Review: Blood Tracks by Matt Hilton

Title: Blood Tracks
Author: Matt Hilton
Publisher: Severn House
Publication Date: 27th November 2015
Pages: 288
Source: Review Copy
Rating: 4/5
Purchase: Amazon

Introducing private investigator Tess Grey and Southern renegade ex-con Nicolas 'Po' Villere in the first of a brand-new series of fast-paced action thrillers.

When her local District Attorney offers her a considerable sum of money to track down state witness Crawford Wynne, private investigator Tess Grey is in no position to refuse. Wynne is one of the few men still alive who can help the State nail vicious drug lord Alberto Suarez.

But Tess is not the only one trying to track Wynne down. Suarez's psychotic brother Hector has been hunting and butchering anyone who is a danger to his brother. Tess needs help and there's only one man she can turn to: Southern renegade ex-con Nicolas Villere, known to all as Po. Po always gets his man, but he has never been teamed with a woman before. Both have their own agenda for taking on this case, and neither fully trusts the other.

But of one thing they are sure: if they don't cover each other's backs, they are both going to die.

Matt Hilton is one of my favourite thriller writers with his brilliant Joe Hunter series. I had no idea he had been working on a new series until I stumbled across Blood Tracks on Amazon a couple of months ago. Sadly, it doesn't seem to be making much of an impact here in the UK and it should be, because it's another excellent thriller.

Blood Tracks introduces us to the character of Tess Grey. Tess is a private investigator and an ex-cop and whilst I know they exist, I'm fairly sure this is the first thriller that I've read where the main character is female and so I was interested to see what dynamics that would add to the story. Tess is tasked with hunting down state witness Crawford Wynne. Wynne is one of the few men that can help the State nail vicious drug lord Alberto Suarez. Locating Wynne however isn't going to be an easy task, but Tess will be rewarded handsomely should she bring him home. She isn't the only one hunting Wynne however. Suarez's psychotic brother has been hunting and butchering anyone he believes to be a danger to his brother. Will he soon have Tess in his sights?

One of the real standout things about Matt's thrillers is his characterisation. I was apprehensive as to whether I would take to Tess, especially after settling into a routine of Joe Hunter thrillers where I know I'm picking up a book about a character I could read about forever. This review is turning into a Joe Hunter comparison but in that series especially I love the relationship between Hunter and his best friend and business partner, Rink. In Blood Tracks Tess too has a partner, but it's not somebody she particularly knows, likes or trusts and he goes by the name of Po. His real identity being that of Southern renegade ex-con Nicolas Villere. Po always gets his man, and he has never been teamed with a woman before. There's a lot of distrust and tension between the pair in the beginning, both characters having their own agendas for hunting down Wynne, it's a tense and exciting read in places and if Tess returns in the future, Po absolutely has to as well.

Anyone who isn't new to a Matt Hilton thriller will immediately recognise all of the things that make readers love his work. Those Hollywood blockbuster scenes and those dramatic cliffhanger moments but as I've said in the past, there's a real story to be had here, with characters and scenes that become real in your mind and so by the end of the book you feel as though you've been on this journey right alongside these characters. And what a journey it is. I can definitely see Tess Grey becoming a long-running character like Joe Hunter and I hope to be reading more about her very soon. She really is an intriguing character and with her being an ex-cop her morals are often different to that of other thriller characters where they essentially have very few. It's interesting witnessing her thought processes as she attempts to balance how she should act and behave in this new-found career, especially working alongside somebody who isn't afraid to flout the law.

Blood Tracks is a thriller in every sense of the word. It's a book I have no hesitation in recommending to existing fans of Matt Hilton, and also to those who are new to his work. And, when you are done with Blood Tracks, be sure to go and check out his Joe Hunter series.