#ThrowbackThursday – Todd Borg – Book Review

Renee began the Throwback Thursday meme on her blog, “It’s Book Talk“ to share some of her old favorites as well as sharing books published over a year ago. Sounded like a good reason to join! Means I’ll be going back over some of  the first reviews I posted on Goodreads; my favorite authors, and some of my favorite stories from authors you might not have previously experienced. Hopefully, you’ll find either a story or author that interests you and you’ll check them out.

This week I am highlighting Todd Borg, another terrific, prolific author who has produced Tahoe Chase, #11 in his Tahoe series. I love Tahoe, just up in the Sierra’s from Sacramento and saw this cover. He has actually written fifteen of the Owen McKenna Mystery Thriller series. Tahoe Chase was published by Thriller Press. This particular book garnered 985 reviews and Borg consistently runs approximately 4.5 stars for his books.

Originally posted January 2, 2014

Book Blurb: (From Amazon)

Simone Bonnaire, a young French woman who lives in Tahoe, has a sadistic boyfriend who abuses her. Simone’s only friend is Cynthia Rorvik, an older woman who provides comfort. When Cynthia falls from her deck and ends up in a coma, her 92-year-old, former Olympic ski racer husband Joe Rorvik calls Tahoe Detective Owen McKenna and asks him to investigate. McKenna discovers a string of deaths that look like accidents. But he can find no other connection between them until he learns that all of the victims opposed a new, proposed ski resort development in Tahoe. As McKenna gets closer to a devious killer, he realizes that Simone is to be the next victim. But McKenna can’t save her because she has left on a solo ski trek into the Desolation Wilderness, and she is unreachable except by the killer who has been following her and has already begun his final chase…

My Review:

Tahoe Chase, one of the Owen McKenna mystery series, set in Tahoe caught my eye because I love the area, the beauty, and the memories the name evokes. This was an Amazon BookBub promotion and glad we downloaded as both my  hubby and I enjoyed. Prologue is enough to pique the interest, but it was a fairly slow starter after that. (McKenna is a former homicide detective from San Francisco gone private investigator.)

Street is a girlfriend to the single Owen who seems to be readily available to partner his assignments with no more payment than irregular attention. She is quiet, independent and efficient. We never really seem to get a true insight into the woman except for a few well-placed retorts; the usual banter between men and women in a comfortable relationship. Seems his closest and constant companion is Spot, his Harlequin Great Dane (all 170 lbs of him), aptly named, described in detail and replete with fully described character. You learn to love Spot.

Enjoyed were the winter descriptions of Lake Tahoe and surrounding mountains; conjuring the smell of the pines and the bite of the sub-freezing temperatures. This is an area dotted with ski resorts (including a former Olympic site–Squaw Valley), winter activities, and accompanying winter population along with the year-round (Nevada) casino population. The author knows this area extremely well (Todd Borg and his wife live on Lake Tahoe’s South Shore) and he lays out interesting annual activities heretofore unknown and geographical locations and peaks likewise.

Who knows what triggers a lethal crisis in another person? Several possible motives were given as a source of major conflict and made for plot development and possible perpetrators, creating twists, but the culprit is not a real surprise and in the end, guessed early on. I won’t offer spoilers, but rate a 4 star as I’d have appreciated more insight into peripheral characters including Diamond. Still, it is captivating enough to continue reading and finish the book (then look for others). The epilogue very neatly wraps up any loose ends.

This is an interesting and fun cozy mystery read especially for this time of year. I’d recommend to all who enjoy the mountains, skiing, thriller and suspense.

About the Author: (From the Amazon Author Page)

Special note: Borg was just chosen to be Toastmaster at the 2018 Left Coast* Crime convention, to be held in Reno [Nevada]. Check out the website: http://www.leftcoastcrime.org/2018/ Come and join the festivities!

UPDATE: As of December, 2017, Borg’s books have over 500,000 paper books and ebooks in distribution, and 4600 reviews on amazon.com at an average of 4.6 stars. Tahoe local Todd Borg is the author of the Tahoe Mystery series, which feature Owen McKenna, a former homicide inspector from the San Francisco PD. As the books open, McKenna has quit the police department and moved up to Tahoe to be a private investigator. Like a lot of fictional detectives, McKenna has a sidekick, …a 170-pound Harlequin Great Dane named Spot. Other regular characters include Owen’s girlfriend Street Casey, an entomologist who does forensic consulting on his cases, and Owen’s best buddy, Diamond Martinez, a naturalized citizen from Mexico who is a sergeant with a local county Sheriff’s Office. Borg’s books are fun fast reads with a lot of action. They’ve gotten great reviews coast-to-coast, including a starred review in Library Journal. They’ve won awards like the Ben Franklin Award for Best Mystery of the Year, been chosen by Library Journal as one of the Top 5 Mysteries of the Year and more. But the main reason to check them out is that they are entertaining reads with intelligent stories. The recurring characters will become your friends. Spot will become one of your favorite dogs. You’ll love visiting Tahoe from your armchair. And the bad guys will make you… well, let’s just say you will despise them.

(Todd Borg and his wife moved from Minnesota to Lake Tahoe in 1990.)

More Throwback Thursday Blogs

Renee at Its Book Talk

Jill at Jill’s Book Cafe

Rebecca at The Book Whisperer

Lynn at Fictionophile

Sam at Clues and Reviews

Holly B at Dressedtoread

*For those outside the US, we call the Pacific the “left coast” and the Atlantic our “right coast”. ©2017 Virginia Williams