"What if a good, God-fearing couple are threatened by the man that killed their only son, forcing them to plan the man's murder and their own disappearance? That's the question that drives this story."
-D.P. Lyle from the Author's Note
This is the third novel I have read by D.P. Lyle, a high school classmate. I have enjoyed each of them. The writing style is easy to read, the plots are intriguing, the characters are interesting, but one of my favorite things is the setting of these thrillers. The stories take place in Huntsville, Alabama, my hometown, a place where I spent my high school years. In many places I can picture the locations Lyle mentions---streets, churches, businesses, restaurants, landmarks. One of our high school reunion events took place at The Ledges, a beautiful country club in an upscale neighborhood, which he uses as a meeting place in this story. I rate Run to Ground a 5 for those reasons and because it was a page-turner!
Lead character, Dub Walker, has become a favorite of mine. I especially love the repartee between he and ex-wife reporter Claire McBride. As well as being a forensic expert and consultant with the Huntsville police, Dub plays the guitar. At one point in the story he was jamming with John Lee Hooker tunes which really took me back to my teens when Hooker's music was a favorite of mine.
Often when I read I catch mistakes in editing---typos, etc. This time I caught a glaring one in the mention of Civil War General Braxton Bragg (written Briggs on page 245). Guess the publisher should hire me as an editor!
I had never come across the expression "run to ground" before. The first time I saw it was the title, of course, but then in the story context: "With a wad of cash they could run to ground and stay low for a long time." That confirmed the meaning I had in mind.
I am sorry I have now read the 3 novels in the Dub Walker series by Lyle. I will look for other fiction, perhaps his Samantha Cody series.
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