of delightful people, avoids being anything close to an exotic locale. We are not in the hard noir territory with Parker; the action is minimal, the sex either missing or off-screen. And yet. He sets the hook and reels you in, and you are left satisfied but slightly miffed because it'll be a year or two before a new one comes rolling off the press.
Recommended

[Donald B. Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

A satisfying story, heavy on process, relationships, and internal dialogue, all of which I happen to like. The writer's style is fluid and easy to follow. I remember reading a few pages and wondering when he was going to get past the preliminary stage-setting, and get to the whiz-bang guts of a traditional whodunit - only to discover that I was already past page 50, and thoroughly caught up in the process, feeling like a member of the detective's patchwork family. Good story, well told, with plenty of action. Looking forward to the next one in the series.

[Bookreporter.com Mystery & Thriller · Rating 5 out of 5]

The characters in T. Jefferson Parker’s SWIFT VENGEANCE are finely limned, and the complex narrative unfolds into a real and timely page turner.

Former law enforcement officer Roland Ford is the main character and a formidable private investigator who also spent time in the Middle East as a member of the Air Force. He owns a house that has casitas on the property, which he rents to people who become very loyal to him.

One of them is Lindsey Rakes, a drone pilot who was responsible for killing Middle Eastern people. She once stayed in one of Roland’s casitas and seeks him out when her drone partner is brutally murdered. The killer calls himself “Caliphornia” and leaves a note near the body that says: “Vengeance is justice. The thunder is coming for you. Sincerely, Caliphornia.” Lindsey is terrified for herself and her young son, who lives with his father.

Roland takes her in and tries to help her find Caliphornia. He then becomes acquainted with Joan Taucher, an FBI agent who is investigating the case. Their relationship is amicable in spite of Joan’s thorny personality. As they help each other investigate, a friendship develops between them. Both are very good at their jobs. Joan’s harshness is based on the fact that the FBI has failed to catch the 9/11 terrorists. These references to the different facts surrounding the Middle East brings a very timely slant to SWIFT VENGEANCE.

Caliphornia’s first strike is to “Kenny Bryce’s heart…. Something to inspire terror in the living. Which it did.” The note he left was addressed to Lt. Bryce: “To cause another’s death is to cause your own.” He spells out exactly what he has planned for Bryce. He calls his weapon Al Ra’ad, which means “the thunder.” And he continues: “Watch for us. Listen for us. Believe every fearful thought. Sincerely, Caliphornia.”

When the body is discovered, Lindsey is with Roland. He asks about Bryce’s relationship with another Air Force enlistee. She says they were all friends who “had us some times.” They never had a fight. He wants to know if Bryce was trying to get close to Lindsey, but she denies that.

Roland’s wife was killed early on in their marriage, which he has not gotten over. No women are in his life except for Lindsey and Joan. Readers will feel a great deal of empathy for the private investigator as they careen through the twists and turns of this exciting procedural. SWIFT VENGEANCE is the second installment in the series (following THE ROOM OF WHITE FIRE), and Parker plans to write more books featuring Roland and the “warriors from bloody combat.” The razor-sharp prose is especially brilliant here, and readers should be prepared for a heady treat.

Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

What this book has: Ex-cop and Marine vet turned PI Roland Ford and his Irregulars, a hard-nosed FBI special agent determined not to have a 9/11 repeat in her city, the metro San Diego area, a former tenant with PTSD trying to put her life back together, death threats against said tenant and other Air Force vets, the difficulty of being Muslim in the U.S. since 9/11

In the second Ford novel, Parker presents our erstwhile PI with two unrelated cases: a missing cat that everyone figures was eaten by coyotes, and a former tenant/Irregular fighting to overcome her demons given rise by her time as an Air Force drone operator now threatened with beheading by an anonymous person. Naturally, the story mainly follows the latter while injecting the former case here and there, helping to inject some normalcy into the unusual circumstances at the book's core.
Ford - sometimes alone, sometimes with the aforementioned FBI agent - travels the byways of the San Diego area, California's wine country, Bakersfield, and other dusty spots as he tries to track down the person who threatened to behead his friend/client, as well as members of her former drone team. The threat quickly becomes more than that when one of her colleagues is found dead and headless.
The story expands to the potential for the assassin to commit greater acts of terrorism in San Diego while making the broader Muslim community suspect in the eyes of law enforcement. Plus, you know, the missing cat.
Parker continues his exploration of PTSD in vets who fought in ways perhaps underappreciated by the general public, and definitely in ways most of us have never even considered. In this, he is more than adept and should be lauded for his efforts.
This narrative, in addition to the continuing character study of Ford and those around him and Parker's now standard excellence in the crime/detective genre, raises Swift Vengeance a notch above some of his other work to the fourth star I gave. Definitely makes for compelling reading. Enjoy.

[Sandie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Private investigator Roland Ford has settled into a routine life. Still gutted by the death of his wife in a plane crash, he rents out the villas on his ranch in California to friends and relatives and just lives life, taking easy cases when he gets bored. Then a friend from the past, Lindsay Rakes comes to him with a problem. She has been receiving threatening letters and is getting scared. She doesn't want to go to the police because she is in the midst of a custody fight with her ex-husband over her young son.
Ford moves Lindsay into one of the villas and starts to investigate. Some years before, Lindsay was in the military and her job was as a drone operator. Along with two others, they targeted and dropped bombs on terrorist targets in the Middle East. Lindsay has checked with her teammates and both of them have also received the same threatening letters. She asks Ford for help and he reluctantly agrees.

But Ford knows his limits. He knows he needs more help and contacts Joan Taucher, an FBI agent he knows who is focused on stopping the next terrorist attack before it happens. She has never forgotten that some of the 9/11 terrorists learned to fly in Santa Barbara. Together they start to investigate and learn that the drone team had made a mistake that cost the lives of nine doctors and nurses. Could this be a relative of one of those innocent victims? Then one of the drone team is found beheaded which ups the stakes considerably. Can they find the killer before he finds Lindsay?

This is the second novel in the Roland Ford series. Parker has created an investigator who is a sympathetic character. There are interesting side characters in the friends and relatives who live on Ford's spread and the investigation is fast and furious. This book is recommended for thriller readers.

[Jerel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book in the new series by T. Jefferson Parker featuring Roland Ford, former Marine, former LA Sheriff's deputy, and now a private investigator. Parker is one of my favorite thriller authors, and his stories are generally set in Southern California. My daughter lives in San Diego, and I visit her quite often. Much of this story takes place near where she lives, so it resonated even more for me. In this story, Parker continues his theme of the effect of war on individuals, especially individuals like drone operators who are targeting and killing people, sometimes innocent people, from 6,000 miles away. Two former U.S. drone pilots have been brutally murdered and beheaded by someone known only as Caliphornia. All of the signs point towards an Islamic operative. A friend of Ford's, Lindsey Rakes, a former member of the same drone team as the two members already killed, has received a letter from Caliphornia letting her know that she will be facing the same outcome. Lindsey ran missions while on active duty that killed both terrorists and some innocent civilians. Ford is protecting her and also trying to track down the killer before he strikes again. Ford also teams up with a FBI agent involved in terrorist activity, and she has her own issues since two of the 9/11 terrorists slipped through the San Diego net on her watch, and she is determined not to let something catastrophic occur again. This is a fast-paced thriller with a very topical plot line. You will be pulled in to this story and find it to be quite plausible and riveting. There are some great twists and turns that keep you turning pages, and the writing is fluid and very readable. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys a fast-paced thriller.

[Barb Lie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Swift Vengeance by T. Jefferson Parker is an exciting pulse-pounding thriller. This is my first time reading Parker, who is a three times Edgar award winning author.

Roland Ford, our hero, is a private investigator and former marine. Roland finds himself in the middle of helping a friend in danger. His friend Lindsay, a former CIA drone operator, has received a note threatening to behead her. When two former members of the drone team were brutally murdered and beheaded, Roland must try to discover who the culprit (Caliphornia) is, in order to save Lindsay from a sure death.

Roland will team up with FBI agent, Joan Taucher, a tough, no nonsense, high ranking agent based in San Diego, and together they will look for all the clues that will narrow down the search for a terrorist who is avenging the death of someone killed in one of those drone attacks that Lindsay’s team was involved in years before.

This was a very exciting, fast paced, non-stop action packed adventure to find the person behind these terrorist attacks before he kills again. As they get closer to finding the murderer, there a few surprise violent encounters that were brutal and escalated the search.

I will not say too much more, as I do not want to spoil it for those reading this book. Swift Vengeance was a very well done edge of your seat suspenseful thriller, and Parker had us on the edge of our seat, especially in the last ¼ of the book. As we raced to this exciting explosive climax, we had no idea who would survive. I suggest you read Swift Vengeance, which was excellently written by T. Jefferson Parker.

Barb
The Reading Cafe

[JustSomeGuy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second story following Roland Ford, PI takes place 18 months after the events of the first book which I thoroughly enjoyed. Here, Ford is trying to help a friend and former tenant, who terminated terrorists as a drone pilot and is now receiving death threats from the burgeoning terrorist, Caliphornia. Ford readily moves Lindsey Rakes into the cabin he always keeps vacant in case of emergencies to protect her and teams with Joan Taucher, a gruff, fierce and internally disliked FBI agent to uncover whoever is beheading the drone pilots who used to target Middle Eastern terrorists. Ford is eminently likeable: practical, wounded and loyal. He isn't a perfect pretty boy, he still shows the physical scars from his failure as a professional boxer and the emotional ones from losing his young wife. Every secondary character adds something to the story. The dialogue is frank, sharp and impactful. The interactions between Roland and his tenants, the Irregulars, are always a highlight. Occupying the casitas of Ford's isolated property, the Irregulars include Ford's loving, bickering grandparents as well as the mysterious and capable Burt Short. We are also introduced to Zeno, the Cane Corso brought in to protect Lindsey. Just as in the first novel, the climactic ending takes place at Rancho de los Robles with the Irregulars intent on protecting one of their own. I am absolutely on board for the next Ford novel and will be looking to read Parker's previous works.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm so glad we get another Roland Ford novel! I was afraid that Parker would move on to someone else, but I'm really glad he didn't. I felt some things were left unsaid in his previous novel, The Room of White Fire, particularly as they related to his wife, Justine. True to who Roland Ford is, we got the chance to deal more with Justine in Swift Vengeance.

It was also wonderful to get reacquainted with Rancho de los Robles, the ranch that Justine's family had left her, and she'd left Roland. I love the characters on the property. Dysfunctional every one, and I love them for it.

The book does move slowly at times. This is probably truer to what life as a PI is really like, but it makes it slightly more difficult to get into at times. I like Parker, so I pushed through it. Glad I did, too. I guess my point here is that you should keep reading if you find the book moving slowly at times. It will get better and you'll be happy you did.

Overall, Parker does very well with this book, and I think that we've been set up for a third book, which I will buy the minute it comes out!