SNAKE PASS

A righteous Yorkshire cop can't seem to stay out of trouble.

In order to rescue brutally assaulted teen Sharon Davis, veteran lawman Jim Grant breaks into the house where her assailant, Lee Adkins, is hiding and beats him for good measure. When Jamie Hope, the young constable who assisted him, reports Grant's excesses, the gritty Yorkshire cop gets suspended. It's a cold and snowy night, to boot. Needing a sympathetic ear and hoping for more, Grant heads to the Woodside Truck Stop and Diner and waitress Wendy Rivers, with whom he's had a long-running flirtation. Sure enough, warm, sassy Wendy puts him back in a good mood. But as he's about to drive away, Grant notices the lights go out in the diner, even though the place never closes. In the shadows, he discerns that a robbery is in progress and sneaks back in, thinking, first, that he can save Wendy and, second, that this might be exciting. The ensuing action unfolds in short, punchy chapters whose titles give minute-by-minute times. Grant watches the Ukrainian head thug pummel Wendy in an unsuccessful attempt to learn the location of the safe. When the tough goes looking for the chef, high-maintenance Mickey Frevert, Grant calls headquarters for backup, then rescues Wendy, at least temporarily. Next, the last person Grant could possibly want as an ally shows up: Jamie Hope. The arrival of more Ukrainians leaves the good guys feeling seriously overmatched.

Campbell's fourth Resurrection Man novel (Adobe Flats, 2014, etc.) is crackerjack entertainment: taut, gritty and full of devilish twists.