From Publishers Weekly
In this top-notch fourth novel in Burke's series featuring exโTexas Ranger attorney Billy Bob Holland, Billy Bob has moved his family and practice to the pastoral city of Missoula, Mont., the setting of his last adventure (Bitterroot , 2001), only to discover that the psychopathic ex-biker/rodeo clown, Wyatt Dixon (who buried Billy Bob's private investigator wife, Temple, alive), is out of prison on a technicality and claiming to be a born-again Christian. Billy Bob befriends alcoholic Desert Storm hero Johnny American Horse, a sometime breeder of horses and eco-activist whoโwhen not in the drunk tankโis carrying on a passionate affair with Amber Finley, the daughter of Romulus Finley, a vindictive and bigoted powerful U.S. senator. When Johnny is suspected of murdering the hit man who invaded his home as well as masterminding the burglary of Global Research (a high-tech agricultural lab), making off with its computer files, the action picks up quickly. Noted for quirky characters and intricate plots, Burke introduces demon-driven sheriff's deputy Darrel McCombโan exโwar hero and former mercenary pilot who flew cocaine for the contrasโwho has an erotic fixation on Amber. Factor in private security agency chief Greta Lundstrum, FBI agent Seth Masterson and Karsten Mabus, CEO of the company that owns Global Research, and the mayhem builds to a gripping, spine-tingling finale.
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From Bookmarks Magazine
Burke sets his fourth Billy Bob Holland crime drama on the edge of the Bitterroot Mountains in Montana. This fast-paced mystery occasionally slows to a tumbleweed pace so the author can comment on the treatment of Native Americans, corporate misuses of the environment, and governmental intrusion into privacy. But when his intriguing characters demand equal attention, Burke crafts action sequences so realistic you can practically smell the gunpowder and sweat. Some critics cite gratuitous plotting and uneven characters. But with the reappearance of homicidal rodeo clown Wyatt Dixon (who buried the heroโs wife alive in the third installment, Bitteroot), most agree that Ponies is the best yet in the series.
Copyright ยฉ 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.