Close Range

 

Close Range by Paul Heatley
9/13/26; 289 pages
Inkubator Books
Tom Rollins #22

Close Range by Paul Heatley is a highly recommended thriller and the 22nd book in the Tom Rollins series. This time Tom encounters a corrupt police force  in Pennsylvania.

Tom Rollins is traveling while waiting for a call from Cindy Vaughn who is tracking down Blake Stavers, the man who killed Tom's Parents. When he is near the town of Furness, PA, he decides to pull over into a quiet spot and get a few hours of sleep. Deputies Holland and Becker out of Furness wake him up and rather than telling him to move on they decide to threaten him. Tom handles them in his own special manner, but is later stopped by Deputies Paver and Olivia Brown which leads to his stay in the jail. After the deputies continue to try to take him down, it suddenly occurs to Sheriff Watson that the local who runs the town could use a man with Tom's skills.

Sebastian Huskey along with his "aide" Charlie (Charlotte) Russell meet with Tom. Sebastian claims his nephew Jack is on meth, cooking it on the mountain somewhere, and he need someone who can track Jack down and bring him home so they can get treatment for him. Helping a young man who needs it is in Tom's wheelhouse so he agrees and heads up the mountain with Riley (Sebastian's son) and hired men Bobcat, Rayjohn, and Gil. However, once circumstances lead to Tom finding Jack without the others, Tom learns what is really going on, and it's time to take Sebastian and his men down. Deputy Olivia Brown is pulled in to assist.

As expected this is another fast-paced, action-packed thriller with clear distinctions between good/bad players in which Tom takes no prisoners and eliminates the bad guys. The setting, search on the mountain, along with an encounter with moonshiners helps add to the suspense and danger, which rises exponentially throughout. There are really no surprises in predicting that Sebastian is dirty, along with the police. The only real questions are when will Tom uncover what is really going on and how will he handle it. Olivia really added little to the plot and her role, other than their brief physical attraction, could have been filled with any honest character, although it does make Tom realize how important Cindy is to him.  Set disbelief aside and enjoy the non-stop, over-the-top action.

Close Range is a great choice for those who enjoy action-packed thrillers. As the 22nd book in the series, you might appreciate this latest outing more if you have read some of the previous books and are already acquainted with Tom and his background and very particular set of skills. However, I think new readers can enjoy this and then may want to look at some of Tom Rollins earlier adventures. Thanks to Inkubator for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.