LAST ONE DOWN

Something is happening on Sweet Potato Mountain and it is not just a retreat for the local law enforcement. Joyce and Jim Lavene take the reader on a journey that includes a spunky and dedicated Sheriff named Sharyn, her coroner significant other and a very hunky and darkly dangerous deputy named Zeke. But all is not what it seems either on the mountain or the town Sharyn is responsible for.

The reader first meets Sheriff Sharyn Howard while she is perched on a tree limb, trying to keep the body of a recently deceased young woman from falling and disappearing into a rain-swollen river. The reader immediately sees Sharyn’s determination and strength as she grips the young woman’s body, even as they fall into the river. Sharyn’s boyfriend, Nick is the local medical examiner and not pleased at Sharyn’s refusal to let go of the woman’s body. The tension between the couple is palpable as the rescue of both the living and dead woman are effected. Before they can resolve the issue Sharyn must leave for a law enforcement retreat, taking place on Sweet Potato Mountain. She and her deputy, Marvella, are none too excited about the weekend on the mountain which can only be reached by helicopter and the only available communication is with a none-too-reliable radio at the local ranger station.

The women arrive at the retreat and as they leave their assigned rooms Sharyn encounters Zeke Two Rivers. Zeke is a tall, muscular and physically an absolute toe curler Cherokee Deputy who has been sent by his uncle to the law enforcement training retreat. The easy banter of who is the better officer is quickly ended when one of their own turns up dead. One by one different officers die in questionable circumstances such as a truck blowing up when they try to remove one of their own down the mountain. Their only form of communication, the radio, had also been tampered with leaving the officers with only their own investigative skills and cunning to help them survive. Sharyn, accompanied by Zeke, attempts to fix the radio only to wake up shackled in a below ground jail cell while Zeke has been placed in the other. While they initially try to see if help will come, a sudden mountain thunderstorm and subsequent torrential rain makes escape an imminent concern.

On the heels of Sharyn’s disagreement with Nick, Sharyn finds herself more and more attracted to the sensual Zeke. When he kisses her, as they escape, she is inextricably drawn to him.

The Lavenes treat the reader not only to a highly suspenseful mystery, they offer complex and intriguing characters. Sharyn is the epitome of a member of a law enforcement family: the reader learns that her grandfather was the county’s first Sheriff, with her father following in his footsteps until he was mysteriously killed. Sharyn then stepped into her father’s shoes and has weathered some difficult challenges in her role as the first female Sheriff in the state. She is not only a likeable but admirable female lead.

Zeke is an alluring male character who leaves the reader stunned when the hidden aspects of his personality emerge. Nick is the epitome of the boyfriend who wants to protect his woman, yet supports her career successes. The authors also treat the reader to a wonderful old gold town, abandoned when the gold ran out but now used for a law enforcement training ground.

Last One Down is an absorbing read that the reader will have a difficult time putting down until the mystery of who is killing the officers is solved.

Reviewed by: Regan