Strike Dog (Woods Cop Series #5)

by Joseph Heywood

Overview

The newest Joseph Heywood mystery novel set in Michigan's Upper Peninsula finds Grady Service out to avenge the murder of his girlfriend and his son. Conservation officers in several states are being gruesomely slaughtered and Service, alone and devastated, navigates the mind of a serial killer before he becomes the next victim. Hunting the hunter through Wisconsin and Missouri, this is Heywood's most suspenseful and psychological thriller, perfect for fans of Thomas Perry, James Lee Burke or Nevada Barr. The fifth book in the series, STRIKE DOG is the perfect introduction to Heywood's fiction for outdoorsmen and animal lovers as well.

Joseph Heywood is the author of several novels, and lives in Portage, Michigan.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781599211602
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	09/01/2007
Series:	Woods Cop Series , #5
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.75(d)

About the Author

Joseph Heywood is the author of The Berkut, Taxi Dancer, The Domino Conspiracy, The Snowfly (Lyons), and our Woods Cop Mystery Series. Strike Dog is the fifth installment in the series.

Editorial Reviews

quotes about the series:
"Engrossing stuff. Lots of well-plotted action and an offbeat, affecting love story."—Kirkus Reviews (for Running Dark)

"Top-notch action scenes, engaging characters both major and minor, masterful dialogue and a passionate sense of place make this a fine series."
—Publishers Weekly (for Chasing a Blond Moon)

"A gripping plot, replete with memorable surrounds and spiky characters, makes this second in the series (after Ice Hunter) an excellent choice for most collections. A good pick also for readers who enjoy outdoor mysteries by such authors as Nevada Barr or Dana Stabenow."
—Library Journal (for Blue Wolf in Green Fire)

"Crisp writing, great scenery, quirky characters and an absorbing plot add to the appeal of the memorable first entry in a promised series of "woofs cop' mysteries."
—Wall Street Journal (for Ice Hunter)

From the Publisher

Heywood brings to life Michigan's Upper Peninsula in his predictable fifth novel to feature conservation detective Grady Service (after 2005's Running Dark), though an implausible plot fails to match the rich rural setting. Soon after Service's son and his girlfriend die in an auto accident, the grief-stricken Service finds evidence indicating their vehicle was forced off the road. Before his private inquiry can make much progress, an untrustworthy FBI special agent, Tatie Monica, enlists Service to pursue a murderer who has targeted conservation agents across the U.S., using an obscure and gruesome Viking pattern of mutilations. An improbable cameo by George W. Bush injects some lame humor ("You ain't one-a them Dem'crats, are ya, big guy?" the president asks Service), while the eventual revelation of the connection between the trail of bodies and the fatal accident will surprise few. (Sept.)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

Publishers Weekly

Grady Service, in shock from his own personal loss, is ordered by the FBI to work on a longstanding serial killer case. Someone is knocking off the top Fish and Game officers nationwide. That someone also murdered Grady's girlfriend and son. Heywood's fifth "Woods Cop" mystery (after Running Dark) features a fast-paced plot revolving around a progressively more dangerous situation. Putting the thrill back in thriller, this nail-biting read will appeal to fans of C.J. Box's wildnerness series and Thomas Perry's Jane Whiteside novels. Heywood lives in Portage, MI.

—Jo Ann Vicarel

Library Journal

Michigan Conservation Officer Grady Service (Running Dark, 2005, etc.) tracks a savage new species: the serial cop killer. Though no one in Upper Peninsula law enforcement has ever seen or heard of a homicidal sociopath who specializes in police officers, it looks as if that drought is over. Game wardens in Michigan, Wisconsin and Missouri have been snuffed over several years with such unobtrusive efficiency that the pattern is only now emerging. To Grady, it's a pattern of particular importance, since according to the FBI, he has a prominent place on the killer's to-do list. He doesn't know why, nor does the Bureau. But there does seem to be a special malevolence directed against Grady and those he loves. He can't believe, for instance, that the recent, devastating car accident that robbed him of his girlfriend Maridly and his son Walter was really an accident. Maridly was too good a driver for Grady to buy that story. Someone ran her off the road, someone who understood very clearly how Grady would view those deaths-as if "he had lost not just a lot, but everything." Still, Grady has no choice but to pull himself together and crack the case. There are connections to make, loyalties to honor and, above all, accounts to settle. Though some spread around the middle slows the action a bit, Heywood's colorful cast is, as usual, redemptive.

Kirkus Reviews