The Last Kind Word

The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives along with his FBI pal Harry make McKenzie an offer he cant refuse--no matter how hard he tries: take on the identity of a wanted fugitive escape to the upper reaches of Minnesota and infiltrate a crew of armed robbers known as The Iron Range Bandits. His mission--help retrieve a cache of stolen weapons before theyre used to wreak havoc on the Canadian-US border. But there are a few catches. First the bandits arent the hardcore criminals they seem to be although the bent sheriff deputies chasing them certainly are. Then theres the stripper and her nefarious manager the ex-soldier trying to prove hes a man the minor-league crime czar who uses blackmail to force McKenzie to rob a highly guarded bank vault and an enigmatic thug who finds love in all the wrong places. Not to mention the gunrunners who pride themselves on shooting first and asking questions later. And if thats not enough to make him wonder why he didnt stay home with his lady-love Nina Truhler McKenzie soon learns that the promises of an ambitious Assistant U. S. Attorney to the contrary he is absolutely on his own. Praise for THE LAST KIND WORD: Outstanding ingenuity and empathy mark Edgar-winner Housewrights 10th mystery featuring millionaire St. Paul Minn. ex-cop Rushmore McKenzie. Quirkily sympathetic characters make this more than a clever caper novel. --Publishers Weekly starred review If you took a modern-day noir and mixed it with a light comedy youd get something very much like a McKenzie novel: a serious occasionally dark story told by an entertaining often bemused narrator. An excellent but strangely underappreciated series. --Booklist There are seriously few writers who can beat David Housewright for sheer storytelling power. His books hit the ground running and dont let up until the last page. This is another terrific story--I cant wait for the next one. --Aunt Agathas