Baby Shark’s Jugglers at the Border

Robert Fate sent me an ARC for the latest in his Baby Shark series. It’s called Jugglers at the Border. Before I could read it, I had to get it back from my dear husband, also a Baby Shark fan.

All the Baby Shark books are set mostly in Texas in the 50s and star Kristin Van Dijk, also known as Baby Shark. You could read this fourth book without having read the others, but I’d encourage you to start at the beginning. The first book will let you know why Kristin Van Dijk is known as Baby Shark and why she can be as lethal as her moniker would lead you to believe she could be.

In Jugglers at the Border, the focus is on Kristin’s partner, Otis Millett. Kristin and Otis team up with the Fort Worth police to find out who killed Millett’s estranged wife and ex-stripper Dixie Logan - and why. They’re on the trail of a gang of ruthless cop-killing bank robbers led by nut-job who hears voices and has no respect for life. To find the killer and the bank heist money, they’ll go from Fort Worth all the way to Taos, New Mexico, most of it at about a hundred miles an hour. And that’s about how fast you’ll be turning the pages.

The story is fast-paced and packed with action. Baby Shark lives up to her moniker. She knows how to handle herself and how to handle those who threaten her, her friends or the innocent. You might want to read Jugglers at the Border in one sitting - or you’ll be wondering what Kristin and Otis are up to when you’re not looking.

What I'm Reading

Yesterday I finished reading The Hard Way by Lee Child. I believe that’s his latest one. It’s just come out in paperback. It’s a typical Jack Reacher novel. By that I mean, it’s got action, Jack remains a loner and a fighter, and he had a woman by his side – not a damsel in distress, but a strong partner, at least for the length of the book. By “typical” I also mean “good.” Lee Child’s books, so far, are good reads. I have noticed though that the last few books haven’t been as action-filled as the earlier ones. The first couple were action from start to finish. The last couple have been action at the end, but it seems to me that the middle of the book involves a lot of searching, walking, going here and there looking for answers. Not quite the page-turners as the earlier books, at least for me, anyway. I’ll most likely keep reading the Reacher novels, though.

Now, I’ve started the first in the series by Karen MacInerney, called Murder on the Rocks. Her second in the Gray Whale Inn Mysteries is called Dead and Berried. It’s on my list of to-be-read, but I thought I’d start at the beginning of the series. I’m not far into Murder on the Rocks, but it’s a good read. I can see already why it’s been nominated for an Agatha Award for Best First Novel. This is a cozy so it’s in sharp contrast to Lee Child’s series.

I have to admit that I probably read more “hard boiled” than cozies. When I’m on a plane, I like something that moves fast and keeps me turning pages. But I’m liking MacInerney’s book. It’s relaxing. I read it and am taken back to the bed and breakfast my husband I stayed at on an anniversary trip. This is not to say nothing happens in the book – just that you’re not so tense reading it as you are with a book filled with action and suspense. It’s a really nice change of pace.