Nail's Crossing

4 and 1 / 2 stars

Sergeant William “Bill” Maytubby of the Chickasaw Nation tribal police and county deputy Officer Hannah Bond discover the mutilated body of Majesty Tate.

Austin Love a meth dealer who has recently been released from prison is their main suspect in the murder. Unable to locate Love, Maytubby and Bond crisscross the area looking for witnesses, relatives or anyone who can give them more information about either Tate or Love. Some clues or leads are better and more believable than others.

Maytubby even winds up traveling to Louisiana where he obtains another valuable clue.

The truth finally comes out and it’s not quite what the reader expected. This is both a well written and plotted book. I enjoyed it very much. There were times when I got a little lost because of the unusual style of writing, but once I got used to it, it was fine. I am looking forward to the next in the series, if this is going to be a series. Or, the next Kris Lackey novel will do fine as well.

I want to thank Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for forwarding to me a copy of this great book to read.

This is a very satisfying police procedural with added fillips to the tropes of the genre- witty dialogue with a girl friend, proper respect paid to an underling who is often a dumpier figure than the main protagonist - who is unusual and handsome, intrepid- and that all goes here in a crime story setin the middle ofOklahoma..a half-Native American and white policeman works better with some of his colleagues than others but he is more effective. What starts as an awful rape/murderstory opens up into a story of calling in old favours, duplicities and corruption, hiding apast. The mix of cultures in this part of the world was a revelation to me. As was the running joke of careful eating CS. Gorging out on fatty foods ! I admit it was at times hard to decipher to local lingo but it worked itself out soon enough and there were some great local figures.

Set in Oklahoma, a good debut novel. Sergeant Maytubby, of the Chickasaw tribal police, discovers a body along with county deputy Bond. They search for witnesses who can provide them with any information regarding the murder but some of the clues were just too unbelievable for me. The style of writing had me confused at first and took some getting used to. The book was well paced and was more a thriller/mystery than a police procedural. Thank you Net Galley for my copy. I reviewed on Goodreads.

I received a free electronic copy of this mystery novel from Netgalley, Kris Lackey, and Blackstone Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all, for sharing your work with me.

This was an excellent mystery, one difficult to put down. The form is a little different, but effective and perhaps even an added flavor in this mix of all sorts of cops crisscrossing across Oklahoma during a long hot summer. I will look for more by Kris Lackey. He is an author to watch for.

A well written book for a debut novel. Good plot and setting.

Indian country, Oklahoma. It’s hot and dry, and on this day, it’s deadly. Bill Maytubby is a tribal Lighthorse policeman and Hannah Bond is a deputy for the county. When Hannah discovers the body of Majesty Tate, a drifter, she has no idea what kind of a hornet’s nest the investigation will turn into. Finding answers will take Maytubby across three states and put his life and the life of his fiancé in danger. The question is who will be left standing when the final dust clears.

I think this is a great debut mystery/thriller. I certainly hope it is the start of a series with these characters because I really liked them. The dynamic between Maytubby and Bond is really unique. They are not exactly partners because they work for different agencies but they seem to end up working together when the jurisdictions overlap and I really enjoyed their banter and the way they are able to sense what is needed in any given situation. This story does have a lot of secondary characters that are vital to the story but you will need to be paying attention to keep up with it all. The plot line has a lot of interesting twists and turns and the finale had me on the edge of my seat. Overall, I’m really impressed with this one and will be keeping my eyes open for more from this author.

I enjoyed reading this book. It was different from the usual police/criminal mystery with the two main characters determined to solve the case, no holds barred. At first I found the language of the book difficult to get into, but as I kept going, the mystery grabbed me and kept me guessing until the end.

This rural American police investigation is a sheer delight, conjouring characters as credible and a situation as intriguing as you’ll find in James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux series. Here the hook is somewhat different: we follow Detective Maytubby of the ‘first people’ Chickasaw Nation as he plunges barefoot into a rough and tumble murder manhunt which writhes through the summer-seared landscape of scorching Oklahoma, across the southern States and into the Cajun country of the Louisiana swamps.

Yet despite being influenced by his tribal ancestry, Maytubby is a thoroughly modern cop. He follows his nutritionist girlfriend’s dietary advice, skips the honey-roast ham, grits and pancakes, and flicks between google streetview and GPS to chase down his methhead prey through parched trailer parks and along bone-dry stream beds.

In rapid fire, sharp and stylish prose, author Lackey plunges the reader straight into the action. Maytubby and female trooper Hannah tear across the reservation, seeking a pitiless stone-killer. Their interactions are beautifully choreographed, not least her joyful teasing about their different eating habits. The author has brought a half dozen new people into the world and given them depth and precision, and just enough flaws and quirks to make them intriguingly realistic.

Comparing any novelist to JLB is giving it big licks and, in fairness, Lackey’s writing is nowhere near as densely detailed as Burke’s. He shows without telling, rarely slows the pace, and the result is that the pages rattle by with alacrity. Comparisons with Cormac McCarthy are inevitable – but Lackey’s writing has a less artificial, more naturalistic flow to it. He brings a sense of place and time into existence with genuine skill; you can almost smell the burning asphalt and hear the whine of over-worked air-con units. You also get a snapshot of the peculiar municipal / policing situation without being beaten over the brainpan by tribal politics or social history. Just a few mentions hither and yon inform the story and the characters – like the notion of ‘civilised’ native Americans… who were the ones who owned slaves, back in the day.

There are a few genre regulars, just to remind you that this is a crime thriller – the corrupt politician, the killer turned stalker, the cross-country chase, the creepy preacher – but there’s also plenty of novelty and more than a few ‘didn’t see that coming’ moments. This degree of expertise would be welcome from a seasoned writer: it’s all the more astonishing in a debut novel.

When Nail’s Crossing reached its entirely satisfying conclusion, I would’ve bought then next in the series straight off the bat. Except there isn’t one. Yet. Get going, Mr Lackey. I’m waiting.
8/10

.3.5 stars
This book is about a determined Chickasaw nation policeman, William Maytubby, and Sheriff's deputy Hannah Bond, on the trail of a stone cold killer. A dead woman is found and the obvious suspect is a Chickasaw native. But Maytubby senses something is wrong and spends his own time and money figuring out who the real murderer is. The book goes back and forth between the investigation and Maytubby's private life. The plot and the characters meshed together well. The ending was very good.
One quote on a burn ban and arsonists: "If you outlaw fire, only outlaws will have fire."
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this book.

Southwestern fiction debut mystery novel! Maytubby and Bond are fun characters to see play off each other. A solid debut. The only thing that really put me off a bit was the Southwestern verbiage with the Cajun flare tossed it. I could never get past it in Season 1 of True Blood either so it's definitely just a me thing. It did take away from some of my enjoyment of this otherwise twisty little mystery. However, I think once you get used to the writing style, it tends to flow a little better but it took me a bit to get to that point.

The author does a great job in making you feel like you're in the Southwest and that was a pleasure for me to envision. Throw in some bad guys, drugs, corruption and mysterious deaths and you've got me! Lots of secondary characters which was a little confusing at times, but they were unique and helped add some spice to the story.

I can see this series taking off once you get into the character flow and into the nitty gritty of Maytubby and Bond's lives. I'm curious to see how the author moves forward.

★★★ 1/2

Difficult to believe that this is a debut novel - it's very well-written. And who could pass up a protagonist named MayTubby! Good characters, good mystery. Recommended for fans of Craig Johnston and C.J. Box.