By – James Patterson & Andrew Bourelle
Rory Yates is one of my number one characters from the James Patterson House of Ideas. We initially met him in 2018’s TEXAS RANGER, which Patterson composed with Andrew Bourelle. The recently published TEXAS OUTLAW is a contemporary western that satisfies and surpasses every promise that its previous novel made. It has all you need and requires in a thriller.
As James Patterson and Aaron Bourelle work together on another novel, the rural streets of Texas become their focal core interest. The Texas Ranger Rory Yates has yet another adventure to confront, however he may have wished he just remained at home. While in a bank over the lunch break, Rory Yates happens upon a burglary. Speedy to act, Yates flames to control the tempest, just to wind up in a difficult situation from his bosses. While the whole occasion was caught on a film and is currently making its path through web-based media, the Texas Rangers need to chill things and send Yates to a little Texas town to assist with a mysterious death. A local lady has died of an apparent anaphylactic attack, however the way that she talked to a companion that she needed to talk with the police had started to raise some flags.
Tasked with one of the local investigators to work closely, Yates starts looking around, however he soon finds that he isn’t welcome. Butting heads with one of the local oil nobles, Yates must attempt to solve this case before things turn crazy. When one of the local oil labourers is shot, Yates understands that this is not as simple as it seems. Proof of the shooting takes a turn that Yates couldn’t have expected, leaving him to twist the standards to help somebody get away from the grip of the law.
There is a lot of action here, especially in the latter half of the Novel, and it is balanced with suspense and an interesting (however predictable) mystery. The characters, both major and minor, are likewise very much evolved. Rory is a generally simple hero who is in any case memorable and likable, particularly as he endeavours to explore through the minefield of love versus temptation. The background of provincial Texas doesn’t hurt anything either, nor do a periodic references to the nation and rock music world.
I think TEXAS OUTLAW should be satisfying to fans of westerns, contemporary and otherwise, just as those searching for a thriller that is new and not the same as what they typically read.
