ARC Review: Back from the Brink by Emery Hayes

Back from the Brink
Author: Emery Hayes
Series: Nicole Cobain Mystery (Book 2)
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (July 13, 2021)

Description: Dead bodies and bad cops make for a brutal Montana spring-and a small-town sheriff's worst nightmare in the second thrilling installment of the Nicole Cobain mysteries.

It's a glorious spring in Blue Mesa, Montana, but not all is well in paradise. The authorities have been waging war against drug traffickers who use "mules" to carry the dope and cash across the Canadian border. And murder gets thrown into the equation when sheriff Nicole Cobain is called to the lake to assist Border Patrol but finds their boat adrift and a dead man in the ice. When the police drag the lake looking for bodies, they recover a satchel containing money and drugs--a satchel marked with the Border Patrol seal.

The evidence points to corrupt elements within the Border Patrol who are involved in the drug trade. Then, another murder victim turns up--the brother of Frank, a Border Patrol agent who's been trying to root out the bad agents.

Nicole suspects that the two missing agents may have been responsible for the theft of the money and drugs, but when one of them is found dead from a single gunshot wound, the trail suddenly grows cold. As the bodies pile up, Nicole begins to feel that she's the only good guy on the scene--and on the brink of a terrible discovery that could shake the community to its core.

My Thoughts: This episode of the Nicole Cobain mysteries sees Sheriff Nicole Cobain dealing with dead bodies, corrupt cops, and missing evidence. She's called by the Border Patrol because of a found body encased in ice on a lake where the ice is breaking up. When she arrives the Border Patrol officers are missing.

As she and her medical examiner and boyfriend MacAulay investigate the body, they discover another crime scene. This one has an execution style killing and a missing pregnant girl. She's an undocumented alien in an area known for them because of its near proximity to the Canadian border. 

Nicole doesn't know who she can trust when she knows the local Border Patrol is filled with corruption. She can't trust any of the evidence they discovered relating to the body on the lake or the young man killed execution style. 

This was a tension-filled and fast-paced thriller. I also liked that Nicole was working on her relationship with MacAulay and growing to trust him more. I liked her relationship with her young son as she tries to fit in motherhood while holding a much-more-than-full-time job. 

Favorite Quote:

"Oooh, you get mad like a man," he said, sitting back in his chair and folding his hands over his midsection.

"And that's supposed to make me warm up to you?"

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.