South Phoenix Rules

October 1, 2010

After a one-volume hiatus, Talton revisits Professor/Deputy Sheriff David Mapstone (Arizona Dreams, 2006, etc.), now a more troubled man in a darker, drearier city.

Things have changed for Mapstone, and not for the better. To begin with, Maricopa County Sheriff Mike Peralta—Mapstone's mentor, the man who persuaded all concerned that a former history professor might be uniquely qualified to tackle high-profile cold cases—no longer has his back. Peralta has lost an election to a lesser, shrewder candidate, souring Mapstone on the whole business of law enforcement. Having surrendered badge and gun, he now awaits word from Arizona State University about a possible return to academe, a prospect he regards with mixed feelings that don't include enthusiasm. Meanwhile, his domestic arrangements are unsettled. His wife, Lindsey, is away from home. Robin, her extremely attractive half sister, is very much not. Into this dangerously volatile mix, FedEx delivers a package addressed to Robin. What it contains is so unexpected and so shocking that the map of Mapstone's life will be altered beyond recognition.

Though a gripping beginning loosens its hold somewhere around the middle, tough but vulnerable Mapstone will keep you hooked at the sticking point.

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

November 1, 2010

After writing several stand-alones (Deadline Man; The Pain Nurse), Talton returns to Phoenix and his David Mapstone series (Arizona Dreams; Cactus Heart). Having resigned from the sheriff's department after his friend and mentor was voted out of office, historian Mapstone is sharing his house with his sister-in-law, Robin, while his wife works in Washington, DC, with an elite anticyberterror unit. When Robin receives the head of her lover in a box, the police believe that the victim was not a professor but a notorious hitman for the Mexican cartels. Mapstone, who has made a career out of solving cold cases, must now protect Robin while uncovering who is behind the murder. VERDICT In an interesting twist, Talton throws Mapstone into a dangerous situation that forces him to confront and make peace with his dual natures as a quiet professor and a Rambo-like solver of problems. For readers who enjoy contemporary Southwestern mysteries with a touch of history.

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2010
Things are bad for historian-turned-deputy David Mapstone. His marriage is in shamblesafter a personal calamity, his wife, Lindsey, has taken a trial job in Washington, D.C.and hes just turned in his badge and is left working cold cases after his oldest friend and boss, Maricopa, Arizona, County Sheriff Mike Peralta, loses a bid for reelection. And things get worse. Mapstones sister-in-law Robin, who is living in his home, gets a package containing the severed head of her lover, visiting professor Jax Delgado, whose tortured body indicates that hes actually a legendary hit man for a Mexican cartel. So Mapstone, who knows the rules of south Phoenix, a poor and long-neglected area that is becoming increasingly dangerous, tries to protect Robin and himself while ferreting out answers. Talton has created a richly complex character in Mapstone, who struggles with adversity and resists taking revenge, however sweet it would be. As for Taltons stark vision of a soulless Phoenix, well, its not a place youd even want to visit. A well-crafted, nuanced series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)