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Bill Maytubby & Hannah Bond Mystery #2
Greasy Bend
Tribal policeman Bill Maytubby and Deputy Hannah Bond team up again to solve two gruesome murders in this follow-up to Nail's Crossing
In a driving sleet storm, a farmer has discovered a body snagged on cottonwood roots in the Washita River. Johnston County deputy Hannah Bond realizes it's her elderly friend, Alice. Meanwhile, at the Golden Play Casino, robbers posing as armored-car guards kill a local stickball hero and friend of Chickasaw Lighthorse Police detective Bill Maytubby.
The trail leads through the quarry-scarred Oklahoma badlands to a remote airstrip and a planeload of drugs and untraceable automatic weapons. Also somehow connected are a shady coin-op vending company; a neo-Nazi compound outside Paris, Texas; and a headless janitor in a train-mangled van. As the net tightens, the smugglers get wind of their pursuers and converge on Maytubby and Bond at Greasy Bend Bridge.
In a driving sleet storm, a farmer has discovered a body snagged on cottonwood roots in the Washita River. Johnston County deputy Hannah Bond realizes it's her elderly friend, Alice. Meanwhile, at the Golden Play Casino, robbers posing as armored-car guards kill a local stickball hero and friend of Chickasaw Lighthorse Police detective Bill Maytubby.
The trail leads through the quarry-scarred Oklahoma badlands to a remote airstrip and a planeload of drugs and untraceable automatic weapons. Also somehow connected are a shady coin-op vending company; a neo-Nazi compound outside Paris, Texas; and a headless janitor in a train-mangled van. As the net tightens, the smugglers get wind of their pursuers and converge on Maytubby and Bond at Greasy Bend Bridge.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published July 16, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
August 28, 2020
This book has too many crimes, criminals and guns. It felt slower than the first book in the series maybe because focus was so scattered. I doubt that I will continue with this series. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
July 18, 2019
In Greasy Bend, two separate murders trigger parallel and deeply personal investigations for tribal detective Bill Maytubby and local police officer Hannah Bond. She takes a detour from issuing speeding tickets to rattle some bad guys and he starts low-key surveillance on the usual suspects. They’re tugging on the threads of a gun-running narcotics network – local scum raising their game with deadly implications.
Underneath that lurks the real story, author Kris Lackey’s love of language and his intimate acquaintance with the history, place and people he describes. Lackey’s deft delivery of dialect – his excellent ear for a smartly-turned phrase – perfectly captures the cadence and intricate simplicity of authentic speech. Greasy Bend oozes real-world detail; the faint scent of creosote from creaking bridge timbers, the inevitable dereliction of abandoned gas stations and run-down, rattleshack roadhouses.
The most satisfying part of the story was not the all guns blazing finale (which went on a bit long for my tastes), but Bond’s investigation which quite literally takes her into icy depths that would overwhelm all but the strongest souls. That sequence is simply brilliant, a showcase for a very credible, very competent and completely determined individual.
Equally refreshing, Lackey chooses not to play the hackneyed ‘rebel cop in conflict with his boss’ card. Instead Maytubby gets the quiet nod from his superior officer to discreetly carry out his informal investigation – a delicate situation, intelligently resolved without amateur dramatics. Small scenes like this are what makes Greasy Bend believable and give its characters genuine heft.
An immersive read, this book should prove satisfying if you’ve not read the earlier Maytubby and Bond investigation, Nail’s Crossing. But it’s better if you are familiar with the characters, so I’d start at the beginning if I were you…
9/10
There are more reviews of crime / thrillers over at http://www.murdermayhemandmore.net
Merged review:
In Greasy Bend, two separate murders trigger parallel and deeply personal investigations for tribal detective Bill Maytubby and local police officer Hannah Bond. She takes a detour from issuing speeding tickets to rattle some bad guys and he starts low-key surveillance on the usual suspects. They’re tugging on the threads of a gun-running narcotics network – local scum raising their game with deadly implications.
Underneath that lurks the real story, author Kris Lackey’s love of language and his intimate acquaintance with the history, place and people he describes. Lackey’s deft delivery of dialect – his excellent ear for a smartly-turned phrase – perfectly captures the cadence and intricate simplicity of authentic speech. Greasy Bend oozes real-world detail; the faint scent of creosote from creaking bridge timbers, the inevitable dereliction of abandoned gas stations and run-down, rattleshack roadhouses.
The most satisfying part of the story was not the all guns blazing finale (which went on a bit long for my tastes), but Bond’s investigation which quite literally takes her into icy depths that would overwhelm all but the strongest souls. That sequence is simply brilliant, a showcase for a very credible, very competent and completely determined individual.
Equally refreshing, Lackey chooses not to play the hackneyed ‘rebel cop in conflict with his boss’ card. Instead Maytubby gets the quiet nod from his superior officer to discreetly carry out his informal investigation – a delicate situation, intelligently resolved without amateur dramatics. Small scenes like this are what makes Greasy Bend believable and give its characters genuine heft.
An immersive read, this book should prove satisfying if you’ve not read the earlier Maytubby and Bond investigation, Nail’s Crossing. But it’s better if you are familiar with the characters, so I’d start at the beginning if I were you…
9/10
There are more reviews of crime / thrillers over at http://www.murdermayhemandmore.net
Underneath that lurks the real story, author Kris Lackey’s love of language and his intimate acquaintance with the history, place and people he describes. Lackey’s deft delivery of dialect – his excellent ear for a smartly-turned phrase – perfectly captures the cadence and intricate simplicity of authentic speech. Greasy Bend oozes real-world detail; the faint scent of creosote from creaking bridge timbers, the inevitable dereliction of abandoned gas stations and run-down, rattleshack roadhouses.
The most satisfying part of the story was not the all guns blazing finale (which went on a bit long for my tastes), but Bond’s investigation which quite literally takes her into icy depths that would overwhelm all but the strongest souls. That sequence is simply brilliant, a showcase for a very credible, very competent and completely determined individual.
Equally refreshing, Lackey chooses not to play the hackneyed ‘rebel cop in conflict with his boss’ card. Instead Maytubby gets the quiet nod from his superior officer to discreetly carry out his informal investigation – a delicate situation, intelligently resolved without amateur dramatics. Small scenes like this are what makes Greasy Bend believable and give its characters genuine heft.
An immersive read, this book should prove satisfying if you’ve not read the earlier Maytubby and Bond investigation, Nail’s Crossing. But it’s better if you are familiar with the characters, so I’d start at the beginning if I were you…
9/10
There are more reviews of crime / thrillers over at http://www.murdermayhemandmore.net
Merged review:
In Greasy Bend, two separate murders trigger parallel and deeply personal investigations for tribal detective Bill Maytubby and local police officer Hannah Bond. She takes a detour from issuing speeding tickets to rattle some bad guys and he starts low-key surveillance on the usual suspects. They’re tugging on the threads of a gun-running narcotics network – local scum raising their game with deadly implications.
Underneath that lurks the real story, author Kris Lackey’s love of language and his intimate acquaintance with the history, place and people he describes. Lackey’s deft delivery of dialect – his excellent ear for a smartly-turned phrase – perfectly captures the cadence and intricate simplicity of authentic speech. Greasy Bend oozes real-world detail; the faint scent of creosote from creaking bridge timbers, the inevitable dereliction of abandoned gas stations and run-down, rattleshack roadhouses.
The most satisfying part of the story was not the all guns blazing finale (which went on a bit long for my tastes), but Bond’s investigation which quite literally takes her into icy depths that would overwhelm all but the strongest souls. That sequence is simply brilliant, a showcase for a very credible, very competent and completely determined individual.
Equally refreshing, Lackey chooses not to play the hackneyed ‘rebel cop in conflict with his boss’ card. Instead Maytubby gets the quiet nod from his superior officer to discreetly carry out his informal investigation – a delicate situation, intelligently resolved without amateur dramatics. Small scenes like this are what makes Greasy Bend believable and give its characters genuine heft.
An immersive read, this book should prove satisfying if you’ve not read the earlier Maytubby and Bond investigation, Nail’s Crossing. But it’s better if you are familiar with the characters, so I’d start at the beginning if I were you…
9/10
There are more reviews of crime / thrillers over at http://www.murdermayhemandmore.net
October 18, 2019
The is the second volume in "The Bill Maytubby and Hannah Bond Mysteries" series, and I really think that it is an improvement over the first. It's not that the first one was bad, but it didn't grab me the way that this story did. It may be that I was more familiar with the cast of characters (Bill, Hannah, and Jill), and knew what to expect. The names of the towns and cities in Oklahoma were familiar (because of my trips from Northwest Arkansas to West Texas), but all the highway numbers and names lost me completely (as one reveiwer has said, "I could have used a map"). The two stories were fascinating, and especially as they drew the knot closer and closer together; and you really have to admire the dogged determination of the tribal policeman and county deputy. It's been two years since the first volume came out, and the next one will not appear until 2021. I sure hate to have to wait that long to read the adventure of Bill and Hannah. If you like the Oklahoma countryside, characters that are believable, and intriguing story lines -- you would probably really enjoy this series. shoot, two out of three would not be bad.
October 22, 2021
A member of the Chickasaw tribe is killed incidentally to a casino robbery. But the dead man happens to be a friend of Bill Maytubby, a tribal police officer. At the same time, an elderly woman is found murdered. She's a friend of Hannah Bond, a county officer who doesn't have many friends. You don't want to get Bill mad at you, but you especially don't want to get Hannah (who appears much too little in this second series entry) mad at you. As the two unofficially try to find answers, they find more and more crime in their small communities near the Texas border, and more and more connections between the crimes. Since Bill spends a lot of the book riding around in his cruiser or his truck, up and down the small roads he knows by heart, the reader wishes for a map for orientation. Still, a great, tough-minded procedural.
May 10, 2024
I connected with the characters early on and the story stayed interesting. Lots of local color for OK and TX. Only clitch was reader's pronunciation of pecans. But that's a local thing. Will read more of this series.
November 14, 2021
audio well performed
My low rating comes from comparing the story to book #1. I think maybe this was published with less effort from the author and the financial entity.
My low rating comes from comparing the story to book #1. I think maybe this was published with less effort from the author and the financial entity.
June 25, 2025
Very exciting story with many twists.
July 13, 2019
This is the second book in Lacey’s Bill Maytubby and Hannah Bond series. In this outing, Maytubby and Bond solve two murders. In the first murder, the victim is a friend of Hannah’s and in the second murder the victim is a friend of Maytubby’s.
This book was difficult to read. There were too many editorial gaffes, like this sentence, “The nation didn’t prose cute the theft.” The reader is immediately taken out of the story to try to figure out what that sentence means. It takes a minute or two to figure out that surely the author meant to write “prosecute.”
The author writes endless detailed descriptions of Maytubby’s trips around his neck of the woods. Unless the reader has either lived in the area or visited there very recently, all those directions mean nothing. Telling his reader the names of roads, like Jehovah Road, in this remote part of Oklahoma or that the Caddo Creek enters the Washita just above Greasy Bend, mean nothing to the reader and adds nothing to the plot of the book.
Lacey’s dialogue is staccato at best and added to the “huhs” and “ehs” doesn’t add to the book in any way. Lacey doesn’t develop his characters very well, either. Perhaps, if you’ve read the first book in the series, you already know the characters well. But for those readers new to the series, the characters are little more than cardboard people.
As for the plot, there’s just way too much going on. Added to the two murders committed in the opening pages of the book, Lacey adds, headless janitors, a shady coin-operated vending company, a plane-load of drugs and guns, and, finally, a neo-Nazi group.
I wanted to like this book, but there was just too much wrong with this outing.
My thanks to Blackstone Publishing and Edelweiss for an eArc.
This book was difficult to read. There were too many editorial gaffes, like this sentence, “The nation didn’t prose cute the theft.” The reader is immediately taken out of the story to try to figure out what that sentence means. It takes a minute or two to figure out that surely the author meant to write “prosecute.”
The author writes endless detailed descriptions of Maytubby’s trips around his neck of the woods. Unless the reader has either lived in the area or visited there very recently, all those directions mean nothing. Telling his reader the names of roads, like Jehovah Road, in this remote part of Oklahoma or that the Caddo Creek enters the Washita just above Greasy Bend, mean nothing to the reader and adds nothing to the plot of the book.
Lacey’s dialogue is staccato at best and added to the “huhs” and “ehs” doesn’t add to the book in any way. Lacey doesn’t develop his characters very well, either. Perhaps, if you’ve read the first book in the series, you already know the characters well. But for those readers new to the series, the characters are little more than cardboard people.
As for the plot, there’s just way too much going on. Added to the two murders committed in the opening pages of the book, Lacey adds, headless janitors, a shady coin-operated vending company, a plane-load of drugs and guns, and, finally, a neo-Nazi group.
I wanted to like this book, but there was just too much wrong with this outing.
My thanks to Blackstone Publishing and Edelweiss for an eArc.
August 24, 2021
Bill Maytubby is a detective with the Chickasaw police in Oklahoma. Hannah Bond is an officer in the non-tribal police. They are friends and help each other on investigations. In this book Hannah discovers a murdered woman in a local creek. The victim was a friend of Hannah. She isn’t assigned a role in the investigation, but that doesn’t stop her. Bill is called when a friend of his is murdered in an armored car robbery at a local casino. He also has no official role in the murder investigation, but his supervisor looks the other way as Bill follows leads. Bill is extremely good at noticing small details. From scant surveillance videos he draws important observations about the trio of robbers. He uses those details to pick away at identifying the bad guys. Meanwhile Hannah finds something about her murdered friend’s past that may be relevant. She is relentless in trying to find a clue. My criticism of this book is that it had so many small details that I got lost trying to see how Bill identified the bad guys and how he realized the extent of the crimes in which they were involved. And I failed to see how he connected Hannah’s murderer with his case. I went back and skimmed the first few chapters after I finished the book just to try and understand how Bill drew his conclusions.
January 24, 2020
This book is very worth the read. In its favor – likable, relate-able, and realistically-drawn characters. On the down side, Lackey writes about a part of the U.S. he is very familiar with, and includes a lot of detail --- such as every street name ever --- but does not provide the overview/ description that a reader unfamiliar with this part of the U.S. might need. However, the dialog is good, the pacing is good, and the plot is good. I would read more books by this author, especially if they feature the same characters.
July 15, 2019
Unique characters and setting made this a good read. Hannah Bond and Bill Maytubby team up to fight crime (there's murder, robbery, drugs and lots more) in the dark side of Oklahoma. The writing is basic as is the dialogue, although the plot is perhaps overcrowded with elements that might have been better served in a longer novel. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Lackey is a new writer to me and I'd like to see her expand on her characters in future outings.
November 5, 2020
I honestly tried several times to read this but I had a hard time following along with conversations between characters amd the writing just in general. It seemed that the sentences were not "full" and all over the place and incoherent. I rarely give up on a book but I just could not read this one.
July 2, 2021
I enjoyed the author's first offering in this series enough to purchase this one. Bill Maytubby and Hannah Bond are interesting characters operating within the complex law enforcement hierarchy that exists within in the State of Oklahoma. I plan to add the third book in the series to my library soon.
June 20, 2019
An interesting, engrossing and entertaining book. I liked the plot, the well written charactes and the style of writing.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC
August 13, 2019
Good Following Novel to Nails Crossing
Continuing development of Hannah Bond, Bill Maytubby, and more. Great cultural tale of mystery. Looking forward to the Oklahoma cops next adventure.
Continuing development of Hannah Bond, Bill Maytubby, and more. Great cultural tale of mystery. Looking forward to the Oklahoma cops next adventure.
January 6, 2020
Received this from a Goodreads Giveaway!
Second in a series. Two different murders. This was hard to read. There were a lot of editorial guffaws. Plus it seemed to me to drag. Of course this is just my opinion, you may like it.
Second in a series. Two different murders. This was hard to read. There were a lot of editorial guffaws. Plus it seemed to me to drag. Of course this is just my opinion, you may like it.
May 1, 2020
This series is so enjoyable for a native Oklahoman to read: the stories vividly describe an abundance of familiar locations, historical references, even local food. There's something to appeal to all of the senses, along with fabulous story-telling and characters.
July 29, 2020
Very much enjoyed this second round of Bill Maytubby and Hannah Bond, characters that are even more sympathetic and interesting in Greasy Bend. They are such an unusual match and seeing how two such independent people work off each other is both surprising and hopeful. This one is a page-turner and I flew through it in just a few sittings, trying to get to the bottom of these murders. The settings, action and dialogue are all well drawn. The only think I could ask for is more Jill...Every time she is on the page, she steals the show (maybe we'll see her more in the future?).
September 17, 2020
Location is such a great character in this series. I'd say even the language is a character in this series. And the human characters are delightful. I care less about the details of the mystery than the conversations that occur as a result, and these conversations feel authentic.
Read
March 28, 2021I like this !
Good, I think this is the third time I have read this. The style suits me very well, The story is fairly ordinary but well told, and I found the main characters sympathetic.
Good, I think this is the third time I have read this. The style suits me very well, The story is fairly ordinary but well told, and I found the main characters sympathetic.
November 18, 2023
This started out strong and ended well, but the middle lagged.
Too much driving down this road and that. If you are doing a travel log, give me a map!
I borrowed a copy from the public library.
Too much driving down this road and that. If you are doing a travel log, give me a map!
I borrowed a copy from the public library.
September 5, 2024
Even though we never actually met Bill's and Hannah's friends, I still felt like I knew them, especially Bill's buddy. When he found out about his murder, when he had to tell his wife... for some reason, it really hit me. Also, this installment in the series was quite action-filled!
August 14, 2025
This book bored me to distraction, literally. I listened to the audiobook version, mostly on a long drive and found that my thoughts wandered away from the book for long chunks of time-suddenly one sentence would penetrate and I realized I’d missed the last 20 minutes, half hour or more. Same at night. I usually listen to audiobooks at night 10 to 15 minutes to wind down from the day; his one put me right out. Since it was what I had with me I persevered-it worked well as background noise, not too well as a story.
September 8, 2019
Clever character development and dialog
September 15, 2019
Good Mystery
This was my first book in the series. Action and adventure. Nicely developed characters, twisting plot, but logical. I want more,please!
This was my first book in the series. Action and adventure. Nicely developed characters, twisting plot, but logical. I want more,please!
February 28, 2020
A very good book, I liked both.
September 6, 2021
Gripping and fast paced. There are a lot of bad guys to remember but it felt realistic. Love maytubby and bond!
September 21, 2021
Another great detective novel in Oklahoma. You will love all the action.
March 5, 2022
Overdrive Audiobook
July 27, 2023
Never a dull moment!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews