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The Broken Truth

A Thriller

#2 in series

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

"Part Western, part mystery, all action." —Kirkus Reviews

The endless Texas landscape hides all manner of sins...

Special Agent Tucker Snow knows there's big money roaming the fields under the wide Texas sky—and the cattle rustlers committing large-scale thefts on remote ranches know it, too. But when a prominent local rancher dies unexpectedly and his property is quietly sold to an unknown buyer, Tucker suspects there's something more sinister going on in his jurisdiction than the usual steal-and-resell racket. Still raw after the tragic death of his wife and young daughter, the lawman can't bear the thought of more innocent lives destroyed by people whose greed poisons everything around them. 

Working alongside his brother, Harley, Tucker uncovers a dark ring of organized crime that goes well beyond cattle rustling—a breed of deception and greed that has turned into a silent killer and will take down anyone who crosses its path. The question is whether Tuck and Harley will be able to shut it down before it finds the people they love the most...

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    • Kirkus

      July 15, 2024
      Self-described cattle cop Tucker Snow and his kid brother, Harley, stumble into yet another case that takes them a long way from cattle. Tuck's job description as special ranger for the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association may not sound very exciting, but he keeps finding new ways to get into trouble. The latest involves the death of rancher Mitch Ramsey, who'd already lost a leg to cancer, and the sudden sale of his place to a shadowy collective. Wendel Cross, an agent for ChemShale, hints that he's willing to pay Tuck plenty for certain information he never quite describes, and he indicates that he's in a position to make Tuck's life miserable if he doesn't help out. Tuck's life, of course, has already been miserable ever since the death of his wife and younger daughter in a collision with a car driven by a meth addict, but at least he and Harley have recovered Chloe, his remaining daughter, from the abusive meth dealer who kidnapped her. Piqued by Cross' challenge, Tuck looks around for signs of criminal activity in Red River County and finds not only the usual cattle rustling, one round of which serves as a prologue to his latest case, but a mind-boggling array of higher-tech felonies. The leading players include perfect heroes, dastardly villains, in-betweeners, conspirators who mix virtuous and evil impulses, and free agents who can turn on a dime from bad guys to good. The plotting is erratic, but the pattern behind all the crimes and misdemeanors is clear: "The wholeworld is made from petroleum products" and suffers from the unimaginable harms they cause. Part Western, part mystery, all action.

      COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Booklist

      September 13, 2024
      As Wortham's novels--particularly The Texas Job (2022)--make perfectly clear, this fellow can write one mighty fine story. But with the current offering, he displays another skill: genre jumping. Read this, and watch him master hard-boiled and noir, action and procedural, classic Western and modern eco-crime, all in a fluent, rhythmic style that constantly propels one forward. It begins with a cattle rustling modern style, loud with high-speed chases and automatic-weapon fire. Tucker Snow, an investigator hired by an East Texas cattlemen's association, notices that some ranchers involved are suffering from cancer, with at least one "dead as nickel coffee." Sleuthing reveals that an oil company's drills tore into buried radioactive wastes, which leaked into wells, leading to "poisoning and death from Satan himself." The oil company is eager to smash anyone Satan missed before they talk, and Snow and their silver-tongued demon have some wonderful clashes. Enjoy the fierce battle scenes, and note that Wortham also advises on how to be an East Texan: be careful how you say "you all" and "shore," and when going for beer, better grab Coors Banquet.

      COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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