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.

Possible Trigger Warning

Titles in the A Bounty of Shadows series include: Ride a Dark Trail ~ Bait the Devil ~

This story may contain language, violence, and/or sexual situations intended for an adult 18+ audience.

Title:  Bait the Devil
Series:  A Bounty of Shadows #2
Author:  Winter Austin
Published:  January 19, 2026
Publisher:  Tule Publishing
My Rating:  4.5 stars

Bait the Devil is the second title in the A Bounty of Shadows series, as Dot and T.J. face another difficult case.  I fell in love with this series with the first story, Ride a Dark Trail, and the second one pulled me back into that world easily, with an even more dangerous, intense mystery to solve.  I’m enjoying the growing circle of friends and family we are introduced to, and the ever-changing relationship between Dot and T.J. Their dynamic as friends/partners is a solid foundation for the series, and watching them develop and grow is just as entertaining as the case they’re attempting to solve.

After solving one difficult case, Dot and T.J. are looking forward to arriving home for some R & R, but before that can happen, Dot is contacted by her cousin, Vivian, with another important case… a soldier skipped out on his court date, and Vivian is convinced he’s in trouble, not just running.  What follows is riveting, intense, and shows not only a former soldier’s empathy for another soldier’s situation but also exposes a darker side of humanity, one that is vile and dangerous.  To be frank, I wasn’t certain for a time whether this soldier was a good guy caught up in something bad or a bad guy trying to hide from the consequences of his actions.  That uncertainty helped build the tensions within this story for me.

Since this is a mystery/thriller, I’m being very vague with details… but I can say that this is a book you will not easily put down, as you’ll be drawn into the danger that Dot and T.J. face quite easily.  I enjoyed watching the story play out, and also the growing circle of friends/family who are also invested in Dot and T.J.’s work.  Their story is full of danger, it’s intense, complicated, and the ending is so satisfying.  I’m definitely going to be on the lookout for more in this series.  If you love putting puzzle pieces together, if solving a mystery before the reveal is your kind of book enjoyment, then you’re going to love Bait the Devil.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the author or the author’s team via Booksprout, and I sincerely thank them for their trust. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

This title is available at Amazon