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Jack McBride #2
The Fisher King
When the dust settles in this Texas town, who will be left standing?
It’s been six weeks since Jack McBride’s life went to hell: the resolution of his first case as chief sparked a countywide drug war, his brother Eddie rode into town with a pocket full of cocaine and trouble on his mind, his estranged wife returned from her one-year sabbatical determined to win him back, and Ellie Martin ended their brief affair.
To the Stillwater natives, the increase in local crime can be traced directly back to the day the outsider McBride took the job, and they’re gunning to get rid of him. One particular group is led by Joe Doyle, a successful local businessman who’s running for city council against Ellie and her plan to revitalize downtown. Now Jack has discovered proof Doyle is the biggest crime lord in the county, and, with murders piling up and the drug war intensifying, Jack suspects the crimes aren’t business, but personal—and he’s the target.
The bitter election and Jack’s investigation spark old rivalries and new jealousies, making Ellie and those who love Stillwater most wonder if it’s even worth saving.
It’s been six weeks since Jack McBride’s life went to hell: the resolution of his first case as chief sparked a countywide drug war, his brother Eddie rode into town with a pocket full of cocaine and trouble on his mind, his estranged wife returned from her one-year sabbatical determined to win him back, and Ellie Martin ended their brief affair.
To the Stillwater natives, the increase in local crime can be traced directly back to the day the outsider McBride took the job, and they’re gunning to get rid of him. One particular group is led by Joe Doyle, a successful local businessman who’s running for city council against Ellie and her plan to revitalize downtown. Now Jack has discovered proof Doyle is the biggest crime lord in the county, and, with murders piling up and the drug war intensifying, Jack suspects the crimes aren’t business, but personal—and he’s the target.
The bitter election and Jack’s investigation spark old rivalries and new jealousies, making Ellie and those who love Stillwater most wonder if it’s even worth saving.
380 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2016
152 people are currently reading
851 people want to read
About the author
Melissa Lenhardt
10 books494 followersMelissa Lenhardt writes women’s fiction, historical fiction, and mysteries. The New York Times called HERESY an “unapologetically badass western” and “an all-out women-driven, queer, transgender, multiracial takeover of the Old West.” Heresy also won the 2022 Audie Award for Best Multi-Voiced Performance. Her debut women’s fiction novel, THE SECRET OF YOU AND ME, was the first LGBTQ+ novel published by Mills and Boon in the UK. A lifelong Texan, Melissa is currently traveling the world as a digital nomad.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
January 3, 2023
4.50 Stars — The second (and final) instalment of Melissa Lenhardt’s Jack Mcbride series is one of those rare breads whereby the sequel is far superior to the original. Now, Stillwater was a good read, the characters were likeable and the town was painted in a subtle but nice way. However there was far too much romance for me and it seemed to ruin the pace of the book at times and lessen the tension and drama.
Here though, that balance has been overtly corrected! Stillwater is also brought to life with far more depth and panache — Not to mention the fact that the characters have already been largely established, giving the reader a strong understanding of the situation and where things lay without having any central characters — or background for that matter — whom make the reader suffer from their garrulity.
The mystery at the heart of this sequel is also more complex and nuanced, and without giving too much away, some other more predictable twists although — predicted — Add to the narrative and create a more rounded dilemma for the main characters to navigate though. The town is full of characters whom seem to be supine in nature, not to mention slightly backward, but perhaps not as much as own may anticipate.
The authors easy and solidly focused prose is such a delight to motor through, the pages flicked rather quickly despite a few pauses to read other material I remained invested and that’s always a strong sign.
I actually find myself rather saddened that this town is now departing my conscience for good — a rare thing for me and again something that speaks to the quality of this two book series that’s largely gone far far under-appreciated, especially considering it has one of the better pay-off-endings in mystery fiction I’ve read in the last few years!
Here though, that balance has been overtly corrected! Stillwater is also brought to life with far more depth and panache — Not to mention the fact that the characters have already been largely established, giving the reader a strong understanding of the situation and where things lay without having any central characters — or background for that matter — whom make the reader suffer from their garrulity.
The mystery at the heart of this sequel is also more complex and nuanced, and without giving too much away, some other more predictable twists although — predicted — Add to the narrative and create a more rounded dilemma for the main characters to navigate though. The town is full of characters whom seem to be supine in nature, not to mention slightly backward, but perhaps not as much as own may anticipate.
The authors easy and solidly focused prose is such a delight to motor through, the pages flicked rather quickly despite a few pauses to read other material I remained invested and that’s always a strong sign.
I actually find myself rather saddened that this town is now departing my conscience for good — a rare thing for me and again something that speaks to the quality of this two book series that’s largely gone far far under-appreciated, especially considering it has one of the better pay-off-endings in mystery fiction I’ve read in the last few years!
June 23, 2016
Did you finish STILLWATER thinking, "It's over? What happens next!?" Answers available November 2016!
November 5, 2016
Warning: if you start this book, you'd better have a block of time for reading because you will not be able to put it down. Author Melissa Lenhardt pulls readers into Stillwater, Texas -- a small town with big drama -- and creates a vibe that feels much like being an observer sitting in the local diner. (Better still, the buzz hub is the local book and coffee shop!) The Fisher King isn't a cozy little mystery but a bold, often brazen suspense story that doesn't sugar-coat the seedy, ugly people and parts of life.
Though this is the second book in the Jack McBride Mystery series, it isn't necessary to read the first to be in the loop. Lenhardt gives plenty of backstory and information to get readers up to speed, but she also piques interest enough that readers will want to read the first book to know all the dirty details. (Romance fans will definitely want to know more about the often eluded to, brief but steamy affair between Jack and Ellie that unfolded in book one.)
The characters are richly written and readers will form very clear impressions and opinions of them, but no characters are cookie-cutter good or bad. Everyone is flawed, which makes each person realistic and easy to imagine. Though there are a few very likeable characters, there are plenty of despicable people who do horrible things in their quest for power and who are motivated by lust, narcissism, jealousy, and revenge. Sex and scandal! Lies and Lust! This book is juicy!
Lenhardt's writing is solid, and the dialogue is natural and balances well with expository writing. Readers will enjoy how the story is told from varying perspectives, but not all is revealed. There are plenty of twists and surprises -- and some most excellent comeuppances -- and Texans will appreciate (and get a giggle or two out of) the inclusion of Texana found throughout the story.
With a fairly neatly tied-up resolution, readers will be satisfied with the ending but left hoping that there are more Jack McBride mysteries to come. In the mean time, this reader plans on going back to book one to get to know the people of Stillwater (warts and all) a little better.
Thank you to Lone Star Book Blog Tours and the author for providing a print ARC in exchange for my honest opinion -- the only kind I give.
Though this is the second book in the Jack McBride Mystery series, it isn't necessary to read the first to be in the loop. Lenhardt gives plenty of backstory and information to get readers up to speed, but she also piques interest enough that readers will want to read the first book to know all the dirty details. (Romance fans will definitely want to know more about the often eluded to, brief but steamy affair between Jack and Ellie that unfolded in book one.)
The characters are richly written and readers will form very clear impressions and opinions of them, but no characters are cookie-cutter good or bad. Everyone is flawed, which makes each person realistic and easy to imagine. Though there are a few very likeable characters, there are plenty of despicable people who do horrible things in their quest for power and who are motivated by lust, narcissism, jealousy, and revenge. Sex and scandal! Lies and Lust! This book is juicy!
Lenhardt's writing is solid, and the dialogue is natural and balances well with expository writing. Readers will enjoy how the story is told from varying perspectives, but not all is revealed. There are plenty of twists and surprises -- and some most excellent comeuppances -- and Texans will appreciate (and get a giggle or two out of) the inclusion of Texana found throughout the story.
With a fairly neatly tied-up resolution, readers will be satisfied with the ending but left hoping that there are more Jack McBride mysteries to come. In the mean time, this reader plans on going back to book one to get to know the people of Stillwater (warts and all) a little better.
Thank you to Lone Star Book Blog Tours and the author for providing a print ARC in exchange for my honest opinion -- the only kind I give.
August 18, 2016
In a town run by a powerful family, a new lawman arrives and tries to glue the pieces of his life back together. Melissa Lenhardt's second Jack McBride novel, THE FISHER KING, is a terrific soap opera of an East Texas noir. Populated by shady characters, small-town gossips, and legions of folks with dark secrets, Stillwater tenses as a drug turf war looms. Chief Jack McBride, battered by his own personal crises, must get to the bottom of several killings before he's drummed out of office. Drug gangs, broken families, and a reluctant hero walking the finest line between success and failure. Don't miss THE FISHER KING. A riveting tale of disgrace, betrayal, and redemption.
Lenhardt writes a hard story with a soft hand. Evocatively descriptive and painfully believable, THE FISHER KING is Payton Place Meets the Godfather in Small-town Texas. Politics, drugs, money, and sex. Lots of sex. Read it with Dwight Yoakam in your ear. Top notch.
Lenhardt writes a hard story with a soft hand. Evocatively descriptive and painfully believable, THE FISHER KING is Payton Place Meets the Godfather in Small-town Texas. Politics, drugs, money, and sex. Lots of sex. Read it with Dwight Yoakam in your ear. Top notch.
April 23, 2020
3.5 stars - good follow-up novel.
November 27, 2016
MYSTERY
Melissa Lenhardt
The Fisher King: A Jack McBride Mystery
Skyhorse Publishing
Hardcover, 978-1-5107-0729-0 (also available as an ebook), 380 pgs., $24.99
November 1, 2016
Chief of Police Jack McBride has been on the job for just eight weeks, and the crime rate in Stillwater has apparently soared. The dead bodies are multiplying and high school kids are overdosing on dirty heroin. McBride’s job has become a political football in the city council campaign of powerful, lifelong Stillwater resident Joe Doyle (who looks “like a televangelist and was about as trustworthy”), owner of Doyle Industries, the town’s largest employer, who is also the local drug lord.
McBride has personal problems, too. His ne’er-do-well brother Eddie has taken a job with Doyle Industries; his estranged wife, Julie, has returned after a year of finding herself; and his budding love affair with Ellie Martin is on indefinite hold. As McBride gets ever closer to solving the crime wave, he discovers that he is a target.
The Fisher King: A Jack McBride Mystery is the second novel in Melissa Lenhardt’s series set in the small, fictional East Texas town of Stillwater. In Lenhardt’s first installment in the series, Stillwater, Jack McBride took down the corrupt former chief of police who had been in power for decades, controlling the population through fear, blackmail, and extortion, and by keeping their secrets in return for certain favors. It’s possible to read The Fisher King as a stand-alone, as Lenhardt does a great job of summarizing the goings-on in Stillwater.
The plot in this second installment in the series is simpler than it seems, with multiple subplots well woven in. The pace is quick and steady, accelerating toward the climax, as it should, with plenty of twisty elements to keep you guessing. Lenhardt’s cast is large, but each character is a sharply delineated individual, making the crowd easy to keep straight—except for the moles and double agents. Most of Lenhardt’s characters are believably genuine, excepting Julie McBride, a grown woman who looks “like the quintessential John Hughes movie villainess,” with the maturity of one of the Mean Girls.
One of the best things about The Fisher King is Lenhardt’s uncannily complete evocation of a fictional community. Stillwater rings true and has depth; I think I’ve been there. The small-town Texas personalities are here, as well as the not-so-secrets in a town where everybody knows your name. The conflicts and paradoxes of small towns are here, too. The need for economic revitalization versus an insular populace, suspicious of outsiders. The tendency to decades-old grudges. Historic preservation versus big-box stores.
The Fisher King is like a weekly television soap opera, a cross between Friday Night Lights and Dallas, with touches of Peyton Place for good measure. Lenhardt sets up the third installment expertly, including a new character. The Fisher King isn’t great literature, but it’s entertaining and engrossing fun—a great way to end the second season.
Originally published in Lone Star Literary Life.
Melissa Lenhardt
The Fisher King: A Jack McBride Mystery
Skyhorse Publishing
Hardcover, 978-1-5107-0729-0 (also available as an ebook), 380 pgs., $24.99
November 1, 2016
Chief of Police Jack McBride has been on the job for just eight weeks, and the crime rate in Stillwater has apparently soared. The dead bodies are multiplying and high school kids are overdosing on dirty heroin. McBride’s job has become a political football in the city council campaign of powerful, lifelong Stillwater resident Joe Doyle (who looks “like a televangelist and was about as trustworthy”), owner of Doyle Industries, the town’s largest employer, who is also the local drug lord.
McBride has personal problems, too. His ne’er-do-well brother Eddie has taken a job with Doyle Industries; his estranged wife, Julie, has returned after a year of finding herself; and his budding love affair with Ellie Martin is on indefinite hold. As McBride gets ever closer to solving the crime wave, he discovers that he is a target.
The Fisher King: A Jack McBride Mystery is the second novel in Melissa Lenhardt’s series set in the small, fictional East Texas town of Stillwater. In Lenhardt’s first installment in the series, Stillwater, Jack McBride took down the corrupt former chief of police who had been in power for decades, controlling the population through fear, blackmail, and extortion, and by keeping their secrets in return for certain favors. It’s possible to read The Fisher King as a stand-alone, as Lenhardt does a great job of summarizing the goings-on in Stillwater.
The plot in this second installment in the series is simpler than it seems, with multiple subplots well woven in. The pace is quick and steady, accelerating toward the climax, as it should, with plenty of twisty elements to keep you guessing. Lenhardt’s cast is large, but each character is a sharply delineated individual, making the crowd easy to keep straight—except for the moles and double agents. Most of Lenhardt’s characters are believably genuine, excepting Julie McBride, a grown woman who looks “like the quintessential John Hughes movie villainess,” with the maturity of one of the Mean Girls.
One of the best things about The Fisher King is Lenhardt’s uncannily complete evocation of a fictional community. Stillwater rings true and has depth; I think I’ve been there. The small-town Texas personalities are here, as well as the not-so-secrets in a town where everybody knows your name. The conflicts and paradoxes of small towns are here, too. The need for economic revitalization versus an insular populace, suspicious of outsiders. The tendency to decades-old grudges. Historic preservation versus big-box stores.
The Fisher King is like a weekly television soap opera, a cross between Friday Night Lights and Dallas, with touches of Peyton Place for good measure. Lenhardt sets up the third installment expertly, including a new character. The Fisher King isn’t great literature, but it’s entertaining and engrossing fun—a great way to end the second season.
Originally published in Lone Star Literary Life.
November 14, 2016
Stillwater, Texas. A small town with big problems. And Jack McBride needs to find a way to solve them. Again.
Like her debut (STILLWATER), Melissa Lenhardt's THE FISHER KING is an engaging mystery with twists and turns that keep you hooked right to the end. One of the quickest reads of the year.
Like her debut (STILLWATER), Melissa Lenhardt's THE FISHER KING is an engaging mystery with twists and turns that keep you hooked right to the end. One of the quickest reads of the year.
August 30, 2021
On its own it is better than Stillwater, for sure, but you have to read Stillwater first. While it's not great literature by any means it is un-put-downable (that IS a word!) once you start.
November 2, 2016
**You will need to read the first book in the series, Stillwater. Without reading it you will be missing important infomation.**
Melissa Lenhardt did it again in this second book of her series. It picks up exactly where it left off. However, Like the last book Jack is finding more dead bodies. The death count is going up since he has taken over. The town is not happy. One person want's him out bad.
In this book, you find out so much more details and find who you thought you could that you can't. It seems everybody can be bribed. This isn't looking well for the Chief. Now with Jack's wife back are things going to work out?
They are so many plot twists and just when you think you know who did the murdering. BOOM! it twists. This was a great read. I am glad I got to continue with this story. This is written well and flows smoothly. I would highly recommend it to family and friends. I give this book a 4.5 rating.
Thank you LSLL for the blog tour. Thank you Melissa for the book. I truly enjoyed them both.
Melissa Lenhardt did it again in this second book of her series. It picks up exactly where it left off. However, Like the last book Jack is finding more dead bodies. The death count is going up since he has taken over. The town is not happy. One person want's him out bad.
In this book, you find out so much more details and find who you thought you could that you can't. It seems everybody can be bribed. This isn't looking well for the Chief. Now with Jack's wife back are things going to work out?
They are so many plot twists and just when you think you know who did the murdering. BOOM! it twists. This was a great read. I am glad I got to continue with this story. This is written well and flows smoothly. I would highly recommend it to family and friends. I give this book a 4.5 rating.
Thank you LSLL for the blog tour. Thank you Melissa for the book. I truly enjoyed them both.
July 26, 2019
Jack McBride took his son and moved to Stillwater TX when his wife left them to go on a "sabbatical" from their marriage. Jack has met a new, interesting woman, Ellie Martin, but then his wife shows back up again, wanting a reconciliation. For the sake of his son, Ethan, Jack is willing to try. When two charred bodies are discovered in an old house right on the outskirts of town, as the new sheriff, Jack has to work with various other law enforcement organizations in the county. He also has to keep track of his brother, Eddie, who is living with his family while Eddie tries to get his life back on track after a stint in prison. Eddie has taken a job with Doyle Industries, the biggest employer in Stillwater, but there appears to be much more going on behind the scenes at the industrial complex than meets the eye. Meanwhile, Ellie is running for City Council against Joe Doyle and she really does not stand a chance. This second book in the Jack McBride series offers a deeper look into the characters introduced in Stillwater.
May 14, 2023
The Fisher King is the follow-up novel to Melissa Lenhardt’s book Stillwater, which is set in the small Texas town of Stillwater. Jake McBride, the new sheriff in town, and is given a rough welcome and a rude introduction into the corruption and power that rules the town. The powers that be in Stillwater are dead set against McBride’s plans to police the town properly and set out to thwart him at every turn. McBride’s predecessor as sheriff was a big part of the problem, which makes McBride’s job that much more difficult. Lenhardt has created a thought-provoking little town and populated it with an interesting cast of characters. This is very much a character-driven mystery, yet it is also filled with plenty of twists and turns packed with intrigue, danger, and suspense. I haven’t read Stillwater, the first instalment in this series, but will certainly do so after reading The Fisher King. Need I say more?
February 22, 2018
Disclaimer: I won this book on Goodreads.
When I first read the back cover, I was scared by the reviews into tracking down the first book, Stillwater, and reading it before I read The Fisher King. I don't think reading them in order was strictly necessary, but it did make the second book more enjoyable, since much of the personal backstories of the characters were not mentioned in book 2. The mysteries were well-developed. I wasn't sure if some characters were good or bad until the end. Unfortunately, some characters from book one were barely mentioned in book two, probably due to the plot. The story contained thrills, humor, and romance. I would like to read more stories from Stillwater, Texas.
Notes:
There were some misspellings.
Warnings:
The second book contained much more sex than the first one.
There is some cursing.
When I first read the back cover, I was scared by the reviews into tracking down the first book, Stillwater, and reading it before I read The Fisher King. I don't think reading them in order was strictly necessary, but it did make the second book more enjoyable, since much of the personal backstories of the characters were not mentioned in book 2. The mysteries were well-developed. I wasn't sure if some characters were good or bad until the end. Unfortunately, some characters from book one were barely mentioned in book two, probably due to the plot. The story contained thrills, humor, and romance. I would like to read more stories from Stillwater, Texas.
Notes:
There were some misspellings.
Warnings:
The second book contained much more sex than the first one.
There is some cursing.
September 28, 2020
This might have made more sense if I had read the first one in the series. There were people and events that apparently were from the first book. I think the mystery part involved drugs. However, this book was mostly porn. Almost no one had any morals (and the only ones who did got killed off fast). Why do people have to write so much about sexual immorality?
October 14, 2017
I loved the first Jack McBride mystery and I was so excited to read this one, however it was very difficult to keep track of who the characters were because it had been so long since I read the first and I couldn't remember them well enough so I never felt as connected this time.
July 30, 2021
The second book is even better than the first....maybe because I know all the characters a little better and can keep things straight. There's heartbreak, joy, revenge, family, lost friends, action, romance....everyday life in Jack McBride's Stillwater.
February 27, 2022
crazy family
The Doyles are one crazy dirty family which in the end catches up with them. The McBride boys are a one two punch in driving out crime. Jacks crazy wife turns up after 364 days to put a kink in things but her true character does her in. Crazy book
The Doyles are one crazy dirty family which in the end catches up with them. The McBride boys are a one two punch in driving out crime. Jacks crazy wife turns up after 364 days to put a kink in things but her true character does her in. Crazy book
December 15, 2023
I tore through the 2 books in this series. So, so good! The plot, characters, and settings were so realistic and down home Texas. I’d steal away every extra minute to be able to read - then I know I’m reading an extra special book. I sure hope there’s more to come!
January 22, 2019
Pretty good but it can get very confusing with all of the characters in the book.
July 16, 2018
I had a difficult time putting this book down.
March 17, 2019
Very good story.
April 18, 2019
I like these characters
This book is about small town corruption and good police work. There suspense romance and enough action to keep the story moving along. Is good read
This book is about small town corruption and good police work. There suspense romance and enough action to keep the story moving along. Is good read
August 9, 2019
I liked Stillwater. I loved The Fisher King! Great job, Melissa!!!
October 5, 2019
50/50 Romance/Mystery. Read series in order as Stillwater and The Fisher King are basically one novel extended over two volumes.
Read
October 16, 2020Melissa Lenhardt is an excellent suspense author with great characters and romances.
July 26, 2021
Enjoy the second installation, but felt the ending was wrapped up quickly with little explanation.
September 9, 2022
Loved this book. Kept me reading longer than I should have. Liked everything about it.
October 30, 2023
The first book was much better than the second.
2.5 stars
2.5 stars
March 7, 2024
Couldn't really get into this book. Too many characters to keep track of. Had to keep trying to remember who was who.
September 16, 2024
This was a good series. Jack McBride can get into some deep trouble if he is not careful.
July 12, 2025
⭐️ 3.5 stars ⭐️
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews