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Knife River

By: Baron Birtcher
Publisher: Open Road Media
Publication Date: April 23, 2024
ISBN: 978-1504086523
Reviewed by: Diana Coyle
Review Date: June 26, 2024

In Knife River by Baron Birtcher, Sheriff Ty Dawson is trying to keep the peace in Meriwether County during the 1970’s when the world is in strife. Sheriff Dawson is trying his best to keep the riff raff out of his county, but trouble just seems to find him no matter how hard he and his deputies try.

One case Ty is currently investigating is trying to discover the identities of two men who shot a young eagle on federal land. He and his deputies will stop at nothing to find these two men and arrest them for committing such a heinous offense. While trying to find out who the two men are, and who owns the helicopter they were using to commit the offense, he decides to travel to the meadow area not too far from his Diamond D ranch. He’s hoping to find some incriminating evidence there to support his case. After finding some evidence, Ty decides to pay a visit to the closest developed property nearest the meadow. This secluded resort contains a record studio built from the remains of existing abandoned buildings. Since so much money was put into this development, he hopes he will cross paths with the owner there knowing they have a helicopter pad on property – something very few people have in this part of town.

He meets Len Kaanan, the owner of the property, and is told that although the property has a helicopter pad, Len doesn’t own a helicopter. It is there for all his music clients when they need to fly in and out of the area when they are recording their songs. One popular client, Ian Swann, is presently recording an album which they know will be a huge success. Len assures Ty that no one has used the helicopter pad in quite some time. But something doesn’t sit well between Ty and Ian, and Ty is determined to do whatever he has to in order to get to the bottom of who shot the eagle and just who this Ian Swann character is that is giving him a bad feeling in his gut. Will Ty and his deputies find the two men who killed the eagle? What does Ty discover about who Ian Swann really is?

Right from the start, this story will grab you and take you on a roller coaster ride of emotions. The reader is first pulled in as to why an eagle, which is a protected species, is senselessly killed. As you turn the pages, you are traveling along with Ty and his deputies wanting to find the truth as to why this crime took place and who the two men are that committed the wrongdoing. As law enforcement is investigating, you will find your heart pounding in your chest because you feel as if you are another deputy on the case needing to find the necessary answers to make an arrest. Birtcher skillfully penned the story to make it feel so real that you personally want to make the two arrests and have these men serve time for the federal crime they committed.

The setting of this story will pull you in as well because of the way the author described the land, the people and the animals as seen through Ty and his deputies’ eyes. It will make you feel as if you are actively investigating the crime and looking for your own evidence to solve this case. As each person is investigated, you will start coming to your own conclusions if the person may be guilty or not of committing this crime and question if they are one of the men that should be put in jail. The author is very gifted at describing scenes to make them authentic and so believable that you will think you are another character in the story watching everything unfold before your eyes.

When Ian Swann entered the story, something didn’t feel right about him at first. Then as his story unfolded, he became an integral part of Ty’s investigation, which later takes a drastic turn in the story. Readers will be riveted, sitting on the edge of their seats while trying to find out who Ian really is and how he fits into the situation as a whole.

Quill says: Knife River is one mystery thriller that will take you on a roller coaster ride until the very last page. It comes highly recommended by this reviewer!