Tahoe Payback (An Owen McKenna Mystery Thriller Book 15) Read online

  “A THRILL RIDE” - Mary Beth Magee, Examiner.com

  “BORG’S WRITING IS THE STUFF OF A HOLLYWOOD ACTION BLOCKBUSTER” - Taylor Flynn, Tahoe Mountain News

  “THE PACE WILL LEAVE YOU BREATHLESS” - Wendy Schultz, Placerville Mountain Democrat

  “ACTION-PACKED IS PUTTING IT MILDLY. PREPARE FOR FIREWORKS” - Sunny Solomon, Bookin’ With Sunny

  “I LOVED EVERY ROLLER COASTER RIDE IN THIS THRILLER 5+ OUT OF 5” - Harvee Lau, Book Dilettante

  PRAISE FOR TAHOE CHASE

  “EXCITING, EXPLOSIVE, THOUGHTFUL, SOMETIMES FUNNY” - Ann Ronald, Bookin’ With Sunny

  “THE LANDSCAPE IS BEAUTIFULLY CRAFTED... PACE BUILDS NICELY AND DOESN’T LET UP” - Kirkus Reviews

  “BE WARNED. IT MIGHT BE ADDICTING” - Gloria Sinibaldi, Tahoe Daily Tribune

  “OWEN McKENNA HAS HIS HANDS FULL IN ANOTHER THRILLING ADVENTURE” - Harvee Lau, Book Dilettante

  “I CAN GUARANTEE THAT THE OLD MAN WILL HAVE YOU CHEERING OUT LOUD BEFORE THE END OF THE BOOK” - Cathy Cole, Kittling: Books

  PRAISE FOR TAHOE TRAP

  “AN OPEN-THROTTLE RIDE” - Wendy Schultz, Placerville Mountain Democrat

  “A CONSTANTLY SURPRISING SERIES OF EVENTS INVOLVING MURDER...and the final motivation of the killer comes as a major surprise. (I love when that happens.)” - Yvette, In So Many Words

  “I LOVE TODD BORG’S BOOKS... There is the usual great twist ending in Tahoe Trap that I never would have guessed” - JBronder Book Reviews

  “THE PLOTS ARE HIGH OCTANE AND THE ACTION IS FASTER THAN A CHEETAH ON SPEED” - Cathy Cole, Kittling: Books

  “A FASCINATING STORY WITH FIRST CLASS WRITING and, of course, my favorite character, Spot, a Great Dane that steals most of the scenes.” - Mary Lignor, Feathered Quill Book Reviews

  “SUPER CLEVER... More twists in the plot toward the end of the book turn the mystery into an even more suspenseful thriller.” -Harvee Lau, Book Dilettante

  “AN EXCITING MURDER MYSTERY... I watch for the ongoing developments of Jack Reacher, Joanna Brady, Dismas Hardy, Peter and Rina Decker, and Alex Cross to name a few. But these days I look forward most to the next installment of Owen McKenna.” - China Gorman blog

  PRAISE FOR TAHOE HIJACK

  “BEGINNING TO READ TAHOE HIJACK IS LIKE FLOOR-BOARDING A RACE CAR... RATING: A+” - Cathy Cole, Kittling Books

  “A THRILLING READ... any reader will find the pages of his thrillers impossible to stop turning” - Caleb Cage, The Nevada Review

  “THE BOOK CLIMAXES WITH A TWIST THE READER DOESN’T SEE COMING, WORTHY OF MICHAEL CONNELLY” - Heather Gould, Tahoe Mountain News

  “I HAD TO HOLD MY BREATH DURING THE LAST PART OF THIS FAST-PACED THRILLER” - Harvee Lau, Book Dilettante

  PRAISE FOR TAHOE HEAT

  “IN TAHOE HEAT, BORG MASTERFULLY WRITES A SEQUENCE OF EVENTS SO INTENSE THAT IT BELONGS IN AN EARLY TOM CLANCY NOVEL” - Caleb Cage, Nevada Review

  “TAHOE HEAT IS A RIVETING THRILLER” - John Burroughs, Midwest Book Review

  “WILL KEEP READERS TURNING THE PAGES AS OWEN RACES TO CATCH A VICIOUS KILLER” - Barbara Bibel, Booklist

  “THE READER CAN’T HELP BUT ROOT FOR McKENNA AS THE BIG, GENEROUS, IRISH-BLOODED, STREET-WISE-YET-BOOK-SMART FORMER COP” - Taylor Flynn, Tahoe Mountain News

  PRAISE FOR TAHOE NIGHT

  “BORG HAS WRITTEN ANOTHER WHITE-KNUCKLE

  THRILLER... A sure bet for mystery buffs waiting for the next Robert B. Parker and Lee Child novels” - Jo Ann Vicarel, Library Journal

  “AN ACTION-PACKED THRILLER WITH A NICE-GUY HERO, AN EVEN NICER DOG...” - Kirkus Reviews

  “A KILLER PLOT... EVERY ONE OF ITS 350 PAGES WANTS TO GET TURNED... FAST” - Taylor Flynn, Tahoe Mountain News

  “A FASCINATING STORY OF FORGERY, MURDER...” - Nancy Hayden, Tahoe Daily Tribune

  PRAISE FOR TAHOE AVALANCHE

  ONE OF THE TOP 5 MYSTERIES OF THE YEAR! - Gayle Wedgwood, Mystery News

  “BORG IS A SUPERB STORYTELLER...A MASTER OF THE GENRE”- Midwest Book Review

  “EXPLODES INTO A COMPLEX PLOT THAT LEADS TO MURDER AND INTRIGUE” - Nancy Hayden, Tahoe Daily Tribune

  PRAISE FOR TAHOE SILENCE

  WINNER, BEN FRANKLIN AWARD, BEST MYSTERY OF THE YEAR!

  “A HEART-WRENCHING MYSTERY THAT IS ALSO ONE OF THE BEST NOVELS WRITTEN ABOUT AUTISM” STARRED REVIEW - Jo Ann Vicarel, Library Journal

  CHOSEN BY LIBRARY JOURNAL AS ONE OF THE FIVE BEST

  MYSTERIES OF THE YEAR

  “THIS IS ONE ENGROSSING NOVEL...IT IS SUPERB” - Gayle Wedgwood, Mystery News

  “ANOTHER EXCITING ENTRY INTO THIS TOO-LITTLE-KNOWN SERIES” - Mary Frances Wilkens, Booklist

  PRAISE FOR TAHOE KILLSHOT

  “BORG BELONGS ON THE BESTSELLER LISTS with Parker, Paretsky, and Coben” - Merry Cutler, Annie’s Book Stop, Sharon, Massachusetts

  “A GREAT READ!” -Shelley Glodowski, Midwest Book Review

  “A WONDERFUL BOOK”- Gayle Wedgwood, Mystery News

  PRAISE FOR TAHOE ICE GRAVE

  “BAFFLING CLUES...CONSISTENTLY ENTERTAINS” - Kirkus Reviews

  “A CLEVER PLOT... RECOMMEND THIS MYSTERY” - John Rowen, Booklist

  “A BIG THUMBS UP... MR. BORG’S PLOTS ARE SUPER-TWISTERS” - Shelley Glodowski, Midwest Book Review

  “GREAT CHARACTERS, LOTS OF ACTION, AND SOME CLEVER PLOT TWISTS...Readers have to figure they are in for a good ride, and Todd Borg does not disappoint.” - John Orr, San Jose Mercury News

  PRAISE FOR TAHOE BLOWUP

  “A COMPELLING TALE OF ARSON ON THE MOUNTAIN” - Barbara Peters, The Poisoned Pen Bookstore

  “RIVETING... A MUST READ FOR MYSTERY FANS!” - Karen Dini, Addison Public Library, Addison, Illinois

  WINNER! BEST MYSTERY OF THE YEAR - Bay Area Independent Publishers Association

  PRAISE FOR TAHOE DEATHFALL

  “THRILLING, EXTENDED RESCUE/CHASE” - Kirkus Reviews

  “A TREMENDOUS READ FROM A GREAT WRITER” - Shelley Glodowski, Midwest Book Review

  “BORG OFFERS A SIMPLY TERRIFIC DOG” - Barbara Peters, The Poisoned Pen

  WINNER! BEST THRILLER OF THE YEAR - Bay Area Independent Publishers Association

  “A TAUT MYSTERY... A SCREECHING CLIMAX” - Karen Dini, Addison Public Library, Addison, Illinois

  Titles by Todd Borg

  TAHOE DEATHFALL

  TAHOE BLOWUP

  TAHOE ICE GRAVE

  TAHOE KILLSHOT

  TAHOE SILENCE

  TAHOE AVALANCHE

  TAHOE NIGHT

  TAHOE HEAT

  TAHOE HIJACK

  TAHOE TRAP

  TAHOE CHASE

  TAHOE GHOST BOAT

  TAHOE BLUE FIRE

  TAHOE DARK

  TAHOE PAYBACK

  Thriller Press First Edition, August 2017

  TAHOE PAYBACK

  Copyright © 2017 by Todd Borg

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Thriller Press, a division of WRST, Inc.

  This novel is a work of fiction. Any references to real locales, establishments, organizations, or events are intended only to give the fiction a sense of verisimilitude. All other names, places, characters and incidents portrayed in this book are the product of the author’s imagination.

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from Thriller Press, P.O. Box 551110, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96155.

  ISBN:978-1-931296-25-0

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2017905977

  Cover design and map by Keith Carlson

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  This Book is for Kit

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Editing and cover design.

  This is what professional book presentation is about.

  No matter how imaginative a writer is with words, he or she still needs professional help with editing. Professional cover design is
equally important.

  In fact, of all the arts, it may be that writers are the people most dependent on these magicians who step in and make your work readable and understandable.

  For editing, my wizards are Liz Johnston, Eric Berglund, Christel Hall, and my wife Kit.

  For cover magic, Keith Carlson.

  And for support of all kinds, Kit is always there, backing me two hundred percent.

  Thank you all, more than I can say.