High Country Nocturne

June 8, 2015
In Talton's intricately plotted eighth David Mapstone mystery (after 2013's The Night Detectives), a shipment of rough diamonds has been stolen, and Mapstone's ex-boss, former Maricopa County Sheriff Mike Peralta, who's now Mapstone's partner in their PI business, has disappeared in the Arizona high country, allegedly with the diamonds. Doubtful of the circumstantial evidence implicating his friend and partner, Mapstone, who has a Ph.D. in history, investigates the cryptic clues Peralta left behind and comforts the man's wife. Meanwhile, Mapstone revisits a cold case at the request of the current sheriff, Chris Melton (aka Crisis Meltdown), and also contends with a revenge-crazed former Canadian Mountie. Encounters with undercover agents, corrupt cops, and the Russian mob add to his travails on his way to the unexpected ending. Talton keeps the reader guessing throughout, but Mapstone's learned, insightful first-person commentary is what really stands out; his comments about the decline of the Phoenix he's always called home are particularly revealing and believable.

June 1, 2015

When a cache of diamonds is stolen, the prime suspect is PI David Mapstone's (The Night Detectives) partner, Mike Peralta, who disappears into the Arizona mountains. But when the stolen suitcase is found, the reported diamonds are intact; what's missing are the rough diamonds, not listed on any inventory and stashed in a hidden compartment. The Russian mafia are looking for them, as well as a professional assassin dubbed Strawberry Death after she shoots and almost kills Mapstone's wife. Who is on the run from whom? VERDICT As with Bill Crider's and Kevin McGarrity's mysteries, Talton's books are studies in atmosphere and setting. Arizona's wild and beautiful landscape figures prominently, and the interior examination of Mapstone's hopes and fears makes this a terrific character study as well.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from May 15, 2015
Phoenix private investigator David Mapstone is a former county sheriff. He gets a desperate late-night call from Sharon Peralta, wife of Mike, Mapstone's partner. Mike has been accused of being the principal in a Phoenix diamond robbery and has disappeared. The FBI has his truck and wants to find out if either David or Sharon knows where Mike is and if they were accomplices. On the way to meet law enforcement, David is pulled over for speeding. In a truly harrowing scene the young female officer who pulls him over apparently intends to kill him until she's scared off by unexpected traffic. It's in that context David and Sharon are interrogated by the FBI. The message is unequivocal: they better deliver Mike on a platter. This is a complex, multifaceted thriller in which Phoenix itself is a principal player, with its depressed economy, residual Wild West mindset, casinos, mobsters, and corrupt infrastructure all key aspects of its character. Most of what Mapstone believes is at stake. Did he misjudge Mike Peralta? Is Arizona unrelentingly corrupt? What did he do to unleash a killer into his life and endanger his loved ones. Talton, a longtime journalist and native Arizonan, writes in a spare, beautiful style that parallels the stark beauty of his home's high country. This is a nail-biting thriller pushed to the next level of excellence by the moral quandaries that drive the plot. The high point of an outstanding series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)