Back of Beyond

BLUF: I really enjoyed certain aspects of this book, but, as a whole, the book didn't do much for me.

Back of Beyond is the first in the Cody Hoyt series. Cody Hoyt is your typical, angry lone wolf who doesn't play well with others. I've been having a hard time with this type of character lately, but, for whatever reason, came to an acceptance with Hoyt after he exposes that he's a recovering alcoholic. (This may have to do with the last book I read, whose main character was presumed guilty after a relapse from alcoholism, but was a very caring family-oriented man.)

I'm not sure what went wrong with this book, but it lost me when Cody jumped from the murder of his mentor to the idea that the murderer now journeyed on a pack trip with his son and was, somehow, an imminent threat. This was too far of a stretch for me. While I understand that no one wants their child on a trip with a murderer, I don't understand how a threat was felt so instantly after the determination that the murderer was on the same trip, especially when the murderer's victims were all alcoholics – not teenage boys.

In all, I enjoyed the interactions between characters, but wasn't fond of how the mystery unfolded