Mystery/Thriller Book Reviews
Page One of FourBait by C.J. Songer
Scribner, August 1998.Hardcover, 319 pages.
ISBN: 0684850427.
Ordering information:
Amazon.com
Ex-cop and widow Meg Gillis is doing her best to put her past life and
the sorrows that went with it behind her. With her friend
Mike Johnson, also an ex-cop, she opens a security business
near Beverly Hills. Meg, a workaholic, puts up with her
partner's less than stellar work habits and his habit of occasionally
disappearing for the weekend. When she picks up Mike's private
line she encounters a panicked client who claims a kidnapping has
occurred. Driving out to the client's house, she discovers that
there is not kidnapping, and what's worse, the Beverly Hills
Police Department is suddenly very interested in her and in
the circumstances of the bogus kidnapping call. When her car
is stolen and found later with blood in it and Mike is still nowhere
to be found, Meg realizes she is in very deep trouble and is the
prime suspect in Mike's disappearance. When facts she uncovers
lead her to the conclusion that Mike was on the trail of some
dirty cops, she knows she can't trust anyone - especially the
attractive Special Tactics Unit's Sargeant Joe Reilly who
seems determined to stick like glue to Meg until the case is
solved.
Bait is an action-packed, energy-laden tale which doesn't let up for a minute until the exciting finish. Creating a new, tough female private eye in a somewhat crowded field is a daunting prospect for any new author. The ghost of Kinsey Milhone seems to hover over many of the less than successful attempts. But C.J. Songer is well up to the challenge. Meg Gillis is an interesting blend of vulnerability, humor, excellent investigative skills and bad-boy toughness which will have fans of the genre eagerly awaiting her next outing.
Blood Work by Michael Connelly
Warner Books, October 1998.Paperback, 498 pages.
ISBN: 0446602620.
Ordering information:
Amazon.com.
Terry McCaleb is enjoying a day on
his boat, on which he also resides,
when he is approached by a beautiful
woman. The woman, Graciela Rivers, asks him
if he will help her find out who murdered
her sister Gloria. McCaleb, a retired FBI agent
who resigned due to heart trouble
is still healing from recent heart surgery,
and is not interested in pursuing
detective work. However, Graciela tells
him that he should help him
because it was her sister Gloria's heart that
saved his life. The shocking realization
that he is alive because a young woman
was murdered forces him to reconsider.
McCaleb learns that the woman who
gave him her heart was killed in cold
blood during a convenience store robbery
in which the killer shot Gloria in the back
of the head then shot the teller and
took the money. McCaleb, who knows
the way the police work and expects
they will act territorially on the case, manages
to convince them to ultimately let him
watch the videotape of the crime.
While watching the tape and seeing
the cold eyes of the killer, he realizes
that this killer has killed before.
He then begins
an investigation into the pursuit of
a terrifying killer, risking danger
to his own life. Meanwhile he's fast falling
for Graciela, whose sister's heart is
giving him a second life.
As with Connelly's other novels, Blood Work contains brilliantly delineated characters and spine-tingling suspense. The novel contains numerous plot twists and a demonic killer that is able to match wits with McCaleb, an intelligent and determined investigator. A superb thriller. Highly Recommended.
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