Blackbird Road
James L. Weaver
(Jake Caldwell #3)
Published by: Lakewater Press
Publication date: September 25th 2018
Genres: Adult, Thriller
With his wedding day fast approaching and his PI boss heading out of town, ex-mob enforcer Jake Caldwell decides to take one more job before a much-needed vacation. But in a matter of days, his client is assassinated and her six-year-old son kidnapped.With just a few clues, Jake calls on old friends to help track down the person responsible. Only this time his fiancée Maggie, desperate for Jake to leave his violent history behind, can’t guarantee she’ll be there when, or if, he comes home.But Jake can’t turn his back on those who need him. It’s in his blood.A perilous plot of lies and secrets unfolds, and Jake encounters criminals more brutal than ever. And when a threat to thousands of innocent lives is uncovered, Jake once again dives back into his past, requesting favors from some unexpected and unsavory contacts.Jake needs to stay one step ahead of the bad guys if he’s to have any future at all.The third book in the award-winning JAKE CALDWELL series is an intense, complex, and frantic race against time. Weaver has done it again in this raw and riveting read set in the Ozarks.
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EXCERPT:
Dawson’s arm lashed out and backhanded the kid. The boy flew back and crashed to the gravel, hands covering his face. Dawson advanced on the crumpled figure, and Jake jammed his foot against the gas pedal.“I’m fine,” he said. “Just gotta take care of something. I’ll call you back.”
He tossed the phone to the passenger seat as he maneuvered the truck toward the fork in the road. The heat crawled up his neck, flushing his face in a crimson hue, feeling the sting of the strike on his face as if Dawson struck him. Jake’s father was the master of the backhand slap, and Jake the recipient of it many times. The perfect balance of speed and stealth—you never saw it coming. As Jake wrung the life from the steering wheel and spun right at the fork in the road, he had to get his shit under control or it would be Dawson’s neck beneath his hands. That wouldn’t end well for anyone.
By the time Jake roared up the driveway, a woman made a feeble attempt to stand between Dawson and the boy. Another quick lash from Dawson’s hand sent her sprawling on the ground beside the kid. Jake slid to a stop in a cloud of dust and grabbed his pistol under the seat. Dawson jerked his head at the disturbance, a snarl rising on his stubbled face. Jake drew a deep breath of sanity through his nose and out his mouth, releasing the gun. It would be a horrible idea to bring it, and he wouldn’t need it anyway. If he couldn’t take care of a drunk wife beater, then he might as well give it all up and go work as a janitor somewhere.
Jake stomped from the truck, noting the blood trickling from the boy’s nose. Old, purple and yellow bruises lined the woman’s arm like a bad tattoo. The familiar scent of whiskey wafted from Dawson as Jake drew close, hurling him back to the house in Warsaw when he would lay on the floor after a beat down from his father, his mother shielding him from further blows.
The Jake
Caldwell Workout Music Playlist
I’ve got
hundreds of songs on my workout/running playlist and you want me to pick just
ten?
1.
Dragula by Rob Zombie – If this song doesn’t get
your blood pumping, you don’t have a heart. Weird ass video, though.
2.
Blackbird by Alter Bridge – This baby has slow
parts, but you can lift or run through them because they are incredible.
Besides, you know what’s coming up soon. Love this tune. I always hope the line
“May you never be broken again”
applies to me.
3.
White Flag by Bishop Briggs – When they make a
television series about my exploits, this has to be the theme song. Smoke, fire, it’s all going up, don’t you
know I ain’t afraid to shed a little blood? If that’s not me, I don’t know
what is!
4.
Pour Some Sugar On Me by Def Leppard – I have a
lot of Def Leppard in my playlist, but love the opening guitar riff on this
one.
5.
Without Me by Eminem – When I hear that opening
line of “Two trailer park girls go ‘round
the outside”, it reminds me of the Halsey twins that Bear and I took to the
homecoming dance in high school. That was one hell of a fun night. Probably a
good thing they left Warsaw soon after.
6.
Awake by Godsmack – Just a throat roarin’ good
tune.
7.
I Like It Heavy by Halestorm – Lzzy Hale has
some serious pipes. I need the volume one
louder than ten, I put the pedal to the metal, needle into the red. Oh
yeah.
8.
Separate Ways by Journey – If I can block the
God-awful video for this song from my brain, it’s a great song to run to. My
feet smack the ground in perfect timing with it.
9.
Burn It to the Ground by Nickelback – Yeah, I
know, everyone hates Nickelback. Even if you do, I don’t give a shit. This song
gets me going and I like it. If you want to be an asshole and argue about it,
we can meet up in a parking lot somewhere.
10.
Louder Than Ever – Daughtry – This song makes me
think of summer nights in the car with Maggie – You were there in the front seat, windows down we were burnin’, those
nights we used to sing along, we were livin’ a love song.
The Bear
Parley Workout Music Playlist
LOL. Do I
look like I work out let alone have a playlist for it? How about songs I turn
up on the radio when I’m driving around doing Sheriff shit?
1.
Night Moves by Bob Seger – I didn’t have a ’60
Chevy, but I do remember workin’ on
mysteries without any clues back in high school.
2.
Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen – Love belting
this out in the car when my wife is there and singing her name instead of Wendy
in the song. She claims she hates it when I do it, but she always smiles.
3.
Photograph by Def Leppard – At least Jake and I
agree on something. When we ride together, we can always play Def Leppard and
not argue about the music.
4.
The Last Resort by The Eagles – It’s a long ass
song, but I always loved it. Makes me feel like my history class in high school
wasn’t wasted.
5.
Beer Can Chicken by Kenny Chesney – Song pretty
much nails how I like to spend my weekends. It’s
like Friday night workin’ on a three-day weekend, somethin’ in the jar just
made for sippin’.
6.
When It Rains It Pours by Luke Combs – Kind of a
newer song, but when a case is going south, I can dial this one up and it puts
a grin on my mug.
7.
Glitter in the Air by Pink – Sorry, but I can’t
help it and you can have my stupid Man Card if you want to be a douche. I was
stuck watching the Grammy’s with my wife years ago and saw this incredibly
beautiful and graceful woman twirling through the air while singing this song.
Lord have Mercy.
8.
Gonna Get Over You by Sara Bareilles – Another I
can’t help it. My daughter listened to this song over and over again until I
knew the words to it. Now I can help tappin’ my steering wheel when it comes
on.
9.
Afternoon Delight by Starland Vocal Band – This
one’s an oldie, but I always hope it comes on when my wife and I are together
because she promises me a little afternoon delight if I sing it with her.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t come on very often.
10.
Chicken Fried by the Zac Brown Band – Who
doesn’t like a cold beer on a Friday
night or a pair of jeans that fit just right?
Author Bio:
James L Weaver is the Kansas City author of the Jake Caldwell series featuring IAN Thriller of the Year finalist Poor Boy Road, and the IAN Thriller of the Year finalist and New Apple Official Selection sequel Ares Road from Lakewater Press. He makes his home in Olathe, Kansas with his wife of 20 years and two children. His previous publishing credits include a six part story called "The Nuts" and his 5-star rated debut novel Jack & Diane which is available on Amazon.com. Author note: a handful of the raters are actually not related to him.
His limited free time is spent writing into the wee hours of the morning, playing parental taxi cab to his kids' sporting endeavors, and binge watching Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Current favorite TV shows: The Walking Dead, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Game of Thrones, The Resident and Shameless.
Current favorite music artists: Alter Bridge, Rush, Sara Bareilles, Halestorm
Last best book read: Twisted Prey by John Sandford
Favorite comedians: John Caparulo, Kathleen Madigan, Mike Birbiglia, John Mulaney
You can follow him on Twitter @jlweaverbooks.
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