Lost in Austin

Tony Kozol #3

by J.R. Ripley, Glenn Meganck

Tony Kozol is back in a new wild and wicked adventure, this time set in the wild, wild west. Tony has landed a gig with Clint Cash and the Cowhands and they are in Austin for the week to perform at the Southwest Music Conference. But Tony's odds of sticking around are getting longer and longer as his bandmates are singled out for murder. Against the colorful backdrop of Austin, Tony eludes killers and fights to keep his job and his life. Once again, Ripley blends his fast-paced action, sharp dialogue, tight plotting and eccentric characters in a satisfying Texas brew that will keep readers off-balance till the very end. Glenn Meganck, aka JR Ripley is the critically acclaimed author of the Tony Kozol mystery series and other works.

243 pages, Hardcover

First published October 11, 2013

About the author

Bestselling author of fiction, crime fiction, thrillers, capers, cozies and more. Pseudonym for author Glenn Meganck

Reviews

[John Breidinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hometown read!

As a new resident of the Austin area I really enjoyed the book. I knew of the places described and a little about the music scene. I enjoyed the ride,

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

good story

Good story but the author called the main character by his last name and his first name in the same paragraph and it got a little confusing.

[Chrissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up hoping for another fast-paced myster series to intersperse with my other reading. Unfortunately, the opening chapters lacked the rhythm to get me far enough invested in the mystery to bother to finish the book.

A combination of clunky dialogue, over-reliance on metaphor, and a main character who just didn't seem all that interested in the story in which he was staring slowed me down. While the first two might have been overlooked in favor of a compelling mystery, the aimless main character was too much to ignore. This aimlessness was emphasized by the author's continually having other characters appear who were invested in events, only to shunt them offstage so that the main character could obsess about sleep or ogle someone. The enthusiasm never kindled in the main character--not even for his guitar, which was how he was making his living at the time.

In the end, I couldn't work myself up to care in spite of him.

[Joy Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only picked this book up for the book challenge on The Next Best Book Club. I wasn't looking forward to reading it, but now I'm glad I did. It was a pretty decent murder mystery that I actually enjoyed reading. I was a little skeptical at first because I initially stumbled over the writing, but by the 3rd chapter, I was hooked. Definitely worth the read.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this because it was set in Austin. Unfortunately, I don't think the author had ever been to Austin, and the way several places were described was just flat out wrong and awful. And neither the writing nor the characters were memorable enough to make up for that.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read

Love the Austin history blended with the great plot. I recommend reading it. Slavery in the United States is more prevalent than we know.