L. A. Starks is the author of the Lynn Dayton thrillers!
The Second Law was a finalist in the Action/Adventure category of the National Indie Excellence Awards 2020
2019 Book Life Prize
The Second Law was a quarter-finalist, mystery & thriller category in 2019 Book Life Prize
2019 Texas Authors first place award
The Second Law earned Texas Authors’ first place awards in 2019
2014 Texas Authors first place award
Strike Price earned Texas Authors’ first place awards at mystery & thriller category in 2014
Winner’s Curse
“Winner’s Curse, a smart oil and gas thriller with remarkable breadth, depth, and international intrigue, proves yet again that L. A. Starks is a master storyteller”
The Second Law
“Unremitting suspense throughout… Spirited characters, both good and bad, populate this engaging, often surprising thriller.”
Strike Price
“Toss in a charming and nervy protagonist like Lynn Dayton and L. A. Starks’ STRIKE PRICE is right on the money. Well-written, well-plotted and well worth a reader’s time…”
13 Days: The Pythagoras Conspiracy
5 Stars. “I found the book not only entertaining but educational. L. A. Starks made sure the reader understood all the oil refinery terminology… I enjoyed the entire story and liked the tenacity of the main character Lynn! I look forward to reading more books in the future by L. A. Starks.”
Note to readers: While engineer Lynn Dayton is the protagonist in all of these thrillers, you need not read them in order. Each is a stand-alone action/adventure thriller.
Upcoming Events
Barnes & Noble Sugar Land Book Signing
16535 Southwest Frwy Suite 4000, Sugar Land, TX 77479
Saturday, October 26th, 2PM
Barnes & Noble Bookstore in First Colony Mall, TX | Barnes & Noble (barnesandnoble.com)
Discussion and signing, Winner’s Curse
The Twig Book Shop
306 Pearl Parkway, Suite 106
San Antonio, TX 78215-1290
Monday, February 17, 2025 at 5:30 PM
A. Starks, Winner’s Curse | The Twig Book Shop
Mysterious Goings On Podcast
Mysterious Goings On interview with
Alex Greenwood as a host.
Date: TBD
Mysterious Goings On Podcast
Barnes & Noble Richardson – Book Signing
Pavilion East Shopping Center, 1361 West Campbell Road, Richardson, TX 75080
Saturday, November 9th, 3PM
Barnes & Noble Bookstore in Richardson, TX | Barnes & Noble (barnesandnoble.com)
Barnes & Noble Lubbock – Book Signing
6002 Slide Rd.,
Lubbock, TX 79414
Saturday, Jan. 25th, 2PM
Barnes & Noble Bookstore in Lubbock, TX | Barnes & Noble (barnesandnoble.com)
Barnes & Noble Amarillo – Book Signing
2415 Soncy Road
Amarillo, TX 79124
Sunday, Jan. 26th, 2PM
Barnes & Noble Bookstore in Amarillo, TX | Barnes & Noble (barnesandnoble.com)
Reviews
Winner’s Curse: “Takeaway – Gripping sprint through the make-or-break oil and gas industry. Dayton’s undertakings are as risky as they are critical, but Starks offsets the danger with hefty character-driven scenes that will resonate with readers.”
Winner’s Curse: “Fast-paced and dramatic, Starks’s novel offers a slew of fascinating characters . . . effectively weaving in her own experience in the global energy sector to build a sharp plot that’s bolstered by obvious insider knowledge.”
Winner’s Curse: “A pulse-pounding technothriller centered in the oil fields of Texas—but with global implications”
Winner’s Curse: “Starks deftly pulls from her insider expertise of the oil and gas sector to inject real life into this thriller . . . The industry in-fighting and power plays against each other are tense and dramatic.”
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. “Second Law kept me on pins and needles! Oh, my gosh, was it good. Every time I thought things would calm, things exploded again. This is most definitely a keeper to be read again and again.”
“STRIKE PRICE takes the reader from Oklahoma Indian reservations to the streets of Florence, in an imaginative and well informed fusion of oil refining economics, Native American politics, and the potential for lethal mayhem in the global energy market.”
Winner’s Curse puts an oil and gas executive in the crosshairs of a dangerous conspiracy
The notion of a “winner’s curse” is explained on the first page of L.A. Starks’ engaging new novel, the fourth Lynn Dayton thriller. It stems from the fact that drilling for oil was (and may still be) a real crap shoot with high overhead and little promise of financial return. It also serve as a metaphor for the many interesting complications in the novel . . .It’s a well wrought thriller with an unusual cast of characters and story line.
Winner’s Curse is singular. In addition to an unusual setting/industry, Starks takes the reader all over the world: Texas, Chicago, London, Barcelona, Murmansk, etc….Starks wastes no time ramping up the excitement, beginning with the first paragraph.
Winner’s Curse
