By Ian Griffin Managing Editor
I crawl into my reading chair in my living room with my Gritin LED Neck Light, a nice Stanley Cup filled with Coke Zero, and an intriguing book. The book is the first in a Cass Callahan series by author Chris Mullen. It is called Dead Land. The cover has a man holding a modern pistol and looking out across a ranch and the West Texas Mountains, so my interest is peaking to know what is inside.
As I read the first few pages, I found myself quickly pulled into the story. The more I read, the more I wanted to know. To be honest, I did not put this book down. I even took it to the restroom with me.
The story is about Cass and his wife, Raven, who depart Houston and head to a ranch in West Texas. Cass has inherited this ranch, and the locals want to know why a ¡°city boy¡± should have such a prized possession.
Throughout the book, Cass and Raven¡¯s journey faces modern-day problems with a rugged Western twist.
I found the characters in this book to be real. I felt like I knew them personally. They were developed with a focus on the details. Each had their own unique personality, and they were fun to follow.
The more I read, the more I realized this was not a simple tale of inheriting some property but would evolve into a ¡°who done it¡± novel. This lit the flame for me to read more and discover more with each page. Now, I must know what happens with this tale of adventure, deceit, and crime.
I found the pacing of this book to be pristine. It was on point. There was not a single point in the book where I thought, “Okay, this is boring.” Instead, the momentum just continued to climb until the end.
Overall, this was a fun read that tugged on my emotions. The book brilliantly mixed real-world problems with its story, and some of those problems surfaced as the story moved along. I tip my hat to Chris Mullen because this is a great novel.