Shot of Tequila by J.A. Konrath

Shot of Tequila
by J.A. Konrath
Amazon Create Space 2009

It is always such a joy to find heart-warming stories inside books of a genre that is not known for intimacy. Shot of Tequila is such a book. It is enjoyable and thought-provoking about the sequels that do exist, for at least one of the characters.

A young brother comes into the world with an older sister who idolizes and cares for him. Sally has down syndrome. Tequila is so named with derision by a mean father who derided his midget son and retard daughter. The mother departed. Sally drew pictures for her little brother, full of flowers, sunshine, hope, and love.

Tequila had to make his own way and care for his sister, whom he loved dearly. A gymnast and fighter, he learned how to use guns and earn a living as a debt collector for a gangster.

The life of Sally and Tequila is happy. She is cared for. He earns a living. His personality is cold, unloving and uncaring beyond Sally.

Their world comes apart as a cohort frames Tequila for the theft of millions from the gangster. The forces of evil descend on Tequila. Sally is viciously raped and murdered. Tequila will have revenge.

The Chicago police are also on the trail of Tequila for other murders that are blamed on him. The lead detective, Jack Daniels, smells rats all over this scene. After she is dismissed from the case by superiors on the payroll of the gangsters (it is Chicago after all), she cannot leave it alone. Jack has an unhappy marriage. She saves remnants of Sally’s love for her brother, as she chases after Tequila to arrest him for the crimes she believes he has committed. As she finds him, they develop a fellowship of sorts. As I read along, I hoped that this man and woman, each of whom needed what the other had to offer, would find themselves. They do in a clever manner.

I have learned a lot from J.A. Konrath in the past few days. We found his blog, which is the best that we have seen in explaining the current state of the fiction publishing industry for authors like us. Please checkout www.jakonrath.blogspot.com. Perhaps more importantly, I found an author that writes with a heart. Shot of Tequila is a mystery/thriller for sure. It is a fine, easy read with characters that achieve the highest accolade I can give – what happens to Tequila and Jack next?

Warms, Cym