January and July

 

January and July by Jeff Abbott
7/7/26; 368 pages
Blackstone Publishing 

January and July by Jeff Abbott is a highly recommended mystery/thriller.

After a disastrous failed mission in Paris, intel officer January Holte is demoted and sent on a new mission. Her task is to uncover the identity of an agent who is selling agency secrets and the clues lead her to the small town of Lethey, Texas.  January is looking for a man named Bill Connors. She arrives at his house in Lethy, finds it was broken into and there is a older woman there who is a neighbor also looking for Bill. Then someone else shows up for the same reason. It becomes abundantly clear that Lethey is one odd little town inhabited by odd citizens all looking for Bill.

At the same time, Houston bodyguard July Whitlock has lost his first client, Bill Connors. July was to wait outside a warehouse while Bill had a meeting inside. Bill never emerges, a car speeds away, and when July looks inside, he finds a used syringe but little else. Since he is technically still being paid for his time, July continues his investigation at Bills apartment. A confrontation with another man looking for Bill, leads July to the small town of Lethey where, after threats from others, he ends up cautiously working with January to find Bill.

It seems everyone is looking for Bill, all of them have questionable motives, most of them are capable of deadly violence, and there appears to be some sort of major monetary graft going on involving millions of dollars. And the money may be missing, or at least inaccessible. People have turned to violence for less, and that greed appears to be a motive here. At the same time, at every turn someone is out to get January and July. Additionally, there are other players in town looking for someone or something. Nothing is as it seems.

The writing is excellent, while the premise and set up are compelling and interesting. The intrigue and mystery factor, along with the tension, is high, although the pace is even for much of the novel. When things start moving faster toward the end of the novel, the pace takes off at a breakneck speed and throws all manner of twists and new information at you. The twists are surprising and all of them keep the suspense and tension high. The final denouement and lead up to it is all very well done.

The cast of characters are all vastly different and interesting. Both January and July are complicated, well-developed characters with strengths and weaknesses who are facing some real questions along with life-changing information. There is certainly more room for development of these two characters.  I mention this because, once I finished January and July, it appears that it may represent the start of a series and, if this is the case, I'm all in. I liked both January and July and the ending presented some real possibili.ties for future missions and it would be interesting to see them in another thriller. 4.5 rounded down when required

January and July is a great choice for those who enjoy mystery/thrillers where nothing may be exactly how it appears. Thanks to Blackstone Publishing for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.