Category Archives: Austin Williams

May 22, 2017 · 11:58 pm

Review: Torn & Restored by Austin Williams

Title: Torn & Restored by Austin Williams
Rusty Diamond Series Book Three
Publisher: Diversion Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, suspense
Length: 260 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

In this gripping last installment of Austin Williams’ Rusty Diamond series, Rusty “The Raven” Diamond is beckoned back to Vegas to reconcile his sordid past in one final, decadent showdown—but will he make it out of Sin City alive?

When a mysterious box containing a greeting card, a sheet of textbook paper, three human teeth, and an adult index finger severed just above the knuckle arrives unannounced on Rusty “The Raven” Diamond’s doorstep, he realizes he can no longer hide on the beaches of Maryland. Someone wants Rusty to pay for what he did years before, and if Rusty is going to survive, he’ll need to take the fight Vegas.

Rusty was once the hottest act on the strip, a magician who commanded sell-out crowds for his death-defying act. But with bigger risks come bigger enemies, and it seems Rusty has made one of the most sizable the Nevada desert has to offer. A mobster-turned-politician with every resource available aims to not only close the curtain on Rusty, but make sure he pays dearly beforehand.

Rusty’s final reckoning with his past will draw him into a trap that, even at his most Houdini-esque, he may not be able to escape. Taut, fast, and gripping at every turn, Torn & Restored builds to a spectacular denouement that will leave readers buzzing for days.

Review:

Torn & Restored, the third novel in Austin Williams’ Rusty Diamond series, finds the former illusionist turned amateur sleuth returning to Las Vegas to face the final piece of his unresolved past.

While Rusty initially ignores the anonymous packages he is receiving, the contents in the latest missive are too grisly to ignore. Although he has no idea who is sending them to him or why, he knows it is finally time to return to the city where his career crashed and burned three years earlier. Once he is back in Las Vegas, Rusty reaches out to former co-worker Charlotte Rains to help him figure out the significance of the items sent to him. The information he uncovers leads him to a sketchy bar in a rundown part of town and a creepy site on the dark web, but Rusty still has no idea who lured him to back to Las Vegas.

As soon as he steps off the plane, Rusty is overwhelmed by the memories of the meteoric rise and spectacular fall of his career. Unable to forget the horrific events that preceded his hasty escape from town, he is a little off balance as he tries to make sense of the puzzling items he received in the mail. Charlotte is the only person in Vegas that Rusty implicitly trusts not to betray him and her assistance quickly proves invaluable. Despite the information she helps him uncover, Rusty remains uncertain who is masterminding the plan that forced his return to Vegas.  However, he does quickly realize this person has intimate knowledge of the various acts he performed during his show at Caesar’s. Rusty also cannot help but wonder how his final gig plays into the increasingly diabolical and horrifying events that are occurring.

Rusty’s investigation takes him into some of the lesser known and seedier areas of Las Vegas. Far away from the glitz and glitter of the Strip, the homeless population is incredibly vulnerable to predators who find it easy to prey upon them without fear of reprisal. The flood tunnel system under the city is an enticing but unsafe haven for those seeking shelter. When Rusty is forced to become an active participant in the vengeful plan taking place in these tunnels, he once again relies on his skills as an illusionist to (hopefully) extricate himself from a tricky and highly dangerous situation.

The third (and perhaps final) installment in the Rusty Diamond series, Torn & Restored is a fast-paced and suspense-laden mystery. With plenty of action and unexpected twists and turns, Austin Williams  brings this latest mystery to a pulse-pounding and action packed conclusion. An absolutely outstanding mystery that I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend to fans of the genre.

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Filed under Austin Williams, Contemporary, Diversion Books, Mystery, Rated B+, Review, Suspense, The Rusty Diamond Trilogy, Torn & Restored

October 18, 2015 · 11:57 pm

Review: Blind Shuffle by Austin Williams

blind shuffleTitle: Blind Shuffle by Austin Williams
The Rusty Diamond Trilogy Book Two
Publisher: Diversion Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery
Length: 265 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher

Summary:

“I wanted to take a bite out of BLIND SHUFFLE before breakfast but ended up reading straight through lunch. I finished it on a plane to Tijuana. This was my first Rusty Diamond novel…it won’t be my last. Dig in.” —Patrick Hasburgh, creator of 21 JUMP STREET

Far from the neon lights of Bourbon Street, heinous crimes are being committed against young women, and a street magician seeks to pull off his greatest trick by staying alive long enough to see justice done. The stage is set for a New Orleans noir perfect for fans of James Lee Burke and George Pelecanos.

Rusty Diamond abandoned the Crescent City years ago to pursue fame in Las Vegas, leaving Marceline Lavalle, the daughter of his mentor, with a broken heart. Now Rusty has come back to make amends with his former teacher and his first love—but Prosper Lavalle won’t face him, and no one has seen Marceline for days.

Five months pregnant, Marceline’s vanished without a trace. Her estranged boyfriend, a casino boss with criminal ties and a hair-trigger temper, claims no knowledge of her whereabouts. With the police not yet ready to declare foul play, Rusty launches his own investigation.

The search for Marceline will take Rusty into the darkest corners of New Orleans, where enormous profit can be made from human misery, where desperate people hunt on the fringes, and where not all magic is sleight of hand. It will force him to confront the mistakes of his past, and offer him a shot at redemption. And it will leave him—if he’s not careful—at the bottom of a bayou.

Review:

Blind Shuffle by Austin Williams is another action-packed adventure starring illusionist Rusty Diamond. This second installment in the Rusty Diamond Trilogy brings the clever amateur sleuth face to face with his unresolved history as he unwittingly stumbles into the mysterious disappearance of a woman from his past.

Rusty is ready to face the mistakes of his past but his trip to New Orleans does not exactly go as planned. His tumultuous arrival leads to a tense meeting with his mentor, Prosper Lavalle, where he discovers that Prosper’s pregnant daughter Marceline (Marcie) has gone missing. Upon learning the police are uninterested in investigating her disappearance, Rusty sets out to discover what happened to his longtime friend and ex-girlfriend.

Rusty’s first order of business is talking to Marcie’s ex, Joseph Abellard, who owns a dilapidated casino out in the middle of the bayou. Although he picks up some interesting information, this meeting is fraught with danger and Rusty is forced to rely on past skills to save himself from a very sticky situation. He then joins forces with Monday Reed, a co-worker and friend of Marcie’s, to aid in his investigation. When Rusty links a couple of unsolved homicides to Abellard, he and Monday feverishly try to piece together the clues to Marcie’s whereabouts before it is too late.

Needing Prosper’s help to set his plan to rescue Marcie in motion, Rusty is forced to reveal the series of events that led to his abrupt departure from his lucrative career in Las Vegas. After divulging the bare bones of an illusion gone horribly wrong, he and Monday embark on their plan to find Marcie. Once again relying on the skills that made him such a successful illusionist, Rusty is thrust into a dangerous situation after he forces Abellard to take him to the person responsible for Marcie’s disappearance. When his plan goes awry, he and Marcie cleverly utilize the skills they learned from Prosper to extricate themselves from an increasingly dangerous situation.

Blind Shuffle by Austin Williams is a riveting addition to the Rusty Diamond Trilogy. Rusty remains an enigmatic but likable protagonist and making amends with Prosper and Marcie sets him on a collision course with his unsettled past.

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Filed under Austin Williams, Blind Shuffle, Contemporary, Diversion Books, Mystery, Rated B+, Review, The Rusty Diamond Trilogy

October 12, 2014 · 11:57 pm

Review: Misdirection by Austin Williams

misdirectionTitle: Misdirection by Austin Williams
The Rusty Diamond Trilogy Book One
Publisher: Diversion Books
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense
Length: 268 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publicist

Summary:

A street magician needs more than sleight-of-hand to survive getting embroiled in a murder case in this blistering novel of suspense, perfect for fans of Harlan Coben and George Pelecanos.

After years of chasing fame and hedonistic excess in the bright lights of Las Vegas, Rusty “The Raven” Diamond has returned home to Ocean City to piece his life back together. When he finds himself an innocent suspect in his landlord’s brutal murder, Rusty abandons all hope of maintaining a tranquil existence. Acting on impulse, he digs into the investigation just enough to anger both the police and a local drug cartel.

As the unsolved case grows more complex, claiming new victims and inciting widespread panic, Rusty feels galvanized by the adrenaline he’s been missing for too long. But his newfound excitement threatens to become an addiction, leading him headfirst into an underworld he’s been desperately trying to escape.

Austin Williams creates an unforgettable protagonist in Rusty, a flawed but relatable master of illusion in very real danger. As the suspense builds to an explosively orchestrated climax, Williams paints a riveting portrait of both a city—and a man—on the edge.

The Review:

Misdirection is a superb beginning to Austin Williams’ Rusty Diamond Trilogy. This highly entertaining and brilliantly clever mystery stars a refreshingly unique protagonist whose previous career as an illusionist aids his investigation into his landlady’s murder.

Rusty Diamond has kept a low profile since his return to the Ocean City area after his wildly successful career as an illusionist in Las Vegas crashed and burned. All of that changes after he discovers the body of his elderly landlady, Thelma Garrett, and he is briefly detained as a person of interest. He is reacquainted with his old school friend Jim Biddison, now a lieutenant in the police department, but Rusty remains skeptical of the PD’s ability to investigate the crime. Although the killer is quickly arrested, Rusty’s instincts tell him there is more to the murder than meets the eye, and he cannot resist poking around to see what he can uncover.

Rusty is a very intriguing character and his previous profession adds to his overall appeal. Rusty remains an enigmatic figure since much of his past remains shrouded in mystery. The facts that are revealed give readers a good sense of his general character but it is his actions that prove most illuminating. Rusty ignores Jim’s warnings to stay out of the investigation and he jumps headfirst into situations without much thought to the consequences. He might not have clue on how to conduct an investigation, but the skills Rusty picked up as an illusionist give his crime solving abilities a much needed edge.

There is not much mystery in Misdirection, but there are unexpected twists and turns. The perpetrators are revealed early in the story and Rusty quickly uncovers the motivation for the crimes. However Rusty’s unusual investigative techniques and the innovative storyline provide a fast-paced and compelling read. Austin Williams also holds the reader’s attention by divulging fascinating bits and pieces of Rusty’s past but it is what he does not reveal that piques reader’s curiosity. The novel hurtles to a suspense-laden and action filled conclusion as Rusty rushes headlong into a dangerous situation in an effort to bring all of the guilty parties to justice.

Misdirection is an outstanding first installment in The Rusty Diamond Trilogy and I am very curious about what Austin Williams has up his sleeve for our intrepid amateur investigator in the next two novels.

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Filed under Austin Williams, Contemporary, Diversion Books, Misdirection, Rated B+, Review, Suspense, The Rusty Diamond Trilogy