Bøker av Baron Birtcher

"[A] gritty, wide-angled modern noir . . . The first standalone novel by Birtcher, author of the Mike Travis series, pulls no punches." --Kirkus Reviews In 1976, as America celebrates its bicentennial, the drug game changes. Cocaine makes a comeback, bringing with it a previously unheard of level of violence. The copious amounts of blow crossing the US-Mexico border herald the beginning of a brave new--and terrifying--world. Far from the brutality on the border, the nameless narrator and his partner--both Vietnam vets--live a mostly peaceful life growing pot under the northern California redwoods. But when their livelihood is threatened by heavily armed robbers and a worthless rat, they find themselves drawn into a war with no good guys. Caught in the crossfire between a paranoid Mexican drug kingpin and dirty federal agents, they'll soon realize that--like every other player in the game--they're just pawns in a vast conspiracy that starts at the top . . . "A top-class thriller." --San Francisco Book Review "White-knuckle tension and crisp, clean prose . . . Many books call themselves 'thrillers, ' but this is the real deal." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Birtcher combines a gritty, action-filled thriller with a nuanced, almost contemplative character drama . . . Thoroughly entertaining." --Booklist "A thriller with genuine shocks and chills." --Cafe Libri

"The novel combines the mystery and honesty of Craig Johnson's Longmire with the first-person narration of a fiercely independent Oregon character." --Sheila Deeth, author of John's Joy Winner of the 2018 Killer Nashville Readers' Choice Award 2017 Foreword Indies Finalist for Historical A Korean War veteran, Ty Dawson finds refuge running his family's cattle ranch, the Diamond D, one of the largest in Oregon--and there's no place he'd rather be. But in 1973, the country falls into turmoil with the last soldiers returning from Vietnam, the stand-off at Wounded Knee, and the ongoing Watergate scandal. And it isn't long before Ty finds his own peace and quiet shattered by outside forces. A string of mysterious cattle deaths leads to the murder of a cowhand, but that's just the beginning. News leaks that the Bureau of Land Management plans on a wild horse slaughter, which brings protestors and news cameras to the area, not to mention a violent biker gang known as the Charlatans. Overwhelmed, the sheriff appoints Ty as undersheriff. And as events spiral out of control, Ty must take matters into his own hands to protect his family, his land, and his way of life . . . "A masterful work of a time gone by. Birtcher possesses a rare skill that is the envy of many a writer. He deftly employs literary prose to reveal the life of a hard-driven man. Ty Dawson is a cowboy, lawman, father and philosopher like none other." --Neal Griffin, Los Angeles Times-bestselling author of The Burden of Proof "[A] fast-moving series launch . . . Birtcher takes readers on an exciting ride." --Publishers Weekly

"[A] fast-paced mystery . . . Fans of the prolific Stuart Woods and Randy Wayne White will hope that Birtcher's engaging series has an equally long life." --Booklist A Nero Award Finalist After twenty years in the LAPD, Mike Travis should be enjoying his retirement in Hawaii. Instead, he's become a reluctant PI who can't manage to stay out of trouble--much to the chagrin of his long-suffering girlfriend. This time, the problem is his brother, Valden, head of the family company of Van de Groot Capital. A mover and shaker, he's in Los Angeles for a political fundraiser at the home of a powerful pharmaceutical titan. But first, he's being blackmailed. Someone has a compromising video of him and a young woman who is definitely not his wife--and they want three million dollars for it. That's when he calls Travis. With his longtime connections in Los Angeles--including his former partner on the force--Travis has everything under control, until he doesn't. Now entangled in a web of murder, finance, and politics, only Travis can unravel a conspiracy international in scope--and unparalleled in evil . . . "Birtcher is a solid, fluent writer; the story unfolds with good-humored ease, and Travis is a personable narrator . . . All of the elements are in place for a tense thriller." --Kirkus Reviews "Well-executed . . . Readers will hope they don't have to wait another seven years for the world-weary Travis's next adventure." --Publishers Weekly "A thrilling page turner with a very complicated plot that all comes together in the end . . . Highly recommended." --Detective Mystery Stories

The second Sheriff Dawson mystery has "lots of twists and turns that stretch back over years, then a mind-blowing ending that puts everything into place" (Killer Nashville). Winner--2019 Best Book of the Year, Killer Nashville Ty Dawson, now the sheriff of Oregon's Meriwether County, is ready to put a trying year behind him, but he's afforded no such luck. In a country still coming to grips with the Vietnam War, Watergate, and Charles Manson, Ty's neck of the woods isn't safe from the turmoil--especially when a commune of young so-called hippies springs up out of nowhere . . . A longtime local sheep rancher accuses the Rainbow Ranch residents of livestock theft, putting Ty in the middle of a culture clash. Though Ty finds no evidence of a crime, the rancher brings in his own stock detective. Behind fences topped with razor wire, the commune and its enigmatic guru hold secrets of their own--many of which have nothing to do with peace, love, and understanding. Tensions flare, setting off a bloody wave of violence that will forever scar the place Ty calls home, unless he can stop it. "Elegantly written . . . Ty may strike some readers as almost too smart, too well educated, and too pedantic for a small-town sheriff, but his insights into 1970s social issues make him an irresistible spokesman for the era." --Publishers Weekly "A modern Western . . . The characters are well developed, and place descriptions make it easy to visualize the landscapes." --New York Journal of Books