Dr. Manuel Flores| Texana Reads
James Patterson is the most prolific and richest author in the United States, perhaps the world.
He has written more than 100 books and co-authored another 50. He is very good at his craft and his books become No. 1 Best sellers. He has done it again with a spine-tingling murder-mystery titled “Texas Ranger.”
Andrew Bourelle co-authored the book with him adding Texas-Style twists and turns that keep the reader intrigued and interested. “Texas Ranger” has been the No. 1 best-seller in the “New York Times” for the past three weeks. That’s no surprise, because Patterson holds the Guinness World Record for the most No. 1 “New York Times” bestsellers.
In “Texas Rangers,” the characters are marvelous, believable and, well sort of Texan. Rory Yates is a Texas Ranger, a good one, but he is involved deadly murder case. His ex-wife, Anne, has been slain, viciously, and he is a suspect.
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The other characters involve a truck driver, two sweet ex-high school sweethearts, a couple of detectives and medical examiner who is the Rangers’ friend, a country-western singer trying to find love in all the wrong places and Mexican-American sheriff in the Rio Grande Valley. The characters meander through the book from the Rio Grande Valley to the Red River following Yates’ believe that only he can solve the murder. Of course, he can’t “officially” get involved and is faced with the possibility of losing his job and career at every turn of the page.
Oh, did I mention there was a truck – a big-old quarter-ton monster that rambles throughout the state delivering goods for driver Calvin “Cal” Richards. He is a worthless, good-for-nothing persona and was Yate’s ex-wife live-in lover at the time of the murder. Did he do it? The Texas Ranger certainly thinks so. But Cal thinks it was Yates. It gets interesting. Who else could it be?
Midway through the drama, there is another murder. Patty, an ex-girlfriend of Yates is murdered brutally in almost the same method that Anne lost her life. Could this be related? Why is someone killing people whom Yates was romantically involved with?
That leaves only one ex-high school girl friend – Sara Beth, with whom Yates has a romantic interlude after his ex-wife’s funeral. At the funeral, he had bad encounter with Cal, one of several “fights” featured between the two in the book. The hatred is mutual.
In the meantime, Yates has fallen head-over-boot heels for the country-western singer, a diva whose career fizzled in Nashville and is now playing in Texas honky tonks. Her venue is at a bar outside of Yates’ hometown of Redbud. She’s good-looking, flirtatious and cute as field of Texas Bluebonnets on a spring morning. Willow is her name and finding a man is her game. Why, she even knows Cal. And, she has befriended all of Yates’ ex-girlfriends, including his ex-wife.
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Patterson and Bourelle spice up the story with a rhythm not unlike a country-western ballad. Succinct, to the point writing dominates their style. To make it interesting, they even intertwine popular country-western songs and lyrics into their work. Key to the theme is Garth Brooks’ “Callin’ Baton Rouge,” the favorite song of Anne and Cal.
But who killed Anne and Patty? While this is a fast-read, the reader will have to slow down and look for clues. They are hidden in the most obvious of places and result in a crescendo of violence as the book nears its end with the roar of semi-truck speeding down a country road and toward a humble “casita” in the Texas farmland.
It’s Cal’s truck, but who’s driving? At this point the reader will hurry to end this book. A thriller for sure, but it’s got an undeniable Texas taste and twist that will do more than entertain the reader.
At the end, like any good western ballad, Texas Ranger Rory Yates drives off into the sunset like gunfighter in an old Western movie, leaving his new girlfriend waving goodbye as his F-150 pickup leaves a trial dust on a Texas sunset.
He doesn’t look back. Cowboys never do.
About the book
“Texas Ranger”
by James Patterson & Andrew Bourelle
Little Brown & Co., New York, N.Y.
2018
ISBN: 978-0-55666-8 (hc)
337 pages
Available at: amazon.com - Kindle $14.99, hardcover $16.80, paperback $15.99, audio $27.55; barnesandnoble.com – hardcover $16.80 and down, bookstores $20.00
About the Author
James Brendan Pattersonis an American author and philanthropist. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and he was the first person to sell 1 millione-books. In 2016, Patterson toppedForbes'slist of highest-paid authors for the third consecutive year, with an income of $95 million. His total income over a decade is estimated at $700 million. On November 2015, Patterson received the Literarian Award from theNational Book Foundation, which cited him as a "passionate campaigner to make books and reading a national priority. A generous supporter of universities, teachers’ colleges, independent bookstores, school libraries, and college students, Patterson has donated millions of dollars in grants and scholarships with the purpose of encouraging Americans of all ages to read more books."
Andrew Bourelle is the author of the novel “Heavy Metal” and coauthor with Patterson of “The Pretender.” His short stories have been published widely in literary magazines and fiction anthologies, including “The Best American Mystery Stories.”
Texana Reads
This weekly column focuses on new and old books about Texas or related to Texas. It includes fiction and nonfiction books, reports on political and sports books as well as cultural or historical works. The common thread among these books is their relationship to Texas, specifically South Texas.
For suggestions on topics or books, email manuelf78407@yahoo.com.
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