Hello, dear followers and friends. I have not fallen off the face of the earth. I have just had to be away for awhile because of demands on my time from work, family, and holiday events, but I hope to be back more frequently now. I am trying to make writing a priority again, as it hasn’t been in a while, and I apologize to anyone this has affected. So now I present my first book review of the year, and plan to continue posting semi-regularly in the future. 

Amy Caudill’s Reviews : Win

Win (Windsor Horne Lockwood III, #1) by Harlan Coben (Goodreads Author)

Amy Caudill‘s review

Jan 17, 2024  

When Windsor Horne Lockwood III, Win to his few friends and family, is invited to a crime scene by the FBI, he is automatically wary and aware that something unusual is occurring.  He realizes quickly this case has nothing to do with his recent bout of vigilantism that he perpetrated on a girlfriend beater and rapist, but rather to do with events that happened to his family twenty plus years ago.

His billionaire family loaned two priceless masterpieces to a university only for them to be stolen.  One of the pieces, which has been missing for twenty years, has just been recovered at a murder scene where the victim has been identified as a fugitive domestic terrorist, who has been missing even longer.  Even more telling, a suitcase with Win’s own initials is also found at the scene- a suitcase Win gave to his cousin, who was abducted from a different murder scene in the past.

Thanks to his mentor/friend/former handler with the FBI, a man who goes by PT, Win is allowed to investigate these events on his own terms as he looks for the rest of the domestic terrorist group, and how they are linked to the art theft, kidnapping of his cousin and murder of her father in the past. 

Win has advantages the official police and FBI do not to help him in these tasks.  For one, he is a billionaire with all kinds of contacts.  For another, he is a master of multiple martial arts and weapons, without a fear of getting his hands dirty.  In fact, more than once he compares himself to Bruce Wayne, a rich vigilant able to enact his own form of justice.

As he investigates these cold cases and how they tie into recent events, Win uncovers a lot of family secrets that perhaps are better off left buried, and must decide how much can be revealed and who in his opinion deserves punishment.

When I began reading this book, I was unaware the title character is the best friend/sidekick in the author Harlan Coben’s Myron Bolitar series, which I have obviously not read yet.  I was impressed with how deeply developed Win’s character is; he is egotistical, violent, and smart, and a dangerous adversary in his own right.  He is unapologetic about his choices, his vices, and his preferred methods of finding justice, but he does have some (closely guarded) vulnerabilities that keep him from being completely unlikeable. 

I give this book four stars and recommend it to fans of action and detective stories, with a disclaimer about some of the gratuitous violence and adult themes present.  I will probably check out more of the main series with Myron Bolitar as I have time, and compare the levels and methods that character uses to this one.