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The Boat Man: A Mystery Suspense Thriller Kindle Edition

by Dustin Stevens (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 19,499 ratings
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Police Detective Reed Mattox, just three months removed from the death of his partner, has turned invisibility into an art form.

Switching to the K-9, taking over the graveyard shift, moving to a farmhouse miles outside of Columbus, his every move has become predicated on putting as much distance between himself and the outside world as possible.

That distance is shattered though when bodies begin turning up in The Bottoms, the poverty-stricken section of town he is assigned to patrol. Grisly, horrific scenes start to pop up in the middle of the night and the overburdened precinct has no choice but to put Reed on tracking the serial killer.

Now operating far outside of his comfort zone with a Belgian Malinois for a partner that attracts attention wherever they go, Reed is forced to unravel the murders, taking him clear across the city and back years in time, to an event that some very influential people will do anything to keep buried...

Note: The dog does not die.

Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense fans who love police procedurals, Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series, David Baldacci’s Memory Men’s series, and James Patterson’s Alex Cross series will love Reed Mattox and K-9 partner, Billie.

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Previous page
  1. Book 1 of 12
    Reed & Billie Mysteries
  2. Print length
    343 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    September 11, 2015
  6. File size
    2173 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Total Price: $18.95
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  1. Unlike humans, born with five million scent receptors, Billie was blessed with more than two hundred twenty five million individuals synapses in her nose that could detect and differentiate an odor.
    Highlighted by 139 Kindle readers
  2. The goal of his mission was not just the elimination of his targets. The intent was for them to feel the same fear they had inflicted.
    Highlighted by 116 Kindle readers
  3. Busy people tended to be less caught up in such things. As Riley used to say, manners were a creation of the bored.
    Highlighted by 99 Kindle readers
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"This was my first time listening to Charles Constant and I thought he had a great voice for this type of novel and did a great job." ---Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My!

About the Author

Dustin Stevens is the author of over twenty novels, including the Zoo Crew series, Krokodil, Quarterback, Be My Eyes, 21 Hours, and Catastrophic. He is also the author of several short stories, appearing in various magazines and anthologies, and is an award-winning screenwriter. He currently resides in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Charles Constant is an actor whose professional storytelling career began at the age of thirteen, when he became an Actors' Equity Association apprentice. An accomplished audiobook narrator, Charles has recorded many popular titles, including How to Win at the Sport of Business by Mark Cuban. He lives in Los Angeles.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B015AL6H3C
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ (September 11, 2015)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 11, 2015
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2173 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 343 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 19,499 ratings

About the author

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Dustin Stevens

Dustin Stevens

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Dustin Stevens is the author of more than 60 novels, the vast majority having become #1 Amazon bestsellers, including the Reed & Billie and Hawk Tate series. The Boat Man, the first release in the best-selling Reed & Billie series, was named the 2016 Indie Award winner for E-Book fiction. The freestanding work The Debt was named an Independent Author Network action/adventure novel of the year for 2017 and The Exchange was recognized for independent E-Book fiction in 2018.

He also writes thrillers and assorted other stories under the pseudonym T.R. Kohler.

A member of the Mystery Writers of America and Thriller Writers International, he resides in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
19,499 global ratings
This book is a terrible
1 Star
This book is a terrible
I think the author has potential, but this book could have been written by a ten year old male. The plot is that of a bad video game and the author seems never to have learned the concept of research. For someone who clearly enjoys imagery of light, his ignorance is astounding. I suggest that both he and his editor spend ten minutes on Google to learn the definitions of REFRACTION, reflection, luminescence, fluorescence and halogen. Furthermore, KCBS is a San Francisco radio and television station, stations east of the Mississippi generally have call signs beginning with W.Oh, and the "brilliant detective" hand to break into the perp's house without a warrant to figure out who the next victim would be, even though he already had questioned the only remaining gang member left. C'mon.If you can't get little things right, you can't expect to get the big ones right.
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Top reviews from the United States

Lab lover Dave
5.0 out of 5 stars Somehow, the story seemed very real.
Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2024
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Just plain good reading. Solid characters, believable situations that elicited emotional responses and a need to learn the outcome. Really good.
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diana jaycox (my friends call me DJ)
4.0 out of 5 stars A suspenseful thrilling roller coaster ride of a book!
Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2022
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The Boat Man is a first read for me of the award-winning author, Dustin Stevens. I picked up this book from an Amazon recommendation or maybe Facebook, expecting to read a murder mystery involving a K-9 cop team like many books I already have in my bookshelves. I was surprised, (not unpleasantly, mind you!), to discover that The Boat Man is nothing like any other K-9 team mystery I have ever read. The story of Reed and his relationship to Billie his K-9 partner is the back story in The Boat Man. Their partnership assists the reader in understanding how Reed, the main character, thinks and acts the way he does. While Reed and Billie are a team and Billie does play a role in the final take down of perpetrator, the story is focused on murder suspect and finding and interpreting the clues that lead to solving the case. The Boat Man is all about human behavior, revenge, forgiveness and ethical dilemmas faced as we seek justice for those who have been wronged. The K-9 is almost an afterthought .

What The Boat Man by Dustin Stevens represents is exactly what it says in the Title page - "A Suspense Thriller". I had only read the first chapter, when I began to understand why Dustin earned all those awards! The Boat Man is so full of thrills and chills , it has you holding your breath, hiding under the bed, trying not to let villain know you are there! Dustin Stevens paints such a vivid word picture, it is easy to believe you are there. And just when you think you have figured out the mystery, Dustin throws in a twist, that catches you unaware and shaking your head, you wonder where the story is headed now! It's like being on the Matterhorn ride at Disneyland ,your car climbing up inside the mountain only to suddenly shoot out an opening in the mountain into open air. You hang there waiting for the fall and before you can scream, your car whips around the outside of the mountain, slings you through another opening! The Boat Man plot is the very definition of a "Thriller"!

The Boat Man is my first Dustin Stevens novel. I am sure it won't be my last. But just like that ride on the Matterhorn, I may have to read some tamer books first, get my equilibrium back, before I attempt another!

Overall a very entertaining novel that took me away from reality for a brief moment. It was very affordable as it was available through my Kindle Unlimited subscription. I am so glad I was persuaded to add the book to my library. I hope you will give it a try!
27 people found this helpful
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Theresa
5.0 out of 5 stars Thrilling unexpected
Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2024
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Although many subjects to encounter, allows the mind to I know what is going to happen...
Then it doesn't. Exciting adventure,must read series.
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David G.
5.0 out of 5 stars Worthwhile!
Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2024
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A good read! Lots of twists and turns. Keeps story flowing only a couple of dead spots. I recommend it
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars good story/need new editor
Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2024
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The story was great. Reading the book was difficult because of generally poor sentence structure and punctuation. Please consider a different editor and your books may go somewhere.
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M D Tuch
3.0 out of 5 stars An okay read, but not memorable.
Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2019
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Detective Reed Mattox, another ubiquitous cop irreparably damaged by the loss of his partner, is saddled with trying to solve a gruesome crime. Along with his new partner, a K-9 named Billie, they are soon looking at the latest serial killer in their city.
The K-9 idea is a fairly unused one in the storyline of big city cops, but the author remands Billie to the back seat of Reed’s car for most of the book, pacing and whining. Instead of having a pivotal role to play, the dog is stuck in limbo, only allowed to sniff here and there, with the occasional low growl. In the entire book, she has only one acting role, and it is way too long in coming. It loses all its punch by the time the author uses it. In the sequel, I hope Stevens lets Billie out of the back seat, to actually do a little police work.
Revenge stories are interesting, and this one is too. Interesting. But bloody serial killer stories are a dime a dozen, and this one doesn’t offer anything new past a few details of the killer. The short chapters helped propel the plot along at a nice pace, and the pace itself actually keeps a grip on the reader in spite of the lack of action or real character development. Police work is a lot of drudgery, asking questions, inching forward toward a break in the case. This book reflects that, which is good. But all that drudgery is dull and uninteresting, which is bad. The dialog is mostly spot on, but bogs down occasionally from time to time with clunky wording. But the one glaring flaw in the story is that a civilian would be able to extricate vital information from the police records that the department’s own officer could only get by the slimmest of margins.
The book is an okay read, but not memorable.
6 people found this helpful
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lobomom
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read
Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2024
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One of the best I've read lately... I finished it in one day. Fast paced and with good character development, I'm looking forward to the next in the series
One person found this helpful
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Kids RN
4.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing story
Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2024
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This well-plotted thriller keeps the reader guessing for the first half of the book. The clues are meted out slowly which increases the tension. The dog is amazing, although it doesn't seem to make sense that a bomb sniffing military dog would suddenly become a homicide detective. There is also a little issue with wording and phrasing that is distracting throughout. This book would have been improved with some editing. FYI; insight and incite are not the same word and can't be used interchangeably.
4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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A. Mellor
5.0 out of 5 stars It’s all about making people listen.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 21, 2021
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Following the death of his partner, Detective Reed Mattox, has transferred to the K-9 division, where he has now been partnered with Billie, a smart, confident and versatile Belgian Malinois, for the past 2 months. On this particular night, they’ve been notified of a homicide - their first as a team. With just 3 days to investigate a gruesome crime, there’s a need for immediate action, to stop this killer.

The first novel about Reed and Billie immediately drew me in to find out what the Boat Man was all about; what his mission was. While reading, I also learnt more about victimology. I’m now looking forward to reading the next in the series; The Good Son.
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Amazon Customer CarlosE
2.0 out of 5 stars No engancha
Reviewed in Mexico on July 26, 2019
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Poco atractiva su lectura.
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Larissa Rye
5.0 out of 5 stars I love these kinds of books.
Reviewed in Canada on July 17, 2019
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I haven’t read a suspense thriller book in forever, instead choosing romance/dark romance. I regret it because man have I missed these types of books. I loved the bond between Billie & Reed throughout the book but especially at the end. I hope in the second book we learn more about Riley. I’d love to delve more into that as well.

I really enjoyed how you get both the killer & Reeds perspectives throughout the book. I like how in this book there’s no possible way to guess who did it, you have to just follow the clues like Reed.

Honestly I’m excited to continue on with this series & I’ll definitely be checking out Dustin’s other books as well. This book was extremely well written & I enjoyed every minute of this read!
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Hoener, Birgit
4.0 out of 5 stars A grieving detective and his new partner
Reviewed in Germany on July 2, 2020
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After the death of his partner, Detective Reed Maddox withdraws into himself and tries to shut off the outside world, content to do what's called the "graveyard shift" with his new "partner", Belgian Malinois Billie.
When mutilated bodies start turning up in his area, however, he's forced to investigate with Billie, as his department is stretched and short-manned. Bit by bit they unravel what lies behind the murders.
I liked this book. It was very - hm not dark really, sombre? - and melancholic, with the protagonist not really trying to get out of his sad bubble, but forced to by outside circumstances. To see him slowly regain his self-confidence and deepen the teamwork with his dog must be a joy for a reader - I especially like when he mentions that his dog is a police officer, too.
Well written, with a good plot and a mystery that the reader can unravel together with the investigating team, this first in a series will make me want to read more of Reed and Billie.
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2.0 out of 5 stars One man army
Reviewed in India on August 12, 2019
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All jumbled up narrative. It takes a while to get the storyline. Even though the story is good, it doesn't give any satisfaction.
One person found this helpful
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