Winner’s Curse by L.A. Starks

Winner’s Curse

by L.A. Starks

Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense / Technothriller

ISBN: 9780991110759

Print Length: 308 pages

Reviewed by John M. Murray

A pulse-pounding technothriller centered in the oil fields of Texas—but with global implications

An executive shakeup at TriCoast Energy leaves Lynn as the first woman to lead the drilling division. Lynn’s eager to prove herself but also to keep the company profitable and safe. However, a former executive is equally eager to knock Lynn out of power, and it’s not just in the hopes of regaining the company and power he lost. 

Henry Vandervoost owes money to bad people and the company. He knows its secrets. The upcoming purchase of a rival energy company might just keep him alive. Henry and Lynn are locked in a battle but unaware of international players enacting their own sinister machinations with damaging ramifications for the world at large.

Lynn’s skills and talents as an engineer help her immensely in her dealings with other companies even if being a woman keeps her on the back foot. She’s always confronting typical machismo displays of power, but the upcoming purchase of Bradshaw Energy brings more than patriarchal insults against her. 

Someone wants the technology Bradshaw’s working on in secret: a way to reclaim the water used in the fracking process leading to massive savings. Lynn is in a race against time to not only complete the merger but stay alive. An international conspiracy ignites with Lynn firmly in the crosshairs. She must contend with bickering and power plays but also literal backstabbing as an unknown assassin begins stalking the oil fields of Midland Texas.

Starks deftly pulls from her insider expertise of the oil and gas sector as an energy investor to inject real life into this thriller. The necessary context and explanations of the technologies and processes crop up subtly without slowing down the pacing or overloading the story with needless detail. The industry in-fighting and power plays against each other are tense and dramatic. Understandably so, because at the core of every conflict here is money. Whomever comes out on top and controls the revolutionary new technology can dictate the world’s production, use, and price of oil/gas. 

Lynn is a fascinating lead to anchor this thriller. She’s a capable engineer, loving mother and wife, and quick-witted. She seems less focused on greed and more on keeping her company and others operating at a profit, but not at any cost. She’s not afraid to face conflict, in the boardroom or behind a gun. The most notable element of her character is moderation. She’s not fearless, but when she finds herself in a life-or-death situation, she can steady herself and try to make the safest choice possible. 

A balance of exposition and thrill, the story rockets between the dangerous refineries in Texas to other countries where terrorist attacks against their oil fields are common place. Henry provides a realistic and believable threat against Lynn: his gambling debts make him more valuable dead than alive so his drive to survive pushes him to do horrific things. The pacing builds as the tension mounts leading to a hectic climax with Lynn on the wrong side of gun. 

Winner’s Curse is the fourth entry in the Lynn Dalton series but thanks to subtle context and an explosive narrative, the book is accessible to newcomers and series fans alike.

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