Book Review: A Cold Breed

"A Cold Breed" by Casey O'Ryan, presents Debra Jean, a flawed but morally rooted woman whose independent movement through her life and demanding job leave her surrounded by little more than acquaintances and a wonder of what her next chapter in life will bring.

Set in Virginia, Debra Jean, while her name implies otherwise, is no Southern belle. DJ, rather, is a strong woman whose foiling of a robbery in the frenetic opening pages of this book, shows not only a stubborn nature, but a woman who is not going to take things lying down. That is her would be mugger's job.

While the book starts like a cannon shot, you are also drawn immediately into the wit and subtle banter that DJ possesses as she meets the police officer who stumbles upon the attempted assault. Detective Max Swain jumps from the pages with a young Sam Elliott swagger, tempered with an educated erudition. The romantic sparks jump from the pages they share until the closing of the first chapter.

In this thriller, however, romance must wait. DJ's business as a high-tech security consultant who is not afraid to get dirty as she runs coaxial cables through oven-baked attics in the Virginia summer, keeps her busy. While she could afford employees it is quite clear that she is a believer in, "if it's worth doing, it's worth doing yourself." Tuesday nights provide a great opportunity for Max and her to approach this inevitable romance, though, DJ reserves these for her adoptive "Auntie" as they prepare gourmet meals together and discuss the darker sides of the human condition that DJ sees each day in her work.

This darkness of the soul is no more clearer than when DJ is called for an emergency installation job at the backwood's domicile of Travis Bitter. Bitter as the name suggests is just not one of the good guys. Nor, for that matter, are his equally sadistic sons. DJ, in her work, stumbles across a number of things that she is forced to ignore for the success of her business but what she sees at the Bitter's is something she can not let go of, nor allow to continue.

The magnitude of cruelty she witnesses at the Bitter's puppy mill simply cannot stand. It is a cruelty that would allow many dog-loving readers to comfortably take their dog to a kennel owned by Michael Vick with a clear conscience. The tension is palpable, the writing, while often heart-wrenchingly tough to read, is necessary and flowing. The ending brings all the characters together in a mesmerizing read of goodish versus pure evil with a surprising twist that would have done Chubby Checker proud.

The ASPCA will certainly welcome the investment in this Debra Jean thriller, as 10% of the author's proceeds from this book will be donated to this group. The reader, based on the gripping tale spun by the author, will also eagerly await the next installment. Visit www.caseyoryan.com for more information.

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