Another enjoyable read in the Beth Daniels & Jon Lancaster series by James Swain. I've read the first three, and they were all enjoyable. The characters are well-developed, and you really care about them (and like them). This plot was also enjoyable, with very good pacing. Can't wait to read the next in the series. #BadNewsTravels #NetGalley

Great thriller that kept me turning the pages. Great story, great writing and characters. Really enjoyable and would read this author again.

What are those bad guys in Florida up to now? Better yet, what are Lancaster and Daniels doing to stop them?
Book three, Bad News Travels, covers Florida from Jacksonville and St. Augustine down to the Keys. The story opens with Daniels's father's funeral and involves Lancaster's retired cop and SEAL smarts to show that the apparent suicide may not be what it actually seems. Especially fun is Nicki, Daniel's niece who has one high school Crime Scene Investigation class on her short resume and is ready to jump in and help--which she does. Good read.

Bad News Travels is third book in Swain’s Daniels and Lancaster series. If you are used to Swain writing about gamblers and con artists as he does in his Tony Valentine series, then this series will be a change of pace for you. Daniels and Lancaster are a couple, but they are both law enforcement officers, with Beth Daniels being a crack FBI Special Agent and Jon Lancaster being a retired police officer. Set in St. Augustine, Florida, this fast-paced action sequence involves the suicide bomber of Daniels’ father and a ring of pornographers and blackmailers that hit too close to home. This is an easy read, filled with action, not necessarily a cerebral read.

This book kept me guessing til the finale. It also kept me on edge.
Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

this was a really good read, I enjoyed the mysteries in this book and I enjoyed the characters. I look forward to more in the series.

this book was part of a series and I didn't know it, Sometimes I didn't get it, and that's alright, but I liked this book it was good, exciting and interesting.

I received a free copy of the book from Net Galley to read and review.
“Bad News Travels” by James Swain , the third of the Lancaster and Daniels crime novels is a good story. Nothing exceptional that will keep you up past your bedtime, but also not In the “ Did Not Finish” category. It was OK, and I do not mean to damn it with faint praise. Mr. Swain knows how to write and how to satisfy his readers.
The story was well plotted, though a bit slow to start with, and the writing good. The two main characters John Lancaster, a former SEAL (must be one in every book these days) , ex-cop and now a PI specializing in the fight against human trafficking; the other main actor is Beth Daniels, an FBI agent. Both have reputations for going outside the bounds of the law to get bad guys. Daniels relies on Lancaster for the heavy work. His plan of action is simply stated: Hit them first, Hit them hard and Hit them dirty. It usually gets results. Daniels uses the widespread surveillance and electronic snooping capabilities of the FBI to get to the criminals’ hidden schemes. Together they are tough to beat.
The story is set in St.Augustine, Fl., a city in which I have waited out winter for some years ( but not this past year due to the travel bans)and I enjoyed reading about its’ many charms. Briefly the plot is this. Agent Daniels‘ father is found dead, a suicide. The family is shocked, as families of suicides often are. He father, a retired doctor was respected, wealthy and in good health. Daniels soon finds that her father’s bank accounts cleaned out. He left no explanation, except to say he was sorry for the shame he brought to his family. What sort of shame? Daniels asks Lancaster to look into things for her. He finds that there was a woman at the center of everything. From there the story takes off, moving through investigative steps and various nasty characters to reveal a scenario that threatens heartbreaking revelations.
“ Bad News Travels” is good , beeezy entertainment. You will find some violence, a some sleazy. characters, no bad language, but nothing off-putting.

This is the third in this series. I had not read the prior books and felt it stood alone. Lancaster and Daniels are a good pair. She is law abiding FBI and he is retired cop that does not follow rules. His getting away with breaking rules does cause some suspension of belief. Daniels dad killed himself and they investigate. It’s a fun book though the ending pulled together rather quickly. But overall an enjoyable easy read

I was given an advance copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

I've read several of James Swain's books, including the two that precede Bad News Travels in the Daniels and Lancaster series. They've all been good, escapist fun -- stories that move quickly and don't require a lot of the reader. Perfect summer fare!

Lancaster is an ex-Navy Seal and retired cop who, as a private investigator, still has a lot of contacts at seemingly all levels of officialdom. Daniels is your standard badass-woman FBI agent, and they're an item, so you've have multiple conflicts of interest built right in.

I liked the plot in this one, especially the big twist at the end. I like Daniels' precocious niece, who (perhaps unrealistically) inserts herself into their cases and hits the spot time after time.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advance readers copy.

Thank you to Netgalley, Thomas and Mercer and James Swain for this review copy.

This is a story about an FBI agent trying to uncover the reason for her father's suicide alongside an ex Navy Seal.

I liked the cast of characters and I thought the plot did well to drive you to conclusions and then change direction suddenly.

Sometimes I felt as though the answers came quickly to them, and they were able to progress the case with few slip ups, but this does make sense given their training and rankings.

This is my first from this series and this is the third book.

I've really enjoyed this series and hope it continues. It's fast-paced, chalk full of adventure and bad-assery, and the characters are just plain fun to follow.

This third book follows our pot-bellied PI and his lady love FBI agent on another wild ride, this one hitting once again close to home for Agent Daniels.

The audiobook was also another excellent listen, and I really like this narrator. He does a great job voicing Lancaster, capturing that rebellious attitude and that sort of fearless, in your face way he has about everything, but also has distinctive voices for the other characters as well.

Keep these coming! I hope there's more!

Bad News Travels is a gripping thriller that totally delivers. It is fast paced , interesting and kept me guessing till the end. I love a book that has characters that are afraid to show their flaws. The author really painted a great picture of dealing with death, grieving, and facing realities that aren’t always pleasant. This book definitely leaves you wanting more.

Beth Daniels and John Lancaster discover that there's a lot - a lot- she didn't know about her father Martin, who she thought was a mild manner physician. They're in town for his funeral; neither of them believe the story they're told about his death but they don't know what's about to come. Who are the Russians, why did he have a panic room, what's the deal with his finances? Told alternately by the two of them, this unwinds a tale with Russians, trafficking, narcos, corruption and so on. Beth and John are terrific, as is Beth's sister Melanie. I'd not read this series before and found this fine as a standalone. The themes might seem familiar but Swain is a good storyteller and has added the twist of the incongruity of Martin's activities. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. An entertaining read.

A good story, entertaining and engrossing, with an interesting cast of characters. The solid mystery kept me guessing.
It's the first book I read by this author and won't surely be the last.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advance copy of Bad News Travels, the third novel to feature PI Jon Lancaster and FBI Special Agent Beth Daniels.

Jon and Beth are in St Augustine, Florida for the funeral of her father, Martin, who killed himself. Certain anomalies, like the lies the investigating detective is telling them and the Russians outside the funeral home, encourage them to dig deeper. Their investigation throws up more questions than answers and more anomalies.

I thoroughly enjoyed Bad News Travels which is a fun read with an interesting plot. It is told by Jon and Beth as required by the plot details so the reader is concentrated on the investigation and is free to deduce and interpret alongside them. I think I scored zero on that, having no idea where it was going and taking too much at face value.

I’m a big fan of this series as I find it an easy, entertaining read and this novel is no different. The plot is convoluted enough to hold the reader’s attention without straining the brain, the action scenes are frequent and often involve violence but they are done in a slightly over the top manner that negates the horror and it all seems a touch tongue in cheek. As I said, fun.

Jon and Beth are a match made in heaven. She is the law-abiding, rule following special agent, he is the lawless one who believes that judiciously applied violence can move any case forward. She scolds him but takes advantage of the information he uncovers.

Bad News Travels is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

A good read - very nicely plotted, although the US policing system can be a bit tricky to understand! The main characters had a good dynamic and the ending was not too predictable.

Good novel. Was interested in the Florida setting. Repeated things a lot, but all in all it was a fun ride. The character were ok, but I did find Beth a little off putting and bitchy.

Bad News Travels is book 3 in the Lancaster and Daniels series and the whole time I read it I had @booksknits on the brain because of her love for solid books like The Jack Reacher series. Sian, that's me recommending this book to you btw. 😆
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I haven't read book 1 and 2 of this series but didn't feel like I missed something in any way. I'm sure though, reading them will probably help to gain a richer understanding of Daniels' and Lancaster's relationship.

In this book, Daniels' father turns up dead and so the two of them take it upon themselves to investigate and get to the bottom of it. As Daniels is an FBI agent and Lancaster is an ex SEAL/ex cop turned private investigator, the mystery surrounding her father's death is in good hands. What they aren't prepared for though is the number of secrets her dad was keeping and the way in which they begin to unravel as they get deeper and deeper into the case.

What I loved about this book was how fast paced it was, the pinch of comedy, the way the story unfolded naturally and the way in which clues began to reveal themselves as the story moved forward.

Although there were many twists to the book, I never felt tense or anxious for the two characters at any point and I don't know if that's because James Swain did a really good job in building my faith in their ability, because I didn't grasp the intensity of their situation or because it didn't feel like anyone good was at risk of being killed. Either way, I definitely recommend this book to those who love a good action book and I would 100% read more books by Swain as this was pretty solid.

Thank you @netgalley for this arc.

This is a great plot and story, with lots of twists, but most important are the excellent characters. You'll really get to know them, and you will want to read more about them.