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Charlie Hood #3
Iron River
On a dusty highway just north of the United States and Mexico border, a man named Mike Finnegan is struck by a fast moving vehicle and flung into the desert. Miraculously, he survives and winds up in a hospital in the tiny border town of Buenavista, seemingly in full possession of his faculties, including the eerie ability to understand events happening well outside the view from his hospital bed.
369 pages, Hardcover
First published November 9, 2009
118 people are currently reading
423 people want to read
About the author
T. Jefferson Parker
99 books852 followersT. Jefferson Parker is the bestselling author of 26 crime novels, including Edgar Award-winners SILENT JOE and CALIFORNIA GIRL. Parker's next work is coming-of-age thriller, A THOUSAND STEPS, set for January of 2022. He lives with his family in a small town in north San Diego County, and enjoys fishing, hiking and beachcombing.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 168 reviews
January 22, 2015
This is the third installment in T. Jefferson Parker's excellent series featuring Charlie Hood. Hood is an Army vet who has become an L.A. County deputy sheriff. Here he joins a taskforce called Operation Blowdown, which is assigned the virtually impossible task of slowing the flow of guns from the southwestern United States into Mexico along the so-called "Iron River."
Early on, Hood and the other agents assigned to the operation wind up in a firefight with some gun runners and a young bystander is killed in the crossfire by a bullet fired by one of Hood's team members. Unfortunately, the victim is the son of Benjamin Armenta, who is the powerful and violent head of the Mexican Gulf Cartel. Armenta swears revenge against the task force, even to the extent of sending his forces into the U.S. to kidnap one of the task force members.
At the same time, a man named Ron Pace is presiding over the demise of his family's gun manufacturing company, Pace Arms. The firm manufactured a gun that malfunctioned and killed a child. The resulting lawsuit bankrupted the company and Pace is winding down the business. But he is approached by young Bradley Jones, the son of the bandit known as Allison Murrietta, the antagonist of L.A. Outlaws, the first book in the series. Allison and Charlie Hood were lovers for a time and Hood still feels a strong connection to her son.
Bradley is now running money into Mexico for one of the cartel drug lords, and he proposes that Pace secretly reopen his assembly line to make guns that the drug lord can use against his enemies. Pace will be very well paid for the effort and he readily agrees.
Also in the mix is a mysterious man named Mike Finnegan, who is hit by a car and left for dead while changing a flat tire along the side of the road. He somehow survives and, although badly injured, is slowly recovering in a hospital in the tiny town of Buenavista. Finnegan has a note in his pocket instructing him to contact Charlie Hood. Hood has never heard of the man, but he comes to the hospital and his visit begins a curious relationship between the two men. Finnegan, who appears to be something of an idiot savant, somehow knows things about Hood and about the case Hood is investigating that seem impossible.
The mix of all these threads results in a very entertaining story. Parker has obviously done a lot of research for the book, and the reader is almost overwhelmed by the violence of the drug wars, which are conducted with weapons imported almost exclusively from the U.S. One is also left with the impression that the efforts to control the flow of guns along the "Iron River" are the equivalent of the efforts of the legendary Dutch boy trying to hold back the flood waters by sticking his finger into the dike.
Charlie Hood soldiers on as best he can, but you can't help but feel that he's fighting a losing battle. Iron River is a book that will appeal to large numbers of readers and which will leave them thinking about the issues that Parker raises here long after they have turned the final page.
Early on, Hood and the other agents assigned to the operation wind up in a firefight with some gun runners and a young bystander is killed in the crossfire by a bullet fired by one of Hood's team members. Unfortunately, the victim is the son of Benjamin Armenta, who is the powerful and violent head of the Mexican Gulf Cartel. Armenta swears revenge against the task force, even to the extent of sending his forces into the U.S. to kidnap one of the task force members.
At the same time, a man named Ron Pace is presiding over the demise of his family's gun manufacturing company, Pace Arms. The firm manufactured a gun that malfunctioned and killed a child. The resulting lawsuit bankrupted the company and Pace is winding down the business. But he is approached by young Bradley Jones, the son of the bandit known as Allison Murrietta, the antagonist of L.A. Outlaws, the first book in the series. Allison and Charlie Hood were lovers for a time and Hood still feels a strong connection to her son.
Bradley is now running money into Mexico for one of the cartel drug lords, and he proposes that Pace secretly reopen his assembly line to make guns that the drug lord can use against his enemies. Pace will be very well paid for the effort and he readily agrees.
Also in the mix is a mysterious man named Mike Finnegan, who is hit by a car and left for dead while changing a flat tire along the side of the road. He somehow survives and, although badly injured, is slowly recovering in a hospital in the tiny town of Buenavista. Finnegan has a note in his pocket instructing him to contact Charlie Hood. Hood has never heard of the man, but he comes to the hospital and his visit begins a curious relationship between the two men. Finnegan, who appears to be something of an idiot savant, somehow knows things about Hood and about the case Hood is investigating that seem impossible.
The mix of all these threads results in a very entertaining story. Parker has obviously done a lot of research for the book, and the reader is almost overwhelmed by the violence of the drug wars, which are conducted with weapons imported almost exclusively from the U.S. One is also left with the impression that the efforts to control the flow of guns along the "Iron River" are the equivalent of the efforts of the legendary Dutch boy trying to hold back the flood waters by sticking his finger into the dike.
Charlie Hood soldiers on as best he can, but you can't help but feel that he's fighting a losing battle. Iron River is a book that will appeal to large numbers of readers and which will leave them thinking about the issues that Parker raises here long after they have turned the final page.
April 3, 2014
Ya know...if I had wanted to read a trilogy or whatever...an ongoing series which cannot be read as a stand-alone, I would do that.
But reading a book, I think the reader deserves to know whether the book is part of an ongoing series that is open-ended (leaving the reader with numerous loose ends) or not; readers expect a book to be a stand-alone that is unless it says otherwise. A book at the last page reads "The End" for a reason.
I find it important that the Charlie Hood series be read in sequence which I like to read in sequence anyhow. But because this book, #3 in the series, relies somewhat heavily on the past two books and Charlie's previous relationships it's most important that book #1 and #2 be read before this book.
In fact, if someone had just picked this one up at the library and decided to read it because they liked the cover, the blurbs on the back of the dust cover or the rah-rahs that TJP has received, I can see where they would never read another Parker. There are far too many references to previous relationships and events and far too many story-lines left hanging at the last page.
For that reason, and that reason only, I'm giving it three stars other than four or five. I gave five stars for the first in the series L. A. Outlaws and four to the second, The Renegades. And let it be clear, I simply LOVE Parker's writing, just love it!
But hell's bells, I may not even finish reading the series I'm so pissed about all the hanging story-lines. Not as bad as the hanging chads in Florida, but real close. Still pissed about those chads, too.
But reading a book, I think the reader deserves to know whether the book is part of an ongoing series that is open-ended (leaving the reader with numerous loose ends) or not; readers expect a book to be a stand-alone that is unless it says otherwise. A book at the last page reads "The End" for a reason.
I find it important that the Charlie Hood series be read in sequence which I like to read in sequence anyhow. But because this book, #3 in the series, relies somewhat heavily on the past two books and Charlie's previous relationships it's most important that book #1 and #2 be read before this book.
In fact, if someone had just picked this one up at the library and decided to read it because they liked the cover, the blurbs on the back of the dust cover or the rah-rahs that TJP has received, I can see where they would never read another Parker. There are far too many references to previous relationships and events and far too many story-lines left hanging at the last page.
For that reason, and that reason only, I'm giving it three stars other than four or five. I gave five stars for the first in the series L. A. Outlaws and four to the second, The Renegades. And let it be clear, I simply LOVE Parker's writing, just love it!
But hell's bells, I may not even finish reading the series I'm so pissed about all the hanging story-lines. Not as bad as the hanging chads in Florida, but real close. Still pissed about those chads, too.
Want to read
June 19, 2018This hardcover edition has been signed by T. Jefferson Parker.
February 12, 2015
The third book in the Charlie Hood series is another TREMENDOUS read! I highly recommend this series to my GR friends.
September 18, 2019
Hood is an L.A. deputy, currently working with an ATFE group nailing bad guys shipping guns to Mexico for crime lords in the drug wars there.
There are several threads running in the story: the gun runners; a small arms firm struggling to remain solvent; a mysterious man struck by a car, currently in a hospital, who know's Hood's secrets; his former love interest's son, working to become a law officer while also smuggling money into Mexico.
In the novel, there's a scene with a wedding where absinthe, the formerly banned drink made from wormwood, is served. I swear that while reading this book, I felt the some of the same effects: disassociation and feelings outside the norm.
There are several threads running in the story: the gun runners; a small arms firm struggling to remain solvent; a mysterious man struck by a car, currently in a hospital, who know's Hood's secrets; his former love interest's son, working to become a law officer while also smuggling money into Mexico.
In the novel, there's a scene with a wedding where absinthe, the formerly banned drink made from wormwood, is served. I swear that while reading this book, I felt the some of the same effects: disassociation and feelings outside the norm.
July 2, 2012
The writing in this novel is as sharp and crisp as ever. Sadly, Parker tries a mystical angle that is really annoying and this novel actually goes nowhere. Parker's characters are their usual mixture of morose and amoral characters with our hero, Charlie Hood, dancing about in the midst of them trying to maintain some semblance of moral balance.
The mystical angle comes from an enigmatic character who is injured and hospitalized and somehow knows things he shouldn't know. The character seems to be something like a psychic and also a guy who heals rapidly from injury. There is enough unexplained mystical\psychic stuff to completely throw me-- and I consider myself a fan of Parker's writing.. this one just doesn't do it for me.
The mystical angle comes from an enigmatic character who is injured and hospitalized and somehow knows things he shouldn't know. The character seems to be something like a psychic and also a guy who heals rapidly from injury. There is enough unexplained mystical\psychic stuff to completely throw me-- and I consider myself a fan of Parker's writing.. this one just doesn't do it for me.
March 15, 2010
Magnificent, with a masterly understanding of the grey areas between the good and the evil. Parker's characters are nailed-down real, their pain breaks your heart, their strengths make you want to sing. This is crime fiction at its very best.
August 18, 2012
Robert Crais, James Lee Burke and T. Jefferson Parker have to be three of my favorite thriller authors for 2012.
March 24, 2018
Apparently I’m reading these backward. Good book, since my perspective is from last book to first I can see how Parker has become a better writer.
For the series this is the first meeting between Finnegan and Hood. He also becomes a member of “Blowdown” in which many of the characters play more important roles in future books. This book is still making Hood into the agent he will become. In this book the good guys seem to be punished more than the bad and other than Hood, the bad sem to be rewarded.
For the series this is the first meeting between Finnegan and Hood. He also becomes a member of “Blowdown” in which many of the characters play more important roles in future books. This book is still making Hood into the agent he will become. In this book the good guys seem to be punished more than the bad and other than Hood, the bad sem to be rewarded.
December 6, 2015
Charlie Hood is on loan to the ATFE along the Mexican border in Southern California to help stem the flow of guns into Mexico. Mike Finnegan is hit by a speeding car landing him in the hospital where he seems to get information out of the thin air and claims to be hundreds of years old. Ron Pace makes a deal selling a special gun to the drug cartels to revive his gun manufacturing business, A federal agent is kidnapped and tortured. This consistent read is told from the voice of two people, a police officer and a gun smuggler.
June 21, 2021
Read 2012
March 13, 2023
This book is full of action and riveting characters, and it absolutely left me wanting to read more!
July 4, 2010
i decided to keep track of all the books in which mentally ill mothers appear. i thought someone had to. the mentally ill mother doesn't have a big part in this book, but she takes enough narrative space to impress upon us that book characters are raised on the knees of mentally ill women. why this trope should be so pervasive and so pervasively ignored, i don't know. i have my suspicions about the former and i plan to do something about the latter. here. done. maybe from now on you, too, will pay attention to how frequently mentally ill mothers appear in novels.
i am glad that t. jefferson parker, a writer i admire, explained to me the widespread notion that mexico is on its way to becoming a "failed state." i didn't quite understand how a whole country that is ruled democratically could suddenly (or not so suddenly) "fail," but apparently this can happen.
there is a point in the novel in which someone explains to someone else how certain magic lines that keep people from doing certain things get crossed, and once they are crossed they are crossed. one of these lines, in the novel, is the abduction on US soil of a US law enforcement agent by a bunch of mexican hired mercenaries. in the novel, this had never happened before.
the novel is pervaded by a sense of creepy lawlessness and also by a brutality so mindless, so capricious and wanton and easy, you ask yourself why this doesn't happen more often.
i remember the terrible sense of disorder i felt during the early times of the bush administration. i know that history has seen this so much it's run out of tears, but me, well, i hadn't seen it, or maybe i had read about it but failed to understand. guantánamo, iraq, wars of choice based on lies everyone knew were lies and doomed to a failure everyone could predict, torture, the repression of dissent, the persecution of dissenters, the blithe stomping on the safety of journalists, the open assault on all things muslim... i read and read about 9/11 because i thought it might hold the key to this massive breakdown of legal and moral stability.
now i don't know. now i think that maybe civilizations go through cycles and we are at the end of ours. we are the last times of the roman empire, the dying throes of the ancien régime, the unraveling of modernity.
Iron River is not an apocalyptic book but it is suffused with subtle despair, and while i read it i felt this despair crawl into me through fissures cracked open by afghanistan, the oil spill, and Toronto more than by 9/11 and the terror of the bush presidencies. those, we knew were aberrations. now, though, we have jokes about predator drones by an african american president we believed could banish our collective nightmare and restore the comforting smells of normality to our homes. it's not going to get better from here. this is as good as we have. it's only going to get worse.
i am glad that t. jefferson parker, a writer i admire, explained to me the widespread notion that mexico is on its way to becoming a "failed state." i didn't quite understand how a whole country that is ruled democratically could suddenly (or not so suddenly) "fail," but apparently this can happen.
there is a point in the novel in which someone explains to someone else how certain magic lines that keep people from doing certain things get crossed, and once they are crossed they are crossed. one of these lines, in the novel, is the abduction on US soil of a US law enforcement agent by a bunch of mexican hired mercenaries. in the novel, this had never happened before.
the novel is pervaded by a sense of creepy lawlessness and also by a brutality so mindless, so capricious and wanton and easy, you ask yourself why this doesn't happen more often.
i remember the terrible sense of disorder i felt during the early times of the bush administration. i know that history has seen this so much it's run out of tears, but me, well, i hadn't seen it, or maybe i had read about it but failed to understand. guantánamo, iraq, wars of choice based on lies everyone knew were lies and doomed to a failure everyone could predict, torture, the repression of dissent, the persecution of dissenters, the blithe stomping on the safety of journalists, the open assault on all things muslim... i read and read about 9/11 because i thought it might hold the key to this massive breakdown of legal and moral stability.
now i don't know. now i think that maybe civilizations go through cycles and we are at the end of ours. we are the last times of the roman empire, the dying throes of the ancien régime, the unraveling of modernity.
Iron River is not an apocalyptic book but it is suffused with subtle despair, and while i read it i felt this despair crawl into me through fissures cracked open by afghanistan, the oil spill, and Toronto more than by 9/11 and the terror of the bush presidencies. those, we knew were aberrations. now, though, we have jokes about predator drones by an african american president we believed could banish our collective nightmare and restore the comforting smells of normality to our homes. it's not going to get better from here. this is as good as we have. it's only going to get worse.
February 20, 2010
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Review: Iron River Takes Readers to the Border and Beyond...
Iron River
By T. Jefferson Parker
Dutton
ISBN: 9780525951490
373 Pages
T. Jefferson Parker's latest novel, Iron River: A Charlie Hood Novel is strangely fascinating. Although Charlie Hood is the main character, the strange character to whom I refer is Mike Finnegan...
The book opens with Finnegan being severely hurt in an automobile accident and Hood and others visit him throughout the book, trying to discover who he is and how he knows so much! He seeks a favor from Hood, to find and determine how his daughter is doing; and he then becomes indebted to Hood. Readers may feel that he plays a significant role in what is going on--perhaps he is a representative of the evil that taunts individuals with power and money, or perhaps he is just a well-read old man who has a "ear to the ground." No matter which, it was fascinating to me watch this somewhat minor character interact with Hood.
Charlie Hood is on loan to ATFE. Various groups in Mexico are in need of guns; Americans are providing them. In turn, drugs are provided to those in America who want them for sale or use. Both countries are at fault; neither country can control what is happening. Is a war the only answer? Parker's story brings us close to that when one of the Mexican groups first kidnaps one of the ATFE men, torturing him until a small group get him out. Then, while he is recuperating in the hospital located in the U.S., they swarm into the hospital, killing five and take him again.
Vengeance for the accidental death of the son of the major Mexican drug lord.
A reason for the U.S. President to consider the hospital invasion an attack of America. Already 15,000 individuals have died along the Iron River (border). How many more will die?
Both Mexico and the U.S. work to alleviate the threat of the latest problem and secure a trade for Jimmy Holdstock, the kidnap victim, and it almost fails...
But even while all of this is happening, a young man who has designed a beautiful but very dangerous gun is working diligently to fulfill the bargain to provide 1000 guns... and succeeds! Will it ever stop? Not if Mike Finnegan has anything to do with it, me thinks...
Will the issue Parker is highlighting do any good to decrease the drug/gun trade? I pray that it does. What Parker has done, for sure, is create a thrilling novel of one of the most horrendous issues faced by both the United States and Mexico! Iron River takes you into the middle of this powerful corruption. They win some; they also lose some! Highly recommended for those concerned and watching this situation "in real life."
G. A. Bixler
Review: Iron River Takes Readers to the Border and Beyond...
Iron River
By T. Jefferson Parker
Dutton
ISBN: 9780525951490
373 Pages
T. Jefferson Parker's latest novel, Iron River: A Charlie Hood Novel is strangely fascinating. Although Charlie Hood is the main character, the strange character to whom I refer is Mike Finnegan...
The book opens with Finnegan being severely hurt in an automobile accident and Hood and others visit him throughout the book, trying to discover who he is and how he knows so much! He seeks a favor from Hood, to find and determine how his daughter is doing; and he then becomes indebted to Hood. Readers may feel that he plays a significant role in what is going on--perhaps he is a representative of the evil that taunts individuals with power and money, or perhaps he is just a well-read old man who has a "ear to the ground." No matter which, it was fascinating to me watch this somewhat minor character interact with Hood.
Charlie Hood is on loan to ATFE. Various groups in Mexico are in need of guns; Americans are providing them. In turn, drugs are provided to those in America who want them for sale or use. Both countries are at fault; neither country can control what is happening. Is a war the only answer? Parker's story brings us close to that when one of the Mexican groups first kidnaps one of the ATFE men, torturing him until a small group get him out. Then, while he is recuperating in the hospital located in the U.S., they swarm into the hospital, killing five and take him again.
Vengeance for the accidental death of the son of the major Mexican drug lord.
A reason for the U.S. President to consider the hospital invasion an attack of America. Already 15,000 individuals have died along the Iron River (border). How many more will die?
Both Mexico and the U.S. work to alleviate the threat of the latest problem and secure a trade for Jimmy Holdstock, the kidnap victim, and it almost fails...
But even while all of this is happening, a young man who has designed a beautiful but very dangerous gun is working diligently to fulfill the bargain to provide 1000 guns... and succeeds! Will it ever stop? Not if Mike Finnegan has anything to do with it, me thinks...
Will the issue Parker is highlighting do any good to decrease the drug/gun trade? I pray that it does. What Parker has done, for sure, is create a thrilling novel of one of the most horrendous issues faced by both the United States and Mexico! Iron River takes you into the middle of this powerful corruption. They win some; they also lose some! Highly recommended for those concerned and watching this situation "in real life."
G. A. Bixler
December 28, 2010
T. Jefferson Parker uses a mixed point of view in his novel Iron River. This means he employs both first person and third person in describing the story. While this is not a common perspective, I usually enjoy the intimacy that it can bring to a novel. Nelson DeMille’s John Corey series is an excellent example of how this device can accentuate tension and help the reader to bond with the protagonist.
What makes Iron River unique is that Parker assigns the first person perspective to someone other than the protagonist. I’m very much in favor of experimentation when it contributes to my understanding and enjoyment of a book. However, Parker assigned first person status to a weak-willed secondary character, Ron Pace, whose insights did very little to advance the interesting aspects of the novel.
Iron River is part of Parker’s Charlie Hood series. Had Parker ascribed first person status to Hood, he could have helped those of us who had not read the prior novels in the series to understand and appreciate Hood’s backstory and motivations. Parker also introduces a unique and complex character named Mike Finnegan. Mike’s perspective would have enthralled the reader, but would also have taken the plot in a very different direction.
I tried viewing Ron Pace’s story as an allegory relative to the theme of the novel. But the character’s lack of depth and redeeming qualities would mean that the author holds Mexico in very low regard. That assumption doesn’t mesh with Parker’s prose.
This was my first read of T. Jefferson Parker. I’ll probably try another of his novels in the future due to the quality of his writing. But, I’ll scan it for this unusual use of a POV device before committing to my next selection.
RJ McDonnell
Rock & Roll Rip-Off
2010 Mystery Thriller of the Year (Premier Book Awards)
www.rjmcdonnell.com
What makes Iron River unique is that Parker assigns the first person perspective to someone other than the protagonist. I’m very much in favor of experimentation when it contributes to my understanding and enjoyment of a book. However, Parker assigned first person status to a weak-willed secondary character, Ron Pace, whose insights did very little to advance the interesting aspects of the novel.
Iron River is part of Parker’s Charlie Hood series. Had Parker ascribed first person status to Hood, he could have helped those of us who had not read the prior novels in the series to understand and appreciate Hood’s backstory and motivations. Parker also introduces a unique and complex character named Mike Finnegan. Mike’s perspective would have enthralled the reader, but would also have taken the plot in a very different direction.
I tried viewing Ron Pace’s story as an allegory relative to the theme of the novel. But the character’s lack of depth and redeeming qualities would mean that the author holds Mexico in very low regard. That assumption doesn’t mesh with Parker’s prose.
This was my first read of T. Jefferson Parker. I’ll probably try another of his novels in the future due to the quality of his writing. But, I’ll scan it for this unusual use of a POV device before committing to my next selection.
RJ McDonnell
Rock & Roll Rip-Off
2010 Mystery Thriller of the Year (Premier Book Awards)
www.rjmcdonnell.com
April 15, 2011
"Iron River" is a crime suspense novel. I haven't read the previous Charlie Hood novels, but, FYI, this one spoils what happened in previous novels. While most of the characters in this novel were complex and acted realistically, the events weren't realistic. Who would send cops into a foreign country to do the job of a special forces team? If the law enforcement people know that one of their own is extremely likely to be kidnapped, why don't they send him (and family) to, say, Alaska and put him into hiding rather than leave him injured, within easy reach of the bad guys, and where everyone knows where he is? To many things just weren't logical.
Also, since most of the characters showed so little fear when confronted with danger, it was hard for me to feel more than mild suspense during the few action scenes. I liked the first half of the novel, but things went downhill in the second half. I didn't like that a main character turned out to be a supernatural, evil being...who won in the end. I also found it depressing that the really nice guy was tortured into mindlessness, the morally upright cop was murdered, the bad guys continually outwitted our hero in the main storyline, and the main character (Hood) went from believing in hope to feeling hopeless. However, if you like dark stories with a supernatural element, you might enjoy this one.
There was some bad language, some gore, but no graphic sex. Also, while most of the novel was in third person, past tense ("he sat"), one point of view character was written in first person, present tense ("I sit"). I found it jolting every time the switch was made into and out of that viewpoint, and I'm not sure why it was done.
I received this book as an unrequested review copy from the publisher.
Also, since most of the characters showed so little fear when confronted with danger, it was hard for me to feel more than mild suspense during the few action scenes. I liked the first half of the novel, but things went downhill in the second half. I didn't like that a main character turned out to be a supernatural, evil being...who won in the end. I also found it depressing that the really nice guy was tortured into mindlessness, the morally upright cop was murdered, the bad guys continually outwitted our hero in the main storyline, and the main character (Hood) went from believing in hope to feeling hopeless. However, if you like dark stories with a supernatural element, you might enjoy this one.
There was some bad language, some gore, but no graphic sex. Also, while most of the novel was in third person, past tense ("he sat"), one point of view character was written in first person, present tense ("I sit"). I found it jolting every time the switch was made into and out of that viewpoint, and I'm not sure why it was done.
I received this book as an unrequested review copy from the publisher.
March 11, 2012
T. Jefferson Parker is an accomplished author. Unfortunately, in my opinion, Iron River is not one of his better books. The two previous books in the Charlie Hood series were well written and entertaining. However, I do not feel the same can be said for this book.
Hood has been seconded to ATFE to work on the illegal gun trade with Mexico know as "the iron river." Early in the book an innocent individual is accidentally killed by an ATFE agent. Unfortunately, the dead person is the son of the leader of a Mexican drug cartel. What happens in a majority of the book is what results because of the death. At the same time, Parker also develops and maintains two other story lines that eventually merge in an unsatisfying (to me anyway) conclusion to the book.
As expected from Parker, the characters in Iron River are well drawn and for the most part believable. However, I feel that the "narcotraficantes" seem to be just short of super human in their ability to outwit, outgun and generally outsmart the ATFE agents. It seems that Parker has given Bradley, a continuing character, the ability to live a duplicitous life and outsmart Hood at almost every turn. Parker has provided an interesting character in Charlie Hood and, if the Hood character is to be believed, Charlie seems to be of more than average intelligence. However, he never seems to be able to notice that Bradley is not what he seems. Perhaps Parker is just ratcheting up the tension for a bigger scene later, but I don't know.
I would recommend this book only to previous readers of the Charlie Hood series. If you haven't read L.A. Outlaws or The Renegades, read them before this book. Here's hoping that I like The Border Lords, the next book in the series, better.
Hood has been seconded to ATFE to work on the illegal gun trade with Mexico know as "the iron river." Early in the book an innocent individual is accidentally killed by an ATFE agent. Unfortunately, the dead person is the son of the leader of a Mexican drug cartel. What happens in a majority of the book is what results because of the death. At the same time, Parker also develops and maintains two other story lines that eventually merge in an unsatisfying (to me anyway) conclusion to the book.
As expected from Parker, the characters in Iron River are well drawn and for the most part believable. However, I feel that the "narcotraficantes" seem to be just short of super human in their ability to outwit, outgun and generally outsmart the ATFE agents. It seems that Parker has given Bradley, a continuing character, the ability to live a duplicitous life and outsmart Hood at almost every turn. Parker has provided an interesting character in Charlie Hood and, if the Hood character is to be believed, Charlie seems to be of more than average intelligence. However, he never seems to be able to notice that Bradley is not what he seems. Perhaps Parker is just ratcheting up the tension for a bigger scene later, but I don't know.
I would recommend this book only to previous readers of the Charlie Hood series. If you haven't read L.A. Outlaws or The Renegades, read them before this book. Here's hoping that I like The Border Lords, the next book in the series, better.
January 10, 2010
I was a little disappointed by the latest book by Parker. This is the third book I think that focuses on Charlie Hood, the lawman introduced in LA Outlaws and also again portrays the rise to criminal mastermind of the young Bradley Jones, the son of the Alison Murreitta from LA Outlaws.
This time Hood has joined the ATF to stop gunrunners and Jones is hip deep in the gun running business and the smuggling business among others. Young Bradley is buying guns from Ron Pace, the scion of the Pace Gun factory, who has invented a cool 32 caliber gun that can be easily made into a special killing machine.
The mystery elements of this story are fine and Parker remains a great writer capturing the language of cops and robbers.
The problem is the mystic element, which seems in many ways to upstage the cop and robber dynamic. Now given my background in sf, urban fantasy and fantasy, you would not think I would have a problem with a little witchcraft or devil or mystery man in a story, but I do because it detracts from the story as a whole and gives the impression, one that Parker clearly wants to give that fate conspires against Hood's ability to stop Pace and Jones.
Another problem is that the story bogs down into the snatch rescue resnatch and re-rescue of one of the ATF men. I have no problem with this plot devise but having it again happen later in the story seems to me to be a problem. I found myself at times skimming the novel because of some of the repeating.
So much as I like Parket, this story was just not my favorite.
This time Hood has joined the ATF to stop gunrunners and Jones is hip deep in the gun running business and the smuggling business among others. Young Bradley is buying guns from Ron Pace, the scion of the Pace Gun factory, who has invented a cool 32 caliber gun that can be easily made into a special killing machine.
The mystery elements of this story are fine and Parker remains a great writer capturing the language of cops and robbers.
The problem is the mystic element, which seems in many ways to upstage the cop and robber dynamic. Now given my background in sf, urban fantasy and fantasy, you would not think I would have a problem with a little witchcraft or devil or mystery man in a story, but I do because it detracts from the story as a whole and gives the impression, one that Parker clearly wants to give that fate conspires against Hood's ability to stop Pace and Jones.
Another problem is that the story bogs down into the snatch rescue resnatch and re-rescue of one of the ATF men. I have no problem with this plot devise but having it again happen later in the story seems to me to be a problem. I found myself at times skimming the novel because of some of the repeating.
So much as I like Parket, this story was just not my favorite.
May 7, 2010
Is that a great title, or what? This picks up the saga that Parker is apparently going to write about for a while longer, the story about cop Charlie hood and the woman he loved, a female descendant of Juaquin Murrieta whom he introduced in LA Outlaws and pursued through THE RENEGADES. She's dead now, and her son is the focus of Hood's concern. For good reason -- the kid is running guns to Mexican drug cartels.
As always, the writing is just completely transparent, a style so accomplished you're never aware of it, but I kind of wish Parker would go back to standalones. I think he's one of the top crime novelists (as opposed to crime writers) in the world today, but this string of books hasn't thrilled me as much as, say. THE BLUE HOUR. Full disclosure -- Parker has said, in print, some extraordinarily nice things about my books. But that's not why I'm saying he's a wonderful writer; it's why I feel guilty for not liking this book a little more.
As always, the writing is just completely transparent, a style so accomplished you're never aware of it, but I kind of wish Parker would go back to standalones. I think he's one of the top crime novelists (as opposed to crime writers) in the world today, but this string of books hasn't thrilled me as much as, say. THE BLUE HOUR. Full disclosure -- Parker has said, in print, some extraordinarily nice things about my books. But that's not why I'm saying he's a wonderful writer; it's why I feel guilty for not liking this book a little more.
November 29, 2017
Now Parker adds a little occult to the mix and an even larger measure of the ultra violence of our creepy, misguided, dirty war with the Mexican cartels. He describes the ATFE’s struggle to contain drug-related weapons sales, while, ironically, US citizens are supplying them, all the while, with technology, weapons and customers. This book is, of course, fiction, so Parker can take it to the limits with good effect. A fun read, again.
May 21, 2012
T. Jefferson Parker is one fine writer...Deputy Charlie Hood is back working with the ATF. On a dusty highway just north of the US/Mexico border, a man named Mike Finnegan is struck by a fast moving vehicle and flung into the dessert. That's why I read Parker...
April 24, 2023
RICK “SHAQ” GOLDSTEIN SAYS: “BRUTAL ACTION FROM START TO FINISH. IT COULD HAVE BEEN PULLED FROM TODAY’S HEADLINES!”
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“THERE ARE HEADLESS BODIES PILING UP ALL AROUND MEXICO, THIRTY-FOUR IN THE LAST TEN DAYS. NEARLY SIX-THOUSAND PEOPLE HAVE LOST THEIR LIVES TO THE CARTEL WARS THIS YEAR ALONE AND THE YEAR IS FAR FROM OVER.” This is the minimal current statistic regarding the battlefield graveyard that this pulsating novel revolves around. The “IRON RIVER” is what American law enforcement calls the guns and weapons trade that flows from America to Mexico. “Our hero” Charlie Hood is a member of the L.A. Sheriff’s Department on loan to ATFE (Note: all current members of ATFE still call it ATF… they say the “E” is silent.) as part of “Operation Blowdown”. The author wastes no time by immediately grabbing readers by the throat and plunging them instantaneously into the bloody and treacherous underworld of illegal weapons. On the Mexican side of the border there is loyalty to nothing. Not the flag… not the uniform… sometimes not even money… because more money creates defectors from the original money. Drug cartels offer soldiers and policeman more pay in a week than they get in a month. Death is everywhere… bodies lay in one part of the street… and heads reside in another part of town. In the midst of all the sadistic barbarian murders… the author expertly interweaves the daily grind of an ATF member that entails not only going under cover… but also the administrative bookwork involved with making their presence known to owners of local gun shops. Add to this the almost useless tracking of FTR’s and the level upon level of unrelated people buying weapons to be passed down the line to the ultimate “bad guys”.
When an undercover operation results in an ATF(E) member shooting and killing a bad guy… one errant bullet also kills an innocent young man. Unfortunately this young man happens to be the son of the most feared leader of a Mexican drug cartel which leads to revenge… which leads to Mexican’s actually coming across our border and kidnapping an ATF agent. This can be considered an act of war! And if this story wasn’t already traveling at supersonic speeds… the action that follows will make it impossible for you to put this book down. Everyone from the National Guard to the President Of The United States is involved either above or below board. The bravest of the brave from both sides of the boarder team together to get the kidnapped American back. And at times… with everybody’s life on the line you don’t know who you can trust. There is torture… murder… and beheadings… there seem to be hungry vultures at every bend of the road. How rough does the action get? Here’s an excerpt of a letter from seasoned veteran Sheriff Charlie Hood to his parents: “I NOW OWN A FULL SOLDIER’S SOUL, SOMETHING I NEVER QUITE EARNED IN MY MONTHS IN IRAQ. I DON’T KNOW WHAT THE COST WILL BE TO ME. RIGHT NOW I AM NUMB AND VERY TIRED. I’VE BEEN HERE FOR TEN DAYS NOW, AND THEY HAVE BEEN THE BLOODIEST AND DEADLIEST DAYS I’VE EVER SEEN. I STILL DON’T KNOW IF I’M SHAPING MY LIFE OR IF MY LIFE IS SHAPING ME.”
And in the middle of all this tumult there exists a strange little man named Mike Finnegan who was hit by a car in the desert… with just about every bone in his body broken… who can describe in detail almost every famous scene from Wyatt Earp to Charles Manson… as if he was there personally involved… and seems to be able to predict Hood’s future… and also miraculously seems to have the power to heal in ways not defined by human existence.
This book is an adrenaline fueled classic! When you finish this wild ride… you will want it to continue… and the pieces are in place… for another fuel injected experience.
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“THERE ARE HEADLESS BODIES PILING UP ALL AROUND MEXICO, THIRTY-FOUR IN THE LAST TEN DAYS. NEARLY SIX-THOUSAND PEOPLE HAVE LOST THEIR LIVES TO THE CARTEL WARS THIS YEAR ALONE AND THE YEAR IS FAR FROM OVER.” This is the minimal current statistic regarding the battlefield graveyard that this pulsating novel revolves around. The “IRON RIVER” is what American law enforcement calls the guns and weapons trade that flows from America to Mexico. “Our hero” Charlie Hood is a member of the L.A. Sheriff’s Department on loan to ATFE (Note: all current members of ATFE still call it ATF… they say the “E” is silent.) as part of “Operation Blowdown”. The author wastes no time by immediately grabbing readers by the throat and plunging them instantaneously into the bloody and treacherous underworld of illegal weapons. On the Mexican side of the border there is loyalty to nothing. Not the flag… not the uniform… sometimes not even money… because more money creates defectors from the original money. Drug cartels offer soldiers and policeman more pay in a week than they get in a month. Death is everywhere… bodies lay in one part of the street… and heads reside in another part of town. In the midst of all the sadistic barbarian murders… the author expertly interweaves the daily grind of an ATF member that entails not only going under cover… but also the administrative bookwork involved with making their presence known to owners of local gun shops. Add to this the almost useless tracking of FTR’s and the level upon level of unrelated people buying weapons to be passed down the line to the ultimate “bad guys”.
When an undercover operation results in an ATF(E) member shooting and killing a bad guy… one errant bullet also kills an innocent young man. Unfortunately this young man happens to be the son of the most feared leader of a Mexican drug cartel which leads to revenge… which leads to Mexican’s actually coming across our border and kidnapping an ATF agent. This can be considered an act of war! And if this story wasn’t already traveling at supersonic speeds… the action that follows will make it impossible for you to put this book down. Everyone from the National Guard to the President Of The United States is involved either above or below board. The bravest of the brave from both sides of the boarder team together to get the kidnapped American back. And at times… with everybody’s life on the line you don’t know who you can trust. There is torture… murder… and beheadings… there seem to be hungry vultures at every bend of the road. How rough does the action get? Here’s an excerpt of a letter from seasoned veteran Sheriff Charlie Hood to his parents: “I NOW OWN A FULL SOLDIER’S SOUL, SOMETHING I NEVER QUITE EARNED IN MY MONTHS IN IRAQ. I DON’T KNOW WHAT THE COST WILL BE TO ME. RIGHT NOW I AM NUMB AND VERY TIRED. I’VE BEEN HERE FOR TEN DAYS NOW, AND THEY HAVE BEEN THE BLOODIEST AND DEADLIEST DAYS I’VE EVER SEEN. I STILL DON’T KNOW IF I’M SHAPING MY LIFE OR IF MY LIFE IS SHAPING ME.”
And in the middle of all this tumult there exists a strange little man named Mike Finnegan who was hit by a car in the desert… with just about every bone in his body broken… who can describe in detail almost every famous scene from Wyatt Earp to Charles Manson… as if he was there personally involved… and seems to be able to predict Hood’s future… and also miraculously seems to have the power to heal in ways not defined by human existence.
This book is an adrenaline fueled classic! When you finish this wild ride… you will want it to continue… and the pieces are in place… for another fuel injected experience.
August 24, 2021
really enjoyed the first book centering on Charlie Hood - but the mistake I made was skipping book #2. There were a few references to what obviously happened in the second book and it also took me time to connect who Benjamin was. Considering the current situation on the border, reading about the trafficking of weapons across the southwest border highlights the depth of the crisis and how it goes beyond the tragic story of Central American refugees trying to enter the United States. There is a lot going on in this book and as a result, there is a lack of focus: illegal gun manufacturing and running, multiple kidnappings across the border, the relationship between Benjamin and Charlie, and the mystery around who (or what) Mike Finnegan is. The first piece involved too many pages spent on the heir to a defunct gun manufacturer who finds new life in illegal arms sales to a Mexican drug cartel. The multiple kidnappings of the same character was a bit tedious - one time you can understand, but a second time? When I read the first book, I didn't expect his relationships with a love interest and her son would be a standing plotline throughout the series, but Charlie's relationship with Benjamin forces Charlie to straddle the line of protecting him and bringing him to justice. The last piece ended up being the most compelling plotline in the book because of just how out of place the potential supernatural abilities of Mike Finnegan is within not just this book, but Parker's writing as a whole. I will be going back to read the second installment of this series, but also very interested in what is next.
January 10, 2022
Story: interesting. Writing: poor. Sentence structure and construct is poor.
I found the book annoying to read at times because of the overwhelming use of the word ‘and’. In some sentences, there were often 5 or more and’s used. it took me a while to finish reading it, but i managed to get through it.
There were many looooong sentences where the word ‘and’ was prominent, but unbelievable to me, not a single comma was used to break it up. Not very long into this book, all I see is ‘and’...
Example from the last chapter: “Now there was the National Guard headquarters to the west and the sprawl of tents and the mobile command center and field hospital and the new roads scratched through the desert for the convoys and the tanks and the half-tracks and the little machine-gun Jeeps that bounced along the roads with an almost recreational joy.” (What’s worse is that the very next two sentences starts with...wait for it...”And....”; the second sentence using ‘and’ a whopping 8 times!)
Did the author write this book or was it done by an ‘unchecked’ and inexperienced ghost writer? Was the editor asleep? How was this book published? The story is good but the writing not so much, at least in several areas…
I found the book annoying to read at times because of the overwhelming use of the word ‘and’. In some sentences, there were often 5 or more and’s used. it took me a while to finish reading it, but i managed to get through it.
There were many looooong sentences where the word ‘and’ was prominent, but unbelievable to me, not a single comma was used to break it up. Not very long into this book, all I see is ‘and’...
Example from the last chapter: “Now there was the National Guard headquarters to the west and the sprawl of tents and the mobile command center and field hospital and the new roads scratched through the desert for the convoys and the tanks and the half-tracks and the little machine-gun Jeeps that bounced along the roads with an almost recreational joy.” (What’s worse is that the very next two sentences starts with...wait for it...”And....”; the second sentence using ‘and’ a whopping 8 times!)
Did the author write this book or was it done by an ‘unchecked’ and inexperienced ghost writer? Was the editor asleep? How was this book published? The story is good but the writing not so much, at least in several areas…
April 26, 2023
Knowing going in that it would be a brutal read, I was somewhat enured to the actual horror and thus able to enjoy the story that flowed through and around it. But, as others have noted, readers like me, who hadn't read the two previous Charlie Hood books, missed out on the depth of certain things. And either way, standalone or #3 in a series, there is no question the atmosphere is roiling with ambiguity and foreboding at the end. But I liked it and read rather steadily over a couple of days. Other aspects aside, I'm left taken with the perception of truth, actual fact: the scene where Jimmy felt he need to fire his gun when we arrived at the moment thru Charlie's eyes, and that wasn't the case. Having had careers as a reporter and a therapist, this—multiple "objective" views of reality—resonates strongly.
August 28, 2017
I didn't realize that this was part of a series until I came to Goodreads to say I was reading it. I definitely knew that Charlie Hood had some interesting and serious history and now I see I can even read about it if I so desire. Hood joins an elite team of ATF folks to stem the tide of guns across the border. They run against an equally elite bunch of bad guys. Lots of stuff happens to keep you entertained but no real resolutions come about. There was a hint of paranormal in the form of a psychic older man with ultra healing powers. Very interesting, kinda weird.
March 12, 2018
Listened to this book on our drive to/from Las Vegas. I am not a great listener so it was a little difficult to keep track of all the characters. Spoiler alert. Ultimately, I think the bad guys got off free which made it a little realistic but somewhat dissatisfying.
May 12, 2018
It took me forever to get through this book because I was in the process of moving and my work schedule was nuts so I didn't have tons of time to read. The last few weeks I forced myself to finish this one. Overall it was a very meh. Writing wasn't very complex and the storyline was pretty basic.
December 1, 2019
The Charlie Hood series is enjoyable to read. Book 3 / Iron River was left open ended so I presume Book 4 is a direct follow up. Not reallya police shoot 'em up series. I like the dialogue and the intellect as well.
February 4, 2020
Disappointed
Third book in the series. The first was good, the second was OK, this one is disappointing. I guess I’m just not into gratuitous violence and mystical characters. After finishing the book I do not have any idea what the point of the story is about.
Third book in the series. The first was good, the second was OK, this one is disappointing. I guess I’m just not into gratuitous violence and mystical characters. After finishing the book I do not have any idea what the point of the story is about.
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