Needless to say, there's a rich and deep history with Rick Cahill, and it's obviously apparent as soon as you begin the book. This guy's a former cop who is now a private investigator, he's killed people in the past, and his marriage to Leah is on the rocks, with her having taken baby Krista to live with her parents in Santa Barbara while Rick is left behind in San Diego. He's suffering from a degenerative brain disorder called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy which causes him to go into rages and has also put a ticking timer on his quality of life. Additionally, throughout his career, he's met many good and bad people, and some who are a little bit of both like mob-connected casino mogul Peter Stone, who had both tried to kill Cahill in the past, and also saved his life. Ok, let's be real - Peter Stone is just bad news, so when he shows up on Rick's doorstep wanting to hire him, despite supposedly being hidden in WITSEC somewhere, Rick knows he isn't going to like the offer.
Stone needs Rick to locate his daughter, Angela Albright, because he needs a kidney and he is hoping she will help him, despite the fact that she doesn't even know he is her father. What's more, Stone reveals that Sergei Volkov, his former partner and Russian mob boss, and also the man he turned state's witness against, is getting out of prison after only 4.5 years. Oh, and he's figured out that Cahill and his friend / partner, Moira Macfarlane, are the ones who murdered Tatiana Volkov, Sergei's only daughter, some years back and if he's figured it out, Volkov probably has too. Let's just say that Peter Stone's job offer is equal parts stick (threats to his family) and carrot ($50k for finding Angela) and if he takes it on, he'll have a nice nest egg for Krista, while also protecting her and Leah. Find the girl, collect the money, easy peasy, right?
Well, nope. For starters, a pair of FBI agents show up on his doorstep not long after Stone leaves. Agents Sorenson and Bowden give him the good cop/bad cop routine and really want to know where Stone is, plus they start asking about a former associate of Volkov's named Theodore Raskin, a cryptocurrency genius. Cahill reluctantly draws old friend Moira in, but she is champing at the bit to get involved and follow them anyway, so it isn't a hard sell. This pair don't seem to be your run-of-the-mill FBI agents, but Moira can deal with them while Rick will focus on Angela Albright's daughter, hoping mother and child will still be in touch, despite Angela dropping off the face of the earth a few weeks before.
Then Volkov and his goons show up at Rick's home demanding to know where Peter Stone is, threatening the lives of his friends and his family if he doesn't set up a meet with Stone, so that Volkov can murder him. Just based on this story alone, I get the feeling that Rick Cahill is often placed between a rock and a really hard place, but this is ridiculous!
Needless to say, Rick will have to track down Angela, while also keeping her safe from her dangerous father, but also try to keep Stone alive while his mortal enemy is hunting him down. It would also benefit him to locate this Theodore Raskin person the Feds and Volkov are so interested in, since he might just have stolen everyone's funds from his crypto company and a lot of folks are justifiably upset. As such, Rick's not the only one hunting Raskin, clearly. Needless to say, things come to an explosive head in a nail-biting showdown that is rife with surprises and bloodshed.
Even if you've never read a book in this series, Odyssey's End is worth your time. As a reviewer, I really don't have time to go back and read earlier books in a series, since there's always a huge to-be-read stack for me and I just can't devote the time. However, in a perfect world where I could pause time, I'd read this whole series. Despite the fact that it is clear that this final story in the series weaves in people and situations from the span of Cahill's career, I never once felt out of the loop. I don't even know how Matt Coyle so artfully mentioned probably every important person in Cahill's life throughout the series in this one book, giving background on them so the reader knows them too, but without making it feel like you were being filled in. This is the only book I've read that does this so skillfully, making me care about each character encountered, no matter how small, yet not making me feel bogged down with people I didn't know previously. Besides that, it's just a rollicking adventure with plenty of danger and surprises. Also, the ending is so bad-ass that I can't believe it's the last book, but my hat is off to Coyle for that ending. If you are looking for a gritty, wild, and dangerous adventure with a pretty interesting protagonist P.I., Odyssey's End will fit the bill. Highly recommended.
