P.T. Deutermann continues as a must-read author for me and I am surprised that his work is not more reviewed. His four Cam Richter novels deliver the same well written, engrossing story lines as just about anyone in the suspense/thriller genre today. Certainly Richter as a protagonist is as fun to read, and as intriguing and capable as Dave Robicheux, Jack Reacher, and Doc Ford. And, for animal lovers, Cam is capably assisted in each adventure by his ever present well-trained and loyal German shepherd dogs.
In "Nightwalkers", Cam is still searching for his destiny and place in life. He decides to abandon the city life to buy a 700 hundred acre ante-bellum plantation in his beloved North Carolina countryside. He is quickly introduced to the eccentricities of rural life in a part of the South that still remembers the Civil War as a recent event. His neighbors and potential landlords across the street (The Lee family) seem stuck in the ante-bellum era including costume, manners, and lifestyle. There is a deep back history that includes a Civil War era massacre that occurred on Cam's potential land, a Confederate era scandal involving his new neighbors, and a crazed Lee family member (The Major) who rides the countryside at night hunting Yankee spies.
Cam no sooner begins to settle in while digesting all this Old South vs. New South conflict when he finds himself exposed to a series of pranks and threats of violence from a mystery person who wants him dead for unknown reasons. Initially he thinks he has acquired a "ghost", a term for a released prisoner who becomes a revenge seeking stalker; however, the threat of violence soon heats up until the past and the present catch up with Cam as he decides whether to pursue the bucolic life the plantation offers or to return to the city--a decision that must wait until he sorts through the craziness surrounding his land, discovers his stalker, and decides on his feelings for a new woman in his life.
As usual, Deutermann's novel is tightly plotted, exciting, fast-paced, and filled with challenging mysteries. While his very able canine helpers, Frick, Frack, and now Kitty are ever present, their roles are more subdued in this installment; nonetheless, the interaction between Cam and his canine companions is something to enjoy and marvel. For those who have not discovered P.T Deutermann or his signature character, Cam Richter, I highly recommend this great series.