Concrete Desert

In Jon Talton's Concrete Desert, the 1st installment in the David Mapstone mystery series, you'll be intrigued with his storytelling. For David Mapstone, a former history professor who returned back to his hometown in Phoenix to work as a deputy for the sheriff's office. While he researched old unsolved mysteries, specifically the cold case of Rebecca Stokes's murder from the 1950s, he dug into the background of the last days of her life. Meanwhile, his former high school sweetheart Julie breezed into his life to help her finding her sister, Phaedra. Little did they know, that he'd been involved into a twisted copycat-like murder and dealt with hard core politics and a drug connection between the two cases. In the end, his life remained on the line, when the bitter truth became of whodunit and why and what it all boiled down to with a shocking twist.

This was a terrific mystery set in the hottest days of an Arizona summer. I cared about David Mapstone and how he worked with Peralta. I wasn't certain about Julie and was disgusted with her in the end. It had plenty of fast-paced non-stop action, drama, intrigue and suspense for this mystery debut. I loved the Arizonian locations of Phoenix and the desert settings to show how humid and dry the crime scene were. This would grip you into a thrill ride from page to page with lots of guessing right to the end.

Will you visit a concrete desert today? If so, check it out now!