Deborah J Ledford

The second Eva "Lightning Dance" Durand thriller deals with a bank robbery, 3D printed guns, and the death of a child who had one of those fake guns.

The story is told from multiple viewpoints and includes chapters from various characters in the book. The bank robber's point of view illustrates his complete lack of humanity. Other viewpoints include both Eva and her boyfriend/fellow police officer Cruz and young Kai Arrio who is a biology student training a Belgian Malinois. We hear from Tomas Salas who was Kai's favorite teacher in high school and who has big dreams for the Pueblo reservation but a horrible way of realizing them. We hear many other viewpoints too.

The viewpoints are all woven together into a fast-paced suspenseful story. It is also a story about grief and loss and life on the Pueblo reservation near Taos. I enjoyed it very much.… (more)

The title of this one says it all, Havoc! If you are looking for a multicast thriller novel, then this is your series. Eva “Lightning Dance” Duran is back to duty and it is getting right back into the saddle for her. Now a member of the Taos Pueblo tribal police, she has her hands full with a bank robbery, a few murders and plastic 3D printed guns that keep turning up at the different scenes. But with there being other departments a part of these cases as well, she keeps getting pushed out but Eva is determined to connect the dots and bring justice for one of their own that was killed. Although there was a lot of characters and a few story lines going on, the novel flowed well and the author did an amazing job bringing it all together in a very realistic way. I also really enjoyed learning about some of the beliefs and rituals on the reservation as well as the everyday struggles they deal with. I will be looking forward to reading more in this series and now I need to go back and read the first book so I can learn more about Eva and her past. Thank you to the author and Netgalley for the complementary ebook. I am excited to be a part of show casing this novel with Thriller Book Lovers the Pulse this summer. This review is of my own opinion and accord.… (more)

REDEMPTION is the first in a new contemporary series starring a Native American Sheriff's Deputy who is willing to put it all on the line to find her missing friend. Paloma has been her friend since childhood. But a car accident that killed her husband and two others and left her severely injured has left her with chronic pain an addiction to any sort of drug she can find to relieve it. Paloma was once the most famous hoop dancer in the Southwest.

When Paloma goes missing only Eva and Paloma's eighteen-year-old son Kai are willing to look for her. Paloma has burned her bridges with the tribe because she was stealing in order to support her habit.

This story is told from multiple viewpoints. We hear from Eva, and from Kai, and from Paloma, and from Alice the traveling nurse who is determined to find a cure for the drug addiction that is making inroads on the reservation and who especially wants to save Paloma since she has been a fan since she first saw her dance.

The story deals with real life problems. Drug addiction and dealing in drugs find a fertile ground on Indian reservations for a number of reasons including their large size and sparse population. This story also deals with people trying to meet other people's expectations which is something Eva is dealing with being the only Native American and one of few women in the Sheriff's Department.

This story wasn't a who dunnit. We knew the criminal. We knew her motives and watched her mental state deteriorate. The tension came from wondering if Eva would be able to follow the clues fast enough to save her friend before the villain killed her accidentally.

I liked the action. The rafting scenes to get to a body were graphic and exciting. I liked the characters.… (more)