New York Times bestselling author Marc Cameron brings back US Marshal Arliss Cutter for his most violent, shocking, and personal adventure yet.
Set after the events of Breakneck (2023), Arliss Cutter is still hellbent on uncovering the truth about the events surrounding his brother’s death when a new clue comes in by way of a frozen body that’s found in the permafrost wall of a family’s cellar that usually houses whale meat. The body, it turns out, was that of a missing woman who vanished from the Inupiaq village of Wainwright on the Arctic Ocean two years prior. The plot takes flight when Arliss connects the woman’s death to his brother, Ethan, sending him down a rabbit hole of half-clues, partial leads, and even more misdirection.
Heading to South Dakota, Arliss tries to make sense of his brother’s final weeks alive before he was murdered. Or was he? Though there’s been a definitive lack of proof to suggest someone intentionally killed Ethan, Arliss has never wavered in his belief that that’s exactly what happened. All he needed was a clue–and now that he’s got one, he intends to follow it wherever it leads. But when his brother’s widow and children are the victims of a home invasion, all bets are off. Arliss knows it’s all connected, and the closer he gets to the answers he so desperately wants, the more dangerous things become.
Set mainly in Anchorage, though the story does venture to remote Inupiaq villages and a secluded lodge along the Kobuk River, Cameron does a beautiful job painting vivid portraits of both the rugged wilderness and the intricacies of small-town life. His characters, particularly Arliss Cutter, are crafted with depth and authenticity. Their struggles and motivations—mostly the hunt for the truth about his brother’s death (but also the shock of the poor Alaskan Inupiaq community that’s shocked to its core)—drive the relentless pace of the plot, which builds steadily from beginning to end, where Cameron treats readers to a high-octane finale that’s more than worth the price of admission. Following his success with both Jerhico Quinn and in Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan universe, it’s nice to see Cameron focus on Arliss Cutter, a character he feels born to write . . . and a hero who is fast becoming one of the genre’s very best.
Set against the unforgiving landscapes of Alaska and South Dakota, Marc Cameron delivers another gripping narrative that intertwines a riveting mystery with the raw beauty and brutality of nature in Bad River, his latest Arliss Cutter novel, a book that’s tailor-made for fans of C.J. Box and William Kent Krueger.
Book Details
Author: Marc Cameron
Series: Arliss Cutter #6
Pages: 368 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 1496737636
Publisher: Kensington
Release Date: July 23, 2024
Praised as “One of the hardest working, most thoughtful, and fairest reviewers out there” by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline, Ryan Steck has “quickly established himself as the authority on mysteries and thrillers” (Author A.J. Tata). Steck also works full-time as a freelance editor in addition to running TRBS. He is the author of FIELDS OF FIRE, which #1 New York Times bestselling author Jack Carr says “will leave you speechless and begging for more,” LETHAL RANGE, OUT FOR BLOOD, and TED BELL’S MONARCH. For more information, follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and BookBub. To interact with other readers and talk about your favorite books and authors, join The Real Book Spy’s Discord server.