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Detective Nathan Parker #1
Dead Drop
Hundreds go missing each year making the dangerous crossing over the border. What if you were one of them? While investigating the deaths of undocumented migrants in the Arizona desert, Detective Nathan Parker finds a connection to the unsolved murder of his partner by a coyote on a human smuggling run. The new evidence lures Parker over the border in search of the truth, only to trap him in a strange and dangerous land. If he's to survive, Parker must place his life in the hands of the very people he once pursued. Border violence, border politics, and who is caught in the middle. The forces behind it might surprise you.
306 pages, Paperback
Published July 19, 2022
12 people are currently reading
101 people want to read
About the author
James L'Etoile
20 books351 followersJames L’Etoile uses his twenty-nine years behind bars as an influence in his novels, short stories, and screenplays. He is a former associate warden in a maximum-security prison, a hostage negotiator, facility captain, and director of California’s state parole system. He is a nationally recognized expert witness on prison and jail operations. He is a two-time Silver Falchion Award nominee and shortlisted for the Bill Crider Award for short fiction. His published novels include: Dead Drop( Lefty Award nominee), Black Label (Silver Falchion winner), At What Cost, Bury the Past, and Little River -The Other Side of Paradise. You can find out more at www.jamesletoile.com
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
July 20, 2022
Check out all my reviews at: https://www.avonnalovesgenres.com
DEAD DROP (A Detective Nathan Parker Thriller Book #1) by James L’Etoile is a mash-up of fast-paced thriller, Federal and local police procedural, and southern border crime mystery. This is the first book in this new series and the first book I have read by this author.
Detective Nathan Parker is called by an eccentric local named Billie about four 55-gallon drums off the side of the highway she discovered while searching for scrap. She has opened one of the drums and found a body stuffed inside. This dead drop is not the first found and all contained illegal immigrant males. The coroner discovers they have all died from fentanyl poisoning.
When Parker gets to close to several cartel operations, he is carried across the border to meet the head of the cartel and faces a horrible death, but Billie has followed him. Billie is not what Parker first perceived and he soon learns to survive, he is going to have to put his life in the hands of the people he once pursued and looked down upon.
I thought I was getting a straightforward southern border drug cartel crime story, but this story with its many twists and surprises is so much more. Nathan Parker is a man who has been in law enforcement for some time and has preconceived notions. He is also carrying a lot of guilt over the death of his partner. As Parker progresses through the story, he has his eyes opened and is discovering an empathy he did not have previously. Billie is a big part in helping Parker see the other side of his prejudice against illegal immigrants and in helping him fight and survive the antagonists. I liked Nathan and his character’s growth, but I really loved Billie. This is the first book I have read written by this author, and I will be looking for others in his catalogue. Great characters, fast-paced, surprising and a realistic ending had me reading this book way past my bedtime.
I highly recommend this first thriller in this new series, and I cannot wait for more!
DEAD DROP (A Detective Nathan Parker Thriller Book #1) by James L’Etoile is a mash-up of fast-paced thriller, Federal and local police procedural, and southern border crime mystery. This is the first book in this new series and the first book I have read by this author.
Detective Nathan Parker is called by an eccentric local named Billie about four 55-gallon drums off the side of the highway she discovered while searching for scrap. She has opened one of the drums and found a body stuffed inside. This dead drop is not the first found and all contained illegal immigrant males. The coroner discovers they have all died from fentanyl poisoning.
When Parker gets to close to several cartel operations, he is carried across the border to meet the head of the cartel and faces a horrible death, but Billie has followed him. Billie is not what Parker first perceived and he soon learns to survive, he is going to have to put his life in the hands of the people he once pursued and looked down upon.
I thought I was getting a straightforward southern border drug cartel crime story, but this story with its many twists and surprises is so much more. Nathan Parker is a man who has been in law enforcement for some time and has preconceived notions. He is also carrying a lot of guilt over the death of his partner. As Parker progresses through the story, he has his eyes opened and is discovering an empathy he did not have previously. Billie is a big part in helping Parker see the other side of his prejudice against illegal immigrants and in helping him fight and survive the antagonists. I liked Nathan and his character’s growth, but I really loved Billie. This is the first book I have read written by this author, and I will be looking for others in his catalogue. Great characters, fast-paced, surprising and a realistic ending had me reading this book way past my bedtime.
I highly recommend this first thriller in this new series, and I cannot wait for more!
July 22, 2022
Dead Drop is the first volume of a new series by author James L'Etoile featuring Nathan Parker, a detective with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office in Arizona. Three years ago, Nathan's partner, Josh McMillan, was slain on a road they were assigned to patrol in order to interrupt the flow of undocumented immigrants using it to avoid passing through Immigration and Customs Enforcement checkpoints. Nathan has never forgiven himself for not responding to McMillan's radio call faster, and the murderer has not been apprehended. Nathan is a loner, his most recent relationship with FBI Agent Lynnette Finch having fizzled because, according to Lynne, they did not spend enough time together and he failed to make her a priority. But Nathan is self-aware enough to recognize that his failure to be comfortable in his own skin makes it impossible for him to commit to someone else. Besides, he is fully committed to his job.
As the story opens, Billie Carson is scavenging in the desert outside Phoenix. She lives in a dilapidated travel trailer and fancies herself a "treasure-hunter," searching for abandoned items she can sell to recycling yards in order to keep herself fed and enjoy a cold beer at the local roadhouse. At the outset, L'Etoile establishes that Billie has a complicated past that drives her. "The recycling yards paid you good money, but money could never really make up for the broken lives she'd left behind. How could you repay the ghosts of men you'd led to their death?" Following a path to a secluded spot that's perfect for an illegal dump, Billie happens upon four fifty-gallon drums. Convinced she has stumbled onto something good, Billie pries the lid off one of the barrels and discovers the decomposing body of a man inside. Fearing the remaining barrels contain four more bodies, she calls Nathan. They are acquainted because Nathan helped Billie eighteen months ago when she was facing a trespassing charge. And since then she has called Nathan regularly with reports of minor disturbances in the desert. For Nathan's part, he finds Billie, an unapologetic survivor with a past she never divulges, intriguing. For a woman who doesn't rattle easily, Nathan hears the fear in her voice and responds immediately to the scene. The day proves to be the beginning of an unforgettable journey for both Nathan and Billie, at the conclusion of which neither of them will be the same.
The drums do, in fact, contain the bodies of four young Hispanic men, the third such body drop in a month, bringing the total number of decedents to fifteen. One of Nathan's first investigative steps is a review of the Pima County Missing Migrant Project database containing information provided by the loved ones of approximately 2,500 migrants who disappeared after crossing the Mexican border. But he's unable to identify any of the victims. L'Etoile's research for the book revealed that more than 7,800 people have died since 1998 as they attempted the trek, while another 3,500 simply vanished. He says those statistics "really influenced" his story.
One of the victims had a slip of paper in his pocket bearing a telephone number in Hermosillo, Mexico; "TC;" and the phrase "Somos el menor de los males" which means "We are the lesser of two evils." The phone number is traced to Tomas Cardinale, who could be a coyote -- a person who, for a fee, helps migrants cross the border. Cardinale is known to authorities as an enforcer for the powerful Sinaloa cartel. And he's in Phoenix. Nathan is invited by his former patrol partner, Espi, who now works for the DEA, to accompany him as he surveilles Cardinale and gathers information. Nothing more. He cautions Nathan that they will not be conducting an operation.
Nathan is a good officer, but he is arrogant and, at times, rash. A lapse in judgment results in his suspension from the force pending an internal investigation into his actions. But he will not be dissuaded, and continues his efforts not just to find the killer of the four men, but to unveil the workings of the cartel, and bring down Cardinale and his criminal associates.
L'Etoile skillfully crafts a tense and gripping depiction of the despicable ways in which migrants seeking a better life in the United States are victimized. The cartels control vast geographical areas, engendering terror in the citizens, many of whom are forced to carry out their agenda or face dire consequences for refusing to cooperate. Cartels establish legitimate business operations as fronts for their drug distribution chains and human trafficking. Coyotes are motivated only by money, demanding exorbitant sums to ensure a safe crossing. Frequently, serving as a mule, transporting concealed drugs or other illicit cargo, is part of the bargain. Worse, family members are often abducted and held hostage until the crossing is completed and payment in full tendered. A failure to pay can result in a message being sent to the family of the migrant who attempted to escape Mexico, along with any others considering using the coyote's services, in the form of body stuffed into a fifty-gallon drum and dropped in the desert. Is that what happened to those four young men?
The plot of Dead Drop is intricately detailed and absorbing, and L'Etoile deftly keeps readers guessing as a vast array of corrupt and morally bankrupt characters vie for power and dominance, fueled by greed and a need to outsmart their enemies in order to stay alive. Who is really pulling the strings? And what is their ultimate goal? Who are they willing to betray? The answers are revealed incrementally in L'Etoile's fast-paced third-person narrative that is replete with shocking developments. Nathan finds himself in increasingly perilous situations -- and accused of an assortment of crimes, including murder -- as the action shifts from Arizona to Mexico, and back again.
At it's core, Dead Drop is a sophisticated mystery that is deeply affecting because of three key characters. Readers meet Billie first and will be as intrigued by her as Nathan. She is rough-around-the-edges, plainspoken, and a bit cranky, claiming she wants only to be left alone to spend her days scavenging and her nights relaxing outside her rundown trailer. But as the story proceeds, L'Etoile reveals that Billie is savvy, fearless, and harboring secrets. There are things in her past for which she desires redemption and her off-the-grid life may be a form of self-inflicted penance. She is also fiercely devoted to helping the people who, often in desperation, shoulder the risks of an attempted border crossing. She is loyal to Nathan because she recognizes that he is, in some ways, a great deal like her even though a first glance at their lives would suggest that they could not be more different. He just doesn't realize it yet, but she is determined to help him get to know himself better and she never gives up or quits, even though L'Etoile places her in some harrowing situations.
Nathan and Billie encounter Miguel, a teenaged boy from San Salvador who is journeying across the border alone. His older brother was killed by a gang six months ago and he ran because he knew they would kill him, as well, for his refusal to join them. He says only that he doesn't have parents anymore, but does not reveal what fate they met. He has no one waiting for him in the United States and no specified destination. He dreams only of getting away from danger and perhaps finding a place where he can go to school. As he waits for transportation, he plays a video game on his portable console. Because he is in so many ways an ordinary teenage boy who, through no fault of his own, is forced to navigate unspeakably terrifying circumstances, L'Etoile leads readers, along with Nathan, to an appreciation of the human toll of America's ongoing border crisis.
But Nathan's journey is the core of the story. He is bereft and lost at the beginning of the book -- angry, bitter, and full of regret and self-loathing about McMillan's death. He seems unconsciously bent on getting justice for McMillan in order to assuage his survivor's guilt. His career is the only thing that brings meaning and purpose to his life. In the three years since McMillan was murdered by a known human trafficker, Nathan has increasingly associated migrants and those who facilitate their entry into the country with crime and violence, believing that people should only come into the United States legally. "Being here means they broke the law," he tells Billie. "There is a legal way of getting in." As part of his duties, he has worked cooperatively with federal Border Patrol personnel and participated in immigration round-ups. But the predicaments in which he finds himself, fighting for his life more than once, change him, beginning with that fateful day when Billie discovers those barrels in the desert. Nathan can't help but contemplate what motivated those four young men. "If they crossed the border illegally, what made them desperate enough to risk everything only to end up dumped in a dirty desert wash?" he asks himself. L'Etoile ingeniously places Nathan in eerily parallel circumstances, a fact that escapes him until Billie shocks him into acknowledging his new reality, telling him, "This is who you are now. You can't go home, you got no money, and people who matter don't want you around no more." Nathan is a fully developed, credible character for whom readers will find themselves cheering, hoping that he will learn to grant himself forgiveness and find solace, channeling his anger into empathy as a result of all that he endures in his quest for justice.
Dead Drop is a compelling and entertaining thriller. L'Etoile has also penned a compassionate, thought-provoking, and inarguably timely exploration of the humanitarian considerations that cannot be overlooked in the ongoing debate concerning how America's border can be managed, and what immigration policies should be enacted and enforced. As L'Etoile wisely observes, "Wherever you position yourself on the issue, the one common denominator is the people caught in the center of this struggle."
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.
As the story opens, Billie Carson is scavenging in the desert outside Phoenix. She lives in a dilapidated travel trailer and fancies herself a "treasure-hunter," searching for abandoned items she can sell to recycling yards in order to keep herself fed and enjoy a cold beer at the local roadhouse. At the outset, L'Etoile establishes that Billie has a complicated past that drives her. "The recycling yards paid you good money, but money could never really make up for the broken lives she'd left behind. How could you repay the ghosts of men you'd led to their death?" Following a path to a secluded spot that's perfect for an illegal dump, Billie happens upon four fifty-gallon drums. Convinced she has stumbled onto something good, Billie pries the lid off one of the barrels and discovers the decomposing body of a man inside. Fearing the remaining barrels contain four more bodies, she calls Nathan. They are acquainted because Nathan helped Billie eighteen months ago when she was facing a trespassing charge. And since then she has called Nathan regularly with reports of minor disturbances in the desert. For Nathan's part, he finds Billie, an unapologetic survivor with a past she never divulges, intriguing. For a woman who doesn't rattle easily, Nathan hears the fear in her voice and responds immediately to the scene. The day proves to be the beginning of an unforgettable journey for both Nathan and Billie, at the conclusion of which neither of them will be the same.
The drums do, in fact, contain the bodies of four young Hispanic men, the third such body drop in a month, bringing the total number of decedents to fifteen. One of Nathan's first investigative steps is a review of the Pima County Missing Migrant Project database containing information provided by the loved ones of approximately 2,500 migrants who disappeared after crossing the Mexican border. But he's unable to identify any of the victims. L'Etoile's research for the book revealed that more than 7,800 people have died since 1998 as they attempted the trek, while another 3,500 simply vanished. He says those statistics "really influenced" his story.
One of the victims had a slip of paper in his pocket bearing a telephone number in Hermosillo, Mexico; "TC;" and the phrase "Somos el menor de los males" which means "We are the lesser of two evils." The phone number is traced to Tomas Cardinale, who could be a coyote -- a person who, for a fee, helps migrants cross the border. Cardinale is known to authorities as an enforcer for the powerful Sinaloa cartel. And he's in Phoenix. Nathan is invited by his former patrol partner, Espi, who now works for the DEA, to accompany him as he surveilles Cardinale and gathers information. Nothing more. He cautions Nathan that they will not be conducting an operation.
Nathan is a good officer, but he is arrogant and, at times, rash. A lapse in judgment results in his suspension from the force pending an internal investigation into his actions. But he will not be dissuaded, and continues his efforts not just to find the killer of the four men, but to unveil the workings of the cartel, and bring down Cardinale and his criminal associates.
L'Etoile skillfully crafts a tense and gripping depiction of the despicable ways in which migrants seeking a better life in the United States are victimized. The cartels control vast geographical areas, engendering terror in the citizens, many of whom are forced to carry out their agenda or face dire consequences for refusing to cooperate. Cartels establish legitimate business operations as fronts for their drug distribution chains and human trafficking. Coyotes are motivated only by money, demanding exorbitant sums to ensure a safe crossing. Frequently, serving as a mule, transporting concealed drugs or other illicit cargo, is part of the bargain. Worse, family members are often abducted and held hostage until the crossing is completed and payment in full tendered. A failure to pay can result in a message being sent to the family of the migrant who attempted to escape Mexico, along with any others considering using the coyote's services, in the form of body stuffed into a fifty-gallon drum and dropped in the desert. Is that what happened to those four young men?
The plot of Dead Drop is intricately detailed and absorbing, and L'Etoile deftly keeps readers guessing as a vast array of corrupt and morally bankrupt characters vie for power and dominance, fueled by greed and a need to outsmart their enemies in order to stay alive. Who is really pulling the strings? And what is their ultimate goal? Who are they willing to betray? The answers are revealed incrementally in L'Etoile's fast-paced third-person narrative that is replete with shocking developments. Nathan finds himself in increasingly perilous situations -- and accused of an assortment of crimes, including murder -- as the action shifts from Arizona to Mexico, and back again.
At it's core, Dead Drop is a sophisticated mystery that is deeply affecting because of three key characters. Readers meet Billie first and will be as intrigued by her as Nathan. She is rough-around-the-edges, plainspoken, and a bit cranky, claiming she wants only to be left alone to spend her days scavenging and her nights relaxing outside her rundown trailer. But as the story proceeds, L'Etoile reveals that Billie is savvy, fearless, and harboring secrets. There are things in her past for which she desires redemption and her off-the-grid life may be a form of self-inflicted penance. She is also fiercely devoted to helping the people who, often in desperation, shoulder the risks of an attempted border crossing. She is loyal to Nathan because she recognizes that he is, in some ways, a great deal like her even though a first glance at their lives would suggest that they could not be more different. He just doesn't realize it yet, but she is determined to help him get to know himself better and she never gives up or quits, even though L'Etoile places her in some harrowing situations.
Nathan and Billie encounter Miguel, a teenaged boy from San Salvador who is journeying across the border alone. His older brother was killed by a gang six months ago and he ran because he knew they would kill him, as well, for his refusal to join them. He says only that he doesn't have parents anymore, but does not reveal what fate they met. He has no one waiting for him in the United States and no specified destination. He dreams only of getting away from danger and perhaps finding a place where he can go to school. As he waits for transportation, he plays a video game on his portable console. Because he is in so many ways an ordinary teenage boy who, through no fault of his own, is forced to navigate unspeakably terrifying circumstances, L'Etoile leads readers, along with Nathan, to an appreciation of the human toll of America's ongoing border crisis.
But Nathan's journey is the core of the story. He is bereft and lost at the beginning of the book -- angry, bitter, and full of regret and self-loathing about McMillan's death. He seems unconsciously bent on getting justice for McMillan in order to assuage his survivor's guilt. His career is the only thing that brings meaning and purpose to his life. In the three years since McMillan was murdered by a known human trafficker, Nathan has increasingly associated migrants and those who facilitate their entry into the country with crime and violence, believing that people should only come into the United States legally. "Being here means they broke the law," he tells Billie. "There is a legal way of getting in." As part of his duties, he has worked cooperatively with federal Border Patrol personnel and participated in immigration round-ups. But the predicaments in which he finds himself, fighting for his life more than once, change him, beginning with that fateful day when Billie discovers those barrels in the desert. Nathan can't help but contemplate what motivated those four young men. "If they crossed the border illegally, what made them desperate enough to risk everything only to end up dumped in a dirty desert wash?" he asks himself. L'Etoile ingeniously places Nathan in eerily parallel circumstances, a fact that escapes him until Billie shocks him into acknowledging his new reality, telling him, "This is who you are now. You can't go home, you got no money, and people who matter don't want you around no more." Nathan is a fully developed, credible character for whom readers will find themselves cheering, hoping that he will learn to grant himself forgiveness and find solace, channeling his anger into empathy as a result of all that he endures in his quest for justice.
Dead Drop is a compelling and entertaining thriller. L'Etoile has also penned a compassionate, thought-provoking, and inarguably timely exploration of the humanitarian considerations that cannot be overlooked in the ongoing debate concerning how America's border can be managed, and what immigration policies should be enacted and enforced. As L'Etoile wisely observes, "Wherever you position yourself on the issue, the one common denominator is the people caught in the center of this struggle."
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.
April 22, 2023
This is the second book I have read of his and neither disappointed me!
This was a very detailed and realistic book to me. The author used his experience from working in the prison systems as a basis for this book. The book begins as the protagonist, Nathan, has lost his partner to murder.
Thrills and mystery abound when bodies are discovered in 55 gallon drums. This book brings us real life issues we now face in our country such as racial tensions, the violence at the Souter. borders, politics, greed and class, and illegal immigration issues that we see and live today.
The author did a great job with detailed reprehensible ways in which illegal immigrants are treated and victimized as they are trying to cross the border to a better life in the USA. Many of us look at it a citizens here and only one sided views. This book makes you really think and help you to try to understand the immigrant’s side.
Not only did the author bring in social issues the immigrants face, but he also describes and defines the drug lords and their drug trafficking businesses and how many not only deal drugs but are involved in human trafficking.
I thought the author did a phenomenal job in his details that readers interests are held right and had me on the edge of my seat. It is a well thought out plot that intrigues a reader to hopefully see the desperation and fear that must be felt by the migrants trying to find a better life.
Thank you to PartnersIn CrimeTours
for my reader copy. These are my honest opinions only.
This was a very detailed and realistic book to me. The author used his experience from working in the prison systems as a basis for this book. The book begins as the protagonist, Nathan, has lost his partner to murder.
Thrills and mystery abound when bodies are discovered in 55 gallon drums. This book brings us real life issues we now face in our country such as racial tensions, the violence at the Souter. borders, politics, greed and class, and illegal immigration issues that we see and live today.
The author did a great job with detailed reprehensible ways in which illegal immigrants are treated and victimized as they are trying to cross the border to a better life in the USA. Many of us look at it a citizens here and only one sided views. This book makes you really think and help you to try to understand the immigrant’s side.
Not only did the author bring in social issues the immigrants face, but he also describes and defines the drug lords and their drug trafficking businesses and how many not only deal drugs but are involved in human trafficking.
I thought the author did a phenomenal job in his details that readers interests are held right and had me on the edge of my seat. It is a well thought out plot that intrigues a reader to hopefully see the desperation and fear that must be felt by the migrants trying to find a better life.
Thank you to PartnersIn CrimeTours
for my reader copy. These are my honest opinions only.
September 8, 2022
Dead Drop by James L’Etoile isn’t your average crime fiction. This story digs deep into the bowels of cartels and human trafficking and the choices that people are forced to make to survive. Detective Nathan Parker stumbles onto a cluster of dead bodies that may connect to a case involving the murder of his partner. With the help of a local vagrant named Billie, who proves to be much more than she appears, Parker puts his investigative prowess to use. As he scratches the surface of this complex case, secrets rise to the top like oil in water. Soon, he isn’t sure who he can trust.
Parker is exposed to a population of people, he never understood as he navigates through a dangerous web that may just cost him his life. Along the way, he learns who is as a person and what lengths people will go, to save the ones they love.
Author L’Etoile does an outstanding job bringing realism into this layered story, ripe with twists and turns that have you glued to every page. The dialogue is believable as are the characters, and his attention to detail is commendable. I can’t wait to read the next story in this series. Well done.
Parker is exposed to a population of people, he never understood as he navigates through a dangerous web that may just cost him his life. Along the way, he learns who is as a person and what lengths people will go, to save the ones they love.
Author L’Etoile does an outstanding job bringing realism into this layered story, ripe with twists and turns that have you glued to every page. The dialogue is believable as are the characters, and his attention to detail is commendable. I can’t wait to read the next story in this series. Well done.
July 22, 2022
“Dead Drop, A Nathan Parker Novel” is everything I look for when buying a new mystery: well-crafted characters, well-developed plot, great pacing, and a satisfying ending with the promise of a new series to enjoy. In this, his latest novel, James L’Etoile deftly and compassionately addresses the horrors that can befall decent human beings who want nothing more than to have a better life. With a decades-long background in law enforcement, James L’Etoile writes authentic police procedurals that are compelling, timely and, in my opinion, must-reads for fans of crime fiction.
October 16, 2022
Even before opening a page, James L’Etoile’s Dead Drop promises the reader a mystery steeped in desolation. The rusted-out 55-gallon drum on the cover adds to the hostile environment without alerting the reader that it will become more than expected. It will become a setting as well as a character in the sociological thriller L’Etoile delivers. There is nothing subtle about the roll drums play. However, there are dozens of subtle hints about the antagonist and the roles played. These subtle hints caused this reader much concern. With constant twists, I couldn’t put a finger on where L’Etoile was taking me. His skill kept me troubled, forcing my continuous search for answers.
There are hints about where the cartel is destined. When I asked myself, where is this going, I was lost. The droplets became more interesting and intense, and my curiosity grew.
The paths to increased danger came as if from a rapid-firing canon. One proved that the hero doesn’t always save the day.
The antagonism directed toward Detective Parker is more than expected, forcing more questions. Why? The author keeps you asking questions even after what you think is the climax.
L’Etoile’s even-handedness in negotiating modern-day social issues is phenomenal.
I highly recommend his work.
Dead Drop is the first in the Nathan Parker detective series. I can’t wait to read the next book.
It is difficult for me to give contemporary work a rating of over four stars. Dead Drop is an exception.
There are hints about where the cartel is destined. When I asked myself, where is this going, I was lost. The droplets became more interesting and intense, and my curiosity grew.
The paths to increased danger came as if from a rapid-firing canon. One proved that the hero doesn’t always save the day.
The antagonism directed toward Detective Parker is more than expected, forcing more questions. Why? The author keeps you asking questions even after what you think is the climax.
L’Etoile’s even-handedness in negotiating modern-day social issues is phenomenal.
I highly recommend his work.
Dead Drop is the first in the Nathan Parker detective series. I can’t wait to read the next book.
It is difficult for me to give contemporary work a rating of over four stars. Dead Drop is an exception.
July 16, 2022
Dead Drop is the first in Author James L’Etoile’s Detective Nathan Parker potential series. I’ve read and enjoyed his earlier Detective Penley series. Readers who enjoy noir, thrillers, police procedurals, and suspense will like these books. James L’Etoile uses his background in the prison system to add verisimilitude to the novel.
The protagonist, Detective Nathan Parker, is based in Arizona. He has recently lost a fellow cop—his partner—murdered by an unknown assailant in a drug cartel. Parker has also ended his relationship with a female FBI agent.
Suspense is high from the get-go as the novel starts out with the discovery of dead bodies packing into 55-gallon drums and covered with some unknown chemical. From there, the book hits on violence on the southern border of the US, racial issues, illegal immigrants, and politics. The good guys and the bad guys aren’t clearly delineated, making this an intellectual teaser as well. My favorite part is that Parker has a tremendous character arc, and it will be interesting to learn where this growth will take him.
The protagonist, Detective Nathan Parker, is based in Arizona. He has recently lost a fellow cop—his partner—murdered by an unknown assailant in a drug cartel. Parker has also ended his relationship with a female FBI agent.
Suspense is high from the get-go as the novel starts out with the discovery of dead bodies packing into 55-gallon drums and covered with some unknown chemical. From there, the book hits on violence on the southern border of the US, racial issues, illegal immigrants, and politics. The good guys and the bad guys aren’t clearly delineated, making this an intellectual teaser as well. My favorite part is that Parker has a tremendous character arc, and it will be interesting to learn where this growth will take him.
July 15, 2022
MY THOUGHTS:
Whew, I feel like I just ran a marathon finishing this book (not that I would know what running a marathon would feel like). So much going on, so much action! Not a dull moment in the book. There was a moment in the middle where my heart was in my throat and there were tears in my eyes - it was that intense.
Great characters and character development. I loved Parker. He was a straight forward, no nonsense, get in trouble for always doing the wrong/right thing, kind of guy. And Billie, his nomad side-kick... she was a hoot. I loved her. My only regret is that the book is over and I had to say goodbye to her. I am hoping she will show up in another Nathan Parker book.
This is definitely a gripping, edge of your seat thriller. No fluff, just non stop action that will take you to the perfect ending. Yay! Thank you Jim - loved the ending!
I voluntarily posted this review after receiving a copy of this book from Partners in Crime Tours - Thank You!
Whew, I feel like I just ran a marathon finishing this book (not that I would know what running a marathon would feel like). So much going on, so much action! Not a dull moment in the book. There was a moment in the middle where my heart was in my throat and there were tears in my eyes - it was that intense.
Great characters and character development. I loved Parker. He was a straight forward, no nonsense, get in trouble for always doing the wrong/right thing, kind of guy. And Billie, his nomad side-kick... she was a hoot. I loved her. My only regret is that the book is over and I had to say goodbye to her. I am hoping she will show up in another Nathan Parker book.
This is definitely a gripping, edge of your seat thriller. No fluff, just non stop action that will take you to the perfect ending. Yay! Thank you Jim - loved the ending!
I voluntarily posted this review after receiving a copy of this book from Partners in Crime Tours - Thank You!
August 27, 2022
In James L’Etoile’s timely new book, Dead Drop, the pages fly by with one heart-pounding scene after another. But it is the story beneath the thrills that strikes a deeper chord. With profound compassion and empathy, L’Etoile illuminates a world most of us only know from the headlines by giving a face to the undocumented migrants struggling to find a better life in the U.S. When Detective Nathan Parker is swept into the violence, dangerous border crossings, unspeakable suffering and innocent lives lost in the Arizona desert, his personal journey goes from ‘Us and Them’ to ‘We.’ Every immigrant has a story, and this is the heart of L’Etoile’s story.
July 22, 2022
“Dead Drop, A Nathan Parker Novel” is everything I look for when buying a new mystery: well-crafted characters, well-developed plot, great pacing, and a satisfying ending with the promise of a new series to enjoy. In this, his latest novel, James L’Etoile deftly and compassionately addresses the horrors that can befall decent human beings who want nothing more than to have a better life. With a decades-long background in law enforcement, James L’Etoile writes authentic police procedurals that are compelling, timely and, in my opinion, must-reads for fans of crime fiction.
August 3, 2022
Set amidst the beautiful but harsh saguaro-cactus deserts on the border of Arizona and Mexico, this is a gripping, gritty thriller that offers an incisive and nuanced commentary on USA southern border politics.
Detective Nathan Parker is investigating the grisly discovery of four unidentified dead men immersed in a mysterious chemical inside 55-gallon drums tossed into a dry creek bed. Local woman Billie finds the barrels. She's a fringe dweller who lives off the grid in a trailer and survives by scavenging for scrap metal in the desert. A unique and fascinating character, she might help Parker solve the cold case death of his partner who was murdered by a human trafficking operative. As Parker and Billie's lives become entangled it becomes clear that no one can be trusted.
Complex issues of people smuggling, drug mules, illegal immigration, police corruption, social and racial prejudice, and the infamous organised crime cartels drive this fast-paced, original storyline. Soon, Parker finds himself caught in the border no-man's-land, an unforgiving landscape controlled by different feuding cartels with brutal tactics. As a police officer, he chased undocumented immigrants into this danger zone, or he arrested them. For him, this is a reckoning.
With deft, clean prose, the author describes the ramshackle camps on the border where people pray for a passage north, the tunnels dug beneath the desert, the Mexican bordertowns, the lonely countryside surrounding Tucson and Phoenix, and the luxurious enclaves of the cartels. The novel unpacks a range of opinions on the controversial topic of illegal immigration, opinions which are similar to the conflicting viewpoints held by Australians about our so-called 'boat people'.
This story is an arresting, empathetic portrayal of people compelled to make the dangerous journey north hoping for a better life. Packed with twists and turns as the hunter becomes the hunted, this is a layered, tense crime novel and a harrowing call for a more compassionate understanding of what justice might look like.
Detective Nathan Parker is investigating the grisly discovery of four unidentified dead men immersed in a mysterious chemical inside 55-gallon drums tossed into a dry creek bed. Local woman Billie finds the barrels. She's a fringe dweller who lives off the grid in a trailer and survives by scavenging for scrap metal in the desert. A unique and fascinating character, she might help Parker solve the cold case death of his partner who was murdered by a human trafficking operative. As Parker and Billie's lives become entangled it becomes clear that no one can be trusted.
Complex issues of people smuggling, drug mules, illegal immigration, police corruption, social and racial prejudice, and the infamous organised crime cartels drive this fast-paced, original storyline. Soon, Parker finds himself caught in the border no-man's-land, an unforgiving landscape controlled by different feuding cartels with brutal tactics. As a police officer, he chased undocumented immigrants into this danger zone, or he arrested them. For him, this is a reckoning.
With deft, clean prose, the author describes the ramshackle camps on the border where people pray for a passage north, the tunnels dug beneath the desert, the Mexican bordertowns, the lonely countryside surrounding Tucson and Phoenix, and the luxurious enclaves of the cartels. The novel unpacks a range of opinions on the controversial topic of illegal immigration, opinions which are similar to the conflicting viewpoints held by Australians about our so-called 'boat people'.
This story is an arresting, empathetic portrayal of people compelled to make the dangerous journey north hoping for a better life. Packed with twists and turns as the hunter becomes the hunted, this is a layered, tense crime novel and a harrowing call for a more compassionate understanding of what justice might look like.
July 24, 2022
Quick nice summer read.
I have read a very similar premise by a Japanese author, so I want to see how an American tackles this subject. It's quite nice.
My gripe is that the officers act like teenagers even when at work sometimes.
And the twists and turns aren't that hard to unravel. I could guess most of it at around the tenth chapter out of the fifty chapters.
But then I suppose this is more of a thriller than a mystery.
I'm glad the kids are all right. The animals get it bad though. Hope everything will be okay.
Kids, algebra is great! Please learn it lol
I'm eager to see how this series will play out because the plot is very very similar to that Japanese story I have read.
I do hope the story will focus more on the mystery.
Thank you for sending me this e-ARC. Opinions are my own.
I have read a very similar premise by a Japanese author, so I want to see how an American tackles this subject. It's quite nice.
My gripe is that the officers act like teenagers even when at work sometimes.
And the twists and turns aren't that hard to unravel. I could guess most of it at around the tenth chapter out of the fifty chapters.
But then I suppose this is more of a thriller than a mystery.
I'm glad the kids are all right. The animals get it bad though. Hope everything will be okay.
Kids, algebra is great! Please learn it lol
I'm eager to see how this series will play out because the plot is very very similar to that Japanese story I have read.
I do hope the story will focus more on the mystery.
Thank you for sending me this e-ARC. Opinions are my own.
October 23, 2023
James L’Etoile’s award-winning crime thriller Dead Drop takes a 360-degree look at the intertwined issues of illegal immigration, drug and arms smuggling, and unfettered violence plaguing the southwest United States and the challenges they present law enforcement. After a career spent in the California penal system, L’Etoile has seen these problems play out first-hand. In this action-packed story, you do too.
When it comes to the illegal border crossers, Phoenix, Arizona, detective Nathan Parker tries vainly to hold on to the principle, “Yes, they’re desperate, but what they’re doing is against the law.” But when he’s faced with some of the realities the immigrants confront—and, ultimately, when he becomes an illegal border crosser himself—he starts not just to see, but to appreciate the other side of the story.
In this novel, the immigration issue has many troubling dimensions—fentanyl trafficking, rapacious coyotes, weapons galore, disregard for human life, and the spotty coordination of federal, state, and local efforts to combat any of these. The quest for personal and organizational glory makes inter-agency cooperation more difficult, as always.
While the U.S. Attorney is working to create an airtight case against the drug smugglers—a process that’s taking literally years—people are dying in real time. One of them was Parker’s long-time partner, a death for which Parker blames himself. A new lead appears when a cell phone number is found on a dead man. He’s one of four found in the desert, sealed up in 55 gallon oil drums. Parker’s encounter with the owner of that cell phone leads to his suspension from the force.
The barrels were discovered by Billie Carson, a woman living on the raggedy margins of society, scavenging whatever she can find abandoned in the desolate landscape. Billie has learned how to navigate a dysfunctional support system and, contrary to his expectations, Parker learns a lot from her. Suspended, he isn’t supposed to keep investigating any link to his partner’s shooting, but (of course) he does, and Billie and he may be at risk because of their connection with the bodies in the barrels.
Given all the players—criminals, law enforcement, bystanders, innocent or not—it’s a complicated plot with a lot of characters and a lot of agendas, much like real life, probably. L’Etoile writes convincingly about his law enforcement characters, and some have managed to maintain a sense of humor. Billie’s a solid female character, but several of the other women are less believable.
The way L’Etoile describes the unforgiving desert environment of northern Mexico and south Arizona, for many people and even for a time for Parker, it’s almost as much an enemy as the gun-toting coyotes smuggling people through the tunnels under the “impenetrable” U.S. border wall.
When it comes to the illegal border crossers, Phoenix, Arizona, detective Nathan Parker tries vainly to hold on to the principle, “Yes, they’re desperate, but what they’re doing is against the law.” But when he’s faced with some of the realities the immigrants confront—and, ultimately, when he becomes an illegal border crosser himself—he starts not just to see, but to appreciate the other side of the story.
In this novel, the immigration issue has many troubling dimensions—fentanyl trafficking, rapacious coyotes, weapons galore, disregard for human life, and the spotty coordination of federal, state, and local efforts to combat any of these. The quest for personal and organizational glory makes inter-agency cooperation more difficult, as always.
While the U.S. Attorney is working to create an airtight case against the drug smugglers—a process that’s taking literally years—people are dying in real time. One of them was Parker’s long-time partner, a death for which Parker blames himself. A new lead appears when a cell phone number is found on a dead man. He’s one of four found in the desert, sealed up in 55 gallon oil drums. Parker’s encounter with the owner of that cell phone leads to his suspension from the force.
The barrels were discovered by Billie Carson, a woman living on the raggedy margins of society, scavenging whatever she can find abandoned in the desolate landscape. Billie has learned how to navigate a dysfunctional support system and, contrary to his expectations, Parker learns a lot from her. Suspended, he isn’t supposed to keep investigating any link to his partner’s shooting, but (of course) he does, and Billie and he may be at risk because of their connection with the bodies in the barrels.
Given all the players—criminals, law enforcement, bystanders, innocent or not—it’s a complicated plot with a lot of characters and a lot of agendas, much like real life, probably. L’Etoile writes convincingly about his law enforcement characters, and some have managed to maintain a sense of humor. Billie’s a solid female character, but several of the other women are less believable.
The way L’Etoile describes the unforgiving desert environment of northern Mexico and south Arizona, for many people and even for a time for Parker, it’s almost as much an enemy as the gun-toting coyotes smuggling people through the tunnels under the “impenetrable” U.S. border wall.
September 15, 2022
James L'Etoile has written a fast moving, intense police procedural that walks the line between mystery and thriller. Sheriff Deputy Nathan Parker investigates the murder of people stuff into fifty-five gallon drums and soon finds himself inside one himself due to a drug cartel. He's the hero, so you expect him to escape but you can't help but wonder how he's going to get out. The story is rock-solid.
Unfortunately, some publication and editing issues dropped my score down by a star. One of the cartel members is sometimes referred to as Jennine and other times as Jeannine. There are some sentences that should be questions and vice-versa. Finally, some strange formatting to get a straight right margin distracted me.
Unfortunately, some publication and editing issues dropped my score down by a star. One of the cartel members is sometimes referred to as Jennine and other times as Jeannine. There are some sentences that should be questions and vice-versa. Finally, some strange formatting to get a straight right margin distracted me.
January 5, 2024
When a reclusive scavenger discovers a body in the first of several steel drums she had hoped would bring her some money, she shares the information with a border patrol agent she trusts. He happens to also be looking for those responsible for the death of his partner. This unlikely pairing will take the reader on a journey from the border states into Mexico and beyond where the cartels war with each other, and take advantage of those seeking a better life. It becomes a story not only of drug and human trafficking but of how the cartels might be striving to expand their operations into quasi-legitimate companies in the states. It's a fast-paced and informative novel that will hold the reader's attention to the end.
March 14, 2023
My favorite mysteries offer great character development along with an exciting plot – and James L’Etoile’s Dead Drop offers both. In this first of what I hope will be a long series, Detective Nathan Parker finds a link between his partner’s unsolved murder and the disturbing discovery of the bodies of undocumented migrants in the Arizona desert. His pursuit of answers leads him into a dark world of drug cartels and human trafficking. He’s helped along the way by desert rat Billie, and finds himself changed by his experiences alongside those who suffer at the hands of the corrupt and powerful. A page-turning and deeply satisfying read!
May 18, 2023
LOVED this book. I purchased this from the author's launch at my favorite independent bookstore. I had read all of his previous books and enjoyed each of them. This is set in Arizona, and having been raised there, I connected even more with this story and the tragedy of those seeking a better life only to find themselves involved with cartels without a choice. So much action, thrills, and compassion. Great characters, and I loved being able to see the locations of the story in my minds eye. I can't wait to read book 2. A MUST HAVE. My husband also loves this book, and my dad is reading it now, too.
November 13, 2023
This book is the epitome of thrillers. The reader feels like she stepped on a treadmill that goes faster and faster and there's no place to jump off.
The author excels at describing atmosphere so vibrantly that you can taste and smell the desert air.
At the same time, he examines the big questions surrounding illegal immigration while giving the reader the ultimate respect of allowing them to decide for themselves what is right.
If you're in the market for that book that makes you think, this book is for you. Or if you're in the mood for a book that makes you feel, this book is for you. Or if you're in the mood for a rollercoaster ride, this book is definitely for you.
The author excels at describing atmosphere so vibrantly that you can taste and smell the desert air.
At the same time, he examines the big questions surrounding illegal immigration while giving the reader the ultimate respect of allowing them to decide for themselves what is right.
If you're in the market for that book that makes you think, this book is for you. Or if you're in the mood for a book that makes you feel, this book is for you. Or if you're in the mood for a rollercoaster ride, this book is definitely for you.
September 2, 2022
My favorite character was Billie. I appreciated her minimalist lifestyle and her efforts to help others.
Overall, I felt the novel was trying to reinforce the idea that undocumented migrants face innumerable dangers and life-threatening circumstances to escape to "El Norte." The author had an interesting story about how he came up with the idea for this book, and what got him thinking about the perils of crossing the border. Maybe he tried to cover too many of these perils, because I felt that Parker was kidnapped and miraculously escaped a few too many times.
Overall, I felt the novel was trying to reinforce the idea that undocumented migrants face innumerable dangers and life-threatening circumstances to escape to "El Norte." The author had an interesting story about how he came up with the idea for this book, and what got him thinking about the perils of crossing the border. Maybe he tried to cover too many of these perils, because I felt that Parker was kidnapped and miraculously escaped a few too many times.
August 30, 2022
Mariposa County Sheriff's Detective Nathan Parker is still haunted by the unsolved murder of his partner during a human smuggling run between the Mexico-USA border. Then Billie, a resourceful scavenger living in the desert, finds human remains stuffed in metal barrels. Parker is determined to catch those responsible for these deaths. But Parker's actions soon lead to him being suspended by his bosses. Now on his own, Parker gets firsthand exposure to the brutality of warring drug cartels, border violence and the fate of undocumented immigrants seeking a better life.
I received a digital ARC from Netgalley and Level Best Books. My opinions are my own.
I received a digital ARC from Netgalley and Level Best Books. My opinions are my own.
August 31, 2022
Award winning author James L’Etoile delivers so much more with his latest than the crime/thriller genre defines. DEAD DROP is a vivid portrait of the worst of humanity along with the best. L’Etoile uses a strong yet compassionate voice with memorable characters to tell a timely story that will stay with you long after you’ve read the last page. In this first book of a new series, Detective Nathan Parker proves to be a character you’ll want to see again and again.
September 25, 2023
A story that needs to be told!
Thought provoking, brutal, unsettling, and honest tale with some great and worthy characters that you can root for.
Well written and contains a good balance of detail.
Insight into our government and its inability to address the immigration issue and dangerous drugs with compassion and humanity. Also how so many agencies seem to have conflicting goals and methods.
Thought provoking, brutal, unsettling, and honest tale with some great and worthy characters that you can root for.
Well written and contains a good balance of detail.
Insight into our government and its inability to address the immigration issue and dangerous drugs with compassion and humanity. Also how so many agencies seem to have conflicting goals and methods.
August 10, 2023
DEAD DROP is a gritty noir set in Southern Arizona and Mexico, following a suspended cop as he pulls apart a twisted web of migrants and coyotes, Mexican drug cartels, corrupt law enforcement and government officials, and the innocents who find themselves in the middle. The heat of the desert comes through the pages. Well done James!
February 19, 2025
A well-written gut-wrentching story
This is not a book I would normally reach for as I do not like the desert nor the heat of my childhood. James L'Etoile writes this hard story so smoothly that I had to keep reading. Now, I'll start on the next book of this series. And then the next...
This is not a book I would normally reach for as I do not like the desert nor the heat of my childhood. James L'Etoile writes this hard story so smoothly that I had to keep reading. Now, I'll start on the next book of this series. And then the next...
September 4, 2025
September mystery book club pick.
Coyotes (the people-smuggling kind), cartels, drugs, dead people in barrels, a protagonist that gets out of many situations that should have killed him.
I didn't like it at ALL at first, but I thought it got a little better as it went along.
Not a favorite.
Coyotes (the people-smuggling kind), cartels, drugs, dead people in barrels, a protagonist that gets out of many situations that should have killed him.
I didn't like it at ALL at first, but I thought it got a little better as it went along.
Not a favorite.
November 27, 2022
Jim L'Etoile's novel about a law enforcement agent at the country's southern border will have you afraid to breathe, let alone put it down. Nathan Parker is a hero for our time. I hope to see more Nathan Parker novels.
November 16, 2023
Complicated story set in southern Arizona, near the border, where a policeman becomes, caught up in the rivalry between two cartels and a crooked government official. He develops great compassion for the migrants who are caught up in violence.
July 14, 2022
I received a gifted copy and am providing a review.
Detective Nathan Taylor finds himself with another “dead drop.” It is not a spoiler to say that this tale starts out with some 55-gallon drums full of some unknown chemical and dead bodies. He was called to this new sit by Billie Carson. Throughout this particular investigation, Detective Taylor finds himself looking for the people responsible, getting suspended from his duties, as well as finding he has been betrayed by two people whom he didn’t think would ever do such a thing to him. He also found out something about himself and the folks who cross the border.
Billie Carson … now here is an interesting character. She has a backstory that suits her character. Billie is what one would call a drifter for various reasons, picking up other people’s trash to recycle and make a living. She comes across as a loner, someone who doesn’t care, but that is not true. Deep down, Billie is a kind, caring, giving person doing what she can to make her life, and the lives of others, better. You’ll have to read the book to find out her story.
Lynne is Detective Taylor’s ex. To say they don’t necessarily get along is an understatement until Lynne finally accepts the truth.
Espi is one of Detective Taylor’s friends, or is he? Was he just doing his job? Believing the story he was told?
Then there are the dueling Cartels. Which Cartel is going to win?
In this tale, you have a police procedural, some political intrigue, and the story of folks crossing the border to El Norte looking for a better life. Be sure to check out Miguel’s story. I have to admit that there is a one scene near the end of this book between Detective Taylor and Miguel that made me tear up for just a second. If you read the book, let me know which scene you think that is.
This is the first book I have read by Mr. L’Etoile and enjoy his writing style. I think his professional experiences help in making his writing realistic, as if he’s telling you a story while sitting next to you. There is also a very deep underlying message in this tale of people who cross the border; you’ll have to read the book to find out what it is.
Detective Nathan Taylor finds himself with another “dead drop.” It is not a spoiler to say that this tale starts out with some 55-gallon drums full of some unknown chemical and dead bodies. He was called to this new sit by Billie Carson. Throughout this particular investigation, Detective Taylor finds himself looking for the people responsible, getting suspended from his duties, as well as finding he has been betrayed by two people whom he didn’t think would ever do such a thing to him. He also found out something about himself and the folks who cross the border.
Billie Carson … now here is an interesting character. She has a backstory that suits her character. Billie is what one would call a drifter for various reasons, picking up other people’s trash to recycle and make a living. She comes across as a loner, someone who doesn’t care, but that is not true. Deep down, Billie is a kind, caring, giving person doing what she can to make her life, and the lives of others, better. You’ll have to read the book to find out her story.
Lynne is Detective Taylor’s ex. To say they don’t necessarily get along is an understatement until Lynne finally accepts the truth.
Espi is one of Detective Taylor’s friends, or is he? Was he just doing his job? Believing the story he was told?
Then there are the dueling Cartels. Which Cartel is going to win?
In this tale, you have a police procedural, some political intrigue, and the story of folks crossing the border to El Norte looking for a better life. Be sure to check out Miguel’s story. I have to admit that there is a one scene near the end of this book between Detective Taylor and Miguel that made me tear up for just a second. If you read the book, let me know which scene you think that is.
This is the first book I have read by Mr. L’Etoile and enjoy his writing style. I think his professional experiences help in making his writing realistic, as if he’s telling you a story while sitting next to you. There is also a very deep underlying message in this tale of people who cross the border; you’ll have to read the book to find out what it is.
July 20, 2022
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
Detective Nathan Taylor finds himself embroiled in the southern border crossings of Mexicans searching for a new life in the U.S. Dealing with cartels, politics and illegal immigrants makes this an exciting nonstop book, recommended.
Detective Nathan Taylor finds himself embroiled in the southern border crossings of Mexicans searching for a new life in the U.S. Dealing with cartels, politics and illegal immigrants makes this an exciting nonstop book, recommended.
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