Hello!

Today is my stop on the blog tour for ‘Rough Country’ by T. J. Brearton organised by Damppebbles Blog Tours. I hope that you will check out both the author and the book, as well as the rest of the blogs involved in the tour.

*Disclaimer: ‘I was given a copy this book in exchange for an honest review.’*

Book Summary:

A young girl murdered. A town with a dark secret.

A young girl, Kasey, is murdered in the woods of northern New York, a strange symbol carved into her stomach.

Investigator Reed Raleigh, Major Crimes, is tasked with finding the killer.

Reed has his own troubles. He’s in therapy, divorced, estranged from his son. But he desperately needs to solve this case – his own stepdaughter vanished when she was a teenager and Reed knows all about the agony of having no closure. No way is he letting Kasey’s mother go through that.

But as Reed begins to dig, the case grows ever more complex. Why is Kasey’s boyfriend acting so strangely? And why is her mother lying to the police?

As evidence of Kasey’s bizarre secret life starts to emerge, Reed realises this case isn’t just about a dead girl. There’s something much bigger at play in this small rural town, a decades old secret that needs to be protected. At any cost. 

The Review:

Rough Country was an enjoyable read, with plenty of twists and turns throughout. It was also a book that I felt brought out the emotions of those involved in the situation, whether they were directly involved or spectators to the investigation, as this was a book that cut to the heart of the rural town and its occupants. Delving into their lives and beliefs and secrets, in the search for the truth of Kasey’s death. I felt the prologue was the strongest part of the book and does an excellent job of making you sit up in your chair and hooking you into the story.

   What I particularly enjoyed about this book is that the plot wasn’t constrained to the immediate timeframe, instead exploring and linking events across decades and weaving them together into the present events. This added a depth to the story, that wasn’t necessary there at other points, especially in terms of the investigation that felt a little lost in the rest of what was happening at times.

    There was a large cast of characters in this one that is introduced fairly quickly and closely together, and while some stood out more than others, it was difficult to keep track of them at times. That said Raleigh made for an interesting character, and while he was fairly typical in terms of modern detectives/protagonists having a somewhat troubled past, he was enjoyable to read. I liked his approach to the investigation, very methodical and calm in the face of everything that is happening, and I felt that he carried the investigation aspect of the book and gave it the sense of progress and professionalism.

    Brearton has an easy, flowing writing style, and the pacing was excellent, and this is a well-plotted story with just the right amount of tension and plot twists to leave you needing to know what happened next. Creating an entertaining read, that fans of crime fiction will enjoy

About the Author:

T.J. Brearton’s books have reached half a million readers around the world and have topped the Amazon charts in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. A graduate of the New York Film Academy in Manhattan, Brearton first worked in film before focusing on novels. His books are visually descriptive with sharp dialog and underdog heroes. When not writing, Brearton does whatever his wife and three children tell him to do. They live happily in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. Yes, there are bears in the Adirondacks. But it’s really quite beautiful when you’re not running for your life.

T.J. is the author of Into Darkness, Road to Mercy and other crime thrillers. ROUGH COUNTRY will be his third novel published with Inkubator Books.

Social Media:

Website | Facebook

Purchase Links:

Amazon UK | Amazon US

The Rating:

Rough Country – T. J. Brearton (Published by Inkubator Books in paperback and digital format on 15^th November 2020) – *** (3/5 Stars)

**

If you’ve read it or read in the future, please feel free to shout at me about this fantastic book.

Rowena