Mortal Dilemma: A Matt Royal Mystery

by H. Terrell Griffin

Overview

Best-Selling and Award-Winning Author

Matt Royal meets the meanest man he has ever faced

Jock Algren arrives on Longboat Key in a state of depression and hopelessness. His most recent mission for his secretive U.S. government intelligence agency has been disastrous, and his friends Matt Royal and J.D. Duncan aren't sure they'll be able to pull him out of his despair—then the bad guys show up and danger erupts on all fronts.

J.D., a Longboat Key detective, is investigating a cold case when the brother of the victim shows up on the island and complicates the investigation. A grizzled sailor—described by Matt as "the meanest man I'd ever known"—brings his boat into a local marina and bodies begin to accumulate.

A Middle East jihadist intent on revenge locks on to Jock's clandestine past, bringing a deadly chase to the last outpost in the continental U.S.—Key West.

Three prongs of evil descend, clashing violently. How could all this malice be interconnected?

For fans of David Baldacci and John Grisham

While all of the novels in the Matt Royal Mystery Series stand on their own and can be read in any order, the publication sequence is:

Blood Island
Wyatt's Revenge
Bitter Legacy
Collateral Damage
Fatal Decree
Found
Chasing Justice
Mortal Dilemma
Vindication

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781608091751
Publisher:	Oceanview Publishing
Publication date:	04/05/2016
Series:	Matt Royal Series , #10
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	185,814
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

H. Terrell Griffin is the award winning author of ten Matt Royal mysteries set on Florida's Suncoast. Prior to succumbing to his lifelong yen to write, he earned degrees in history and law from Mercer University and was a board certified civil trial lawyer based in Orlando for thirty-eight years. In his youth, Terry served three years in the U.S. Army, much of it as a medic in an Armored Cavalry regiment on the East German border.

Editorial Reviews

02/15/2016
In Griffin’s busy 10th Matt Royal mystery (after 2015’s Chasing Justice), two people close to Matt are in jeopardy—his lover, J.D. Duncan, a detective with the Longboat Key, Fla., PD, and his best friend, Jock Algren, a top agent for a secret U.S. government agency. J.D. travels to the Florida panhandle to get new information about a three-year-old cold case murder. Back in Longboat Key, a professional assassin hired by a shady PI in Tallahassee waits for her return. Meanwhile in Key West, an unknown shooter wounds Jock, who has been feeling severely depressed after his last spy mission went awry. Matt and J.D. fly to Key West to visit Jock. At the hospital where he’s recovering, Jock tells Matt he thinks his shooting was just a ploy to lure Matt and J.D. to Key West. J.D. and Matt make a formidable pair of reluctant killers as they take on terrorists seeking revenge on Jock. The unwieldy plot careens to a bloody climax. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"The action is fast paced, the characters dynamic, and the Key West, FL, setting adds a colorful backdrop to this edge-of-your-seat story. Highly recommended for thriller fans who enjoy the works of David Baldacci.” —Library Journal (Starred Review)


“Loose threads are woven into a tapestry of bloody violence but, predictably, Matt Royal prevails and stomps a few metaphoric roaches into oblivion. And ‘It just don’t get no better than this.’” —Bookreporter


Praise for the Matt Royal Mystery Series

“Bitter Legacy is another solid cruise in the sun with H. Terrell Griffin. This story takes you in and holds you to the very last page. I enjoyed the ride!” —Michael Connelly, New York Times best-selling author


“Witty, smart and highly entertaining. An intriguing mix of hopes and fears that combine into a pulse-pounding treat.” —Steve Berry, New York Times best-selling author


“Welcome to the world of Matt Royal, the fun-loving beach bum lawyer who is as tough and smart as any character in modern American fiction.” ―Randy Wayne White, New York Times best-selling autho


“Full of Florida flavor and spiced with tension and humor.” ―James O. Born, New York Times best-selling author


“This is an entertaining mystery . . . reminiscent of John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee novels, with a dash of Lee Child's Jack Reacher thrown in for good measure.” —Booklist


“This is an entertaining mystery . . . reminiscent of John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee novels, with a dash of Lee Child's Jack Reacher thrown in for good measure.” —Booklist

From the Publisher

★ 04/01/2016
The family you have and the one you make are everything. Griffin's tenth Matt Royal novel (after Chasing Justice) finds the ex-lawyer trying to help Jock Algren, a friend who has fallen into an emotional pit of self-loathing and despair after his latest secretive antiterrorism government assignment. Meanwhile, Royal's girlfriend, Det. J.D. Duncan, is investigating the deathbed confession of a murdered man that may also shed light on a cold case homicide. On her way home, Duncan is run off the road and shot at in an assassination attempt. Soon Royal realizes that someone is also trying to kill him. Are these incidents linked? Does this have anything to do with Algren's previous job that he won't talk about? Algren doesn't care if he lives or dies, but someone cares very much about making him live through the deaths of those he loves. VERDICT The action is fast paced, the characters dynamic, and the Key West, FL, setting adds a colorful backdrop to this edge-of-your-seat story. Highly recommended for thriller fans who enjoy the works of David Baldacci.—Susan Moritz, Silver Spring, MD

Library Journal