Nothing to Hide by J. Mark Bertrand [5 stars]

Nothing to Hide by J. Mark Bertrand
From back cover:
The victim's head is missing, but what intrigues Detective Roland March is the hand. The pointing finger must be a clue-but to what? According to the FBI, the dead man was an undercover asset tracking the flow of illegal arms to the Mexican cartels. To protect the operation, they want March to play along with the cover story. With a little digging though, he discovers the Feds are lying. And they're not the only ones.
In an upside-down world of paranoia and conspiracy, March finds himself dogged by injury and haunted by a tragic failure. Forced to take justice into his own hands, his twisting investigation takes him into the very heart of darkness, leaving March with nothing to lose-and nothing to hide.
I really enjoyed this book! I thought the first two books in the series, Back on Murder and Pattern of Wounds, were really good. I like the author's voice and his use of words. Each and every sentence seems to be carefully thought out. The writing is brilliant, really.

A word of warning, the initial murder is a little gruesome, but the book is so well written, if you can stand a little gore, it's WELL worth it!

I did figure out the killer A little over halfway through the book, but was left guessing as to how the plot would come together.

Mr. Bertrand definitely has a gift for character development. I really enjoy each and every character in these books. There's so much depth and emotion to the characters, they come across as real people you might know or come across in day-to-day life.
Roland March is such a great character. I appreciate the fact that while he's a tough cop, he has a soft, compassionate side. Sometimes authors get so wrapped up in giving us a gritty, tough cop character, they forget that that doesn't come across as 'real'.
I thought it was interesting that while March might not always follow the rules, everything he does seems smart. He makes educated decisions and only disobeys the rules if he has no other choice, while still realizing what he's doing is wrong.

I think this is the last book in the series, and while it's disappointing to see a great series end, I would have to say this is one of the best series I've ever read.