Bright Lights is Book 15 in the John Milton Series by Mark Dawson.
John just wants to jet to Las Vegas for some R & R in his vintage cool American muscle car. But by now nothing is ever simple or even remotely restful for John and his guilt-ridden desires to help those he finds in trouble. When a young woman (Jessica Russo) is crying, seated across the diner from him, and then heads out to her dead Tesla, John offers to give her a ride to her father's house where she, her brother, and dad are planning a trip to Italy before Mr. Russo passes away from his cancer. Simple, right? Not a chance.
However, her dad isn't at the house and there's obvious evidence that his absence met with resistance. John notices Jessica reach behind the bed in the master bedroom but doesn't have time to figure out why because there are three armed men who've entered the house. John gets Jessica's directions through the house to exit but not before he's forced to eliminate the opposition and escape in one of her dad's vehicles with her.
She keeps calling her brother but isn't reaching him, and John decides they need to leave the area and find a place to hide out and organize. Having run into his old friend Beau Baxter before he left town, he knew Beau was on his way to Vegas to get a kid who skipped his court hearing and jumped bail. John and Beau reunite to figure out how to find Jessica's dad. Needless to say, things aren't as they seem.
Embezzlement, ties with the familiar La Frontera cartel John thought was in the past, $5 million large, a sicario, and Siena, Italy, all combine to cause peril, tragedy, and jail sentences. Not to mention future "justice" or vengeance in Columbia via Amsterdam.
Profanity present.
Father, it's evident that Mark has a gift for thriller writing. Thank you for that. May he recognize from whom his many gifts are given. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.