The Relentless Sun
by Robert Walton
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Pub Date May 01 2024 | Archive Date Oct 10 2024
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Description
In Harry Thursday's fourth outing, the intrepid archaeologist is drawn away from his peaceful home on the Greek Island of Seprios to Flagstaff Arizona, and finds he has stepped from the plane into the intrigue of human greed, political corruption, and murder.
While searching for the things to use in her homemade jewelry, Hok'ee, a young Navajo woman, stumbles onto a hidden deposit of rare Burmese rubies - known as Pigeon's blood - scattered at the foot of the O'Leary Peak north of Flagstaff. This seemingly innocuous discovery unleashes a series of events more cataclysmic than anyone involved could have imagined.
With the help of Sun, his beautiful Hopi guide, Harry sorts through the various factions who may or may not be involved with the rubies or the mounting murders. As Harry uncovers Flagstaff's secrets, the clues become more and more obscure, but "truth will out."
What promises to be a short and simple job for the BAR, Harry soon discovers that, when confronted with a choice, making the correct one can make the difference between life and death.
Advance Praise
The Bottom Line: A riveting historical thriller set at the intersection between white and tribal culture in Arizona. Fans of Dark Winds will love The Relentless Sun.
Set in the 1970s, Relentless Sun begins as archeologist and investigator Harry Thursday embarks on a government mission to Flagstaff, Arizona. Working for the Bureau of Audits and Reclamation (BAR), a clandestine Pentagon department tasked with finding lost and stolen World War II war booty, Harry returns to Flagstaff for the first time in 20 years. But what begins as an investigation into a mysterious collection of rare rubies is destined to become an absorbing murder mystery.
A trickle of Burmese rubies – worth more than diamonds – have been flowing to a local lapidary. Meanwhile, Harry’s on-again, off-again lover and BAR supervisor, Sara, reveals the discovery of a single ruby and a deed to a long-dead mine. That’s hardly the end of it. Harry and Department of Justice partner Tom Schilling will soon find that the young Navajo woman responsible for discovering and selling the rubies to the lapidary has disappeared.
As in Walton’s excellent Harry Thursday novel Wish to Die, the trail leads back to World War II, and includes a Navajo soldier, a Nazi spy and a business partnership gone awry. Walton always excels at tying threads together from multiple centuries, and this fourth Harry Thursday novel is no exception. As such, the case also has roots in the 1800s, where Harry and Tom will piece together fascinating regional dealings between the Mexican government and cattle barons. The closer Harry and Tom get to the truth, the closer they are to becoming victims themselves.
Among Walton’s cast, Harry’s Hopi guide and title character, Sun, is perhaps the most enigmatic character of them all. In possession of a quick wit and beauty that Harry finds irresistible, she’s far from what she seems as she both helps and hinders the investigation. Speaking of which, Relentless Sun reveals Thursday to be quite the ladies’ man (who knew a man in a bolo tie could be so magnetic?). And when it comes to a certain provocatively placed tattoo on more than one of the female characters, Harry’s take is timeless: “location, location, location.”
The story is set against the backdrop of the Navajo reservation, and the tensions between the Native American and white communities are a recurring theme. Further, conflict between Flagstaff’s founding family, the Moynihans, and Lone Wolf’s casino business, is emblematic of the larger cultural divide, with both sides believing that they are entitled to the treasure. The lens of Walton’s protagonist – filled with curiosity, humor and Harry’s undeniable masculinity – make this an endlessly entertaining and educational journey."
By BestThrillers Staff / April 7, 2024 / Robert Walton / 3 minutes of reading https://bestthrillers.com/the-relentless-sun-a-riveting-historical-thriller-by-robert-walton/
Available Editions
| ISBN | 9798880269792 |
| PRICE | $5.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 289 |
Links
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Reviewer 1376726
LOVED !!!
Right up my ally. Incredible writing I was hooked Right from chapter one and have reccomended to so many people !
I will be back for more 🤩
Timothy E, Reviewer
THE RELENTLESS SUN by author Robert Walton is the 4th book in the Harry Thursday series that takes place in Flagstaff Arizona with the archaeologist investigating rubies that have mysteriously turned up in the area at the behest of his intermittent love interest Sara Webster, and Harry soon finds out that in addition to all of the people involved there is danger present and many roads to travel to get the information needed to have a chance at locating the rubies and how they ended up in the area.
Sun is a very attractive Hopi woman who acts as Harry’s guide with her knowledge of the area, and Harry finds that a young Navaho woman named Hok’ee found the gems while looking for artifacts and other items to make jewelry.
Harry meets several people interested in the case including Tom Schilling from DOJ after being tailed by some toughs and rescued by him.
Henry Lone Wolf is the owner of ‘The Triple C” billed as a “Cowboy Country Club” and who appears to be a dangerous character who might be involved somehow.
Can Harry locate the missing gems and discover the truth about where they originated, and is he able to successfully solve the case without injury or worse to himself and those he associates with?
Good story with pleasure of action to keep the readers interest, although at times there are so many players in this novel that it sometimes makes it difficult to keep track, but all in all it’s an enjoyable book that I’d recommend to others, and having been a previous resident of AZ I found it easy to imagine the surroundings described in the story which made it even more interesting.
4 stars.
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