Kevin Kerney Series by Michael McGarrity

It's been two years since an on-the-job shooting forced ex-Santa Fe chief of detectives Kevin Kerney to retire. He is drawn back into action when Terry Yazzi, his former partner and the man responsible for his wounds, pleads for Kerney's help. Yazzi's son, a soldier, has disappeared in the barren desert surrounding the White Sands Missile Range. Kerney's investigation resurrects the long-forgotten thrill of the hunt -- and other emotions surface after meeting the tough-but-beautiful Capt... moreIt's been two years since an on-the-job shooting forced ex-Santa Fe chief of detectives Kevin Kerney to retire. He is drawn back into action when Terry Yazzi, his former partner and the man responsible for his wounds, pleads for Kerney's help. Yazzi's son, a soldier, has disappeared in the barren desert surrounding the White Sands Missile Range. Kerney's investigation resurrects the long-forgotten thrill of the hunt -- and other emotions surface after meeting the tough-but-beautiful Capt. Sara Brannon, the Army's investigating officer. Together, they uncover a crime far greater than an AWOL soldier: a conspiracy of death that snakes from the secretive world of military operations, to the cutthroat alleys of a Mexican border town, leading them to a final, shocking revelation that may cost them both their lives.... less

Kevin Kerney, ex-Santa Fe chief of detectives and ex-rancher is working as a seasonal forest ranger in the Gila Wilderness and banking his pay toward the down payment on a small ranch. Despite the county militia's planting pipe bombs on hiking trails, Kerney looks forward to a quiet summer in the high mountains... moreKevin Kerney, ex-Santa Fe chief of detectives and ex-rancher is working as a seasonal forest ranger in the Gila Wilderness and banking his pay toward the down payment on a small ranch. Despite the county militia's planting pipe bombs on hiking trails, Kerney looks forward to a quiet summer in the high mountains. But the poaching of wildlife, the murder of a Mexican tourist, and the discovery of a disoriented old man in the wilderness thrust Kerney into an investigation that accelerates dangerously to a heart-stopping final confrontation. Frustrated by the ineptness of the local sheriff and bureaucratic roadblocks within the Forest Service, Kerney teams up with Jim Stiles, a young, energetic state game and fish officer. Together Kerney and Stiles begin an investigation that takes them back in time to a sixty-year-old feud between two land-rich brothers, Edgar and Eugene Cox, and its possible connection with the death of an Hispanic rancher, and into the present-day intrigue of the paramilitary militia movement sweeping the country. The investigation leads Kerney to question the motives of new assistant district attorney Karen Cox, Edgar's daughter, who may be more interested in shielding her father than in solving the crimes. As the pieces of the puzzle begin to fall into place, someone keeps trying to kill Kerney. And soon Karen must choose between protecting her father's long-buried secret or joining Kerney in a battle for their lives and the truth. less

The Anthony Award-nominated author with "a cunning mind for crime fiction" (The New York Times Book Review) ratchets up the stakes in a novel of electrifying action and unstoppable suspense, where a vengeful killer with an unspeakable agenda won't stop until . . . everyone dies... moreThe Anthony Award-nominated author with "a cunning mind for crime fiction" (The New York Times Book Review) ratchets up the stakes in a novel of electrifying action and unstoppable suspense, where a vengeful killer with an unspeakable agenda won't stop until . . . everyone dies. Santa Fe Police Chief Kevin Kerney and his wife, Lieutenant Colonel Sara Brannon, are on leave and eagerly awaiting the birth of their son when a prominent gay attorney is gunned down outside his office by an unknown assailant. Called to the crime scene and faced with scanty evidence and no apparent motive, Kerney directs his chief of detectives to delve into the victim's personal and professional life, a decision that ultimately leads to a SWAT team screw-up and the death of two innocent people. But the killer has just begun. Kerney's horse, a mustang he'd gentled and trained, is viciously and senselessly destroyed; a dead rat is left on his doorstep; and a second victim with ties to the criminal justice system is found in bed with her throat cut along with a warning: EVERYONE DIES. As a time of joy turns into a nightmare, Kerney and Sara search desperately for a seemingly unstoppable chameleonlike killer who promises to murder them and their unborn son. less