If you’ve read John Sandford’s novels about Lucas Davenport, you’ve undoubtedly read about his adopted daughter, Letty. Her experiences as a child are rehashed in The Investigator, so even if you don’t remember her, or never read a Lucas Davenport novel, you can discover Letty’s past. That past life led her to her current experiences. She has skills, and she has a mentor to help her polish those skills in this new book.

Letty’s only twenty-four, but she’s not ready to settle for a boring job in Washington, D.C. When she tries to resign from Senator Chris Colles’ office, he offers her a more active job working an operation with the Department of Homeland Security. Someone is stealing oil in Texas, and making a great deal of money selling it. Colles isn’t worried about the theft. He wants to find out who is selling it, and what they are doing with the profits. Letty will be his researcher, checking it out in person. And, she’ll be accompanied by John Kaiser, a DHS investigator, formerly with Delta Force.

Kaiser doesn’t want to be a babysitter, but he and Letty soon respect and trust each other after they discover the other person’s skills. Letty is much more capable of handling guns than Kaiser expected. And, he has knowledge and skills from his time in Special Forces, ones that Letty soon learns she can learn.

Letty and Kaiser need to rely on each other. There’s an organized movement behind the oil thefts, a militia led by Jane Hawkes, known as Jael. Hawkes is former military herself, and she’s written a book that capitalizes on the unrest in the country, and the unrest felt by other former members of the military. She has a small core group of men who understand her plans for a militia of people who never had a chance to succeed. And, Jael’s plans will lead to Pershing, Texas, where over 100 military will come from all over the West and Midwest. Thanks to Jael, this militia has the financial means to demonstrate to the government that they’re fed up. They don’t want any more immigrants crossing the border from Mexico to take jobs from good Americans.

Hawkes expects that someone will infiltrate her group. She just doesn’t expect the damage that two people can do from the outside. She isn’t expecting Letty and Kaiser.

Because this is the first in a new series, Sandford is careful to develop Letty Davenport’s character. Her life experiences have led her to this point, where she’s willing to kill if that’s what it takes to accomplish her mission. The Investigator introduces a fascinating new lead, a woman capable of violence just as much as the people she’s tracking. She’s shrewd, willing to learn, and capable of killing. It’s going to be interesting to see where Letty Davenport goes from here.

John Sandford’s website is http://www.johnsandford.org/

The Investigator by John Sandford. G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2022. ISBN 9780593328682 (hardcover), 400p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I received a .pdf to review for a journal.