Murder on Route 66
Dollycas’s ThoughtsI read Mr. Nilson’s books in reverse order but that is not an issue because they are perfect as stand alones.
Our protagonist Bobby Navarro is on road trip along Route 66 when he decides to stop a while and work on a ranch in New Mexico as the cook’s assistant. He feels right at home and quickly becomes friends with the cook, his wife and son. Then Bobby find his new boss dead in a parking lot. He vows to the man’s family to find the killer. He also stays on at the ranch to cook until a new one can be hired. Police have set their sights on a cook from another ranch but after meeting the man Bobby thinks they’re wrong and delves into his own investigation. The detective in charge of the case and the ranch foreman are both upset about that. His investigation takes him into some scary situations and there is even an attempt on his life. But there is too much at stake for him to give up.
Bobby Navarro has a heart as big as all outdoors, not your typical bad-boy biker. He makes friends at the ranch and a new girlfriend in town. Both put him in precarious straights as the girlfriend’s ex is the detective on the case and there is more going on at the ranch than meets the eye.
As with the author’s other book, the reader is drawn in immediately by Navarro’s real down to earth personality. This is just a temporary stop along the highway for him. He has no real set plans and a job that he can go back to at any time. A job that he needed a break from because it is a dangerous one. Who knew a road trip could be more dangerous? I love this man’s persistence and his fight to right wrongs and get to the truth for people he basically has just met.
The author has laid out quite a plot with twists that turn the story upside down. I had an inkling but never expected the whole way the story actually wrapped up.
Nilson’s stories are unusual because there are not too many cozies out there with male leads and Bobby is edgier than the few I can think of off the top of my head, but his books take place in small towns, have its share of quirky characters and the murders take place without any gory details and the romance never gets explicit. There is also the necessary humor to life the reader away from the tragic situations from time to time. The author calls his work ” a man’s cozy”, but I have really enjoyed both books.
If you are in the mood for something a little different I encourage you to try either of this author’s books. I just hope we don’t have to wait another 5 years for his next one.
