I felt the story in this book was not 100% complete toward the end. For example, **** showed up a couple of times in the story and no mention about him/her at another time, what happened to him/her or what is being done for the crimes being committed (ongoing investigation) and so forth. Overall, the book is still good and worth a read, full of suspense toward the end. I was surprised, but it made sense when you think about the circumstances around it.

BEYOND SUSPICION is not your ordinary legal thriller. The fast paced action and interesting characters kept me reading at a feverish pace.

With a lull in my reading last month I was looking for a new author to read. I read the inside flap of the latest James Grippando book, BEYOND SUSPICION, and I was hooked. The second book in the Jack Swyteck series (THE PARDON being the first), BEYOND SUSPICION starts out with Jack defending his ex-girlfriend, Jessie Merrill, in a case worth 1.5 million dollars. He wins the case and soon after Jessie ends up dead, in Jack's own bathroom. Suddenly Jack Swyteck is the prime suspect in her death. Jack teams up with Theo Knight to attempt to uncover the details around the death of Jessie Merrill and the action kicks in.

More than just a legal thriller this book has some great story lines. Jack's wife Cindy Swyteck is having nightmares from her troubled past. She is my favorite character in the whole book. I felt the author did a wonderful job creating the tension around Cindy. She is dealing with the fact that Jack is the suspect in the death of his own ex-girlfriend, her troubled back-story with Esteban, and her past coming to her in dreams. All of which are sewn together seamlessly.

There are some other good characters that play integral parts as well. Yuri, a ruthless thug, and Katrina an insider who has her own demons to deal with, are two of my favorites.

If you're looking for a new book to read I suggest you pick up BEYOND SUSPICION. It brings a diabolical mystery, wonderful side stories, face paced action, and a twist at the end that will leave you wanting more! I recommend it along with THE PARDON.

When I first picked this book up, I thought, here we go again, another legal thriller by another lawyer. But I'm glad I read it. This is the first novel I've read by Mr. Grippando and I really enjoyed most of the characters in the book. Jack Swyteck reminds me of the Matthew Hope character written by Ed McBain - my favorite. Theo is the one of the best "unsavory" characters I've read in awhile.

Only flaw I found with the book was I did not like the ending - much like that of "Presumed Innocent". No matter what her background or reasoning, nothing was presented strongly enough for me to think Cindy Swyteck should get away with murder. Or that Jack should let her. I hope Grippando resolves this in another book.

and it was a winner!

Grippando has given an intricate portrait of the tracking of a serial killer, and increased the believability by having the two main characters, FBI Agent Victoria Santos and reporter Mike Posten, work together in a credible way, and without the seemingly obligatory affair or companion story about them falling in love.

The identity of The Informant is a little too easy to guess, and a little farfetched, but other than that, the book succeeds on many levels. It's action-packed, with interesting characterization, and compels the reader to finish the tale as fast as possible. Grippando keeps the plot twists somewhat bizarre, so its difficult to know which way the story is going next....all of which adds up to a very satisfying read!

The Informant, the third James Grippando book that I have read, is a high-class thriller. After reading The Pardon, and Beyond Suspicion (both recommended) I wasn't sure what I'd think of a non-Jack Swyteck Grippando novel. I was pleasantly surprised.

In The Informant Mr. Grippando has woven together an interesting story about three different people. Victoria Santos is a FBI agent tracking a serial killer, Mike Poston is a top notch reporter at a Miami newspaper, and the informant is a mysterious person with an uncanny ability to predict where the killer will strike next. I love the characters that Grippando creates. There always seems to one that has a past that works its way into the plot by stories end. This book is no exception. Although I did figure out the "twist" early in the story, it still was well crafted.

The story is fast paced, intriguing, and at times gruesome. The final 100 pages were non-stop action. It's a fun read that will keep you up all hours of the night. I recommend The Informant!

Overall I think it was a great book, it was very realistic and really held my interest. It was never boring, and it kept a fast pace, the tension keeps getting higher and higher. The book is about a serial killer that murders people all over the US. In the book you follow FBI agent Victoria Santos who teams up with Mike Posten, reporter for the Tribune. Mike Posten is getting calls from a person who says he is an informant. This informant says he can predict the murders before they happen. It is a good book and I recommend it to anybody who like fast paced thrillers.Overall I think it was a great book, it was very realistic and really held my interest. It was never boring, and it kept a fast pace, the tension keeps getting higher and higher. The book is about a serial killer that murders people all over the US. In the book you follow FBI agent Victoria Santos who teams up with Mike Posten, reporter for the Tribune. Mike Posten is getting calls from a person who says he is an informant. This informant says he can predict the murders before they happen. It is a good book and I recommend it to anybody who like fast paced thrillers.

While on business in Cartagena, Columbia, American businessman Matthew Rey is kidnapped and a $3 million ransom is demanded for his safe return. His son Nick is a novice attorney who attempts to free him. Nick is thwarted in his efforts by a lawsuit originating from his own firm against his family. It seems that his father had taken out a $3 million kidnapping insurance policy, and it looks as if the whole kidnapping is a set up by Matthew Rey to commit fraud. Worse yet, the FBI won't help because they believe Matthew is a drug smuggler and is somehow in cahoots with his Nicaraguan business partner. Since Nick cannot raise the money or negotiate his father's release through the usual methods, he enlists the help of a beautiful hostage negotiator, Alex Cabrera, as well as his former fiancee Jenna, who still has feelings for him.

A KING'S RANSOM is a taunt, intelligent addition to the genre. Grippando has written a hot thriller, filled with plenty of action and plot twists. This is an author I would not hesitate to read again.

This is my first time reading Grippando, and I thought A King's Ransom was a definite cut above the average thriller out there today, especially anything written by Grisham and his many clones. Its attraction lies in its combination of the legal thriller with a pure action story set against the exotic locales of Columbia and Nicaragua.

Its a story of Nick Rey, a young Florida lawyer, whose father, Matthew, has been kidnapped by a sadistic band of Columbian geurillas. The ransom demand (3,000,000.00) is the exact amount of Matthew's recent "K & R" (kidnap and ranson) insurance policy and the insurance company, who happens to be a client of Nick's law firm, suspects fraud and denies coverage. Nick fights battles on all fronts, with the insurance company, with his former firm (from which he's been fired),with his former mentor and, of course, with the kidnappers.

The prose is brisk and the plot develops nicely, but Grippando seems to want to cover too many bases here (and, in the process, uses too many cliches), from Nick's past rift with his father that needs fixing, to his father's suspicious (and undeveloped) business partner, to Nick's rift with his ex-finance, who's the only lawyer in town who will represent him in the legal fight with the insurance company, to the sexy and exotic "Alex," the hostage negotiator with, what else, a past.

I found the parallel story of Nick's father's experiences at the hands of the kidnappers more compelling than Nick's maneuverings at home. All in all, despite its cliches and more than passing resemblances to The Firm and the recent movie, Proof of Life, A King's Ransom is a very satisfying and enjoyable read. I am looking forward to reading other works by this author.

When you read "A King's Ransom" hold on to your chair, cause you're in for a fast read.

This story focuses on the kidnapping of an American citizen, Matthew, Rey, in Colombia, and his family's bid to have him released. Of course the kidnapping is for money - lots of money - $3 million dollars. Turns out Matthew has taken out a kidnap insurance policy in just that amount - imagine that. Intrigue follows intrigue as you follow Matthew through the jungles and his trials with his kidnappers; then you see nick Rey, his son, and his bid to free his dad, especially after the insurance company refuses to pay the ranson.

This is a book that is almost impossible to put down with all the twists and turns of a great thriller. James Grippando has done it again.

James Grippando, Under Cover of Darkness (Avon, 2000)

Boy, does this novel start out wonderfully. A workaholic lawyer discovers his wife has gone missing. A local FBI agent with an eye towards the serial killers' profiling unit is given the job of liaison between the branch office and the rep from Washington, her idol, after dumping her groom at the altar for sleeping with her sister. The missing wife might be dead...or she might be an accomplice to a string of serial killings. People keep turning up dead. And somehow, a fitness guru factors into it all. Everything's set up perfectly.

Then it all goes down the tubes. The last fifty pages or so of this novel have "Hollywood ending" written all over them, as if just before he started writing them, Grippando got word that this book had been optioned, and he had to come up with an ending that would work in Hollywood. The whole tone changes; what would have taken two hundred pages earlier in the novel is rushed into far less than half that. Aside from the lack of wires and big masks, a lot of the ending has "deus ex machina" stamped on it.

That's not to say it's not worth reading for the first three quarters of the book. Just beware the last quarter and the disappointment that comes with it. ** ½

UNDER COVER OF DARKNESS is yet another example of a great mystery/thriller/suspense novel. I really liked this book. I think it's the fastest moving Grippando book that I have read, and I've read them all except for A KING'S RANSOM which is next up. Once I started reading I couldn't stop.

Gus Wheatly is a prominent Seattle lawyer working in a prestigious law firm. When his wife (Beth) suddenly disappears at the same time as a string of murders takes place, Gus is left to wonder if his wife is another casualty, or an accomplice to the murders. James seamlessly weaves together the story from a couple different angles. One from the point of view of Gus, another from Andie, the local FBI agent in charge of the murder mystery case, and a third from the point of view of the killer. It's story telling at it's best.

The tension is high throughout the book with enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. The end was a shocker to me. James Grippando is my new favorite author. Thanks James and keep the books coming!

Gus Wheatley has success, money, power, a loving wife, and a beautiful daughter, until one day his world shatters.

Gus's wife, Beth, disappears.

FBI profiler, Andie Henning, is investigating a series of killings, the strange beginning of a serial killer. As Andie investigates the murders, she believes Beth may be a victim of the vicious killer.

Gus begins his own investigation, and as he uncovers certain "truth's" about his wife, he realizes he did not know her at all.

"Under Cover Of Darkness" will keep you turning the pages and guessing all the way to the end. The twists and turns come fast and furious, pulling the novel to it's shocking climax.

James Grippando has consistently written great book after great book. He has quickly become one of my favorite authors. With his new book he keeps the pace fast while juggling various characters, and shifting the plot twists into high gear. This is great entertainment.

A MUST read!

Nick Gonnella

I enjoyed the book but found it a little lacking to the others of his I have read. Possibly it is me and I suffer to many thrillers and serial killers, hard to say. Still all in all a very good story well ploted out with Colorado as a good background and two nice people that deserved more than they had received in life. I would recommend the book actually on its fine readability.

Amy Parkens is a single mom struggling to raise her young daughter. One day a mysterious package containing $200,000.00 appears on her doorstep.

Ryan Duffy is a divorced doctor, his dying father has revealed to him there is 2 million dollars hidden in their attic.

Amy begins searching to find out who sent the money and why.

Ryan begins to search his father's past to find out who his father was blackmailing and why.

The search brings Amy and Ryan together...What is the connection between the two, and is there a connection to Amy's mother's suicide many years earlier?

You will turn the pages FAST to uncover the answers to these questions

James Grippando is an author whose talent for coming up with clever, page-turning plots is endless.

"Found Money" moves at the speed of a runaway train, and the climax is a shocker.

This book is a MUST read!

I am a major fan of Grippando. I read his The Informant and good hooked royally.
Well this book is a fast paced,cracker of a thriller.
You will never know what will happen next.
Grippando has the readers hooked till the end.
Suspense builds up and you will be surprised at the twist at the end of the book.
A real page turner i have recommended this book to all my friends.
Please dont miss this thriller which has everything packed in it.

I discovered The Pardon by reading an exceprt from it in "The Mammoth Book of Legal Thrillers," a collection of writings from top lawyer-novelists in the world. The Pardon definitely belongs in that elite group. The premise is immediately gripping: A psychopath is stalking the governor of Florida, claiming that he can prove that the governor executed an innocent man. The executed man was defended by the governor's son, Jack Swyteck, a young criminal defense attorney who defends death row inmates. The opening scenes, which revolve around the execution, could well be the most heart-pounding I've read in the genre. The courtroom scenes are skillfully written, filled with believable surprises and easy to follow. The pacing is breathless, but the underlying tenstion between father and son that plays out through the story really makes this novel stand apart from the rest. This is an enterntaining read with engaging characters who will have you rooting for them till the end. It takes on a very serious subject in a completely non-preaching manner (I wouldn't be able to guess where the author stands on the death penalty after reading this novel, which is to his credit). Granted, this isn't Moby Dick, but you rarely get more for your money in commercial fiction.

Excellent thriller from beginning to end. Easy and enjoyable to read for a couple of days. I have read two other Grippando's books (Informant and Under Cover...) and this one ranks up the top.

I read this novel when it first debuted and remember thinking it was one of the best debut legal thriller I'd ever read. The story was so compelling and took you on a fast ride. Jack's is a lawyer of integrity that you'd want on your side. I've read all of Mr Grippando's novel todate, they're all good, but this one stands out as my favorite.

I finished this book in 2 hours. I just couldn't stop reading! It is a real nail-bitter! The books describes a young girl's abduction during an hectic election in the U.S.A. The grandfather of the girl is one of the candidates, Afro-american Lincoln Howe and his opponent is the female attorny general, Allison Leahy, who was a victin of a child abduction herself 8 years prior to the event. I can't say the book is perfect. Some of the charcters are great: Tanya Howe (Lincoln's daghter), Kristen Howe (the abducted girl) and the kidnapper who tries to help her, Allison Leahy and Howe himself. I did disapprove of some of the twists which I thought were tasteless and useless, and the ending was pretty quick and left some loose knots. it seems like the author lasted for 2/3 of the book, and than gave in to the temptation of a Holliwood-stile ending. But other than that, I reccomand this book. It's very enjoyable and keeps you alert.

I loved this book! The author kept me anxious to keep turning pages. His characters were lifelike enough to be believable, and with the background setting of Washington D.C, were able to spring from the pages, each chapter more and more intriguing. "The Abduction" is very well written for the average reader, full of suspense, and taut with mystery. I did figure out who the villain was earlier than the author wished it known, but I enjoyed it just the same. The ending was a bit too quick, as though the author had already tired of the story, and a lot of loose ends were left dangling. Still, a worthy book, well worth the money and good for some nightly entertainment.

I bought the book because I love thrillers and have really enjoyed the author's prior books. I like this one the best. It has all the great elements of a thriller, but is also timely and thoughtprovoking. Not only was I caught up in the swirl of events, but I found myself thinking about the issues highlighted by the plot. In my mind, the book is not only about a kidnapping, but also about the standards to which we hold our highest elected officials (sound familiar?); is a moral character a requirement? and are we going to hold the first woman presidential candidate to the same (low) moral standards to which we seem to hold male candidates? But at bottom this is a page-turning thriller that will have you trying--unsuccessfully--to predict the ending. Don't worry if you can't; you will get there soon enough.