Book Review- Ridley Pearson- The Body of David Hayes

Ridley Pearson- The Body of David Hayes (Hyperion 2004) 3.25 Stars

When Liz’s old love affair comes back to haunt her, Lou Boldt is there to investigate. Their family must deal with their mistakes and try to solve it in a way that is not going to destroy them. Her ex-lover stole seventeen million dollars from an account he did not know whom it belonged to. Now the Russian Mafioso is out to get revenge and they do not care who gets in the way.

The book started out interesting, could have been better, but wasn’t bad. The plot was okay as well, but was kind of weak in some areas. The twists were not really great and could have been a lot more shocking. The characters were well done and were a redeeming quality in this book. They play off of each other well. I did find myself wishing that it could have gripped me better in parts, but overall it was not a bad book.

For more of my reviews check out my website, http://www.tonypeters.webs.com/

Tony Peters
Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping
http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/

Book Review- Ridley Pearson- The Art of Deception

Ridley Pearson- The Art of Deception (Hyperion 2002) 3.5
Stars

When a young woman’s body is found in the river, having been
thrown off of a bridge, Seattle
police must find her killer. Daphne Matthews and John LaMoia must dig for the truth
behind the killer, sifting through lies and deception to get to what is real. Meanwhile
they are also trying to uncover why two women have gone missing, and a peeping
tom has been reported in the area. At the same time Boldt is doing a favour for
a friend by looking into the mysterious death of an Asian man.

I found this book to be a little slow to start off with, but
it still had enough to capture my attention. The pace did pick up, getting
faster and faster as the book went on. It had a great ending, although the
little end section could have been cut out. The plot had some great twists,
although none of them were huge shockers. The characters were pretty good; they
seem to grow with every book in the series. I liked that we got to learn a
little more about Matthews and LaMoia, it gave the series more depth. Overall I
felt that the book was pretty good and I would recommend it to anyone who
enjoys this series.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/

Book Review- Ridley Pearson- No Witnesses

Ridley Pearson- No Witnesses (Dell Publishing 1996) 3.5 Stars

When a psychopath seeking revenge begins to put poisoned food onto grocery store shelves, Daphne Matthews’ boyfriend finds himself receiving threats by fax. When she brings it to Boldt’s attention, they find themselves working the case for different reasons. How many will die before they bring this killer to justice?

I found myself kind of bored with this book at first, but the last two thirds of the book was very interesting. The plot was pretty good, with some good twists thrown in, not all of them unpredictable. The characters were also well done, and very deep. It might have been nice to have seen some snippets of the villain’s perspective to add to some of the intensity. The book did have some really intense parts that made it worth reading through the slow sections. The technology aspect was kind of nice to see, it was amusing at the least. The technology would have been ground breaking at the time, but now it is fairly outdated, which made me chuckle. I would recommend this book to Pearson fans.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/

Book Review- Ridley Pearson- the Pied Piper

Ridley Pearson- the Pied Piper (Hyperion Books 1999) 3.5 Stars

A series of kidnappings jumping from city to city has come to Seattle. Now Boldt and his team must put an end to this spree before it destroys his family. On a case that will involve the FBI and take them across the country, the stakes are high and the lives of children are at risk.

This was certainly not the greatest work that I have seen by this author, but still not a bad book. I found that the plot overall was good, but was dragged down by a lot of fluff. It was much longer than it really needed to be. I also thought that the whole LaMoia-Hill scenes could have been eliminated as it really distracted from the main plot. The ending was really good and quite intense, it redeemed the slower sections. The characters were good, but I have seen better by him. Overall I am not sure whether I would recommend this novel.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/

Book Review- Ridley Pearson- The First Victim

Ridley Pearson- The First Victim (Hyperion 1999) 3.75 Stars

Lieutenant Lou Boldt is investigating three women’s deaths. They were found in a shipping container that was washed overboard during a storm. The shipping container was filled with illegal immigrants from China. He will find himself competing with reporter Stevie McNeal in a race for information as she hunts down her missing friend who was doing an investigative report on the illegal alien scam. Meanwhile he is also trying to work both with and against other departments who wish to take the case away from him.

I liked this novel. It was a different kind of thriller than I am used to seeing on the market these days; so it was kind of refreshing. The plot was a kind of two-fold one, two different purposes for the investigation, and moulding into one investigation. It was fairly intense in the latter half and was really hard to put down at the end. I like the characters in this book, they were really well done, especially Boldt. We see both the work side and the personal side of Boldt as he struggles to come to grips with his wife being healthy and having found religion. It was a perfect balance between the two. At times I did find that Pearson was a little wordy, which was kind of distracting at first, making the book harder to get into. I would definitely recommend this book, and will certainly read more books in this series.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/

Book Review- Ridley Pearson- Steel Trapp: The Challenge

Ridley Pearson- Steel Trapp: The Challenge (Disney Editions 2008) 4 Stars

When Steven Steel Trapp gets to go to the National Science Challenge, he does not expect to be running from both the law and criminals. After trying to do a good thing by running a briefcase back to the owner, he now finds himself trapped in something he cannot stop. He has snuck a look inside the briefcase and is shocked by what he has seen. A new found friend, Kaileigh Augustine, assists him in trying to solve this case, before time runs out.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It had a good introduction that draws the reader in and makes them want to read more. The characters were interesting and I do not think that young readers will have any trouble connecting with them. Although not likely to happen, the situations were realistic in nature. It was a fast-paced, action-packed book, with a great plot. One think that I did think was very realistic was the fact that Kaileigh was able to get away from her “nanny” and remain undiscovered, I am pretty sure that she would have had trouble travelling on her own and not attract attention at that young of an age. Overall though it was a pretty solid read for young adults, and I would have no problem recommending it.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/

Book Review- Ridley Pearson- Chain of Evidence

Ridley Pearson- Chain of Evidence (Hyperion 1995) 3.75 Stars

After ignoring evidence in a previous case, detective Joe Dartelli is now finding out that it may be coming back to haunt him. In a previous case he labelled what may have been a murder, a suicide. Now more people are dying by suspicious suicides and the evidence is bringing his former mentor under suspicion. Now he must dig into the suicides to find out if they really are murders. Is this sabotage, a vigilante, or just suspicious suicides?

This was an interesting book. The parental abuse factor was a little tough to deal with, but the crime scene sections were very well done. This book grabbed my attention and did have slower parts, but never lost my attention. The plot was good, did not really have any shocking moments or huge twists, but was well done. It certainly ended with a bang! I loved the concluding chapters! The characters were well-crafted and although the relationship stuff was weak and unnecessary, I still enjoyed the character side of the book. I found the evidence gathering parts were great and I found it fascinating to learn about. I would recommend this book to those who like a good thriller/mystery.

For more of my book reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/