I am excited to have Joyce and Jim Lavene on fundinmental today, sharing

Those Who Walk in Darkness.

Scroll through my review before entering the giveaway.

Those Who Walk In Darkness
(Jacks Jackson Mystery Book 1)
Historical Mystery
Print Length: 266 pages
Publisher: J. Lavene (March 8, 2016)
ASIN: B01AS8NN6Q

MY REVIEW

Westerns aren’t big on my hit list, but anything by the Lavenes and you can count me in. Those Who Walk in Darkness by Jim and Joyce Lavene is a step back in time, to the Wild West days of the Pinkertons. Beware, you’ll need a quick draw to survive.

Jacks is Julia. After her fiance died at her feet, she went to Allan Pinkerton. He said he would help her find the killer and hired her on the spot. Only two people know she is female, Allan Pinkerton, her boss, and Lil. Lil is a madame who recognized her femininity and felt a need to “mother” her. I can only imagine how hard it would be to change ALL your mannerisms. Cutting the hair and binding the breasts would be simple, but learning to walk, talk and act like a man would be much more difficult. She would have to be ever vigilant.

Jacks can take care of herself. She’s a cigar smoking, whiskey drinking, quick draw and is doing just fine, until Hume Boyd and Running Wolf. She preferred to work alone, but that would not be the case this time.

Now…what can I say about Hume. I can picture him, looking so young you wonder if he can even pick up a gun, naive, sweet and innocent and too eager for his own good.

I have a bad feeling about Boyd, but a good one about Running Wolf. With a name like that, I think we have some paranormal and mystical machinations coming up and I am looking forward to them. Jacks keeps denying the appearance of the raven, but we shall see.

The mystery unfolds and I am delighted to be teased…it can’t be him…too obvious, but he’s not a nice guy and that’s putting it mildly. So, what’s his beef? Okay, then how about…it could be him, and I waver back and forth. The big question is “Why?”

The characters are well developed and the mystery prolonged. I know something is coming…very soon. Even though I am expecting it, it’s still a shock when it happens. I jerk and gasp, laughing at myself for being caught off guard.

I have a love/hate feeling for the ending. The Lavene’s wrap this novel up in a neat package, but Jacks story lives on. There is no happy ever after and I will be more than glad to go on the next adventure to find out…who is the real Jacks.

This was a surprising 5 stars for me. When I began reading I was rating it a bit low, but it kept getting better and better. Fantastic writing and I would highly recommend Those Who Walk in Darkness by the Lavene’s for a great combination of multiple genres.

I received a copy of Those Who Walk in Darkness by Joyce and Jim Lavene in return for an honest review.

5 Stars

Synopsis

Three years ago, Julia Jackson was a well to do young woman from Boston whose fiancé, Jonathon, was killed right before her eyes. Obsessed with finding the killer, a man whose face she saw only in a flash as he walked up and shot Jonathon, she leaves her family and her life behind. She starts a new life as ‘Jacks’ Jackson—a cigar smoking, dead eye, female Pinkerton agent…pretending to be a man.

Now Allan Pinkerton needs Jacks to find the man who kidnapped the wife and son of a railroad official, David Boyd. Their only clues are the severed finger from the man’s wife, complete with wedding ring, and a map of the Qualla boundary, the Cherokee reservation in North Carolina.

Jacks doesn’t like the way the whole thing sounds from the beginning. David Boyd isn’t important enough to target for sherry fundina kidnapping. And why travel so far with two hostages?

But Pinkerton tells her that he believes the man responsible for the kidnapping worked with Jonathon’s murderer in a train robbery five years ago. Jacks agrees to go after the kidnapper with hopes of catching him before he can reach his home grounds.

Pinkerton insists that Jacks bring three men with her—Boyd, her new partner, and a Cherokee guide named Running Wolf, who’s always watching her, like he’s trying to figure it out.

Can Jacks catch the kidnapper with her secret—and her life—intact?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joyce and Jim Lavene write award-winning, bestselling mystery fiction as themselves, J.J. Cook, and Ellie Grant. They have written and published more than 70 novels for Harlequin, Berkley, Amazon, and Gallery Books along with hundreds of non-fiction articles for national and regional publications. They live in rural North Carolina with their family.

Webpage – www.joyceandjimlavene.com
Facebook – www.facebook.com/joyceandjimlavene
Amazon – http://amazon.com/author/jlavene
Twitter – https://twitter.com/AuthorJLavene
Purchase Link Amazon

Tour Participants

March 8 – Back Porchervations – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
March 9 – A. Holland Reads – INTERVIEW
March 10 – Shelley’s Book Case – REVIEW, GUEST POST
March 11 – Author Annette Drake’s Blog – INTERVIEW
March 12 – Brooke Blogs – CHARACTER GUEST POST
March 13 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
March 14 – Book Babble – REVIEW
March 15 – Reviews by Martha’s Bookshelf – REVIEW
March 16 – I Read What You Write – REVIEW, INTERVIEW
March 17 – fundinmental – REVIEW
March 18 – Cozy Up With Kathy – CHARACTER GUEST POST
March 19 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT
March 20 – Deal Sharing Aunt – SPOTLIGHT
March 21 – fuonlyknew – REVIEW
March 22 – Community Bookstop – CHARACTER GUEST POST

GIVEAWAY

A Rafflecopter Giveaway

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Mr Wonderful and I were off on our 2016 St Patty’s Road Trip, heading to New Orleans and Louisiana, for the St Patty’s Parade in Metarie.

This time, I was on my toes and as we passed the lot for movie props, I was able to get a few shots out the car window. It’s not every day I see a UFO and the odd assortment of vehicles, from buses to police cars.

We lived in Mobile, Alabama, back in the 90’s and Mr Wonderful belonged to a Mardi Gras association, the Pharoahs. We would jump on a bus and a bunch of us would head to New Orleans for the St Patty’s Parade, so we are familiar with the event. But it is New Orleans, so you never know what you might come across…

It starts out with walking groups. This parade is different from all the Mardi Gras parades. They allow you to walk in the street and approach the guys with flowers and beads, trading a smooch for a trinket…

The day was gorgeous, blue skies, lots of sunshine, floats and beads. The St Patty’s parade also differs from Mardi Gras parades by the stuff they toss. It’s not just beads and toys, but vegetables, everything you need for an Irish stew except for the meat. They toss heads of cabbage, onions, carrots and lemons. Ya gotta keep your eyes peeled because they can take you out.

The parade goes on for hours and after five of them, we were ready to move on, so it was off to Biloxi. We did some sight seeing, heading to the Pass Christian area, driving the coastline. It was windy and the sand drifted and piled up like the snow up north. The Gulf Coast area has still not completely recovered from Hurricane Ivan and Hurricane Katrina and I myself doubt if some of the people will ever come back. Me…I just cannot stay away.

I mean…look at that view. Even on a bad day, the sun shines through the clouds. Good food, good views and good company. So, if you are ever in the area, stop by for a cocktail at the beach. You won’t regret it.