ALASKA BLOODLUST

A detective’s previous case makes him—and his loved ones—targets of a psychopathic tribal cult leader in Askew’s thriller.

This sequel to 2023’s Alaska Deadly continues the adventures of Memphis-based private investigator Race Warren. Home in Tennessee after saving a man’s life in Alaska—the man, former police officer Ron Billings, is alive but in a coma in a Memphis hospital—Warren realizes the case is far from closed when assassins attempt to kill not only the hospitalized Billings but an anthropologist named Kate Hartley as well. Recognizing that the murder attempts are connected to a whalebone knife-wielding Inuit tribal shaman bent on revenge for a past alleged desecration, Warren heads back to Alaska to stop the elusive killer once and for all. Things get complicated when Warren’s love interest, flight nurse Renae Allen, is abducted by the bad guys. Thriller fans will find a lot to like here: The action is virtually nonstop from the first page to the last, with an abundance of car chases, shootouts, fight scenes, and—not surprisingly—numerous accompanying sequences set in various hospitals. The overall intensity is noteworthy as well; the level of looming physical danger is palpable throughout as Warren and friends are hunted by ruthless cultists and Russian thugs (“Warren ducked back behind the car as rounds struck overhead, raising a din of sounds, the clanging of metal and whining of ricochets, puncturing the raised trunk lid and pockmarking the top of the fender”). The author also keeps the emotional and psychological tension high by focusing on Warren’s connections with others and his guilt over being the reason their lives are in danger. There are minor issues with the story, however: The narrative relies too heavily on dialogue, which noticeably slows down the momentum in places, and the novel’s climactic conclusion is far too predictable and features an outdated trope that may leave readers rolling their eyes.

A flawed but enjoyable thriller that keeps the pages turning until the very end.