"...sharp, playful dialogue and surprising choices from characters exemplify O'Keefe's series, in which unpredictable people behave [and] react to crime-novel events in a refreshingly realistic way...On Lonesome Roads is a polished thriller...Great for fans of Matt Goldman and William Kent Krueger."—Booklife
"Peter was such a complicated character who demanded attention instead of sympathy. He was still kicking and screaming, even though he was badly injured. The suspense was alive in this story, and I felt as if it was a constant companion to Peter. The pace was fast, the characters were developed, and the overall feel of the plot was great. You could not guess what would happen next. I have to admit, I, too, had my money on The Outfit, but Dan Flanigan surprised me. There were new shifts in the story when I least expected it and I was amazed when something equally thrilling happened again. I wanted to know who tried to kill Peter, why wasn't the person out in the open, and what would Peter do to get out of this mess. On Lonesome Roads is a great new addition to the series! Entertaining and consuming!"—Rabia Tanveer for Readers' Favorite
"Tightly plotted and meticulously structured, this is a compelling crime thriller that makes excellent use of its 1980s context...It also employs superior character development to recount its tale of desperate detectives, warring gangsters, and obsessive law enforcement in Reagan-era America. Leaning fully into the moral complexity of neo-noir detective archetypes, Flanigan delivers a noble, intelligent, impulsive sleuthwhose dysfunctional domestic life, post-traumatic stress disorder and propensity for attracting trouble yield a complicated, likeable personality. O'Keefe is surrounded by a delightful assortment of supporting characters who add texture to his world...ensures that readers are emotionally invested and that the novel's surprises are satisfying and dramatic. This is an engrossing crime thriller that, despite being part of a series, easily stands alone. It's highly recommended for Michael Connelly fans."—Blue Ink Review
"On Lonesome Roads is thus notable, excellent, and highly recommended not just for its addition to the series or its expansion and continuing exploration of the protagonist's growth and healing, but for its in-depth psychological portrait of a personality struggling to find its way back to a semblance of normalcy. Mystery libraries seeking works that both compliment a series yet stand strongly on their own with important messages about psychological interactions and recovery processes will On Lonesome Roads a fine addition."—Midwest Book Review
2022-06-15
In this third installment of a mystery series, a private eye takes on another dangerous case.
After battling drug-smuggling operations and Mafia kingpins, the Vietnam veteran–turned–divorced gumshoe Peter O’Keefe returns to fight for his personal safety. Novelist and litigator Flanigan’s latest mystery picks up after the cliffhanger ending in The Big Tilt(2020), when the investigator was nearly blown to bits by a car bomb in late 1987. The action resumes three months later as a PTSD–saddled O’Keefe slowly heals from extensive “flash-fried” burns with no leads on a suspect, though the local Mafioso faction, the “Outfit,” “a nest of vicious killers and thieves,” seems like the plausible perpetrator. After media coverage of the bombing, folks from O’Keefe’s ex-wife to his landlord fear for their safety when he’s nearby. Joined by his investigative firm partner, George Novak, and a bomb-sniffing dog, O’Keefe pieces together minor clues but becomes “idiotically determined to poke his stick around in the Outfit snake pit.” The detective insinuates himself into the crosshairs of mob boss Paul Marcone, hoping to call a truce. But O’Keefe only stirs up a hornets’ nest of nefarious henchmen. Also hot on the Outfit’s trail is determined United States attorney and Senate hopeful Russell Lord, who’s dedicated to rooting out the faction after putting former crime boss Carmine Jagoda in jail. But after Jagoda’s sudden death and his likely successor’s mysterious disappearance, Lord fears a Mafia “dynastic succession” reshuffling could spur more violence. As O’Keefe draws closer to tailing the Outfit, Flanigan pumps up the suspenseful action, which has become a reliable facet of the series. Though the author’s mobster plot has more convoluted complexities than in previous mysteries, the story accelerates at a decent clip thanks to a wealth of well-developed characters, like Jagoda’s daughter, Rose, who is also the wife of the missing mobster; Marcone; and a bevy of crooked thugs. A murder, a shootout, and an incriminating audio recording ramp up the action, and despite a deadly snake bite, O’Keefe remains in top investigative form. An integral subplot involves his young daughter, Kelly, who morphs into a fierce, preteen supersleuth investigating her mother’s shady fiance. By the novel’s conclusion, Flanigan will capture readers’ hearts with hopes for a future O’Keefe family reunion.
The further exhilarating adventures of an unbeatable detective, packed with tantalizing loose ends.
