Strong to the Bone

In September, author James R. Hannibal (The Fourth Ruby) gave an outstanding review of Jon Land’s latest in the Caitlin Strong series, Strong to the Bone, which was released today.  Here we revisit Hannibal’s review of what he calls Land‘s most “introspective” and deeply “insightful” book in the series.

 

Rape. Racism. White Supremacy. These are hard words to read, and even harder to write. It feels risky, dangerous even to offer such evil the permanence of ink on paper. In Strong to the Bone author Jon Land refuses to shy away from that risk, exposing those evils with the right blend of delicacy and rage, while still bringing the intense action and thrills readers of his Caitlin Strong series have come to expect.

Texas Ranger Caitlin Strong returns to the page for a high octane, yet deeply personal mission. When she stumbles upon the aftermath of a sexual assault, the DNA evidence sends her spinning to the edge of control. Could the perpetrator really be the same man who attacked Caitlin at a college party nearly twenty years before? Her investigation, along with some trouble brewing around the son of her outlaw lover Cort Wesely, leads her into a swirling conspiracy of bioweapons and powerful neo-Nazis. In the usual style of the series, Caitlin’s mission dovetails with a historical investigation conducted by a Texas Ranger ancestor. This time, Caitlin’s father takes readers into the Texas POW camps where German soldiers were held during World War II. At the end, past and present slam together for an incredible bombshell.

Strong to the Bone has to be the most introspective of the Caitlin Strong series. Jon Land forces Caitlin to face the unthinkable horror that has driven her like a hurricane through all her previous adventures, while automatic weapons, high-tech robots, and stampeding cattle bring the action. Deep, insightful, and eminently challenging, Strong to the Bone is an intelligent thriller with a hard-charging cast that wreaks havoc on every page.