A favor for a dying ex-con turns into a violent battle against a mysterious enemy for Van Shaw in this emotionally powerful and gritty thriller from the award-winning author of Past Crimes and Hard Cold Winter
It sounds like a thiefโs dream to Van Shaw: A terminally-ill ex-con tells him of an easy fortune in gold, abandoned and nearly forgotten after its original owner died in prison. For the dying man, the money is a legacy to ensure his pre-teen daughterโs future. For Van, the gold is cash he desperately needs to rebuild his destroyed family home.
The grandson of a career criminal who taught him all the tricks of his trade, Van suspects that nothing is ever that easy. Sure enough, the safe holding the fortune is a trapโset by a mysterious player armed with tremendous resources and a lifetime of hatred. Now, Shawโs partner is in the clutches of the hunters, and the former Army Ranger may be their next prey. But when the ex-conโs innocent daughter is threatened too, Vanโs own hard childhood means he canโt let her come to harm.
To discover who has them in the cross-hairs, Shaw must seek out the huntersโ real prey. His quest leads him from an underground bare-knuckle fighting ring, which may be fronting a darker purpose, to a massive pop-culture convention, where Van and his allies, Hollis and Corcoran, play a dangerous game with foes on every side. It also introduces Van to a brash and beautiful aspiring journalist who poses a whole different kind of personal risk.
For years, Van Shaw has tried to live every day above ground, on the right side of the law, even though crime is his gift . . . and in his blood. If he survives the coming storm, heโll have to decide what he wantsโand whether he can live as an outlaw without sacrificing his honor.
Mystery/Thriller