Sydney Rose Parnell fascinates me. She joined the Marines and, after training, was deployed to Iraq, assigned to a detail responsible for retrieving the remains of dead soldiers. Her experiences there changed her (and every soldier who saw action) at a deeply personal level, affecting her post-service life in myriad ways that are invisible and incomprehensible to those around her, other than similar veterans with whom she interacts. Sydney Rose is a detective with the police force of a large train company, and she's happy to stay in the shadows of a generally uneventful life, constantly accompanied and assisted by Clyde, a Belgian Malinois tracking dog trained to perfection in the Marines during her tour. But a young woman is viciously murdered, and the details surrounding the murder envelop Sydney in an inescapable involvement in the investigation.

Not only is this novel an outstanding detective mystery, full of intrigue, misdirection, suspense, and danger, it's also a stunning and sometimes shattering delve into the psyche of a veteran painfully scarred, yet amazingly strengthened by her experience in the Marines. The novel started off a bit slow for me, but by the middle I was completely engaged. I can't count how many times I was certain I'd figured out who the murderer was. And how many times I was wrong.

The insights into the world of railroad detectives, the hobos and others who "ride the rails," and the inner lives of veterans and others opened up a world to me that I was previously unaware of. More than just a series about an excellent, flawed detective, her brilliant dog, and murder mysteries, this is an inventive and powerful venture into something greater. I want to continue to explore Sydney Rose and Clyde's world in the following books of this truly fine series.

A well done procedural featuring a different sort of cop- Sydney and Clyde are veterans with PTSD who work as partners and railroad cops. Oh and Clyde is a dog. These two are terrific. This is the first in a series that has improved and rounded over time. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Mysteries are something I really enjoy. It did a great job with diversity and the mystery part.

I liked this book. It might not be perfect but it sure is a good read.

Sydney Rose Parnell has come back to Denver from Iraq with a heavy load of emotional trauma and a similarly traumatized K9 companion. In their human and animal way they deal with PTSD, and Clyde's shrapnel wounds. Clyde has come to Sydney because he cannot recover from the loss of his handler, Doug Ayers. Neither can Sydney. Following family tradition, Sydney has taken a job with the railroad. She and Clyde are Railroad Police, a branch of work few of us know. They work for the railroad and investigate crimes occurring on railroad property.

Denver police call on Sydney and Clyde to help with a murder investigation that seems linked to the railroad and to Iraq. A soldier wounded in Iraq is suspected of brutally murdering Elise Hensley, niece of Railroad Police Senior Special Agent Nik Lasko and his wife Ellen Ann who are Sydney's surrogate family in Denver. Sydney works with Denver homicide detective Mike Cohen and her special knowledge of the railway and hobos enriches the book greatly.

The imperfections of the book first are the unnecessary epigraphs (all epigraphs are unnecessary) and a strange sentence linking "white line fever" with railroading. As far as I can see, white line fever is a linked to highway driving. I learned a new phrase "gaggle fuck" which doesn't seem to me to be an improvement on the original.

Ignore these and read on. The ending is improbable but that doesn't matter because the story is so good.

I received a review copy of "Blood on the Tracks: Sydney Rose Parnell Series, Book 1" by Barbara Nickless (Thomas & Mercer) through NetGalley.com.

Look at homelessness and hobo culture as well as ptsd.

An exceptional crime thriller :
Every so often you come upon a crime thriller which stands out from the crowd. "Blood on the Tracks" is such a novel. It is refreshingly different.
It fulfils the key requirements for a really good crime thriller: a strong plot and twists and turns but goes way beyond these.
The key characters in the novel are a Railroad Detective, Sydney Parnell (or Special Agent Parnell to give her the correct title) and Clyde, a Police Dog. And make no mistake about it Clyde plays a distinct and important rôle in this novel. He served in Iraq as did Parnell and has had special operative training.
Investigation of a murder is carried out by both the Denver PD and the Railroad Police. The crime scene speaks of frenzied passion: which lends the police to believe that it was a crime of passion and their prime suspect is the person closest to the victim. However, Special Agent Parnell has grave doubts over the possible guilt of the prime suspect and it these doubts that provide the sparkle to the novel.
The author blends past events in the Iraq War splendidly into the story and makes the reader aware of the problems War Veterans face on the return to the country that they fought, suffered both physically and mentally for and lost friends. The very fragility of humanity is stressed and the humanity of the actions of soldiers in combat situations requires to be understood.
I particularly liked the format of the book which is unusual. Each Chapter commences with a quote from Corporal Parnell taken either from debriefing notes, her personal journal or an interview she gave to a newspaper. And the entire novel is written from Parnell's perspective. The choice of a title for the book I thought brilliant as the words can be applied to many of the themes running through it. As you read the book you'll understand the symbolism I'm referring to.
Secret Agent Parnell and Clyde make a formidable team. Clyde has a character all of his own. Indeed all the characters who make an appearance in the book seem so realistic as does their plight.
Action abounds, especially as the thriller reaches its surprising conclusion. This is an excellent read, differing in style and format from the everyday crime thriller and deserves its place on the "must read" list.

Kept me guessing until the end--which is always good for a mystery. Action packed. Sydney and Clyde are characters I want to continue to follow. Sign me up for the next in the series.

This book was a surprise. As a first time novelist, Ms Nickless came out of the gate at full speed. This is not a light-hearted book, but anyone who has served in the military will understand the loss of moral compass that occurs during war. Her characters are complex - and for the first time in ages, I did not see the end coming. Her lead character is an evolution in words. My thanks to the publisher for providing this book for free.

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is a very good debut. Special Agent Sydney Rose Parnell is part of railroad police, and she is one complex character. A Veteran, served in the Marines, and battling PTSD. I'm curious how this will play out in the series as I am unsure how much is known about her among her colleagues. She gets called in on a murder case by the Denver Crimes Unit. From there, this story packs a little bit of everything in there. The positive parts for me were the characters and the spotlight on Vets and Homelessness. The negative was the middle of the story. Seemed a bit too much thrown in. Still pleased with the overall story, and it is a series I would like to see developed.

Lots of action, based in Colorado during the winter mostly in the railyard. Several of the police detectives/officers were in the Marines in Iraq and have secrets they have to live with. People go missing every year from the railyard at the same time every year. It's a combined effort between the Denver PD and the railyard police to find out what is happening.

A very good book and I am looking forward to next book in the series.