Review: Bill Travis and "The Devil To Pay" by George Wier
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 25, 2012
The fourth book in the "Bill Travis Mysteries" series opens with Bill Travis at work in his office when his friend Walt Cannon comes by to see him. Walt is a Texas Ranger with a thirty plus year career in the elite law enforcement agency. Walt is also under suspicion by some within the organization. Some believe that Walt committed a murder. Walt expects to be arrested soon. Walt swears he didn't kill Phil Burnet, though he certainly had a good reason to kill him.Bill Travis knows Walt and is pretty sure his friend is telling him the truth when he says he didn't do it. But, something is wrong with Walt and he won't come clean about it. All Walt wants is Bill's help in clearing his name. Bill seems to have a knack for investigating things and finding the truth even though his day job deals with money and all the tricks investment counselors, like Bill, use to make money grow for their clients.One thing that will help Bill when he starts poking around is that the guy who found the body of Phil Burnet in the water at what used to be called Town Lake is Perry Reilly. The same Perry Reilly, notorious womanizer, who runs an insurance agency right next door to where Bill has his office. Bill has known Perry since way back in the day before Bill was married with kids. Before long, Bill is over at Perry's office asking a few questions and reluctantly agreeing to let Perry tag along in the investigation. A decision that Bill will have more than one chance to regret in a dangerous case that will take them back and forth across Central Texas chasing a killer.The Devil To Pay is another fast moving read in the series showcasing the obvious talents of the author George Wier. Bill Travis is a unique character firmly grounded in his everyman roots who gets involved in things again and again because of the people he knows. Often in this series, what starts as something relatively minor soon explodes in a major way with links to the Governor's Mansion, political double dealing, and notorious crimes decades old.  Bill can't help getting involved and becoming a target. It is in his nature and he can't help it. Even these days with a wife, a new baby in the house, and lots more going on.While you could read The Devil To Pay as a stand alone it would be better if you read this series in order starting with The Last Call.Material provided by the author some time ago in exchange for my objective review.Kevin R. Tipple 2012Author of the e-book short story collection Mind Slices available at Amazon.