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Kevin Kerney #14
Head Wounds
Clayton Istee, son of retired police chief Kevin Kerney, goes up against an elusive Mexican hitman in a mesmerizing story of murder, revenge, and redemption.
Given a chance to salvage his law enforcement career, Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Detective Clayton Istee catches a bizarre late-night double homicide at a Las Cruces hotel. Both victims, a man and a woman, have been scalped with their throats cut.
The murders show all the signs of a signature hit, but national and state crime databases reveal no similar profiles. Digging into the victims’ backgrounds, Clayton discovers that six months prior the couple had walked out of a nearby casino with $200,000 of a high-stakes gambler’s money.
He also learns the crime had been hushed up by an undercover federal DEA agent, who resurfaces and recruits Clayton for a dangerous mission to seize the Mexican drug lord responsible for the killings.
Thrust into the nightmare world of borderland drug wars and corrupt cops, Clayton duels with a cunning assassin poised to kill him and his family in a ferocious climax to the Kevin Kerney series that is sure to stun.
Given a chance to salvage his law enforcement career, Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Detective Clayton Istee catches a bizarre late-night double homicide at a Las Cruces hotel. Both victims, a man and a woman, have been scalped with their throats cut.
The murders show all the signs of a signature hit, but national and state crime databases reveal no similar profiles. Digging into the victims’ backgrounds, Clayton discovers that six months prior the couple had walked out of a nearby casino with $200,000 of a high-stakes gambler’s money.
He also learns the crime had been hushed up by an undercover federal DEA agent, who resurfaces and recruits Clayton for a dangerous mission to seize the Mexican drug lord responsible for the killings.
Thrust into the nightmare world of borderland drug wars and corrupt cops, Clayton duels with a cunning assassin poised to kill him and his family in a ferocious climax to the Kevin Kerney series that is sure to stun.
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First published November 10, 2020
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About the author
Michael McGarrity
22 books495 followersWith the publication of Tularosa in 1996, Michael McGarrity turned to writing full time. Many of his novels have been national best sellers. He holds a BA with distinction in psychology and a master's degree in clinical social work. As an undergraduate, he held a Ford Foundation Scholarship at the University of New Mexico. Additionally, he is an honor graduate of the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy.
His career in criminal justice spanned over twenty-five years and included creating treatment programs for drug offenders, supervising outreach services for at-risk juveniles, and re-establishing mental health services for the Department of Corrections after the infamous 1980 riot at the New Mexico Penitentiary. As a Santa Fe County deputy sheriff, he worked as a patrol officer, training and planning supervisor, community relations officer, and was the lead investigator of the sex crimes unit, which he established. Additionally, he taught courses at the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy, served as a caseworker and investigator for the Public Defender's District Office, and conducted investigations for a state government agency. In 1980 he was named New Mexico Social Worker of the Year and in 1987 was recognized by the American Legion as Police Officer of the Year.
In 2004 he received the New Mexico Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts -- Literature. He is also the 2015 recipient of the Frank Waters Exemplary Literary Achievement Award and the 2015 Santa Fe Mayor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts – Literature. He has been instrumental in establishing the Hillerman-McGarrity Creative Writing Scholarship at the University of New Mexico, the Richard Bradford Memorial Creative Writing Scholarship at the Santa Fe Community College, and the N. Scott Momaday Creative Writing Scholarship at the Institute of American Indian Arts.
He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico with his wife Emily Beth (Mimi).
His career in criminal justice spanned over twenty-five years and included creating treatment programs for drug offenders, supervising outreach services for at-risk juveniles, and re-establishing mental health services for the Department of Corrections after the infamous 1980 riot at the New Mexico Penitentiary. As a Santa Fe County deputy sheriff, he worked as a patrol officer, training and planning supervisor, community relations officer, and was the lead investigator of the sex crimes unit, which he established. Additionally, he taught courses at the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy, served as a caseworker and investigator for the Public Defender's District Office, and conducted investigations for a state government agency. In 1980 he was named New Mexico Social Worker of the Year and in 1987 was recognized by the American Legion as Police Officer of the Year.
In 2004 he received the New Mexico Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts -- Literature. He is also the 2015 recipient of the Frank Waters Exemplary Literary Achievement Award and the 2015 Santa Fe Mayor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts – Literature. He has been instrumental in establishing the Hillerman-McGarrity Creative Writing Scholarship at the University of New Mexico, the Richard Bradford Memorial Creative Writing Scholarship at the Santa Fe Community College, and the N. Scott Momaday Creative Writing Scholarship at the Institute of American Indian Arts.
He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico with his wife Emily Beth (Mimi).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
November 16, 2020
Over the past quarter-century, Michael McGarrity has crafted more than a dozen gritty novels featuring Santa Fe Police Chief Kevin Kerney, who is now retired. McGarrity, who also penned an acclaimed trilogy centering on the Kerney family’s history in New Mexico from the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries, recently indicated that he was putting the finishing touches on the final installment of the Kerney series. The book in question, HEAD WOUNDS, has now been published and is full of surprises.
The biggest surprise is that Kerney, who celebrates his 70th birthday in the book, only makes sporadic appearances, with his first being about a third of the way into the proceedings. The focus is primarily on Doña Ana County Sheriff's Detective Clayton Istee, who is brought in to investigate the murder of a couple he knows at a Las Cruces motel. He learns that they had quickly exited Las Cruces for parts unknown after stealing a significant amount of money from a guest at a nearby casino. Istee is puzzled that the pair had returned, but an even bigger mystery is the manner of their deaths; they were scalped and had their throats cut. He suspects that the murders might have been drug-related, but the trouble goes deeper than that.
Istee’s investigation, aided by a veteran DEA agent, puts him on the trail of a shadowy assassin for hire known as El Jefe. Meanwhile, other players on both sides of the law and the border become involved in the situation, so what appeared to be a bizarre double-murder has far-reaching implications that could put Istee’s family in danger. Istee is advised to stand down but just can’t do that, and unofficially joins forces with members of a couple of other law enforcement agencies to see that El Jefe is brought to justice. Kerney, who is Istee’s father thanks to a brief relationship, is occasionally asked for advice but is more often than not relegated to the position of observer as the series winds down to a violent and satisfactory conclusion.
HEAD WOUNDS has a somewhat meandering plot that settles down about two-thirds of the way through. As always, McGarrity’s descriptions of the people and places on both sides of the southern border of the United States make for terrific reading, and the journey through the tale is more than worth it, regardless of who is and isn’t prominently featured. It is a fitting end to a well-crafted series.
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
The biggest surprise is that Kerney, who celebrates his 70th birthday in the book, only makes sporadic appearances, with his first being about a third of the way into the proceedings. The focus is primarily on Doña Ana County Sheriff's Detective Clayton Istee, who is brought in to investigate the murder of a couple he knows at a Las Cruces motel. He learns that they had quickly exited Las Cruces for parts unknown after stealing a significant amount of money from a guest at a nearby casino. Istee is puzzled that the pair had returned, but an even bigger mystery is the manner of their deaths; they were scalped and had their throats cut. He suspects that the murders might have been drug-related, but the trouble goes deeper than that.
Istee’s investigation, aided by a veteran DEA agent, puts him on the trail of a shadowy assassin for hire known as El Jefe. Meanwhile, other players on both sides of the law and the border become involved in the situation, so what appeared to be a bizarre double-murder has far-reaching implications that could put Istee’s family in danger. Istee is advised to stand down but just can’t do that, and unofficially joins forces with members of a couple of other law enforcement agencies to see that El Jefe is brought to justice. Kerney, who is Istee’s father thanks to a brief relationship, is occasionally asked for advice but is more often than not relegated to the position of observer as the series winds down to a violent and satisfactory conclusion.
HEAD WOUNDS has a somewhat meandering plot that settles down about two-thirds of the way through. As always, McGarrity’s descriptions of the people and places on both sides of the southern border of the United States make for terrific reading, and the journey through the tale is more than worth it, regardless of who is and isn’t prominently featured. It is a fitting end to a well-crafted series.
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
December 22, 2020
County Sheriff's Detective, Clayton Istee, is the son of retired police chief, Kevin Kearney.
Called to investigate the murder of a man and woman at a local hotel, finds the victims have been scalped and their throats cut. When he starts looking into their backgrounds, he finds that the couple walked out of a casino with a whole lot of money months before they were murdered.
Why was this crime hidden by an undercover federal DEA agent? And why is now asking Istee for his help in seizing a Mexican drug lord, highly suspected of the murders?
Murder, drugs, revenge .... they are the focus of this crime fiction. The intricate plot includes many varied characters. For the followers of this series ... bad news! This is the final Kevin Kearney novel. Kearney only has a small cameo appearance in HEAD WOUNDS. While this was an okay read, the plot has been done many times by other authors .. so nothing really new here. I thought the final book in a long-standing series would be less convoluted and have more of Kevin Kearney.
Many thanks to the author / W W Norton & Company / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
Called to investigate the murder of a man and woman at a local hotel, finds the victims have been scalped and their throats cut. When he starts looking into their backgrounds, he finds that the couple walked out of a casino with a whole lot of money months before they were murdered.
Why was this crime hidden by an undercover federal DEA agent? And why is now asking Istee for his help in seizing a Mexican drug lord, highly suspected of the murders?
Murder, drugs, revenge .... they are the focus of this crime fiction. The intricate plot includes many varied characters. For the followers of this series ... bad news! This is the final Kevin Kearney novel. Kearney only has a small cameo appearance in HEAD WOUNDS. While this was an okay read, the plot has been done many times by other authors .. so nothing really new here. I thought the final book in a long-standing series would be less convoluted and have more of Kevin Kearney.
Many thanks to the author / W W Norton & Company / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
February 28, 2025
This is allegedly a Kevin Kerney novel, even though he is barely in it.
A maverick Apache cop gets on the trail of the usual Cartel assassin. This particular sicario is of the Kickapoo tribe, hereditary enemies of the Apache, which kicks things up a notch.
It imitates Hillerman, in that there is a lot of driving around and asking questions, but there is a lot more gun fire.
A maverick Apache cop gets on the trail of the usual Cartel assassin. This particular sicario is of the Kickapoo tribe, hereditary enemies of the Apache, which kicks things up a notch.
It imitates Hillerman, in that there is a lot of driving around and asking questions, but there is a lot more gun fire.
July 6, 2020
I had the honor and the pleasure several years ago to meet Michael McGarrity in Albuquerque, New Mexico at the Page One bookstore. I loved his Kevin Kerney series and wanted to let him know his books were very well liked in my home state of West Virginia and at my library. He was delightedly surprised that his book were even read "east of the Mississippi" as he put it and I assured him that we liked him so well his books were on standing order.
Alas, all good things must come to an end and so it seems that this series will ride off into the sunset with one last gallop left in the horse. Although Kevin Kerney is mentioned sporadically in this story, his son wears his father's mantle very well as he investigates drug related murders and discover a very adapt assassin of Native American heritage.
The book did drag in some places but the action all but made up for it and the ending left me wondering; is this the end?
A good read. I will miss you, Kevin Kerney. Enjoy your retirement.
Alas, all good things must come to an end and so it seems that this series will ride off into the sunset with one last gallop left in the horse. Although Kevin Kerney is mentioned sporadically in this story, his son wears his father's mantle very well as he investigates drug related murders and discover a very adapt assassin of Native American heritage.
The book did drag in some places but the action all but made up for it and the ending left me wondering; is this the end?
A good read. I will miss you, Kevin Kerney. Enjoy your retirement.
September 12, 2020
I have loved the Michael McGarrity Kervin Kerney series. In fact, reading this series caused me to travel to Santa Fe and adopt it as my retirement home. I was filled with some trepidation because Headwounds is the last book in the series. Although I enjoyed it, I missed Kevin Kerney as the lead character. Clayton Istee is no Kevin Kerney. The book kept my interest with all the twists and turns as Clayton goes up against a Mexican drug cartel and the viciousness of the drug trade but I do wish that Kevin Kerney had a greater involvement in the story.
January 23, 2021
The author combines his psychological skills with his long career in law enforcement to write books that are realistic and satisfying. These Kevin Kerney novels are a favorite, and
January 23, 2021
Once I got all the major characters on the bad guy side straight, I really enjoyed it, but that took me nearly half the book.
February 16, 2021
Detective Clayton Istee is called out for a brutal double homicide. Two people had their throats slit and were scalped in an Las Cruces NM motel. This signature style marks the murderer as an elusive killer out of Mexico who works for the cartels. The two victims stole a lot of money from the girlfriend of a cartel member and they paid for it. Clayton goes to the Mescalero Apache reservation to give the news of the woman's death to her mother and daughters. But the DEA inserts themselves and wants to hush up the murders which Clayton is not willing to do. Consulting with his father, retired cop Kevin Kearney, Clayton develops a strategy and goes to work with a deep undercover DEA agent and a rogue FBI agent. The trail leads them deep into Mexico and out into the mountains of New Mexico, and, subsequently to the Kickapoo reservation, traditional enemies of the Mescalero Apaches. A lot of action, as always, and the lush descriptions of New Mexico are again a major character. I will miss this series.
September 16, 2021
A dismal end to this series that went from interesting detective mysteries in an amazing setting to this gross crime mess. Chock full of depravity and violence, I am not a fan and had to quit reading.
June 19, 2021
Featuring the son over the father, and giving credence to the idea that the border is awash with bad guys who control people and villages and crime sprees.
November 4, 2023
Tough and brutal crime thriller.
April 13, 2022
Too many characters, and way too many bodies. 2.5 rounded up for Native American culture.
November 10, 2020
Michael McGarrity wrote the first twelve books in his Ken Kerney series quite some time ago, in the 1990s and 2000s, and has only recently returned with two new titles. Head Wounds is the second of these. I was a little surprised to find that Kerney’s late-found son, Clayton Istee, who appears part way through the earlier books, is the main protagonist in this one, rather than Kerney himself. But as I thought about it, this makes sense – if characters are going to age normally in a long series, eventually they need to pass the torch to a new generation. And Istee makes just as engaging of a lead character (although obviously somewhat different) as Kerney.
Head Wounds is a complex story that moves back and forth between a traditional police investigation and a drug-trafficking storyline with a lot of action. I’m very much a fan of police procedurals and so I especially liked those parts of the book, but McGarrity does a nice job of keeping the various threads moving along and I found myself enjoying the whole thing. I sympathized with Istee as he tried to balance his home and work lives, and I winced along with him when he ended up missing an important family event while working on this case. I also very much liked the descriptions of the American southwest. My dad’s family is from New Mexico, and I enjoyed McGarrity’s elegant portrayals of the New Mexico landscape. And I was even happier when, from time to time, I recognized some landmark from my personal experience there.
All-in-all, I very much enjoyed Head Wounds, and now I mean to go back and find the first of the two “new books” to read. Please keep in mind that I try to fight star-flation a little bit, and only rank maybe one in 30 or 40 books that I read as five stars. So my four-star recommendation is a solid favorable review, and means I very much recommend this book to read. And my thanks to WW Norton and Edelweiss for the review copy!
Head Wounds is a complex story that moves back and forth between a traditional police investigation and a drug-trafficking storyline with a lot of action. I’m very much a fan of police procedurals and so I especially liked those parts of the book, but McGarrity does a nice job of keeping the various threads moving along and I found myself enjoying the whole thing. I sympathized with Istee as he tried to balance his home and work lives, and I winced along with him when he ended up missing an important family event while working on this case. I also very much liked the descriptions of the American southwest. My dad’s family is from New Mexico, and I enjoyed McGarrity’s elegant portrayals of the New Mexico landscape. And I was even happier when, from time to time, I recognized some landmark from my personal experience there.
All-in-all, I very much enjoyed Head Wounds, and now I mean to go back and find the first of the two “new books” to read. Please keep in mind that I try to fight star-flation a little bit, and only rank maybe one in 30 or 40 books that I read as five stars. So my four-star recommendation is a solid favorable review, and means I very much recommend this book to read. And my thanks to WW Norton and Edelweiss for the review copy!
April 11, 2021
The Strange Case of the Missing Kerney
Like many other reviewers I was confused when I began reading this book (I generally don't read reviews in advance on book orders because so many contain spoilers). I was a third of the way into the book and kept waiting for Kevin Kerney to show up because, well, the book IS marketed as a Kerney novel. I think my focus on hunting for Kerney distracted me from concentrating on the text and, consequently, the book never caught on with me. I can see what the author was trying to do, which is find a way to both retire and say good bye to Kerney without really including him in the mystery (because if he was exiting the series he couldn't really be involved in the book). From the reviews and my reaction this approach didn't sit very well with hardcore Kevin Kerney fans. In retrospect, I think McGarrity should have started a new series for Kerney's son and had Kevin drop by as a walk on character for his own birthday party, an event that was also obviously his unspoken exit party from the series. This approach would have also taken care of my disappointment that the vast majority of the book takes place south of the border rather than in New Mexico as expected in a Kerney novel. That rant aside, I found the book a bit confusing. There were too many characters for my liking and the constant jumping around all over the map by said characters was tiring. Overall though, I would say this was an OK mystery for the mystery fan. Just don't go into it expecting much New Mexican scenery or culture or any Kevin Kerney.
Like many other reviewers I was confused when I began reading this book (I generally don't read reviews in advance on book orders because so many contain spoilers). I was a third of the way into the book and kept waiting for Kevin Kerney to show up because, well, the book IS marketed as a Kerney novel. I think my focus on hunting for Kerney distracted me from concentrating on the text and, consequently, the book never caught on with me. I can see what the author was trying to do, which is find a way to both retire and say good bye to Kerney without really including him in the mystery (because if he was exiting the series he couldn't really be involved in the book). From the reviews and my reaction this approach didn't sit very well with hardcore Kevin Kerney fans. In retrospect, I think McGarrity should have started a new series for Kerney's son and had Kevin drop by as a walk on character for his own birthday party, an event that was also obviously his unspoken exit party from the series. This approach would have also taken care of my disappointment that the vast majority of the book takes place south of the border rather than in New Mexico as expected in a Kerney novel. That rant aside, I found the book a bit confusing. There were too many characters for my liking and the constant jumping around all over the map by said characters was tiring. Overall though, I would say this was an OK mystery for the mystery fan. Just don't go into it expecting much New Mexican scenery or culture or any Kevin Kerney.
December 18, 2020
#14 in the Kevin Kerney series. This 2020 series entry by author Michael McGarrity wraps up the series as Kerney has only a cameo role leading to his 70th birthday party. Kerney's son, Clayton Istee, a NM Sheriff's Office detective has the nominal lead in the war against cross border criminals, but the action is mostly carried by two lone wolf DEA agents. The book is an entertaining read but really blasts the DEA and CIA, with a few nasty comments about the current administration in Washington.
Retired police chief Kevin Kerney's son, Clayton Istee, a sheriff's detective in Doña Ana County, N.Mex. Clayton, is the focus as he's dispatched to a hotel where someone scalped a man and woman after slitting their throats. He recognizes the victims as Lucy Nautzile, a mother of two he'd known for all of her life, and her companion, James Goggin. Two years earlier, the pair went on the run after embezzling $200,000 from a casino on a Native American reservation. Clayton learns that the money was actually stolen from a casino patron, making revenge for the theft a probable motive. The plot thickens when an undercover DEA agent meets Clayton and reveals that the m.o. of the killings matches that of a Mexican freelance assassin known as El Jefe.
Retired police chief Kevin Kerney's son, Clayton Istee, a sheriff's detective in Doña Ana County, N.Mex. Clayton, is the focus as he's dispatched to a hotel where someone scalped a man and woman after slitting their throats. He recognizes the victims as Lucy Nautzile, a mother of two he'd known for all of her life, and her companion, James Goggin. Two years earlier, the pair went on the run after embezzling $200,000 from a casino on a Native American reservation. Clayton learns that the money was actually stolen from a casino patron, making revenge for the theft a probable motive. The plot thickens when an undercover DEA agent meets Clayton and reveals that the m.o. of the killings matches that of a Mexican freelance assassin known as El Jefe.
November 13, 2020
Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for a review.
I have long enjoyed the Kevin Kerney and Kerney family novels and now that Kevin's son Clayton Istee, has come to be the central character, I still enjoy them. Michael McGarrity has a way with words!! He can make you feel as though you are in the location right along with the characters.
Clayton had some problems when he fought to save his father from a bogus murder charge and has now taken a new job as a Sheriff's Detective in Dona Ana county. When two people are found murdered and scalped in a local motel, Clayton recognizes the victims as ones who fled the area a few years ago after stealing from the Indian casino where they worked. So why are they back? And why have they been murdered in such a distinctive way?
The answers are not easy to find, involving cross-border drug trafficking, hidden tunnels and corrupt Mexican officials. This is a good read and if it is the last Kevin Kerney novel, I will be sad.
I have long enjoyed the Kevin Kerney and Kerney family novels and now that Kevin's son Clayton Istee, has come to be the central character, I still enjoy them. Michael McGarrity has a way with words!! He can make you feel as though you are in the location right along with the characters.
Clayton had some problems when he fought to save his father from a bogus murder charge and has now taken a new job as a Sheriff's Detective in Dona Ana county. When two people are found murdered and scalped in a local motel, Clayton recognizes the victims as ones who fled the area a few years ago after stealing from the Indian casino where they worked. So why are they back? And why have they been murdered in such a distinctive way?
The answers are not easy to find, involving cross-border drug trafficking, hidden tunnels and corrupt Mexican officials. This is a good read and if it is the last Kevin Kerney novel, I will be sad.
July 14, 2021
what a hack racist waste of the reader's time...cannot decide if he wants to write police procedural or cia thrillers, leaves a steaming mess in between...
80 % hate on mexicans, 15% hate on chinese, even 5 % hate on kikapoo native americans...
seeding of character list from past , new required suspects and helpers for protagonist is not remotely believable
crappy writing and editing; page 155 twice in one page attacks "jose" when the target is supposed to be "juan"
page 158 DEA agent "had a colt 911 holstered on his belt" was that a porsche 911 on his belt ? , or a colt 1911 model ? this is basic folks ...
hey, let's not forget that the white heroes / protagonists apply the almost obligatory illegal psychotropic drug and freezing torture sequence, as long as it is a non-white, non american target,
and generally white backed agents muscle and intimidate non white people, revealing key plot points
that is their job like all of this hack writer's ideas of manipulating, and killing,
or oppressing any non mainstream actor in this whole mess
80 % hate on mexicans, 15% hate on chinese, even 5 % hate on kikapoo native americans...
seeding of character list from past , new required suspects and helpers for protagonist is not remotely believable
crappy writing and editing; page 155 twice in one page attacks "jose" when the target is supposed to be "juan"
page 158 DEA agent "had a colt 911 holstered on his belt" was that a porsche 911 on his belt ? , or a colt 1911 model ? this is basic folks ...
hey, let's not forget that the white heroes / protagonists apply the almost obligatory illegal psychotropic drug and freezing torture sequence, as long as it is a non-white, non american target,
and generally white backed agents muscle and intimidate non white people, revealing key plot points
that is their job like all of this hack writer's ideas of manipulating, and killing,
or oppressing any non mainstream actor in this whole mess
March 4, 2021
DNF 20%
Emotionally this felt really flat to me. Heavy on police procedures and light on character development. Which might have been okay, given there were tidbits of native american culture here and there to keep it unique. But at 20% the plot went completely unbelievable, cartoonish, and I didn't care enough about the characters to keep reading. I just couldn't believe that
Emotionally this felt really flat to me. Heavy on police procedures and light on character development. Which might have been okay, given there were tidbits of native american culture here and there to keep it unique. But at 20% the plot went completely unbelievable, cartoonish, and I didn't care enough about the characters to keep reading. I just couldn't believe that
December 18, 2020
(3). I generally avoid the Tex/Mex across the border franchises, but Marilyn Stasio gave this one a good review and I picked it up. It was fairly confusing at first, we had lots of things going on and way too many layers to decipher. But our somewhat fearless protagonist, Clayton Istee, kept things in perspective. He is a good character and is able to (mostly) keep this story on track. We have a terrific lead villain here and that helps as well. The second half of this story moves right along with lots of action and a few twists that are worthwhile. As a side note, they call this a Kevin Kerney novel. There are maybe 4 paragraphs about him anywhere in here. If that is what you are looking for it is totally false advertising. A reasonable winter read. Pretty good stuff.
September 18, 2021
This is the last volume in the Michael McGarrity series on Kevin Kerney. Written this year in 2021, Kerney, who has now turned 70, has just a fleeting role in this book. Most of the story revolves around his Apache son, Clayton Istee, and a group of DEA agents attempting to put an end to one narco trafficker. It is a novel of violence and extreme poverty between the border towns of Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras, Mexico. Istee is trying to salvage his tarnished law enforcement credentials while Kerney has learned to bask in the setting sun of retirement. The book does leave open another chance at a sequel but at 83 McGarrity may feel that his writing chops might have escaped him. Time will tell. Another very good read.
February 7, 2022
This is a worthy addition to the Kearney series, though Kevin Kearney plays no real part in this story. The principal regular character is his son Clayton Istee, who becomes involved in a gruesome murder in Las Cruces. The story revolves around stolen gambling money, international drug-smuggling, and a vicious cartel operated out of Piedras Negras, Mexico. In fact, much of the key action of the story is set in Mexico or on the border there. While Istee is an important element of the story, a large portion of it involves two undercover agents and long-time friends and the actions of a deadly Kickapoo assassin from Mexico. The action is rough and often bloody and, as the book cover, warns the ending is a bit of a stunner.
November 14, 2022
This was the first Kevin Kerney book that I read, but it looks like I didn't log it at the time. On November 11, 2022 I finished reading a second time — this time aloud to Maggee and Lutrecia. With this reading, unfortunately, we come to the end of McGarrity's KK series... too bad.
This book focuses on Clayton Istee's investigation of two brutal murders in a new hotel in Las Cruses, but a lot of the action is from the point of view of the assassin El Jefe, and DEA agents trying to take down a Chinese/Mexican cartel that is operating in Piedres Negres south along the Rio Grande. Kerney comes into the picture very briefly. An interesting fluidity regarding who our heroes and bad guys are.
This was book #58 on our 2022 Read-alouds List and book #46 on our 2022 Read-alouds With Lutrecia List.
This book focuses on Clayton Istee's investigation of two brutal murders in a new hotel in Las Cruses, but a lot of the action is from the point of view of the assassin El Jefe, and DEA agents trying to take down a Chinese/Mexican cartel that is operating in Piedres Negres south along the Rio Grande. Kerney comes into the picture very briefly. An interesting fluidity regarding who our heroes and bad guys are.
This was book #58 on our 2022 Read-alouds List and book #46 on our 2022 Read-alouds With Lutrecia List.
October 26, 2023
Did not really enjoy this one. I have read or listened to all of the others by McGarrity and this was disappointing. Too many characters, too many bad guys or good guys who were really bad. Too much cartel and a great deal of violence. I lost track of how many were killed. One here, 2 there, seemingly casual. Threats of torture and descriptions of torture. I almost gave up when they mentioned the drill bit in an ear canal, but by then I was over 60% into the audio version. So I just skipped chapters. Maybe that helped with my struggle to keep the characters straight, but I don't read to be disgusted.
March 8, 2021
This book started out like gang busters. Two people dead at a motel, one in the room and the other in the swimming pool. Both victims had been scalped. Now this is going to be interesting I thought. From there the author takes the reader on journey that was hard to fathom because he threw in every type of genre he could think of. We had cowboys & Indians, the drug cartel, the military, cops & robbers, good guys & bad guys, women & children, Mexico & the USA, casinos, slums, Indian reservations, mountains, deserts, etc. etc. It was just a bit too much for this reader.
May 17, 2023
This was not a Kevin Kerney story: it was a Clayton Istee story, and I was disappointed. Kerney's son is not as interesting (to me) as Kerney, so it took me a little longer to get into the book. But it was quite a plot, centering in on a Kickapoo Indian who had served as a sniper in the armed services, and then used his expertise to become a noted sicario called "El Jefe". I understand that Kerney is now a little old to continue his escapades in law enforcement...but I have really enjoyed books 1 through 13, and have become quite attached to him and his lovely family.
July 18, 2021
This is a fast paced story that has a nice convoluted plot that is created from the story line shifting between the central characters. A downside to this is the smaller role Clayton Istee has. I expected a larger role by Kevin Kearney, so it was disappointing that this character had such a small, inconsequential part.
The contrast and similarities between the Apache and Kickapoo tribes is a pleasant aspect of the story.
The contrast and similarities between the Apache and Kickapoo tribes is a pleasant aspect of the story.
December 3, 2020
Michael Has Done It Again!
We'll Michael, 2 days to read this one. As you know I've read all your books and this was another 5 star thriller. I miss Kevin but love Clayton a great choice to continue the series if you choose. If you are a McGarrity fan you'll love it. If you're just starting out, go all the way back to the trilogy. Thank you Army and MSW brother. AKA Unca Tom.
We'll Michael, 2 days to read this one. As you know I've read all your books and this was another 5 star thriller. I miss Kevin but love Clayton a great choice to continue the series if you choose. If you are a McGarrity fan you'll love it. If you're just starting out, go all the way back to the trilogy. Thank you Army and MSW brother. AKA Unca Tom.
December 9, 2020
Interesting look into a drug cartel in Mexico. Detective Kevin Kearny after suffering a demotion on the State Police force is anxious to prove himself in his new detective assignment.
A hit man for the cartel “the Bear” kills two U.S. citizens in Kevin’s new territory and that leads to a complex hunt for the “Bear” and his employers.
A hit man for the cartel “the Bear” kills two U.S. citizens in Kevin’s new territory and that leads to a complex hunt for the “Bear” and his employers.
January 9, 2021
The final volume of McGarrity's popular Kevin Kerney series, it mostly revolves around Kerney's son, Clayton Istee. I'm hoping it will be an introduction to a new series featuring Istee, a half-white, half-Navajo police officer living in Las Cruces, NM. I don't usually read crime novels, but McGarrity had me hooked from the first book in the series, Tularosa.
January 13, 2021
OK, so calling this a Kevin Kerney novel is a stretch. He’s in it for like 5 minutes. Not really even a Clayton Istee novel – while he is way more primary to the story than Kevin, it’s really about the “drug war”, twisted motives, dirty cops (on both sides), what a bunch of assholes the feds are, and the inevitable unhappy ending.
The dust jacket says this is the end… maybe…
The dust jacket says this is the end… maybe…
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