In bounty hunting, clean jobs are a myth. Dot knows—she’s seen the blood.
Dot Ybarra doesn’t bluff. Fresh into her bounty hunting career, she’s already earning a reputation for results. But when a “routine” rogue bounty—taken as a favor to her lawyer cousin—turns lethal, she’s staring down a case with international reach, bodies in its wake, and the stench of power.
Her business partner, T.J. Roman, is hiding a secret. If Dot finds out … well, she can’t find out. It would end the effective partnership they’ve built. But the trail won’t wait. What should have been a clean pickup of a fellow military veteran spirals into a hunt through the shadows, where one wrong move could see them both buried in an unmarked grave.
To stop the predators at the center of a violent trafficking ring, they’ll have to go straight into its core—and make themselves the bait. Every step makes them vulnerable to each other as well.
The devil’s coming for them.
Dot plans to be the one still standing after he bites.
Book Details:
Genre: Modern Western Thriller Published by: Tule Mystery Publication Date: January 19, 2026 Number of Pages: 285 ISBN: 9781969218651 (ISBN10: 1969218657) Series: A BOUNTY OF SHADOWS, Book 2
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Series Links: A Bounty of Shadows
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Author Bio:
Winter Austin perpetually answers the question: “were you born in the winter?” with a flat “nope,” but believe her, there is a story behind her name.
A lifelong Mid-West gal with strong ties to the agriculture world, Winter grew up listening to the captivating stories told by relatives around a table or a campfire. As a published author, she learned her glass half-empty personality makes for a perfect suspense/thriller writer. Taking her ability to verbally spin a vivid and detailed story, Winter translated that into writing deadly romantic suspense, mysteries, and thrillers.
When she’s not slaving away at the computer, you can find Winter supporting her daughter in cattle shows, seeing her three sons off into the wide-wide world, loving on her fur babies, prodding her teacher husband, and nagging at her flock of hens to stay in the coop or the dogs will get them.
Bait the Devil is book two in the Bounty of Shadows Series that is written by Winter Austin. I was so excited to get my hands on book two that it went to the TOP of my TBR pile. This book is set in Idaho and we get to see main characters, Dot Ybarra and T.J. Roman.
The two of them are now business partners and bounty hunters. Dot’s cousin, Vivian wants their assistance in looking into a case. A guy fails to show up to court, and Dot and TJ are tasked with attempting to find him. When they start to dig deep, things go awry. They get to the ranch where he works, they find a bunch of bodies and a big mess.
One thing that I feel like I need to mention, is that TJ and Dot are both former military. This book does deal with some PTSD due to war/military service. The author has done a wonderful job with weaving it Into the story. The “target”/missing man deals with PTSD. What they don’t count on is uncovering international reach of crime.
This book is well written, and Winter Austin is creeping to the top of my favorite suspense authors. If you have not read book one, you can read them out of order, but it really helps to know the background of Dot and TJ. This book is action packed, and will leave you on the edge of your seat.
Thank you to the author, publisher and Partner in Crime Book Tours for allowing me to read a copy of this book, all thoughts are my own.
Giveaway:
This is a giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Winter Austin. See the widget for entry terms and conditions. Void where prohibited.
The giveaway is for: 1 $10 Amazon or B&N gift card--winner's choice on what type & 1 signed copy of any book on the Author's back list or current release.
