The Shooting Season

The month of July is a very hot month in Dallas, Texas. It is soon made even hotter by the murder of a prominent Plano physician. Homicide Detectives Greg Rush and Rick Chinbroski know that a lawyer and a police officer will be the next to die. They are in charge of the investigation that appears to be the work of convicted murderer Billy Ray Jackson. Being first on the scene, both detectives know that the lead detective will be the one targeted by Billy Ray. If the pattern holds true, the police chief will receive a bullet casing from the gun that killed the physician, with a fingerprint on it. The FBI steps in to handle the investigation and pairs the police team with an inept agent. When the shooter strikes again, it is not what the police were expecting.

The Shooting Season by Stephen Copling is a very tense, exciting read. Mr. Copling keeps the reader second-guessing who the target is and who the shooter is. It is a fast paced, incredibly complex story that is told in the present and with flashbacks to set the background of the story. The plot has many twists and turns. This reviewer tried to second-guess the author on many occasions but was surprised by the ending. It is filled with the intimate knowledge of police investigations and how they are run; it is not dry or hard to follow. The reviewer would like to see more books by this author. He writes an excellent story and has a way of capturing his audience with intense, vivid imagery.

Mr. Copling writes a thrilling story of ultimate revenge. It is well worth reading. This reviewer gives the story four stars for the clarity of the story, the intensity and the intrigue that kept her on the edge of her seat.

Septmber 2006