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Santa Fe Psychosis

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Jackson Bardo, an out-of-work Private Investigator, is summoned to New Mexico by his ex-girlfriend. Her life is being threatened and she needs money. But he doesn't have enough when he arrives. And days later, she disappears.

Joining forces with his friend, Police Detective Diego Juarez, the pair set out to find her.

During their search, Juarez is given the job of locating a missing teenager. But the discovery of another girl - dead - leads them to uncover a child trafficking operation.

Kindle Edition

Published May 17, 2022

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Max Talley

15 books1 follower

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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
Profile Image for Bookworm86 .
1,623 reviews125 followers
May 25, 2022
BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'Santa Fe Psychosis' by Max Talley.

Read and reviewed for ZooLoos Book Tours, Max Talley and Dark Edge Press.

Publication date 17th May 2022.

This is the first book I have read by this author.

I was originally drawn to this book by its eye catching cover and intriguing sounding synopsis and title. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Dark Edge Press. I have yet to read a book published by Dark Edge Press that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists of 21 chapters. The chapters are short to medium in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is based in Nex Mexico, USA 🇺🇸


This book is written in first person perspective and the main protagonists are Jackson Bardo, Diego Juarez and Maria Ravello. The benefits of third person perspective with multiple protagonists are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything.

This book is extremely well written with vivid descriptions that really set the scene and put you in the storyline. The cover and synopsis suit the book perfectly.

The storyline was a very quick and easy read. It was full of action from the first page until the last. It was absolutely rammed full of crime, murder, action, corruption and much more. I really enjoyed the writing style and flew through the pages and finished it in one sitting. It reminded me of a western minus the cowboys. It is sadly very realistic how people that are wealthy can get away with some extremely dispicable things because they donate to certain areas or fund certain things which then leads to protection from certain people. There was violence but I did not find it to be too graphic. I would definitely like to see this become a series.


The characters were all realistic and strong and I was completely invested in both Jackson and Diego throughout. I felt sorry for Jackson as he was blatantly being used by Jenny and I could not stand her at all. She was a horrible woman who didn't care who she hurt and I hope she gets her comeuppance. Jackson and Diego seem to have a very odd relationship as at times they seem like friends and others not at all. Another character I didn't like was Denton who did what he wanted regardless of the consequences and I didn't trust him at all. I was also very annoyed at Winters who didn't even acknowledge Jackson's work on the case at all. It was definitely filled with a range of different characters. Regardless of what I thought about who, each character worked perfectly together to make this an intriguing read and I'm looking forward to meeting them again.

Overall an action packed crime thriller that will keep you turning the pages.


Genres covered in this book include Thriller, Hard-boiled Mystery, Crime Fiction, Crime Thriller, Mystery and Private Investigator Mystery amongst others.


I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of westerns and anyone looking for an action packed crime thriller.

178 pages.

This book is just £1.99 to purchase on kindle via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 4/5 (I enjoyed it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

Feel free to add me on Goodreads or follow me on my website or Facebook for more reviews

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Profile Image for Patrice Gotting - #prdgreads.
292 reviews12 followers
May 26, 2022
My Thoughts: I’ve never read anything by Max before, but when I saw the beautiful cover and read the synopsis I couldn’t wait to dive in!

The book opens with Bardo receiving phone calls after midnight from his ex girlfriend saying she was in trouble and needed money. So he drips everything and travels to Santa Fe to help, he doesn’t have all the money she needs but as a PI he thinks he might be able to use his unique skill set to help her, only once he gives her the little money he has and she disappears does he learn that maybe he doesn’t have the whole story!

Whilst looking for her he gets himself into a bit of trouble which ends with him and his partner Juarez finding a dead body.. they had no how deep that one body was going to throw them.

For such a short book this had a lot in it and I was here for it, every time you thought you’d got to the crux of the action and surprises it threw something else at you.

Parts of this book made for very uncomfortable reading but in the best kind of way! Some of the characters have me an uneasy feeling from the beginning and outside of the main 3 Bardo, Juarez and Ravello you didn’t know who could be trusted and who couldn’t.

The book was told in the 3rd person which meant we got to experience everyone’s feelings and thoughts rather than seeing them through the opinion of the first person, for me this made it easier to get lost in the story because the writing just flowed so easily.

Gripping, powerful, shocking and left on a cliffhanger.. does this mean it will be part of a series?! I really hope so. I wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye to the main characters.

Profile Image for Roger Price.
Author 12 books50 followers
May 29, 2022
I was given an ARC of this novel by the publisher in return for an honest review.

I took this novel by Max Talley on holiday and lost two days. "Page-turner" is a commonly overused phrase, but in the case of Santa Fe Psychosis; it's true. A brilliant holiday read. We are introduced to Jackson Bardo a troubled ex-cop turned private investigator with an even more troubled ex-girlfriend. He ends up in a police cell accused of a murder he didn't commit. Detective Diego Juarez comes to his aid and springs him.

Juarez is after Bardo's ex for crimes she's committed but a teenager goes missing and Bardo and Juarez end up working together in an effort to locate the missing person.

But something is really rotten in New Mexico as they stumble across a criminal network which is abducting young adults - boys and girls - for evil reasons; and those responsible seem to be protected by some very powerful people.

This thriller becomes a race-against-time yarn as Bardo and Juarez seek to find their missing person before it's too late, and uncover what is really going on, in order to free the other abductees and bring those behind it to justice.

A five-star highly recommended read folks.
Profile Image for Lynda.
1,456 reviews77 followers
May 21, 2022
A quick, enjoyable and easy read; I felt a bit like I’d been dropped in the middle of a spaghetti western, in New Mexico, but without the cowboys. It’s well written with a good cast of characters and a straightforward plot line.

Briefly, when out of work PI Jackson Bardo is contacted by Jenny, a former girlfriend, he hot foots it to Santa Fe where she tells him she is in trouble and needs money. But before he can get it together she disappears. With help from his friend Police Detective Diego Juarez he starts searching for her and when a body is found in a lake her expects the worse. But it’s a different girls and further investigations lead them to a group of wealthy people running a sex trafficking ring. Can they find Jenny and identify the individuals involved?

The book was pacy with plenty of action to keep you turning the pages. The story depicts a world of violence, but not overly graphic, and corruption with very few worthy characters. A bit of a cliffhanger of an ending, which I can’t clarify for fear of spoilers. A good, easy to get into, easy to follow, and enjoyable read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Profile Image for Donna Morfett.
Author 2 books47 followers
May 26, 2022
This is a quick punchy but action packed read.
Set in New Mexico, featuring Juarez a detective working for Sante Fe police and Bardo an ex military man taken on as a private detective. They come across a body in a pond and are trying to find another missing girl. They assume the news will be bad as she's been missing a while.
However as they investigate they come across mysterious camper vans and a "band" and everyone seems too scared to talk about them.
The setting description really portrayed the desolation, the heat and the dustiness. I really rooted for Bardo and Juarez who formed a sort of bond by the end.
The secondary characters were rounded enough to care about them without knowing an awful lot about their backgrounds. If there are more I'd hope there is more to come.
This is a short book, so it's a relatively easy read, and well worth it.
Profile Image for August Norman.
Author 2 books151 followers
August 18, 2022
A gritty southwestern Neo-noir

Jackson Bardo, a veteran with first-hand explosives experience turned private eye, knows both the right things to do and the right ways to do them, but doesn’t always make the two line up. In Max Talley’s Santa Fe Psychosis, Bardo knows that every time he runs into Jenny, his ex, lines will get crossed, but like the love-hate relationship Bardo shares with the state of New Mexico, he can’t stay away. Max Talley paints a vivid world of southwestern desperation and justice, and the rare moments when the two align. Can’t wait to follow Jackson Bardo down another desert trail.
May 31, 2022
A crime with a view

Max Talley spins a good yarn in this fast-paced whodunit. Set among the beautiful and harsh New Mexico landscape, California P.I. Jack Bardo works with local cop Diego Juarez to solve a missing persons case that turns out to be something more sinister. Peopled with interesting characters and places. A fun read.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews

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