Paving Paradise is the third installment in the Paradise Gap series by a local enthusiast, J. Harris Anderson, more familiarly known as John. However, don't expect another lighthearted view of foxhunting, religious fervor, and sex, themes that drive Anderson's debut novel, Prophet of Paradise, and The Foxhunter's Guide to Life and Love.

Because lighthearted isn't a word that applies easily to Paving Paradise. Extra points awarded if you recall Joni Mitchell's 1970 classic, "Big Yellow Taxi":

"They paved paradise and put up a parking lot. With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swinging hot spot. Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got till it's gone…"

Paving Paradise addresses serious issues and sinister threats by unscrupulous con artists, who will stop at nothing in their insatiable quest for profit and power. Anderson kicks off powerfully with a nightmare suffered by "Thumper" Billington, MFH Montfair Hunt, because one of his neighboring landowners is seriously considering selling his farm to enjoy an easier life than farming. That opening, which rolls vividly through one's imagination like a big-screen movie, segues into a foxhunting scene, which Anderson handles with expertise.

What follows is an extremely meticulous and detailed setting of the stage. It's like riding to hounds, and the action starts with a bang at the first draw when hounds explode into their hallelujah chorus moments after they're cast into covert, but lose the scent so that what ensues is a lovely hack cross-country. In contrast, huntsman and hounds continue to search for a fox willing to lead the chase. Have no fear: Anderson is taking readers for a ride, and there is a method to his machinations.

Thumper's younger sister, Myrna, plays a pivotal role. From the git-go, I loathed her whiny, self-absorbed, miserable, soul-selling self. Equally vile is cousin Cuyler, shady real estate land-gobbler, and his slimy client, Smith Bondurant, along with vicious and threatening "site manager" Drago, who is evil personified.

Although Anderson intersperses setting up his intricate plot with eyewitness accounts of exciting runs, the pace is uneven. The bad guys kept elevating my blood pressure to dangerous levels, necessitating frequent breaks from reading, but it was worth kicking on.

Paving Paradise sprouts wings and takes off when Elizabeth exposes Myrna's sordid secret plot to sell her portion of Montfair Farm to pay off crippling debt. From there onward, it is a thrilling chase to the finish as Thumper, Janey, Gloriana, Bar, Sheltie Lou, Rhetta, and other delightful denizens, including the formerly miserable Myrna, pull together to save Paradise Gap.

Tradition, animal welfare, friendship, loyalty, and family weave significant threads through this story. Implied violence and no graphic sex make it appropriate for older kids of all ages, including worldly teens.

Heads up: Paving Paradise leaves one story thread hanging, thereby opening the pasture gate to the fourth story about Paradise Gap. Softcover, 294 pages: $17.95; Kindle: $7.99.