A Dark Path is well titled as it is one of the darker crime novels I've read lately.
Sherriff’s Deputy Katrina Williams is aptly nicknamed Hurricane, not because of her first name, but because she is a hurricane. Standing at six feet tall, she is beyond the cliched alcoholic deputy/detective. She brings with her a past rape by two superior officers who left her for dead when she served in the Mid-East, a recently deceased father, a mother who abandoned her at six, and a never-ending craving for alcohol. When she drinks, she drinks herself blind. She lives in small town Arkansas, wears jeans and boots, and is the wealthy widow of a successful artist. She has anger management issues that she doesn’t always control on the job, and is assigned to therapy for past actions.
Robert E. Dunn displays strong imagery with passages like:
Dr. Kurtz had given me one thing that had nested in my mind. That bit about wearing an identity. She was right. Since I had come home from the Army, I had worn a badge, manly boots, and unflattering jeans as armor against the world. It was a take-me-seriously façade that transitioned easily into a fear-me look. I needed to make some changes in my life.
Hurricane’s husband has been dead long enough to for her to be attracted to a kind and personable detective that she pushes away.
I liked the unfolding story of Katrina most about the book, although several times I felt she thought more like a man than a woman. I guess that’s why authors are encouraged to write characters with the same race and gender.
The plot is one I’ve seen before: Arian Race motorcycle gangs against and African-Americans in small town America, all of whom search for rumored buried treasure.
The book is a well-paced and solid read.

A Dark Path by Robert E. Dunn
A Katrina Williams Novel #3

I truly enjoyed this dark gritty story of Katrina “Hurricane” Williams as she dealt with mental demons while working to solve a murder. She is a bit heavy handed and in your face with the bad guys and not the most open with her feelings but she is definitely a force to be reckoned with and I would love to see what happens next. I had not read the first two books in the series and was able to read without problem though it might have been nice to have known more about Katrina and others mentioned in the book that no doubt were in the previous books.

With rape, murder, racists, Aryan Brotherhood, bikers, drugs, treasure hunters and more this was an interesting story that kept me reading through the night. Katrina was complex and layered and angry and so much more. I don’t know if she will ever find true peace or be able to share with others but have a feeling that the therapy she is going to may help her in the long run.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Will I read more by this author? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books – Lyrical Underground for the ARC ~ This is my honest review.

5 Stars

Meet the Ozarks' force of nature ... Katrina "Hurricane" Williams, Deputy Sheriff.

Katrina is sent to investigate a fire in some dormant land. Her investigation turns up broken headstones, open graves ... and the charred remains of a young African-American man.

Her search for the killer leads to a backwoods criminal network, a vicious motorcycle gang, meth dealers, and the Aryan Brotherhood. She feels that the murder was racially motivated, but things get really muddled when there's rumors of silver.

Shameful secrets, lies, crime, corruption, complicate her life in more ways than one. An unexpected appearance of someone from Katrina's past shows up. Her budding romance with Deputy Billy Blevins is headed for the rocks ... by her own defenses.

This is a well-written action-packed story that shows how family secrets can be held in silence through generation after generation. The ending is ... ferocious.

Katrina is tough, smart, dedicated to her job ... but she suffers a form of PTSD from her military days. Her anger and flashbacks has caused some problems with her job, resulting in her boss' demand that she undergo counseling. She makes a terrific series character.

Although third in a series, this is easily a stand-alone. However, as always, I highly recommend starting at the beginning.

Many thanks to the author / Kensington Books /Lyrica Underground / Netgalley for the advanced digital copy. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Katrina Williams is on my list of all-time favorite characters, and each time I return to another book in the series it’s nothing short of pure enjoyment. Robert E. Dunn has this character on lockdown, as well as writing thrillers. In my opinion, they are his strongest suit and I hope he doesn’t stop writing them anytime soon. Picking up A Dark Path was a pleasure, and I loved returning to Katrina’s stomping ground in Taney county.

Robert E. Dunn skillfully crafts and plans the mysteries Katrina finds herself knee deep in. This is the third book in the series and each book builds additional layers to Katrina’s story arc. She is without a doubt one of the strongest female character I’ve come across. As main characters go, she is complex, tough, and filled with flaws, making her real, three dimensional, and giving the reader a character you will love to root for. I don’t know how Robert E. Dunn can capture a female character so well, but he does it with perceived ease. I’ve seen it attempted many times and it’s not always well done.

In A Dark Path, Katrina is seriously in the weeds as she investigates the murder of a young black man. It’s a timely and bold topic that is well written. Robert takes no prisoners as he tackles a subject that is often avoided, White power and racism. The murder mystery Katrina works to uncover is layer upon layer of secrets and connections to her past. Again, the title A Dark Path has a deeper meaning involving Katrina. I don’t know where her fictional world will go next, or if it will continue at all. But. if there is another book coming, it's on I'm picking up. This book and the previous two are a must read. The mysteries are fantastic and the characters, including Katrina are great.

I found another author and another series to read!!!! This is the first one I've read in the "Hurricane" Katrina Wlliams series and I loved it. I didn't feel like I was missing any information from the first in the series and was able to read this as a stand alone. I really got a feel for the characters and their relationships to each other and can't wait to see how those relationships continue to develop. I look forward to the next one.

Thank you #netgalley and #kensingtonbooks for the eARC.

A Dark Path – Robert E. Dunn

I was fortunate to receive this novel as an Advance Reader Copy, in exchange for an objective review.

Katrina “Hurricane” Williams is a Detective in the backwoods of the Missouri Ozark mountains. As a military vet with both personal and professional scars, she has gained the nickname “hurricane” for her sometimes violent, “kick ass” type of policing. As this novel opens, Katrina is roused from sleep by a call indicating that a charred body has been found. As Katrina arrives to the scene and begins her investigation, the property owner drives up and attempts to throw them off the land. This is just the first time you’ll meet Johnson Rath.

As Katrina investigates the murder and learns the victims identity, the case quickly takes on racial undertones and becomes even more dangerous, with threats lurking around every corner. Then her absentee mother very suddenly re-appears in her life, but for uncertain reasons. As Hurricane works to solve the case, her past returns to haunt her with a vengeance, and she must battle those demons once again, as she fights to solve the case.

I LOVED this character! “Hurricane” almost reminds me of a female Jack Reacher, even if she’s not the proverbial loner. Great characters, great plot development, and relationships with uncertain endings that will have you waiting impatiently for the next installment in the series! Fabulous book!!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Kensington Books for an advance copy of A Dark Path, the third novel to feature Sheriff's Detective Katrina "Hurricane" Williams, set in the Ozarks.

Katrina is nourishing her new relationship with Detective Billy Blevins when she is called out to a suspicious fire. When the fire is cleared a burnt body is found and several old, unmarked graves. When white supremacist Johnson Rath shows up, claiming ownership of the land things take an ugly turn. Katrina's hunt for the killer delves deep into the past.

I thoroughly enjoyed A Dark Path which is a real slice of rural noir, violent, uncompromising and lyrical. It is reminiscent of James Lee Burke's writing with it's troubled protagonist, its theme of the past casting a long shadow deep into the present and the beautifully evocative descriptions which bring the location to life but Hurricane, as she hates to be known, is her own woman and brings the novel to life with her flawed thinking and decision making. I find Mr Dunn's style of writing extremely inviting and was engrossed from start to finish, in fact my attention never wavered and that is something that happens less and less often nowadays.

The actual murder plot is nothing spectacular as the culprits are fairly obvious and it's just a matter of identifying an individual but the interest lies in all the interconnecting relationships, both past and present, and the characters' motivations and actions. It's fascinating and powerful stuff as everyone has an agenda and secrets.

Katrina is not an appealing character and I would defy anyone to really like her. She is a recovering alcoholic with a horrific trauma in her past, both which make her secretive, emotionally guarded, selfish and self destructive and give her a propensity to violence. Surprisingly she is surrounded by good men who try to help her and protect her from herself, unsurprisingly she doesn't appreciate much of this concern. There are signs early in the novel that she is trying to change but the self destruct button is never far away, so, while she's not someone you'd want in your life, I find her journey and missteps compulsive and can't wait to see what's next in her train wreck of a life.

A Dark Path is an excellent addition to a great series so I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending it as a good read.

In the third installment of the Katrina “Hurricane” Williams books, Katrina continues to attempt to swim thorough a quagmire of personal, professional, and past issues.

On the personal side, her husband has died and she has given in to the mutual attraction for fellow co-worker Billy Blevins. On the professional side, a new case brings her into the crosshairs and right hooks of and Aryan brotherhood-type fascist, racist motorcycle group. As for the past, the mother that abandoned her on her uncle’s dock when Katrina was just six years old comes back into the picture.
Personal and past crash together in a series of murders and incidents and her present life is turned upside down by a job offer Billy wants to take.

As with all the Hurricane Williams books, this one was rife with violence –most of it to Katrina herself, both physically and mentally. She’s still seeing her shrink for her anger issues. Hint: the therapy works about half the time in controlling the rage within her. In this book she even attempts to soften her physical image by dressing in “girl clothes” for work. In my last review of book two I stated it was unusual that Katrina was surrounded only by men, no woman even forging herself into her life as a friend, or mentor. The only female in her realm is her pyche doctor, whom Hurricane equally despises and admires. Katrina is simply not a girl’s girl. In this book we find out why.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington for an ARC of this book. Another well done Katrina Williams novel. 5 stars.