IBERIAN TIES
by
Quintin Vargas
Genre: Crime Fiction / Mystery / Suspense
International Thriller
Publisher: Vanguard Publishers
Date of Publication: May 13, 2019
Number of Pages: 405
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Without a motive, how do you catch a killer? A gripping thriller in the vein of Harlan Coben, Paula Hawkins, and Lee Child.
A rising star psychiatrist, American Nate Shelley is in Spain’s Canary Islands, making his world debut at a convention. But after delivering his keynote address, he and his fiancée Miro are arrested for murder.
Nate knows he’s not guilty, but is his future wife involved in some way in the crime? Miro’s directly implicated when the murder victim is identified as her stalker.
Is Nate’s career ruined? Is he facing life imprisonment? Does the American couple stand a chance of convincing the Spanish authorities—and Interpol—that they’re innocent? Not in a post-Brexit, anti-Trump European environment.
Racing to clear their names, Nate and Miro will soon be embroiled in sham investigations, powerful cartels, and family secrets finally coming to light.
Full of intrigue, this gritty international crime novel is a thrilling ride.
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PRAISE FOR IBERIAN TIES:
“Brilliant thriller! I totally loved and enjoyed this book!! Interesting twists and turns, well-developed characters and suspense all along the way. Definitely kept me on the edge of my seat. Can’t wait for the next book!” –Gaby M., Goodreads Review
“This was an education about cultures and history as well as an unpredictable mystery.” –Robert R., Amazon Review
Iberian Ties starts off with a bang as our main character Nate discovers a dead body in his hotel room. From that dead body, we have a twisting and turning crime thriller, where the main characters are trying to solve the who and the why behind the body. The plot, and more importantly, the why behind the dead body, is the foremost driver of the novel. I was following along with the characters as the clues unfold, to the final reveal of the AH HA moment. I was really surprised at how the story unfolded, with shocks continuing to unfold around each corner.
A lot of the characters in the novel are quite slippery. From our main characters, Nate and Miro, to the lawyers and police officials, I was not sure if I could trust anyone! Take the chief of police, for instance. He plays his cards very close to the vest, revealing little tidbits of information to Nate, but holding back other vital information. I do want to avoid any spoilers as to why the chief is holding back information. We’ll leave it Mr. Vargas does a good job balancing the good and evil in all of us. I imagine Mr. Vargas thinking mwa-ha-ha while writing and tormenting his readers!
Being a psychoanalyst really does play well into Nate’s private investigative skills. Nate’s P.I. persona is quite the opposite of his normal, day to day life. He takes charge, hiding in plain sight, wearing a
“flowery yellow beach shirt, purple undershirt, khakis, and sneakers.”
Nate is observant, a good listener, analytical, and dives in to solve the various mysteries occurring around him. These are key characteristics of any sleuth, fictional or not.
Minnie, Miro’s daughter, is another character of note for me. She’s so enthusiastic about everything, and quite a joy to read her scenes.
I’m seriously struggling lately with reading anything. I’m just not in the reading mood. It’s more of an it’s me, not the book, situation that’s causing the problem. Iberian Ties took a good 40% of the book for the reading spark to hit me. There is a lot of backstory and discussion in the beginning of the novel. It also took quite a while for me to appreciate the characters, Miro especially. I was never sure I could trust her story. Once the action picks up in the novel, and PI Nate gets to solving the crimes, I became a much more enthusiastic reader.
I also labored with some formatting and editing issues in the e-book. (I do wonder if the formatting issues were just translation from using the Kindle App on my iPad or my NetGalley ARC.) There are some passages in italics that I couldn’t determine why. And in other cases, sentences would drop to the next line at random. I also wrestled with the need to use the 2016 U.S. presidential race as a timeline. Maybe I missed the link between the actual story and the presidential race?
I’m giving bonus points for the cover design of Iberian Ties. I love the cover. It drew my attention right away. And after reading the novel, the cover ties into the story very well!
I’m recommending Iberian Ties for any mystery reader. The twisty-turny plot is imaginative and original. I’m certainly in again, if P.I. Nate is out to solve any more crimes!
I received Iberian Ties free in exchange for my honest review. Thanks to author Quintin Vargas and Lone Star Book Blog Tours for providing this opportunity.
Iberian Ties is the first work of fiction published by Quintin Vargas. In addition to being an author, he combined a career as professor and dean in various American universities with becoming owner of a firm that prepared new immigrants to enter the marketplace and international workforce. His work impacted leadership development for various domestic and international private industries, non-profit organizations, and higher education.
As an academic, he served as dean and provost at various universities, including DePaul University in Chicago, the University of Texas, San Antonio, and St. Edward’s University. His academic writings have been highlighted in various publications, including the Journal of Research and Development in Education, the National Commission on Testing and Public Policy, and the Journal of Thought.
He and his wife, Marty, have five children and thirteen grandchildren. They reside in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
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It’s always great when a second layer of challenge is added when you have characters you can’t trust. Unfortunate about the 3rd challenge of formatting issues. Hopefully that was just a glitch! Great review!
Thanks, Kristine!