Since I grew up in the South and came of age during the Vietnam war, I loved this psychological thriller, first in a series, set in the South during the Vietnam era. It grabbed me from the beginning and never let go. I look forward to the other books in this series featuring the adventures of Texas Ranger, John Q, the godson of the ranger who took down Bonnie and Clyde and who is quite the character. Recommend for psychological thriller fans. ( )

A very good psycholigcal thriller that will keep you turning pages. ( )

I received an uncorrected proof copy of The Long Count by JM Gulvin through The LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program. Although not my normal genre of choice, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The main character is a Texas Ranger who ends up solving a puzzling mystery. ( )

This was a very interesting story. It is set in the late 1960’s. Texas Ranger John Quarrie is a returned vet from Vietnam. He has been called out to travel to another town to look into a crime. Along the way he, comes across a suicide. The town is anxious to close the case but Quarrie believes it is murder not suicide.

The dead man is a WWII veteran and the man’s son, Isaac, has just got back from his third tour of Vietnam and does not believe his father was murdered either. In addition to this, a local asylum for the criminally insane has burnt to the ground and Isaac’s twin half-brother, Ishmael, is missing.
The action from here is full of twists and turns that take place in both Texas and Louisiana. Quarrie is busy running back and forth as well as returning to his home where his young son is being cared for by friends and family as Quarrie is widowed.

The pacing of the book is not hurried which is great because there are a lot of little details to unravel. Even so, there is anticipation and things that pop up that make you consistently re-evaluate what you think you understand about what’s happening.

I read this book reasonably quickly but the print is small in the paperback edition. If you are reading this on your Nook, Kindle or other e-reader, you will have no problem adjusting the font.
A solid 3-4 star thriller and crime procedural. ( )

A Texas Ranger is called across the state to investigate the killing of a deputy sheriff and on his way he stumbles upon an apparent suicide which he believes looks a little fishy. He leaves that for the locals to handle and as he gets involved in the deputy's case he finds more bodies and tries to figure out the connection between all of them and the apparent suicide. It seems as if they all go back to a mental hospital and a particular doctor. The Ranger, John Q., gets some help from a returning Vet from Vietnam who was the son of the apparent suicide victim. Trying to work through all of this John Q. is trying to keep in touch with his son who is working on a school project dealing with a train crash early in the 1900s. Some how through all of the twists and turns the case is solved and closure brought to a lot of people.

John Q is a Texas Ranger that can be placed next to Augustus McCrae and Woodrow F. Call from Lonesome Dove fame. He is quick on the draw, compassionate, and works for the underdog. This is an excellent start to a new series of mysteries from JM Gulvin. Excellent read. ( )