Russ Hall

All The Rage In Texas: An Al Quinn Novel by Russ Hall is the latest reading in the long running and very good series that started with To Hell And Gone In Texas. This one begins with Bonnie out in Al Quinn’s truck with Little Al in his car seat in the back seat. Both are nearly killed when she tried to merge onto a local highway as a speeder decides to cut her off. She slides off onto the shoulder as the truck barrels by with the driver either shaking his fist or flipping her off.

She doesn’t know what he was thinking or doing acting like that. It takes several minutes for her to calm down. Eventually, when there is a long gap in traffic, she pulls out and resumes her trip home.

Unfortunately, the truck is sitting a half mile down the divided roadway. Knowing that such incidents have resulted in drivers being shot, she decides to pull back on the side of the road. She also pulls her gun out of her purse in case she needs it. Bonnie is a good shot and is ready if the other driver wants to escalate things farther.

He does as he starts back towards the truck firing shots. She answers back with her .38. As the man is undeterred and continues to advance on her, she gets into the glove box. Bonnie pulls out Al’s Glock and returns fire. She hits the guy in the left thigh. He spins, loses his gun, and hits the asphalt. With the shooter down and weaponless for a few minutes, she takes the chance to drive by at high speed, and flee the scene.

She calls for help and soon Al, his wife, Fergie, and his brother, Maury, meet her and assess the situation. In addition to damage to the truck, Bonnie’s sure the guy got the license plate of Al’s truck.

Bonnie was right because they soon find the wounded man at their house at Lake Travis. The man has his gun and, when nobody comes to answer the door, fires a shot through the door, wounding Al’s dog, Tanner. Justifiably engaged, it takes everything in Al not to solve the issue immediately. Instead, Al tackles him, cuffs him to a nearby faucet, and rushes his dog to a nearby vet as members of the Sheriffs Department arrive.

Tanner is soon patched up and the whole family is back together. It becomes clear that the whole family is the target of Ketchum and his group. Sprung by Biff Groton from the hospital where Ketchum was being treated for his injuries, Ketchum and the group goes on a crime spree seeking vengeance on Bonnie, Al, and the rest of the family. Good thing Al worked for the Sherriffs Department for a long time and has lots of friends.

They are going to need them in this fast paced read. Stopping Ketchum and his crew is going to take some doing in this enjoyable read. One that highlights the ongoing and steadily worsening road rage situation here in Texas where things are not getting better.

My reading copy was purchased in early February 2024 before publication day.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2024… (more)

Esbeth gets lonely and bored solving crossword puzzles, so when an arm shows up in her garden, she jumps at the chance of solving real-life puzzles. Esbeth is a quick-witted woman, able to show her knowledge about solving murders before the local police department can investigate, finding herself in incriminating situations as she seems to be on the scene before the detectives. Genders and age are also explored as the male-dominant police department competes against an elderly woman. Esbeth is an endearing character and this is a fast-paced comical story featuring crime after crime, from amputations to poison.


I received a free copy and am leaving a review voluntarily.
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