Customer Reviews

Collateral Damage

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I am always looking for new authors in the mystery catagory so I was very pleased to see Austin S Camacho in [local store] doing a book signing. I bought and read the book, Collateral Damage, and enjoyed it very much. I will be back for more books by this author. His characters were very real and were woven together in a chilling tapestry. Also had a surprising ending but of course I won't tell....you must read for yourself.

I've found a new hero: Hannibal Jones. This character is one of the most dynamic, exciting, and powerful detectives I have read in years. I was very impressed by Camacho's writing style. This is the terse, rivetting style of the Maltese Falcon, yet fully modern, and not a campy, cliche-ridden copy of noir pulp fiction. This is fresh, wonderful, and thrilling. The characters and their motivations are extremely complex. Nothing is easy in this book, with tough relationships and a hard fight to resolve a true crime, as the plot spirals deliciously out of reach for the hero. He isn't a superman blasting down walls and amazingly solving everything without any work. He's real, he's hurt, he's angry, and someone's out to kill. It's a do or die casse of iron nails for breakfast.

I am overjoyed to have stumbled over an entire new series of great detective fiction, just when I had grown tired and burned out by the endless copycatting of the mass-produced detecto-thriller of today's bestsellers. Many of those authors, whom I shall not name yet have a set-in-stone pattern (son, you know?), don't even care enough to write their own books any more. That is factory fiction and obnoxious to both fans and the true readers. Want to read some great contemporary detective drama? Pick up any Austin Camacho book and let Hannibal Jones kick your teeth in.

I read Collateral Damage right after Blood and Bones. I admit I'm hooked and am looking forward to Mr. Camacho's next work. The characters and their stories kept me guessing to the end and the story was fast paced and made it difficult to put down. Hannibal Jones is my hero! If you are looking for an interesting story that challenges the intellect, yet is full of action, Austin Camacho is for you!

"It wasn't often that Hannibal wondered just what he was doing or why. Most often his professional work involved some variation of protecting a sensible person from a bully. A person is threatened, something very dear to them is stolen, a child is involved with a gang and parents don't know what to do. Other people's troubles became his own. That was how he made his living since he resigned from the Treasury Department."

And lots of people have troubles and they seem to be in need of what Hannibal bills himself as, a "professional trouble shooter." In this second novel of the series, Mother Washington brings him a client even though it is Sunday and the ribs are on the grill. The last thing Hannibal wants to think about this crisp fall afternoon with ribs sizzling on the grill is work. But, you don't say no to Mother Washington.

The client is Miss Bea Collins and she is very worried about her finance, Dean Edwards. He had been acting a little strange the last couple of weeks and then disappeared the day before. Of course, the Police won't help since he is an adult and has not been missing very long. Hannibal does not see any reason to take the case but you don't say no to Mother Washington. Despite believing that Dean is nothing more than a con man based on the evidence so far that Bea tells him and that he has moved on to more financially lucrative pastures, Hannibal takes the case.

He soon finds Dean but Dean is not the con man Hannibal thinks he is. Instead, he has his own problems and appears to have nicely been framed for murder. In an attempt to clear Dean, Hannibal must follow a trail that leads over fifteen years into the past. A past both men unknowingly shared and ultimately worked to bring them together today.

Overall, this is a very good novel. While some lines of the story tend to be a bit over written, the Hannibal character is intriguing and complex. The mystery itself also works with plenty of twists and turns and quite a lot of action. The only real blemish on the work is that my ARC had a number of textual formatting errors, which were cleared up in the final published version. At 218 pages this is a fast and enjoyable read and an interesting series.

I've never had so much fun reading a mystery novel. Camacho grabs you with the first line and never lets go. Not only is every chapter a cliffhanger, but every paragraph is one, deftly feeding you just enough information to make you yearn for more.
Hannibal Jones is a refreshingly original and sexy protagonist, a mixed-race "troubleshooter" who is as moral as he is cool. The glimpses into his mind are endlessly intriguing. He never ceases to surprise and impress the reader, yet comes off as totally believable. Real. And enormously appealing. To men as we ll as women. (There's plenty of violence, but since Hannibal so reluctantly resorts to it, I couldn't hold it against
him.)
Every character is so masterfully drawn, memorable,
intriguing.
Camacho also plays fair with the plot. Too few mystery writers do. He feeds us enough details to give us a theoretical chance at solving the mystery. When the exciting resolution came, I was delighted--surprised, yet immensely satisfied. It all made sense!
In Collateral Damage, Camacho shows us what every series mystery can be. You've got to read it to know what we've all been missing. I feel like standing up and cheering. Bravo.

For me this was the third story in the Hannibal Jones Troubleshooter series. Hannibal was approached to find a missing person. What he didn't realize the depth of deception. In this story Hannibal returns to Germany where he was raised by his mother. There are many twists in this story and you will not know how the story will end until you get there. I am glad to have discovered Austin Camacho and the Troubleshooter series. Austin has a way of keeping you interested in the story without boring you with too many details. I look forward to reading the next book.

This is a very good read. The book keeps you interested and moves along at a nice pace. Mr. Camacho has not added "street language" or gratuitous sex that so many authors feel is needed. Thus one can recommend this book to anyone to enjoy. I'm a fan of the main character, Hannibal Jones.

Very addicting! I did not want to put the book down. I can't wait to read his other books.

I thoroughly enjoyed Collateral Damage. Hannibal Jones deeply cared about people. He longed to have a private life, but always gave in to helping people who needed a "trouble shooter". I believe he could have pursued a more profitable career, however, he chose the lesser paying one to help the troubled souls who needed him the most. It was evident that he had a soft spot for women and children. He was soft spoken and easy going, but could get rough when he had too.
His perception was keen. He could read people under the surface. Once he was hired to get to the truth there was no holding him back.
I'm looking forward to reading the other three in the series: Blood and Bones, Damaged Goods, and The Trouble Shooter.

Austin Camacho's Collateral Damage is an entertaining whodunit with a cool detective and an eclectic collection of characters. The story is fast paced with some neat sleight-of-hand twists -and I'll always be a sucker for a PI who listens to Journey in the privacy of his car, and has a healthy obsession with all things barbecued. Bring your appetite for this one.