Ben Blackshaw’s wife, LuAnna, has been shot and lies in a permanent coma on Smith Island. Blackshaw has a disastrous falling out with his best friend, Knocker Ellis. Licking his wounds alone on Lethe Island, Blackshaw resolves to quit the Chesapeake. To his disgust, he soon uncovers evidence of the brutal lynching of a young black boy. Police fail to capture the murderers despite the evidence Blackshaw turns over; Blackshaw himself becomes a suspect.
Blackshaw deploys west to Arizona tracking the killers, and discovers an encampment of armed ranchers, along with a one-percenter biker gang, and a cult of white supremacist vigilantes all of whom have sworn to stop the flood of undocumented immigrants crossing the Mexico line. But everyone hides deadly secrets, including a biologic Weapon of Mass Destruction, the bizarre shoot-down of a Customs and Border Protection helicopter, and the mysterious disappearance of its crew.
The vigilante camp itself is surrounded by a raging wildfire. Blackshaw teams with Del, an Apache member of the Geronimo Interagency Hotshot Crew, who was detailed to battle the blaze. Together they patrol in on the gathering of monsters. Part of their treacherous journey takes Blackshaw and Del through a cavern system of strange, wondrous, and lethal beauty. In the end, fire and hate threaten to consume everyone; the light of the inferno reveals that Blackshaw might be no better than the quarry he hunts.
Praise for Geronimo Hotshot
- Cyrus Webb, Host of Conversations LIVE/Editor-In-Chief of Conversations MagazineWithout a doubt the most disturbing chapter of the Ben Blackshaw journey to date, GERONIMO HOTSHOT pulls you into the darkest realm of humanity and leaves you clamoring desperately towards the light.
- Bri Wignall, Editor at Natural Bri - Pursuits of LifeI loved Geronimo Hotshot! It is the perfect addition to The Ben Blackshaw Series. I was drawn into the story from the first page and could not put it down. Just like the previous books, Geronimo Hotshot is packed with superb action, political intrigue, and an addicting story. I highly recommend this read. It is the best thriller I’ve read this year!
- Sandy Schairer, Editor in Chief, www.TheReadingCafe.comGeronimo Hotshot is an intriguing, enthralling, and intense topical storyline. Robert Blake Whitehill will seduce your mind into a world of retribution and revenge. One thing is for sure: Ben Blackshaw is not your stereotypical hero—more of an anti hero—but a man who will command your respect and interest. Prepare to be pulled into a dark and destructive storyline.
- Gail Priest, Author of Annie Crow Knoll: SunriseRobert Blake Whitehill takes Ben Blackshaw and the series to a new, darker level with GERONIMO HOTSHOT. Whitehill’s individual voice kept me on the edge of my seat the whole read as he wove a new friendship between Ben Blackshaw and Native American wildfire fighter Delshay Goyathlay. Trust has be to be earned between the men before they can join forces against the white supremacists, drug dealers, and motor cycle gang members staked out along the Mexican border. Del takes Ben below the raging Arizona wildfires into miles of underground caves decorated by Del’s artisan forefathers and possibly by mountain spirits. This satisfyingly mystical element to this Blackshaw episode is carried through to the dramatic conclusion. Nothing is predictable and everything is believable during this intense and fast moving ride. GERONIMO HOTSHOT is both a stellar example of the genre and unique by merit of Whitehill’s distinctive style.
- Adam Stephan Gubar, Screenwriter, Summer Bridge, Section 8Ben Blackshaw returns with a dark fury! In his best instalment yet, Robert Blake Whitehill has yet again delved deep into the psyche of his hard-bitten reluctant hero, Ben Blackshaw. On his own and running from his own life, Blackshaw goes looking for a fight and finds more than even he might be able to handle. Fast moving and engrossing from the first page, GERONIMO HOTSHOT pulls the reader along at gunpoint through Blackshaw’s quest for personal redemption, justice, and some very well-deserved violence. Whitehill’s usual highly tuned word-craft is engaging and poignant as his conflicted protagonist finds himself immersed in a seedy world where the lines between the white hats and the black hats of classic Western lore are ambiguous at best, and Blackshaw’s own motives and methods are repeatedly questioned. As though Robert Ludlum and Carlos Castaneda went on a survival retreat and came home with a love child, Whitehill touches deeply on the spiritual underbelly of the world he has created, while simultaneously pointing a million lumen spotlight on the persistent evils of modern society amidst a conflagration of explosive action. With his usual directness, penchant for unique cultural insight, and language well-peppered with colorful turns of phrase, GERONIMO HOTSHOT delivers on the depth of plot and wealth of action Whitehill has become known for, and leaves the reader breathless for more.
- Quentin Brent, Author of The ReasonGeronimo Hotshots is one of those rare works that makes you look at life from a different, more alive perspective. The constant turmoil, combined with the electric dialogue had me wondering at times if the story’s fire would consume me before I had a chance to see how Blackshaw was going to escape this uniquely twisting conflict.
- Anthony Karakai, author of the international spy thriller series, The Black LionIn Ben Blackshaw, Whitehill has created a genuinely intriguing character who deviates from the typical moulds we’ve become used to seeing. Complex. Hurt. Tough. Haunted by his past. All of these qualities make Blackshaw as real as the book you’re holding. Whitehill’s ability to create a very real world inside a fictional book is what’s so compelling: He is an author who’s breathing new life into the thriller genre, a true heavyweight contender for the literary crown. I promise you: This will not be the last time you hear of Robert Blake Whitehill!
- Simone Salmon, Author, Camille and the Bears of Beisa, DrafnelGeronimo Hotshot is a masterful blend of sadistic villainous characters interwoven with non-stop action, wit and intrigue. Author, Robert Blake Whitehill, overloads the senses with thrilling ambushes of disturbing suspense and enigmatic genius in this complex revelation of twisted psyches politicking lethal agendas.
- Bruce Ashkenas, Author, Aglow in the Bronx, Sick Street, and Playing with the Bund: A Novel of Nazis in New YorkRobert Blake Whitehill has delivered again in his new Ben Blackshaw thriller, Geronimo Hotshot, a story as gripping as today’s headlines, crossing the country from the Chesapeake to the desert of Arizona, with themes of illegal immigration, white supremacy, motorcycle gangs, and a giant desert fire sparked by a lightning storm. The lawmen and women are the heroes, but Whitehill paints vivid villains and wild watermen as Blackshaw goes outside the law to make sure the good guys win. I cried at the end.