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MWSA Review
The Custer Conspiracy by Dennis Koller is a fun read with an interesting historical what-if twist. The book is largely plot driven in the present day, with the motivation for the thriller reaching forward in time from the Battle of Little Bighorn, or Custer’s last stand. When Matt Conroy (San Francisco Police Department homicide investigator Tom McGuire’s good friend) is killed, Tom is allowed to join the FBI investigation until they are told to stand down. Refusing to let it go, Tom works with a CIA agent, military personnel, and former military members to uncover a far-reaching conspiracy and catch the killer. The team struggles to get in front of the continued mayhem, as one of the team members is captured and held for ransom. This is a fast-paced story that takes the reader on a roller coaster ride of events, and kept me engaged up until the solving of the initial murder and disposition of the murderer. The epilogue provides information on how the Custer conspiracy developed, but for me, it took a back seat to the present-day investigation and chase.
Since this is the third in the Tom McGuire series, the focus is primarily on his character development, but it would have been nice to more fully explore the female protagonist, Katelyn, rather than portraying her as a ravishingly fabulous CIA agent who would use sex to obtain info from an American citizen. Meanwhile, the book kept me interested and paging swiftly to the end.
Review by Betsy Beard (July 2020)
Author's Synopsis
A week after uncovering the secret of what really happened at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, history professor Matt Conway was lying in a morgue with the back of his head blown off.
SFPD homicide inspector Tom McGuire, a long-time friend of Conroy's, volunteers to assist the FBI in bringing the killer to justice. The FBI, however, is ordered to stand down for "national security" reasons.
They thought that would be the end of it. They were wrong.
Tom McGuire was not about to stand down. Not for anyone, not for any reason. That decision put him in the crosshairs of one of the world's most secretive, and therefore most dangerous, organizations. It's rich and powerful members will stop at nothing to make sure their 144-year-old secret remains hidden.
Drawn into a labyrinth of conspiracies over a century old. Tom McGuire has just walked into his worst nightmares.
ISBN/ASIN: ISBN 9780998080802
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle
Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller
Number of Pages: 338