MY REVIEW
I enjoyed this second book in the Crockett and Crane series. It probably could be read/listened to out of sequence . It had been about a year since I read book one, and I didn't need a lot of catch up and the story stands alone pretty well though it does continue some conflicts left over from book one. First off, this book is very funny. I'm starting with that as a positive, but it's also one of the few problems I have with the book. More so in this series than in the companion Beaumont and Beasley, the humor is a little over the top. In the first book, my one negative was that sometimes the jokes stretch on past when they are funny. This one does the same thing in places, but it's more "scenes that should be serious are written with a jokey tone." Not ALL of said serious scenes. There are two he doesn't do this with that definitely hit the hammer down and pull back from the style I'd overall call intentionally over the top/slapstick. Those work really well.
The narration is also over the top. Some accents are exaggerated bridging on cartoony. I think this is very much a choice, and if you're looking for a Hank the Cow Dog experience, you're going to find it here. Some of the seriousness of the plot, though, does clash a little with this delivery. When the scenes are in full on screwball cowboy comedy, it's perfect. When we're dealing with life or death and truly tragic circumstances, sometimes the accents are mildly distracting. Overall, it was a very fun read I'd recommend, and definitely had an emotional punch that I wasn't necessarily expecting. Good lore/world building additions to the overall mythology from the combine series too. I received a free copy of this audiobook. This did not influence my review.