Full disclosure, as a retired Army Ranger I may be biased.

Adrian Cervantes is the main character being the only surviving member of his Ranger squad. This is Rambo-esque with the whole go see ,my buddy thing but the story goes bang-bang until the end. Adrian is no superman even if his efforts are a bit superhuman at times. My only pause is it is a series, and I just hope the #2 usual drop off does not occur. YOU WILL enjoy this one though. Thank you NG!!!

A very interesting plot that hopefully sets up a good series. Good story and characters, but the action and reactions may be a little unrealistic and naive.

Cullinan is a tiny Washington state town, a place left behind 50 years ago but with good bones, and dependent entirely on the timber industry. And the timber industry is dying a slow and painful death.

Adrian Cervantes is a classic second generation Mexican American. Raised on the Texas border with Mexico, he has a sense of loyalty to his new country that takes him into the military and Ranger school, where he then served in the same squad overseas with the 75th, 4th Battalion, Echo Company alongside another second generation chicano, Ricky Quinones. Ricky was born of middle class parents, and raised in Cullinan. Seven years after Ricky died along with what was thought to be their whole unit in a helicopter crash in Nineveh, Adrian makes his way to the home of the parents of his best friend to impart what he hopes will be good news - and crashes the wake for Ricky's father. Adrian winds up in jail, charged with assault and disorderly conduct. Enter Ms. Virginia Hue, a second generation Vietnamese immigrant and attorney tasked with Adrian's defense in court.

The bad guys are classic also. Working under the command of Frank Gaulder, an outsider who is tasked with nursing the lumber company in Cullinan through bankruptcy and closure, the most visible bad guys are not the brightest bulbs in the box.

The bodies keep piling up and Virginia and Adrian seem to be two steps behind those bad guys. This was a very intriguing tale, one that I thoroughly enjoyed. Clearcut is a novel I am happy to recommend to family and friends, and is the first in a series I will want to keep up with.

I received a free electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley and Jack Mahoney. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.