(5) = Best; (4) = Better; (3) = Good; (2) = Fair; (1) = OK
These abstracts serve as reminders to myself; they serve to "jog" my memory on what a book was all about. That's all. This is not a literary critique, not a social commentary, and certainly nothing profound to warrant further discussion.
(5) = means that I really enjoyed this book; (1) = means I finished reading it but wonder if my time could have been better spent elsewhere.
Joe Pike is the hero in this story. Assigned to protect Larkin Conner Barkley, a multi-billionaire heiress.
The story starts when her car hits another and she proceeds to help the passengers in the other car. “The first patrol car arrives in seven minutes; the paramedics three minutes later. Larkin thought it would end that night when the police finished their questions, but her nightmare had only begun. In forty-eight hours, she would meet with agents from the Dept. of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s. In six days, the first attempt would be made on her life. In eleven days, she would meet a man named Joe Pike. Everything in her world was about to change. And it began that night.” No matter how the police and U.S. Marshalls tried to protect and hide Larkin we learn there is an inside mole somewhere. Her father hires Joe Pike to protect her.
“With the help of private investigator Elvis Cole, Pike uncovers a web of lies and betrayals, and the stunning revelation that even the cops are not who they seem. As the body count rises, Pike’s biggest threat might come from the girl herself, a lost soul in the City of Angels, determined to destroy herself unless Joe Pike can teach her the value of life…and love.” Robert Crais held my attention throughout the book. Finished it in two sittings! (4).
Flynn is one of my favorite authors. Again, his hero, Mitch Rapp, saves the day for his boss, CIA Director, Irene Kennedy. The old conflicts with Mark Ross, Kennedy’s nemesis from an earlier book, Consent to Kill, continues. Only this time he has become the Vice Presidential candidate in a ticket with Josh Alexander, the Presidential candidate. Mark hates Kennedy and is determined to have her fired when he is installed into office. They won the election in a slim, sympathetic vote when the Presidential candidate’s wife was mistakenly killed by an assassin.
This is a complicated tale dealing with the killing of Presidential candidate’s wife when the limousine she was riding in was blowned up by an assassin. The killer missed the candidate’s car. Everyone assumed it was a mistake.
Maria Rivera was the Secret Service Agent assigned to protect the presidential candidates, and her career is in jeopardy because of the explosion. We learn later that the presidential candidate’s wife had been having an affair with a Secret Service man. She had requested he ride with her in the limo. The two were killed by that bomb.
Rapp was assigned to find the assassin. Who hired him? What was their motive? This is a detective story of the first order involving a CIA agent who breaks all the rules in solving the mystery. Rapp jeopardizes the career of his boss, brings out the conflicts between the FBI, the Attorney General and the Secretary of State. It doesn’t help when the New York Times claims that Mitch is responsible for kidnapping and torturing an innocent Greek citizen. The Greek government demands a return of its citizen.
This is exciting. You’ll have to read the book to find out what happens. (5)
Powered by WordPress