Review - Lost in the Woods by Crystal D. Budy

Carter and Max continue their quest to pull down the Appalachian Order, a cult-like crime ring dealing in drugs, guns and human trafficking, which Max’s father is heavily involved in. The two also grow ever closer, but it’s difficult with Max’s erratic behavior resulting from the abuse he suffered as a child and with his husband. It doesn’t help that his ex keeps trying to re-insert himself into Max’s life. Further complicating things is Carter’s younger brother Joey, who escaped from the Appalachian Order but still has many demons to deal with, and neither Carter nor Max is really sure how to reach the young man.

In this third and next-to-last book of the Polaris Mysteries, our two heroes move ever closer to figuring out the full extent of the cult’s influence over their county. Of course, understanding is one thing, but how to kill the beast is quite another. The more the team finds out, the more daunting it seems. Max and Carter aren’t entirely on their own. Carter’s brother Scott, the private investigator team, and a few others are also helping. As should be obvious, you need to read all the books in their published order to know who’s who and what’s going on.

Carter and Max are both multi-layered, complex characters. In this installment, it becomes even clearer what drives a lot of Max’s destructive behavior. Things reach a turning point in this book where Max realizes he can’t manage Carter like he tried to with his father and ex-husband.

It’s easy to think of Carter as the well-adjusted one, but he is not without his own problems. He means well, but his “white knight” approach isn’t always the best one. You can’t fix people that aren’t ready to be fixed.

“Lost in the Woods” is available from Smashwords or see BookBub for other online sites where you can get your copy.