COL'S CRIMINAL LIBRARY: CRAIG A. HART - SERENITY SUBMERGED (2017)

Synopsis/blurb....

A mysterious woman knocks on Shelby’s door.

A secret lies submerged at the bottom of a lake.

And someone close to Shelby is going to die.

A woman claiming to be an FBI agent appears on Shelby’s doorstep and hands him a picture, asking if he recognizes the man in the photo. Shelby is shocked to see the face of a good friend staring back at him.

Little does Shelby know, the woman isn’t the only predator on the prowl. A group of hired killers has rolled into Serenity with one thing on their minds: death. And it’s up to Shelby to make sure the bullets fly in the right direction.

Relationships are questioned, secrets are revealed, and no one is quite who they seem.

Serenity will never be the same.

My fourth outing with Craig A. Hart’s main character ex-boxer, Shelby Alexander.

Here Alexander gets involved helping an old friend, campground owner Fritz. Only Fritz isn’t really Fritz. He has left behind a previous incarnation as someone else along with $2 million dollars of a politically ambitious Senator’s money. This Senator wants to be the next President and is cleaning up his dirty laundry. The fact that Fritz is also suspected of involvement in the disappearance of one of the Senator’s sons is another reason people are gunning for him.

Strangers arrive in Serenity. Arrangements and plans are made with the local Sheriff Wilks. Wilks has had his run-ins with Fritz and Alexander before and is suspected of being a bit dodgy. There’s no love lost between the three of them. A fake FBI agent is also flashing dodgy credentials around town looking for Fritz and closer to home, Shelby has a few problems in the relationship department with girlfriend Carly and a potential parting of the ways.

It’s a busy book. Fritz shares some of his secrets with Shelby and when trouble calls, and Fritz gets abducted after a gunfight with his assailants. Shelby and other friend Mac along with the mysterious fake agent try and mount a rescue mission.

I liked the story, though there were a few liberties taken with the plot. There’s a couple of …. really? moments but I was happy to let them go.

There’s plenty of action, a bit of graphic violence in the form of an interrogation/torture scene which made me wince, an enjoyable cast of characters and a decent outcome to events; though there’s no happy ever after for a few of the combatants.

I’ve enjoyed the first four in the series and look forward to the next one sometime soon.

There’s another plus in respect of the story narrated by favourite Theo Holland.

4 from 5

Previous encounters with Craig A. Hart's work are ...

Assignment: Athens (2017) Serenity Avenged (2017) Serenity Stalked (2017) Serenity (2016)