Book Review: THE RANGER, by Ace Atkins

Ace Atkins
THE RANGER (Quinn Colson #1)
G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2012
368 pages
Thriller / Suspense / Crime

Love when I find a new series that captures my interest right from the opening page! While I've only read the one Ace Atkins novel, it already has a Jack Reacher / Walt Longmire feel. Not complaining. Two great fictional characters --one a military badass, and the ladder, a hard-nosed Wyoming sheriff-- blended into one. Quinn Colson.

In THE RANGER, Colson is headed home for his uncle's funeral. The small, backwoods town, is nothing if not filled with secrets. It's been over six years since Quinn was last back. The old cliche holds true. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

The problem comes during the funeral. Quinn is informed that his uncle didn't have a heart attack. It was in fact a suicide. Uncle Hamp was the man stood as the make role model. Quinn loved and respected him. Learning that his uncle left him all of his property, it seemed only right to look for answers. What would have caused the town sheriff to kill himself?

Deputy Lillie Virgil knows something's not right. Teaming up with Quinn, the two launch their own investigation. What they uncover is trouble with a capital "T." There are backroom land development deals going on, meth makers, drug sales, and a Nazi-Aryan Nation Group in the woods.

The acting sheriff, the local judge, and family have Quinn coming and going. Getting to the bottom of the conspiracy is becoming dangerous. If Quinn isn't careful he could pay for the truth with his life!

Ace Atkins writes terse, compact chapters. It kept me turning pages. I like 'em short. Feel like I read more, read faster that way. Might just be me. The dialogue is crisp, stunted. It feels authentic, and sharp. The action comes in bursts, and sprays like bullets from a machine gun, but it is the constant tension, and building suspense that just keeps me gasping for air!

THE RANGER was a two thumbs up kind of read for me. (I do have the others in the Quinn Colson series -- so check back for more reviews).

Phillip Tomasso
Author of the Severed Empire Series
and The Vaccination Trilogy