Death at Fort Devens

An Andy Roark Mystery #3

by Peter Colt

It's a race against time to find a teenager missing on the mean streets of Boston, in this hardboiled mystery featuring Andy Roark, Vietnam veteran turned Private Investigator.

Boston, 1985. Private Investigator Andy Roark left the military behind years ago, but his past comes flooding back when he's hired by an old army buddy who's worried about his rebellious teenage daughter's safety. There are bonds of blood between Roark and the highly-decorated Lieutenant Colonel Dave Billings, forged in the steamy Vietnamese jungle, and some debts aren't easy to forget.

Working the case for free, Roark's investigation quickly leads him to Boston's Combat Zone, five acres of sex, drugs and crime, right in the heart of one of America's oldest cities - and to Judy's unsavory new boyfriend, the drug-dealing K-nice.

Then Judy runs away, and the clock starts ticking in earnest. Roark is determined to save his friend's daughter from a life of drugs and prostitution, but it'll take more than missing-person flyers and polite questions to save the girl and get them both out of the concrete jungle of the Combat Zone alive.

This page-turning hard-edged mystery, written by a US Army veteran and New England police officer, is a great choice for readers who enjoy military detail, twisty plots and classic PI heroes with plenty of flaws, humour and attitude.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Thriller

224 pages, Hardcover

Published June 7, 2022

About the author

Peter Colt is currently a police officer in a small New England city where he has worked since 2007. He spent over twenty years in the Army reserve and was deployed to Kosovo in 2000, where he was attached to the Russian Army. He was deployed to Iraq in 2003 and again in 2008. He was fortunate to get to know many Vietnam vets and U.S. Army Special forces soldiers. He lived on Nantucket Island from 1973‑1986. He’s currently working on the next Andy Roark mystery.

Reviews

[John McKenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Death At Fort Devens, (Severn, $28.99, 224 pages, ISBN 978-1-4483-0766-1), by Peter Colt, is a good old-fashioned private-eye yarn that features a wise-cracking and tough as a yellow toenail . . . hard-drinking, hard-fisted, and hard-living—as well as a hard-up—ex-Boston cop and former Green Beret named Andy Roark . . . a character who kicks ass and takes names until he gets it all figured out.

In this third installment of his adventures, it’s the mid 1980s, and Roark is headed to the Special Forces Unit at Fort Devens, Massachusetts, in response to the request of Lt. Colonel David Billings, his squad leader in Vietnam, and the man who saved Roark from being killed in an NVA ambush, deep in the Laotian jungle. The Colonel’s seventeen year-old daughter, Judy, has gone missing. He wants Roark to find her, and the problem ridden, depressed private-eye is eager to bring the girl back—hoping to repay some of his karmic debt to Billings for saving his life. The Colonel is in line for a promotion, possibly even a General’s star, and complications, such as a troubled teen, are out of the question if he is to succeed. Roark finds that Judy has been dating an enlisted man, but when questioned, the young Specialist tells him they’ve broken up. It appears that the Colonel’s daughter is now involved with a Boston criminal, a drug-dealing thug . . . who may have hooked her on heroin. Roark then goes to Boston’s worst criminal district, known as the Combat Zone, where he leaves a path of blood, broken bones and terror in his wake, because he has untreated PTSD issues from his time in Vietnam. This novel is fast and compelling, as well as an exciting read that’s perfect for those long lazy summer afternoons, all leading to an electrifying conclusion that you’ll never see coming . . . it’s action-packed to the end!

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Death at Fort Devens is the third Andy Roark PI mystery by Peter Colt. Released 7th June 2022 by Severn House, it's 224 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats. Paperback due out in 1st quarter 2023. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a well written PI crime investigation in a largely military setting. The titular series protagonist is a tough and unapologetic lone wolf. He has a long and involved back-story (which the author provides in an unflinching manner) and has been involved in conflict in one capacity or another for decades.

The mystery plotting and characterizations are well done and the writing is superb. The dialogue is gritty and rough-around-the-edges. It oozes testosterone and it's clear this is 100% intentional on the author's part. I found myself wishing for a little more softness, a little more light humor, but it wasn't forthcoming. Although it's not at all derivative, there are flashes of Parker's Spenser and Connelly's Bosch, but without the wry humor of those two.

The mystery is well constructed and the conflict, resolution, and denouement are satisfying, if dark. The bad guys are *bad*, and the good guys don't get off without costs. I was disenchanted by the casual sexism and racism throughout; although it's not glorified or used gratuitously. There is a fair amount of graphic violence in the story which seems to be realistic, including descriptions of wartime injuries along with liberal use of rugged language. The protagonist is a Vietnam vet and the story includes historical actions during and after that time period. The military history and locations seem to be well written and correct from a geographical, political, and historical basis. The book is full of military descriptions and background info on life on a military base and the organizational structure of the US armed services.

The classic advice to authors is "Write what you know". It's abundantly clear that this author has done precisely that. He's writes well about his life experience and if his protagonist is fictionalized, he certainly lives and breathes through the author's experiences.

Four stars. Recommended for fans of PI lone-wolf military mysteries. Probably higher for fans of testosterone fueled procedurals.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andy Roark is a classic tough-guy private eye navigating the post-Vietnam 1980s. When his former squad leader Dave Billings asks for Andy’s help to find his runaway daughter, Andy steps up to the task because Dave saved his live in the Vietnam jungle. He enters the urban jungle of an unsavory Boston neighborhood in his search. When he encounters potential witnesses reluctant to talk, Andy gets them to cooperate using his Special Forces skills at interrogation. Considering the creeps are dealing drugs and pimping teenage prostitutes, I cheered Andy on. The plot takes unexpected twists and turns, one involving one of Andy’s former girlfriends. I appreciate that Roark is a Vietnam vet. He felt so genuine, based on my vet friends - reluctant to talk about his war experiences, while silently suffering PTSD. Andy has a recurring war flashback that figures into the plot in a way I didn’t see coming. I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Max · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in 1980's Boston (when I first moved here), Andy Roark is a private detective with meagre client base. He is also ex-Special Forces and ex-Boston cop. Andy's army friend has a missing daughter and hires Andy to find her. About half the book is the hunt for the daughter, half concerns Andy's personal life, which he finds unfulfilling. There is a lot verbiage describing 1980's Boston. The mystery is fine, though I found the ending a little weak. Roark is the narrator, and though the book is readable, the dialogue is not particularly clever. There is a fair amount of violence, some from Andy's memories from Vietnam which haunt him, and some from Andy's willingness to hit first and regret later.

[Kathleen Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's 1985 and Andy Roark, a former Boston police detective now working as a PI, is searching for Judy, the 17 year old daughter of the man who saved his life in Vietnam. David Billings is about to be promoted to colonel, Judy's been dating an enlisted man, and there's more going on at Fort Devens than it appears. While the basic plot (PI looking for missing teen in bad neighborhoods) might be familiar, this works well because of Roark, a man doing his best to cope with his PTSD. I missed the first books in this series but this was fine as a standalone. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's a good read.

[Jenn Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not much else to say that I haven't said about the first two in this series. The actual central mystery/plot that Roark is investigating was a bit less meandering than the first two if I remember correctly. I find it so funny the amount of detail spent describing each meal he stops for, but I'd be lying it I said it didn't help set the scene - along with the many descriptions as he putters around Boston trying to figure out what happened to his old Army buddy's daughter. I'd say "Drink every time he orders or mentioned Lowenbrau" but that would probably get dangerous.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was alright, this 3rd book in the Andy Roark, Boston detective, series. Like the previous 2, I thought it was too heavy with the Vietnam war stories. But he had the local color down pat. The story itself was full of PI tropes, which was kind of annoying, so as a veteran reader of these, I could see the ending coming a mile away. And there were way too many red herrings. But the story moved along at a pretty fast clip and I really enjoy the character and his friends. I think he needs a sidekick though.

[Benjamin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Number three in the series. More violent than the two preceding. A PI who reads fiction about private investigators. A friend who was in Viet Nam with Andy calls him. His daughter is missing, and he wants Andy to find her. Things go south from there.

[Lauri · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Great Andy Roark Story

Peter Colt has stitched together a legendary tale where his complicated protagonist flits in and out of storylines all woven together by the end into a great bow. While this story got very thick in the middle it all spun out into a amazing ending.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#3 in the Andy Roark series. 2022 series entry by author Peter Colt is set in the Boston MA area in 1985.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Improved

Colt's first Roark book was a struggle. He needed better editing, what with glaring mistakes and all. His second Roark book was better. This third book is the charm.

[Bernice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy the main character; storyline was ok

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good read. Murder and suspense. Accurately portrays the Boston and Ford Devens areas of Massachusetts. A quick read. The plot and story line were amazing. Nice twists and turns but I feel like the book ended so abruptly. It was a good ending but it felt rushed to me. Overall it was a good book and I would definitely recommend it.

[T · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third installment of this series was a quick read with PI Andy Roark on a new case looking for the runaway daughter of his Lt. Colonel back in Vietnam. Dave Billings saved his life in the jungle so finding his daughter is a no brainer but it proves to be more complicated and dangerous than Andy thought. Trouble always seem to be around the corner for this hard-living, hard-drinking PI but he always comes out on top.

[Annarella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andy Roark is a very interesting characters and I think he' makes this book a very entertaining and gripping read.
The book is well written and compelling, the classic plot is well developed and the mystery solid.
I liked the descriptions, the characters, and the storytelling.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

[Bob Morrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

So so book- Tough PI from Boston- hired to find missing daughter of former army bud- all bs- he runs around Boston looking,beats up a few guys,no luck- eventually gets too close and realizes the father killed daughter- ending was 10 pages too long,too much reminiscing about Viet Nam through entire story-

[Augie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Death at Fort Devens was another great read in the Andy Roark detective series.

I hope there are many more books to follow by Peter Colt.

[Jane Perron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book by Pete Colt. Enjoyable series. Hope he continues to write about Andy Roark