Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

I am straight onto this book having just finished book 5. This time there is a plane crash in the Maine forest and it’s a team of biologists who are researching in the area that get to the crash site first. The rumours start about how there was a woman at the scene, but it seems nobody, the researchers included, have anything to say about it. Tess is asked by the insurers to check out the plane crash so she decides to take along her fella Po as well as their long time friend Pinky.
Aside from the issue of them all checking out the crash site, Pinky has a slight worry going on as now he has given up the criminal world of illegal gun trading there is now a bounty on his head. This book I absolutely LOVED. It had so much going on and you were always wondering what was coming next. There is a lot of action, especially towards the end and I was thoroughly engaged from start to finish. Thankfully as I know there are still books ahead of me to read in this series, I luckily didn’t feel too heartbroken that I had finished another of these books.
I absolutely love all the characters that make up these books as they are a fry cry from your bog-standard hero’s, and I have grown very attached to all of them. I can highly recommend this series and can’t wait to move onto book 7!

Rough justice or tough-to-get justice…...

When three field biologists working in the Great North Woods are caught up in the aftermath of a plane crash, little did they know it would result in a life or death scenario for them.

When Tess Grey arrives in the crash area to investigate and interview the biologists, she discovers the three are clearly leaving big gaps in their account of the plane crash and lack of survivors. Tess is also in a party of three, her partner Jo and their friend ‘Pinky’. The six soon discover they are not alone in the woods and this is when the plot thickens and it becomes impossible to put the book down.

Rumours that there was a survivor from the plane crash is the cause of others arriving on the scene. The others being from the criminal dark side of life. Sub-plots are added when Pinky’s past life of urban crime comes back to haunt him up there in the rural Great North Woods.

Clearly Matt Hilton’s many years of experience in police and private security give him the edge when it comes to authenticity in this book. Definitely a must-read.

BonnieK

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book to review.

If you go down to the woods today...🎶 nope, no teddy bears in this story, although the charming Pinky comes closest - just lots of breathless action and shooting! This is the sixth book in the Tess Grey & Po Villere series about specialist investigators working for the Portland, Maine, DA. I’d read the previous book last year and the first last week but this easily stands alone and is my favourite so far.

A small plane has crashed in the Maine forest, and a team of biologists doing research into local cervidae were first on the scene, but report that no one was found alive. When online rumours start that a woman was there, Tess is asked by the insurers to question them further. Meanwhile Po’s best friend Pinky has made the decision to give up the illegal arms trade and move up North, but this has put a bounty on his head; when he joins the team for a jaunt into the forest, a pair of assassins follow, but another team is also on the hunt for the mysterious woman, and they won’t let anyone get in the way of finding her...

It’s Day 18 of Lockdown here in NZ and I’ve got my reading mojo back - in fact I’m going to find it hard to resume normal life and go back to work since reviewing has become such a satisfying voluntary job. (I am actually doing bits of work in my actual job, which is probably a good thing, as reviewing is fun but doesn’t pay for cat food.) This was a taut well paced thriller which pits our engaging trio against one of the most callous villains I’ve come across in a while. I liked the way the different factions shift sides, and you’re never entirely sure who you can trust. The epic final battle was straight from a Hollywood blockbuster - I’d happily watch a movie of this. 4.5 rounded up for sheer entertainment value.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc which allowed me to give an honest review. Rough Justice is available now.

My first experience with Tess and Po. Wow! Unusual characters. Too much violence for this tender soul, but an exciting read. I know, I should have been able to guess that from the title. Some surprising alliances.

A private plane goes down in the Great North Woods. A group of biologist who happen to be in the area track it The two pilots are dead ... but there is a survivor... a woman holding a gun. Once they contact the authorities, they deny there was a survivor.

Tess Gray and her partner Po Villere are hired to investigate the place crash by an insurance firm to look into the verification of a survivor. Tess, Po and their friend, Pinky, trample into the woods to interview the biologists.

But Tess and her party plus the biologists are not the only people in the woods. People from Pinky's past are looking for him to collect the bounty on his head...dead or alive. There's another interested party looking for the biologists and still more looking for the survivor. No one wants any survivors when they finally walk away.

Full of energy and action, Tess and Po are at their best in this adventure. Pinky plays a much larger part then in the previous books, but proves to all that he's as bad-ass as Tess and Po and able to handle himself quite well. It's a real page-turner with several twists and surprises along the way.

Although 6th in the series, this is easily read as a stand alone. As always, I highly recommend starting at the very beginning ... would make a terrific reading marathon.

Many thanks to the author / Severn House Publishing / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

What happened when the plane crashed in the Maine woods? Who was on it and why are there multiple people looking for the survivor? Tess and Po, a dynamic pair, head off to the woods to find the biologists who saw the plane go down and to find the woman who may have been on the plane. Their friend Pinky, who has his own issues, goes with them which sets up a sort of circular chase scene. That's simplifying things- Hilton has packed a lot into a relatively slim volume that will keep you turning the pages. This will be fine as a standalone as the characters are well formed and you get enough of their back stories. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Nicely written and plotted- I'm a fan.

‘Now move aside, before somebody gets killed.’

There’s a plane crash in the Great North Woods of Maine, with two lives lost. The three biologists who report the crash claim that they only saw the two who were killed. But later, one of them is heard talking about a female survivor. Private Investigator Tess Grey is hired to investigate. She and her partner Po Villere head off into the woods, together with their friend, gun-runner Jerome ‘Pinky’ Leclerc. Pinky is looking to avoid some problems of his own.

What follows is an action-packed, messy series of violent encounters while Tess tries to work out what happened at the crash scene. Messy? Well, Tess and her team are not the only people headed into the woods. There’s another group looking for the survivor, and then there are some fairly inept bounty hunters searching for Pinky. Who is this mysterious survivor, and why are so many people looking for her? There are a couple of worthy villains and some likeable heroes.

There are a few unexpected twists in the story, and while I wasn’t always completely engaged, I was curious enough to keep reading. This is the first of Matt Hilton’s novels I’ve read: I suspect it won’t be the last.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Severn House for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

The sixth outing for PI former cop Tess Grey and her partner, ex-con Po Villere in this action-packed thriller series. Hired by an insurance company to investigate rumours of a survivor from plane-crash in the deep great woods of upstate Maine. Aided by their friend, career criminal Pinky Leclerc, they are soon being hunted by a team of mercenary killers determined to permanently silence the survivor and anyone else who gets in their way.
A breathtaking non-stop suspense filled story.

A plane crash in the woods with rumors of a survivor. Tess a Grey is hired to head back to the site of the crash to verify if there was a survivor. Accompanying her are her fiancé Po and Pinky, a former gun runner who is trying to go straight. There are people who are after the survivor and some unsavory characters who want to eliminate Pinky. There is plenty of suspense and a lots of twists that will keep you turning the pages. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers o copy.

Tess Grey is a private investigator. When a plane crashes in the woods killing the pilot and the co-pilot, there's a rumor that a woman was on board and survived. She's sent to check it out. She takes her lover with her. He invites a fellow trying to hide from gun runners. Who's going to look in the woods for him?

Severn House and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It will be published April 7th.

They take weapons with them and a bit of backup ammunition because there are bears and other wild animals in the area they'll be in. They see no sign of the woman. They talk to the forest service personnel in the area but they say there were no survivors. Tess doesn't believe them. As she keeps working on them, the youngest one tells her he can see men in the woods around them on his tracking device. Tess' lover, Po, heads out to stop them. He returns with them. They were after Pinky, who has retired from gun running. But there are more guns coming...

Two undercover DEA agents are after each other. One has stolen papers to prove higher ups are dealing in drugs. The other is trying to stop her. Tess and the forest rangers are in the way. So are the town residents. The one after the papers intends to kill them all... She didn't realize Tess and her friends can take care of themselves.

There is a lot of killings, mostly in self-defense. There is justice in the end but the woman who took all the risks isn't there to see it. I bet Tess will ask a few more questions before taking on another government job...

A unique and gripping premise, this book takes you on a wild ride inside the mind of a diabolical killer...one who ends up hitting a bit too close to home. Eye-opening twists keep you engrossed in the story for hours on end, and culminates with a satisfying conclusion. Recommended.

**My sincere thanks to the author and publisher for providing a copy free of charge through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.**

This fast paced thriller offers plenty of thrills and suspense as we follow Hilton's regular pairing of Tess Grey and Po Villere, and a group of field biologists, as they are being hunted through the Great North Woods of Maine by a group of mercenaries after the survivor of a recent plane crash. Some well choreographed action scenes and a good twisty plot will keep you keenly reading this one well into the night. It would make a great movie!

A private plane is sabotaged. The question is whether a passenger with an important package survived and where is the package. That could be a reasonable story were it not complicated by the group of private investigators looking for the survivor bringing a retired gangster who is trailed by men paid to kill him. So there are two story lines,the latter being irrelevant and adding unnecessary complications such as far too many characters. The book is full of description which can get in the way of the story. The end is,as expected,full of killings. I found this book to be a long read with no real rewards.