(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

Twenty miles across the North Dakota border, where the scenery goes from rolling grass prairie to pipeline fields, detective Cassie Dewell has been assigned as the new deputy sheriff of Grimstad--a place people used to be from, but were never headed to--now the oil capital of North Dakota. With oil comes money, with money comes drugs, and with drugs comes the dirtiest criminals wanting to corner the market.
In the same small town resides twelve-year-old Kyle Westergaard. Even though Kyle has been written off as the "slow" kid, he has dreams deeper than anyone can imagine. While delivering newspapers, he witnesses a car accident and now has a lot of money and packets of white powder in his possession.
When the temperature drops to 30 below and a gang war heats up, Cassie finds that the key to it all might come in the most unlikely form: an undersized boy on a bike who keeps showing up where he doesn't belong.

This is the 3rd book in the Highway Quartet. It is recommended to read these books in order.

For me, a good mystery/thriller series needs something that really stands out for the reader. Great characters, ingenious plot...you name it, a mystery needs something to separate it from the pack. Step forward, Mr. Box. This is no novel set in the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, or the mean streets of NYC - this is set in the frozen landscape that is North Dakota. And here is where the author excels - not only does he paint a perfect setting, his characters and plotting are set brilliantly against this backdrop.

Detective Cassie Dewell, still searching for 'The Lizard King', is sent off to North Dakota as a deputy sheriff to combat a crime and drug epidemic that is sweeping the new oil-rich city of Grimstad. She has some hard times adjusting to both the locals and the weather. I was less impressed with her development in this novel than the previous two. Maybe it was just the story itself - lots of clues seemed to appear conveniently. And that was disappointing...

However, Kyle's story was highly addictive. I found myself caught up in his story from the very start. A witness to an accident (of sorts), Kyle retrieves a bag that is flung from an overturned car. He takes it home, only for it to be discovered by his mother's boyfriend. No guesses for what's in that bag. Nor are there any guesses for who is after the contents of the bag. And while that sounds a little run-of-the-mill, it's the character of Kyle who carries this off. He has a speech impediment, due to fetal alcohol syndrome. He is often dismissed as slow or challenged. Yet he has big dreams. So when the bad guys come calling, Kyle has to be smart, determined and brave. Cassie needs to help.

So, on the strength of the setting and two main characters, this is a definite 4 stars. Would have liked to have seen either more character development for Cassie or more involvement of The Lizard King. It would have been an even better book with those improvements for me.


Paul
ARH