Hope Is Dead

by Bob Asher

Murder has come to Mayberry! Bodies are dropping all over this peaceful rural community!

Former Marine Aviator and war hero Zack Goodson is a fish out of water. He regrets promising his wife he would give up his life of thrills and action to move to her sleepy backwater hometown in rural Missouri. Though overqualified, he has accepted a position as a deputy with the St. Francois County Sheriff’s Department despite his misgivings. After ten years in the Corps, the adjustment from warrior to small-town cop is harder than he could have ever imagined.

Unfortunately for him, his predicament is about to become worse. The peace in his little part of the world is about to be broken. On his first day on the job, he and his training officer, Mark Langford, find a young woman face down in a secluded creek. An unknown predator is on the prowl. The disfigured body is identified by local billionaire Nick Pagano as his daughter. The pressure mounts as Pagano demands action and threatens to have the whole department fired. The next day, Mark and Zack find the sheriff’s only detective murdered in a burned-out trailer. Out of options, the sheriff assigns them to the case. They must stop this vicious killer before more of their neighbors die.

372 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 8, 2022

Reviews

[John Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, 2nd one I’ve read by this author. Very well written, characters and story line well developed. Some plot twists kept it interesting. Looking forward to reading more of his works as long as success doesn’t make him reuse his prices, lol.

[Thomas M. Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good

Enjoyed front to back, but ended as I thought it would. Looking forward to more from this author very soon hopefully.

[Garrett Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great story extremely well told.

Zack and his partner have their hands full trying to find the killer to the man and the women without getting shot themselves.

[Patrick Weill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second of Asher’s books that I have read recently, and now that I’ll be moving on to works by other authors, I feel a certain sadness. Hope is Dead is a police procedural with an eminently likeable hero: Zack Goodson, a former Marine Aviator and war hero, now a rookie cop in a small town. He is well-liked and well-respected by his peers, his partner, his supervisors, his wife, and his parents-in-law.
Asher gives us a solid mystery to solve, with a plausible villain and a great twist at the end. His experience as a law enforcement officer has enabled him to craft a realistic story; I felt like I was really riding in the cruiser and actually sitting in the squad room at the police station. Certain terminology is explained so as not to leave us civilians in the dark, which I appreciated, along with Asher’s sophisticated sense of humor. This is a serious novel, quite dark at times, yet with a number of laugh-out-loud moments to lighten up the experience. Highly recommended!

[Ross Sidor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was outside of the thriller genre I typically read, but I'd enjoyed the author's military action novel, so I decided to give this one ago. The protagonist here, like in Bear Trap, is a likeable military veteran and he brings that experience with him to his new job as a local sheriff's deputy. The book is written with the same breezy prose, humor, action, violence, snappy dialogue, and quirky, offbeat characters as Bear Trap, and the author's firsthand experience in law enforcement comes through in the descriptions of police work and procedural details while the plot contains enough mystery and twists to keep you immersed in the story and turning the pages. The author also knows how to craft visceral, tactically realistic action scenes. Regardless of the genre, Bob Asher is an entertaining storyteller and hopefully he will keep both his Zach Goodson and Jon Smith series going.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this book was interesting at best and then some parts I just wasn't into and kind of boring in parts but I got through it. Zach is definitely a great character the author put in this book and a veteran going into law enforcement. The book does get dark in areas as it explains police procedures and jargon. I do like that the author breaks it down so you can understand it without knowing police codes and sayings. There were a lot of funny parts where I laughed my ass off even in some of the dark moments I couldn't help myself. I actually would recommend this book to anyone. You still get a thriller vibe but also a more realistic side to understanding police and military in the life of. The emotional well being of them and their family and friends in the book too and shows a real life day to day of the idea of officers.

[Walter Critz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Realistic and gripping

This story is well-told, filled with gripping action scenes and true to life depictions of law enforcement officers and their interactions with their peers, family, friends, neighbors,and of course criminals. The plot kept me spell bound until I had raced through to the end of the book !

[Bill Higgins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Read

I came across Zack Goodson from another book. This plot was well written and had numerous surprises. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and now have a better understanding of where Zack was at and what formed his character.

[Lawrence Rhodes · Rating 5 out of 5]

good new author

I really enjoyed this book. The writing was clear and concise and the author obviously knew a lot about rural policing.

[DE Jorgensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of action

This story is both exciting and interesting. All the characters are realistically drawn, and the setting is as well. Several wildly funny moments lend more realism.

[Tom Bray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book.

Totally great read. Kept me guessing for sure. Hopefully many more books from this author. This story will keep you enjoying the books to keep coming? I hope.