The Voice Thief Review

 

Writer: Jeff Kerr

Publisher: Vinci Books

Kindle Price: $5.99

Paperback: $11.99

Release Date: February 4, 2026

 

Adam Cash has worked as a deputy in Pinyon for a year, but no one is throwing him a party. Worse, he’s bored. Five months have passed since Cash had a mystery to solve. Cash invests his scant resources into the upkeep of his parents’ old house and 200-acre property. He pays a local teen, Travis Bolton, to help him out with odd jobs. But the woman he loves, Edie James, lives hours away while she completes her nursing degree. How will his life change when Sheriff Gabe Santos assigns Cash a cold case? And how will it affect his long-distance relationship with Edie? Let’s leap into The Voice Thief and see!

 

Story

After badgering his old Army buddy, Sheriff Gabe Santos has invested in cubicles for his deputies. Having his own place in the police station gives Cash a better feeling of belonging than working at a conference table. But when Gabe calls him into his office and hands him Lauren Swafford's file, it arouses bad memories.

 

The High School teacher went missing shortly before former Sheriff Griff Turner's murder, when all the evidence pointed to Cash. With his parents moving to Austin, his long struggle to secure a job in law enforcement, and Edie abandoning him, Cash has struggled to sink new roots into his hometown. Even when he visits his old high school, most of the teachers and staff he interviews are new to him.

 

As Jeff Kerr keeps the spotlight on Adam Cash, he occasionally shares scenes seen from other characters. One of those is Steve Jenkins, Cash's best friend and the owner of Packsaddle Brewing. While Cash fought in Afghanistan and attended Sam Houston State University, Steve built his future in Pinyon. Steve's growing circle of friendships has given him an appreciation for local history. So as Cash investigates Lauren Swafford's murder, Steve sets out to prove that a Comanche

marker tree stands on the property of Cash's reclusive neighbor.

 

Cash loves Edie. But when a mystery interests him, it consumes him. Things get dicey when his girlfriend and her six-year-old son come to visit. Still, Jeff Kerr makes The Voice Thief an enjoyable, fast-paced read. He focuses less on Cash's relationship struggles and more on discovering what happened to Lauren Swafford while pursuing other mysteries seemingly linked with her disappearance.

 

Final Thoughts

At times, Deputy Adam Cash has struggled to settle into his job, respect the chain of command, and sort out his love life. But in The Voice Thief, Jeff Kerr delivers a taut mystery rooted in his love of the Texas Hill Country, and shows why people like Adam Cash invest their lives in the small town of Pinyon.

 

Rating: 5 Stars

 

To look inside, see The Voice Thief on Amazon.com. 

 

For how this series began, and to see photos of the town that inspired Pinyon, see my review of the Blunt Force Trauma audiobook.