What do you think?
Rate this book
Jack Widow #10
The Devil's Stop
AMAZON #1 BESTSELLER * Scott Blade is back with an electrifying, intense follow-up to the pulsating, action-mystery The Last Rainmaker with the next Widow thriller--a story that hits the ground running and doesn't let up until the last violent showdown.
Star Harvard is beautiful. She's smart. She's tough. She's all alone. She's nine months pregnant. And she's in grave danger.
Deadly trouble waits...and Jack Widow steps right into it. His first misstep is a curiosity, triggered by a gothic headstone, a grave, unmarked and unexplained, right in the middle of a shadowy New Hampshire town.
Looking for answers, Widow meets Harvard, who is more out of place than he is. She's a woman in distress, pregnant, alone, and unwilling to give up. Now she faces a secluded community that could turn hostile at any second.
All she wants is to find the father of her unborn child, her missing husband, a Navy SEAL, who was supposed to be KIA in Iraq, only according to Harvard's hired PI, her husband never made it to Iraq. The PI tracked his last known location to the wilderness of New Hampshire.
Alone, surrounded by danger and afraid her husband is dead, Jack Widow is her only hope.
A Cold Dry Place is an explosive, haunting thriller that only Scott Blade could write and only Jack Widow could survive--a first-rate page-turner that will leave you breathless.
Star Harvard is beautiful. She's smart. She's tough. She's all alone. She's nine months pregnant. And she's in grave danger.
Deadly trouble waits...and Jack Widow steps right into it. His first misstep is a curiosity, triggered by a gothic headstone, a grave, unmarked and unexplained, right in the middle of a shadowy New Hampshire town.
Looking for answers, Widow meets Harvard, who is more out of place than he is. She's a woman in distress, pregnant, alone, and unwilling to give up. Now she faces a secluded community that could turn hostile at any second.
All she wants is to find the father of her unborn child, her missing husband, a Navy SEAL, who was supposed to be KIA in Iraq, only according to Harvard's hired PI, her husband never made it to Iraq. The PI tracked his last known location to the wilderness of New Hampshire.
Alone, surrounded by danger and afraid her husband is dead, Jack Widow is her only hope.
A Cold Dry Place is an explosive, haunting thriller that only Scott Blade could write and only Jack Widow could survive--a first-rate page-turner that will leave you breathless.
342 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 8, 2018
About the author
Scott Blade
44 books327 followersUSA TODAY and AMAZON BESTSELLER - Scott Blade is a Nomadvelist, a drifter and author. He writes the bestselling Jack Widow book series, two of which reached the Top 100 list on Amazon, knocking Harry Potter & Jack Reacher off the top spots, which angered one of the big publishers. Scott wears that fact as a badge of honor.
Scott Blade isn't a traditional novelist who spends his time stuck behind a computer desk in some dreary office. He truly walks the walk. He drifts around like the nomad he writes about, touring the world, writing mysteries and searching for the perfect coffee.
Scott Blade isn't a traditional novelist who spends his time stuck behind a computer desk in some dreary office. He truly walks the walk. He drifts around like the nomad he writes about, touring the world, writing mysteries and searching for the perfect coffee.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
July 24, 2026
A Widow Went Down to Hellbent
A review of the Black Lion LLC eBook (August 8, 2018) released shortly before the paperback (August 11, 2018.
Former NCIS Agent/former SEAL, but now wandering drifter, Jack Widow is on a self-guided tour of American small towns he calls "Devil's Stops" due to their names with satanic associations. He lands in Hellbent, New Hampshire and finds a town that protects its secrets, but which also has a mysterious association with a nearby somewhat off-the-books military facility.
There is a nefarious group that has its own plans for access to the facility and what it can do with the resources it finds there. Into the midst of this comes an expectant mother searching for her missing airman husband. When she comes to Widow's aid in a standoff with some local mining workers, he of course offers to help find her missing spouse. What they will find will be a shocking plan for an apocalypse.
If Jack Widow is new to you, you might want to read my review of Gone Forever (Jack Widow #1 - 2016) at Son of a Reacher Man for an introduction to the character.
Soundtrack
With the title association, I couldn't help but remember The Charlie Daniel's Band song The Devil Went Down to Georgia (1979) from their Million Mile Reflections (1979) album. Watch a live video of the song on YouTube here and a cover by Primus with a fun stop-motion animation on YouTube here.
Trivia and Links
Author Scott Blade first introduced the character as Jack Cameron and presumably those books had many more Jack Reacher references and were likely subject to a copyright claim (This is my assumption, I did not research any of the legal history). Those books in the Jack Cameron series are now out of print and the character was revised as Jack Widow in a series which has now reached 22 novels (as of 2026). Unlike books #1 and #2 which were the same titles & plots in both series, all of the books from #3 onwards have completely different plots in the Jack Widow series.
A review of the Black Lion LLC eBook (August 8, 2018) released shortly before the paperback (August 11, 2018.
Hell's Kitchen was the last stop he'd made. He'd gotten the idea when he was in Hells Canyon, back in Idaho. From Hells Canyon he moved on to Devil's Lake in Wisconsin. After that, he headed east to Hell, Michigan, and then on to Route 666 in Pennsylvania, and to Hell's Kitchen.
Former NCIS Agent/former SEAL, but now wandering drifter, Jack Widow is on a self-guided tour of American small towns he calls "Devil's Stops" due to their names with satanic associations. He lands in Hellbent, New Hampshire and finds a town that protects its secrets, but which also has a mysterious association with a nearby somewhat off-the-books military facility.
There is a nefarious group that has its own plans for access to the facility and what it can do with the resources it finds there. Into the midst of this comes an expectant mother searching for her missing airman husband. When she comes to Widow's aid in a standoff with some local mining workers, he of course offers to help find her missing spouse. What they will find will be a shocking plan for an apocalypse.
If Jack Widow is new to you, you might want to read my review of Gone Forever (Jack Widow #1 - 2016) at Son of a Reacher Man for an introduction to the character.
Soundtrack
With the title association, I couldn't help but remember The Charlie Daniel's Band song The Devil Went Down to Georgia (1979) from their Million Mile Reflections (1979) album. Watch a live video of the song on YouTube here and a cover by Primus with a fun stop-motion animation on YouTube here.
Trivia and Links
Author Scott Blade first introduced the character as Jack Cameron and presumably those books had many more Jack Reacher references and were likely subject to a copyright claim (This is my assumption, I did not research any of the legal history). Those books in the Jack Cameron series are now out of print and the character was revised as Jack Widow in a series which has now reached 22 novels (as of 2026). Unlike books #1 and #2 which were the same titles & plots in both series, all of the books from #3 onwards have completely different plots in the Jack Widow series.
August 13, 2018
Fun
This is a fun, fast paced read. The writer becomes better with each book. I have read everyone of Scott's books and enjoyed them all.
This is a fun, fast paced read. The writer becomes better with each book. I have read everyone of Scott's books and enjoyed them all.
June 13, 2024
The Devil’s Stop is the tenth book in Scott Blade’s Jack Widow series and it was a very quick and entertaining read.
Dead bodies… military personnel, tortured and burned, out in the middle of nowhere. Responsible for this, a gang of rogue ex-military bad apples determined to gain access into a secret military station nearby.
Meanwhile, on his nomadic travels, Jack Widow has been visiting places throughout the country with a “Hell” theme (Hell’s Kitchen; Hell, Michigan; Devils Lake, Wisconsin) and has now set his sites on a small New Hampshire town by the name of Hellbent as his next destination. But, as Widow’s luck would have it, he is unaware of the heap of trouble he is about to walk into.
Widow soon finds himself in Hellbent, dropped off at the local marshal’s office after being picked up along side of the road by a state trooper. After being questioned, he convinces the state trooper and the marshal that he is only there to sight-see and of no real threat to anyone, so they reluctantly let him go about his business.
As he is eating in one of the town’s diners, Widow unwillingly stirs up the ire of the locals when he inquires about an unmarked gravestone in the middle of the street that he walked past. Not too long after leaving the diner, he finds himself surrounded by a few of the roughneck locals that attempt to persuade him to move along out of their sleepy little town. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, coming to his aid is Star Harvard, a beautiful—of course—woman who happens to also be eight months pregnant, and definitely very familiar with how to handle a gun.
Harvard has come to town looking for her missing husband, a Captain in the US Air Force that seems to have dropped off the face of the Earth. After she convinces Widow that her husband did not just up and abandon her, he decides to try and help her find the missing airman. They set out to find the missing Captain, and end up in one hell of a fight.
Dead bodies… military personnel, tortured and burned, out in the middle of nowhere. Responsible for this, a gang of rogue ex-military bad apples determined to gain access into a secret military station nearby.
Meanwhile, on his nomadic travels, Jack Widow has been visiting places throughout the country with a “Hell” theme (Hell’s Kitchen; Hell, Michigan; Devils Lake, Wisconsin) and has now set his sites on a small New Hampshire town by the name of Hellbent as his next destination. But, as Widow’s luck would have it, he is unaware of the heap of trouble he is about to walk into.
Widow soon finds himself in Hellbent, dropped off at the local marshal’s office after being picked up along side of the road by a state trooper. After being questioned, he convinces the state trooper and the marshal that he is only there to sight-see and of no real threat to anyone, so they reluctantly let him go about his business.
As he is eating in one of the town’s diners, Widow unwillingly stirs up the ire of the locals when he inquires about an unmarked gravestone in the middle of the street that he walked past. Not too long after leaving the diner, he finds himself surrounded by a few of the roughneck locals that attempt to persuade him to move along out of their sleepy little town. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, coming to his aid is Star Harvard, a beautiful—of course—woman who happens to also be eight months pregnant, and definitely very familiar with how to handle a gun.
Harvard has come to town looking for her missing husband, a Captain in the US Air Force that seems to have dropped off the face of the Earth. After she convinces Widow that her husband did not just up and abandon her, he decides to try and help her find the missing airman. They set out to find the missing Captain, and end up in one hell of a fight.
October 25, 2025
The Devil’s Stop is a thriller that starts a bit like Rambo, in that a sheriff stops to chat with a drifter and sends him off in the opposite direction. But Jack is on a mission, and that is to visit as many towns and places across the US that has “devil” in the name.
He is an ex-navy Seal, when he left he had nothing to do, no plan, zip. Until he sees a sign with the name “devil” in it and wonders how many places in the US have a devil, or reference it, in their name.
Apparently, there are quite a few.
Hell’s Bent is on the ass-end of North America. It borders a massive forest that can take one to Canada.
The town has a few secrets. An unnamed grave, many bikers have just left, and more bikers are moving in.
He stops for breakfast at a diner and asks about the grave. The reception turns cold and some truckers want him to leave.
In town, he helps an old couple with a heavy box. He sees a very pregnant woman get off the train (bus?) and the truckers circle him.
And that’s where the story kicks off.
Scott Blade has written a killer of a story. The hero isn’t Superman, just a well trainer Seal, retired. But he knows weapons, he knows how to follow a trail, and spring surprises. But so does the man he is hunting.
Some of this story is quite gruesome according to some. I didn’t think so. I also felt it was believable and in many ways reminded me of Jack Reacher.
This is book 10 in a series. I had no idea. It reads like an individual book. There’s no need to read others before this (like Jack Reacher).
He is an ex-navy Seal, when he left he had nothing to do, no plan, zip. Until he sees a sign with the name “devil” in it and wonders how many places in the US have a devil, or reference it, in their name.
Apparently, there are quite a few.
Hell’s Bent is on the ass-end of North America. It borders a massive forest that can take one to Canada.
The town has a few secrets. An unnamed grave, many bikers have just left, and more bikers are moving in.
He stops for breakfast at a diner and asks about the grave. The reception turns cold and some truckers want him to leave.
In town, he helps an old couple with a heavy box. He sees a very pregnant woman get off the train (bus?) and the truckers circle him.
And that’s where the story kicks off.
Scott Blade has written a killer of a story. The hero isn’t Superman, just a well trainer Seal, retired. But he knows weapons, he knows how to follow a trail, and spring surprises. But so does the man he is hunting.
Some of this story is quite gruesome according to some. I didn’t think so. I also felt it was believable and in many ways reminded me of Jack Reacher.
This is book 10 in a series. I had no idea. It reads like an individual book. There’s no need to read others before this (like Jack Reacher).
December 23, 2018
Wandering Jack Widow is on a route to spots having to do with the Devil, like Devi'ls Canyon. He ends up in Hellbent, New Hampshire. For a friendly town, it is not all that friendly and Jack finds out that there was just a cabin fire. In that cabin are 3 murdered bodies. Try as he might to stay out of the affairs of the town, he is drawn into it by a pregnant woman he sees get off a train. She is looking for her husband, who has disappeared. There is a missile silo outside of town and her husband is a missileer. This particular silo has been upgraded with the latest technology so that, up to 5 silos could have their missiles activated. Anarchists want to take control and it seems that Widow is the only one that can stop them. Highly entertaining addition to the Widow series!
September 3, 2020
This book starts off totally disgusting, and I almost gave it up before the first chapter. I am not into the kind of crap Blade uses to get one’s attention, graphic murders are not in my wheelhouse. For all new readers, I suggest starting this book at chapter two. That first day in Hellbent goes by like a gunshot, all he did was walk around and then he’s getting in bed? Oh well, Blade you maybe cranking them out too fast. There are a couple of other mistakes, makes me wonder? All in all it was pretty descent., but I wouldn’t reread it. Not the best of stories. 4.4
April 13, 2022
Good fast moving thriller.
Widow gets a lift into a small town by the local deputy and after meeting the sheriff goes in search of food and accommodation. While in the town he observes a pregnant woman get of the train and later the same woman on a mission to find her husband saves him from a possible beating from lumberjacks he annoyed earlier. In helping this women Widow prevents home ground terrorists from entering a top secret missile establishment preventing a nuclear attack.
Widow gets a lift into a small town by the local deputy and after meeting the sheriff goes in search of food and accommodation. While in the town he observes a pregnant woman get of the train and later the same woman on a mission to find her husband saves him from a possible beating from lumberjacks he annoyed earlier. In helping this women Widow prevents home ground terrorists from entering a top secret missile establishment preventing a nuclear attack.
January 23, 2024
I would stay away from anywhere with Hell in its name
Jack Widow was roaming the country visiting places with Hell in the name. He came upon a town named Hellbent. Being big in size and muscles it didn’t take him long to find trouble. A young pregnant woman was trying to find her husband who was supposedly in Iraq, but instead was stationed at a missile base near Hellbent. Widow gets involved trying to find out what is happening.
Needless to say the war begins as Widow try’s to stop disillusioned US men was taking over the missile silo. Very good story.
Jack Widow was roaming the country visiting places with Hell in the name. He came upon a town named Hellbent. Being big in size and muscles it didn’t take him long to find trouble. A young pregnant woman was trying to find her husband who was supposedly in Iraq, but instead was stationed at a missile base near Hellbent. Widow gets involved trying to find out what is happening.
Needless to say the war begins as Widow try’s to stop disillusioned US men was taking over the missile silo. Very good story.
June 2, 2025
Jack lands in a dead end town where he helps a pregnant wife seeking her missing husband, a military man who seems to have disappeared. A parallel story sees a three military men being (brutally) tortured for the access code to enter an unknown facility. Another tale of corrupt ex-military men acting off the grid to create havoc and mayhem against the USA. Blade's writing is easy and builds tension through the parallel events unfolding ad the reader is left on edge waiting for the different plots to come together
August 18, 2018
Only Jack Widow Can Save The Day
Just like always Jack is traveling following a path that makes sense to him. And of course this puts him where he can help those that only will be saved because he is there.
Another great tale in the Widow series, I'm looking forward to the next book.
Just like always Jack is traveling following a path that makes sense to him. And of course this puts him where he can help those that only will be saved because he is there.
Another great tale in the Widow series, I'm looking forward to the next book.
August 21, 2018
Incredible! Scott Blade really have us hook with Jack Widow and this 10th book of the series is again on the edge! I was struggling real hard to put it down! The plot and characters were very well developed and the suspense keep us hook until the very last page! Now the only sad part of this book is now I have to wait for the next one!! Wow! Thanks to the author for sharing his great talent!
December 16, 2019
Another thriller
This book is set in the forgotten woods of New Hampshire and secret base. Jack visits the town of Hellbent to check off his list of devil towns and finds himself first with the townfolks and then with a terrorist group and the town deputy. Fast paced and action packed.
This book is set in the forgotten woods of New Hampshire and secret base. Jack visits the town of Hellbent to check off his list of devil towns and finds himself first with the townfolks and then with a terrorist group and the town deputy. Fast paced and action packed.
April 21, 2020
Glimpse into a life
I like it that the reader only gets a glimpse into the life of the person being helped as this is the same experience to that of Widow. There is a glimpse into her experience but that is all. The focus is on the shared bubble - of course what makes it interesting is those others who also share the bubble.
I like it that the reader only gets a glimpse into the life of the person being helped as this is the same experience to that of Widow. There is a glimpse into her experience but that is all. The focus is on the shared bubble - of course what makes it interesting is those others who also share the bubble.
February 22, 2021
High marks
I expect to love Jack Widow books. I have never been disappointed. This was nonstop action, with some collateral deaths, but not because of Widow. He, as usual, was accurate and deadly. What starts out as a simple good deed, turns into a complicated fight for survival. So Good!
I expect to love Jack Widow books. I have never been disappointed. This was nonstop action, with some collateral deaths, but not because of Widow. He, as usual, was accurate and deadly. What starts out as a simple good deed, turns into a complicated fight for survival. So Good!
June 14, 2021
Good Deeds make for An Interesting Day.
Nukes and motorcycles don't seem to mix,but Widow turns a small Town into a Big Name,,Trying to help a Lady find her Husband leads to dead former soldiers who tried to take over the Nuclear Warheads and winds up with the Wife ,her Husband explaining Widow and his tornado .
Nukes and motorcycles don't seem to mix,but Widow turns a small Town into a Big Name,,Trying to help a Lady find her Husband leads to dead former soldiers who tried to take over the Nuclear Warheads and winds up with the Wife ,her Husband explaining Widow and his tornado .
July 13, 2021
Another great Widow adventure, but...
A secret middle silo, a beautiful but pregnant woman, and armed militia members make for a real thriller! But sadly, about 2/3 of the way through, the proofreader either went to lunch or was drunk... as confused sentences and typos cropped up like weeds in the Spring. Hard to stay with a story when these distractions are everywhere.
A secret middle silo, a beautiful but pregnant woman, and armed militia members make for a real thriller! But sadly, about 2/3 of the way through, the proofreader either went to lunch or was drunk... as confused sentences and typos cropped up like weeds in the Spring. Hard to stay with a story when these distractions are everywhere.
September 28, 2021
The formula continues! Fast pace, beautiful woman, violence and onward! The books get better as the series continues but proof reading not so much!
Really not sure that any man could survive the beatings and close shootings the Widow does. Does it always have top be six to seven onto one? !!!!
Really not sure that any man could survive the beatings and close shootings the Widow does. Does it always have top be six to seven onto one? !!!!
May 16, 2022
I have heard of people wanting to visit all the national or state parks. Widow is trying to visit all the Devil/Hell places. Hells Kitchen, Hells Canyon, Devils Lake, and Hell. He was headed to Hellbent.
As per usual Widow gets caught up in the towns activity. I hated that the two police were killed to have Only the idiot to carry on Oh dear.
As per usual Widow gets caught up in the towns activity. I hated that the two police were killed to have Only the idiot to carry on Oh dear.
January 23, 2024
10 Down
I’ve been totally binging this series; totally loving each story. It dawned on me in this book, that they’re all fairly short, as I don’t recall reading whole books in one day. That’s OK though as they’re so fast paced, intense, and riveting that it’d be hard to carry that much further. Another great book, can’t recommend this series enough. Now, onto Book 11.
I’ve been totally binging this series; totally loving each story. It dawned on me in this book, that they’re all fairly short, as I don’t recall reading whole books in one day. That’s OK though as they’re so fast paced, intense, and riveting that it’d be hard to carry that much further. Another great book, can’t recommend this series enough. Now, onto Book 11.
March 17, 2024
Amazing and Fast Paced!
Curiouser and curiouser...a supposed normal town with normal life, cursed namesakes, government secrets, or are they secret? Good and bad military types, a barber with an answer to a hundred years plus secret. MC gangs, a pregnant woman with a missing husband, and an ex navy seal nomad. Welcome to: Hellbent.
Curiouser and curiouser...a supposed normal town with normal life, cursed namesakes, government secrets, or are they secret? Good and bad military types, a barber with an answer to a hundred years plus secret. MC gangs, a pregnant woman with a missing husband, and an ex navy seal nomad. Welcome to: Hellbent.
August 8, 2018
Nice read but ending a bit predictable
Action filled like all Jack Widow novels and a brilliant beginning but the ending was quite a disappointing one. Look forward to the rest of the 5* series though
Action filled like all Jack Widow novels and a brilliant beginning but the ending was quite a disappointing one. Look forward to the rest of the 5* series though
August 10, 2018
Another great Jack Widow!
Scott Blade has developed the character Jack Widow as possibly the son of Jack Reacher. These books are great! All of them entertaining and enjoyable. Can't wait for the next one!
Scott Blade has developed the character Jack Widow as possibly the son of Jack Reacher. These books are great! All of them entertaining and enjoyable. Can't wait for the next one!
December 13, 2018
4.25*; Fast and racy thriller...would have given it 4.5* had the book not ended so quickly...for me it seemed to end abruptly or maybe i felt the Villain did not suffer as much as his victims suffered. Nonetheless, this book by Scott Blade is an awesome read..
August 4, 2019
Full of action. So fast paced that you cannot put it down.
The storyline makes you wonder what is happening in the world, that governments never tell people. Does our government hide things from us. Let's hope not.
The storyline makes you wonder what is happening in the world, that governments never tell people. Does our government hide things from us. Let's hope not.
May 22, 2020
Another great read. The story line from each of the Jack Widow books are unique in their own right. It is very hard to put the book down once you start to read it. A well deserved 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
September 9, 2021
finished several days ago the 9th september now 2021 good read four stars really liked it kindle owned and i've finished the 3rd of this box set this one is part of, 3 stories, forget the price, worth it. triple sevens.
January 14, 2022
over the top action thriller
Jack Widow to the rescue again - with “bikers”, a locale (small town small minds) off the beaten track - to help a woman find her missing husband in the tiny hamlet of Hellbent, New Hampshire.
Jack Widow to the rescue again - with “bikers”, a locale (small town small minds) off the beaten track - to help a woman find her missing husband in the tiny hamlet of Hellbent, New Hampshire.
September 19, 2023
The main character is almost extinct. He is an interesting man who just happens or it directed to doing the right thing to save worthy individuals and/or families. He certainly gets into some interesting situations.
November 5, 2023
I enjoy the Jack Widow very much and will continue to read each new adventure. The ending on this book was a little hard to believe. I cannot see him simply being able walk away without any government interaction.
June 15, 2024
Lots of action
If you like Jack Reacher, you will really enjoy this series as well. Widow is the same kind of action hero, put in the same impossible situations and fights his way out the same way.
If you like Jack Reacher, you will really enjoy this series as well. Widow is the same kind of action hero, put in the same impossible situations and fights his way out the same way.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews