The Dead Certain Doubt

Ed Earl Burch, #4

by

Jim Nesbitt

Hard-boiled under the Texas sun.

The Dead Certain Doubt is the fourth book in author Jim Nesbitt's Ed Earl Burch series, and a reader would be hard-pressed to find a more robust and gritty crime fiction tale. Along with its riveting plot, the book is packed with fascinating, specific details about the local area's past, flawlessly woven into the current story and made relevant. This story simmers with bad men doing bad things, so be prepared for ugliness and the need for the protagonist to do something about it. 

Ed Earl Burch, Double-E to the like-minded with similar pasts at Louie's, has seen too much and is close to gaining the 1,000-yard stare of military lore. But he's not that far gone to take on the request to find a dying woman's missing granddaughter, hellbent on not being found and exacting vengeance against the people responsible for her lover's horrific murder. 

The story is as densely packed as they come, and the author's writing is compelling. Violent and graphic descriptions create powerful images that will set a reader smack down inside the story. The tale unfolds in the present but often returns to past events, so while the book stands alone, having read the prior novels would be a plus. The research that must have been done to authenticate the time and place, and to explain how those involved got to where they are in the book, is impressive, and readers will reap the benefits. 

I recommend THE DEAD CERTAIN DOUBT to readers who favor harder, tougher stories, grittier crime fiction tales, fans of the previous books in the series, and stories set in West Texas, Texas, and the DFW area. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours.