Detective Jackson Faces Multiple Challenges in "Deadly Bonds"

Deadly Bonds is another excellent entry in the Detective Jackson series by L. J. Sellers. Jackson is a detective in the Eugene, Oregon P.D. and the book opens as he is called to the scene of a murder. A young woman lies dead in a run-down house, although the cause of death is not immediately apparent. In searching the house, Jackson finds a terrified three-year-old boy hiding in a crawl space under the house. Jackson convinces the child to trust him enough to come out of his hiding space and the boy immediately bonds with Jackson and won't let go of him.

Jackson naturally attempts to pass the child off to Child Services, but that goes badly and so Jackson agrees to hang on to the child temporarily while he searches for relatives who can take the boy. This may not be the best idea in the world, because at the moment, Jackson is especially vulnerable in the family department. His own daughter, Katie, is estranged and living away from home. At the same time, the daughter-in-law of Kera Kollmorgan, Jackson's Significant Other, has been badly injured in an auto accident and is not expected to live. Needless to say, Jackson's personal responsibilities to his family are thus basically colliding head-on with his obligations to the job.

Jackson's efforts to keep all these balls in the air at the same time is hindered by the city's budget crisis, which has led to staffing cuts in the P.D. In consequence, Detective Lara Evans, one of Jackson's most valuable teammates, is pulled off the investigation into the woman's murder to investigate the death of a star college football player. This makes the investigation into the original victim's death all that more difficult and places even more responsibility on Jackson's shoulders.

Sellers very deftly moves back and forth between the two death investigations and the multiple crises in Jackson's personal life. It makes for a swift-moving and very enjoyable read. The tension grows as the book progresses and ends in a great climax. Jackson is a very capable and sympathetic protagonist, and Deadly Bonds is another winner from this prolific author.