Ridley Pearson has done it again. Written another good book. This one has people going after kids. One of the kids is even named Boldt. They have to be caught before harm comes to them. Te trail leads to many different places. Lou Boldt and company also have to fight the Feds. all the way. Politics is played between many people. The people and the way it plays out, on page 283, paperback, will nearly make you cry. What a warm feeling. From page 428 on I was realy caught up in the action. I could not read fast enough. If you want a good mystery, with lots of action and many good characters you will like this book.

The Pied Piper by Ridley Pearson Published by Hyperion, New York

This is the first book I've read by Ridley Pearson but it definitely won't be the last. The book is filled with believable characters with interesting lives outside of their work and relationships that makes the skin tingle with tension.

The plot is skillfully crafted and moves quickly from the kidnaping of young children to the internecine competition between the FBI and the Seattle Police Department. Someone within the two groups is giving the kidnapers inside information and when Lou Boldt's child is kidnaped and he is told to slow down the investigation or he won't see his child again, the tension rises to unimaginable heights. For those who are parents and perhaps even those who arnt, the thought of losing a child to kidnapers brings a dimension and intensity to the plot that is at times unbearable.

This is a well written and carefully crafted book filled with excitement and enough twists and turns of plot to hold anyone. I can't wait for the next one.

A tightly written thriller. The characters are believable. The twists and turns kept me "on the edge of my seat," but they also made sense -- they were not contrived. It gives real insight into the thinking of police detectives and the difficulties they face in putting the puzzle pieces of evidence together to solve a crime. I highly recommend this book. It's the first Ridley Pearson I've read, but I'll be reading more. I'm delighted to discover another exciting author.

There are only 200 fiction writers in the United States who are able to make a living from their writing, and Ridley Pearson surely ranks in the Top 10 of that select group. For those of us who consider Mr. Pearson a favorite author, there is nothing more sastifying then relishing his latest book, especially with old friend Lou Boldt as the main character. Middle of Nowhere has all the elements of a good read: strong characters, fast-pacing, and a story that keeps you reading into the night.

First-time readers of Pearson will be happy to discover enough previous works to keep them happy for a long time to come. The rest of us, Mr. Pearson, anxiously await what comes next. Thanks.

Ridley Pearson does it again, revisiting the life of Seattle cop Lou Bolt. The "Blue Flu" has infected the Seattle Police Department and over half the force sits at home while Bolt, Daphne Matthews and the regular cast work to find the person that brutally attacked a fellow officer.

Bolt is a likeable character, that faces the daily struggles of being a husband, father, friend and cop. Facing division in the force, Pearson's writing forces Bolt to look deep within himself to find answers.

Pearson is a master at weaving several storylines around one another, until they reach the shattering climax together.

"Middle of Nowhere" is a must read this summer! Having lived in Seattle for 8+ years, I feel like I am walking down the streets along with the characters.

Pearson's storytelling dares you to put down the book, a feat not easily accomplished by most of today's writers. You won't be disappointed to find your self in the "Middle of Nowhere". The only disappointment that you will have is waiting for the next book from Mr. Pearson.

After what I thought was a step backward in The First Victim, Ridley Pearson has returned to his top form with The Middle of Nowhere. It has satisfying doses of everything we have come to like about the Lou Boldt series - another REALLY bad villian, another conflict with Seattle PD that keeps Boldt in his role as a tarnished knight errant, continued sexual tension in Boldt's relationship with Daphne Matthews, more conflict and tenderness with his wife Liz, and a hair raising climactic chase through - you guessed it - the middle of nowhere to save the kidnapped Daphne with his cowboy protege and fellow outsider Jake LaMoia. Pearson always finds one or two contemporary scientific topics to work into his story lines (the tide patterns of Puget Sound in Undercurrents being perhaps his most memorable). In this novel he introduces us to the science of locating people through their cell phone signals (which technology is now required of all cell phone companies so that 911 callers can be located) and Pearson skillfully makes this a central aspect in the resolution of the story, If Beyond Recognition and Pied Piper were 5 stars, this one is a strong 4 1/2.

A serial killer with no witnesses...a unique and fascinating concept for a book and for the most part, Ridley Pearson's "No Witnesses" is a compelling read. His dialogue is crisp, terse, and very believable. If he sometimes overdoes it, as with the character of Bernie, it does serve to educate the reader into the different types of things going on.
The leading characters of Lou Boldt and Daphne Matthews are complex, and well-developed. I did not realize that this is a part of a series featuring these two, so much of what they described happening in the past was new to me. Does make we want to read more in this series, though.
The plot in this one is chilling: someone is poisoning food and massing up killings in a revenge plot against the millionaire behind Adler Foods. Adler is also Daphne's love interest. There are no real clues in the beginning, but as the drama unfolds, ATM machines play a huge part in the extortion plan of the killer.
Lou's relationship with his wife, Liz, is credible and realistic. The supporting characters particularly John LeMoia and Kenny Fowler are also strong and well-written.
The biggest problem with the books is its length. It's long, and there are several times I found myself losing interest in some of the secondary storylines.
But it is an excellent read, and I do recommend it.

This is the fourth book by Ridley Pearson I've read, and I found it the best. I just finished "The First Victim" and while it was also very enjoyable, I found "No Witnesses" better. The central figure in this series, Lou Boldt, reminds me a lot of the policemen Delaney in Lawrence Saunders early "Deadly Sin" books from the 70's (before he began writing the shallow "McNally" stuff), which also included well-rounded characters, and were an engrossing read. I'm looking forward to the next adventure of Boldt and LaMoia!

The third novel featuring Sgt. Boldt shows that Pearson is getting better and better! The bus ride/trap was so suspensfull that it was hard to read in one sitting. The characters are so believable, and after reading all three, and following each character, they become almost family. My husband and I are looking forward to the next Boldt mystery

Never have I read a book so intense and so addictive! I lost almost half a nights sleep trying to find out what happens next.When I finished reading it, I so wanted more. That's why I went out and bought his other "Lou Boldt" books. I recommend this fast paced thriller to anyone who is a fan of this genre - even if you're not....

I had every intention of reading this book slowly, but after the first 50 pages, I couldn't put it down. There are so many twists and turns to the plot that you feel you have to read the next chapter just to see what might happen next. Pearson gives us a peak at the tribulations going on in Lou Boldt's personal life which makes his obsession with capturing the "Cross Killer" even more interesting and understandable. I have read several books in the Lou Boldt series. I liked them all, but this and the "Pied Piper" are the best.

This was my first Ridley Pearson book. I had read an article in the Boston Globe regarding new mystery writers and decided to try them all. Pearson is the one that I have stuck with.

When I first read Undercurrents, I literally could not put it down. In fact I missed an Eric Clapton concert because I lost track of the time.

This is the first Lou and Daphne novel and, arguably, the best!

Ridley Pearson lights another burning success with this book about unexplained serial arsons in Seattle. More than just a plot driven mystery, Pearson develops further the interesting and complex web of characters he has introduced to readers in other Lou Boldt series.

The story begins a bit slowly until it suddenly ignites into a fully engaging read. Police psychologist Daphne Matthews seemed a bit brittle in this novel but other characters expand and glow. The story itself taught me things I did not know I wanted to know about firefighting and arsonists - the sign of an excellent author!

Ignore your mundane tasks and blaze through this visit to Pearson's world of crime fighting with very human characters fighting demons both within and outside the psyche.

This fourth book in Pearson's Seattle based detective novel, BEYOND RECOGNITION, kept me hook from the very first chapter. For anyone who calls the Pacific Northwest home, Pearson's books are realistic. It was difficult to second guess each new turn and twist Pearson has planned for Lou Bodt and Daphne Matthews. His continued development of character personalities is great. The characters grow with each new book and there is just the right mix of new people too. The aronist angle was well developed and believable. The only complaint is the book was to long, much longer than his earlier books. I would have enjoyed BEYOND RECOGNITION if it had been about 75% of the pages. Still I would recommend the entire series to everyone living the Pacific Northwest.

I discovered Lou Boldt and Ridley Pearson in The Angel Maker. I am now reading the series and "Beyond Recognition" does not disappoint. Pearson writes such a believable detective. He is not just a "stud" or just a "hard-nose" or one dimmensional in any way. He is the total package. Not just that, but the stories themselves are so involving. This book really has it all. Characters. Dialogue. Driving plot. Twists and turns. Human element. Suspense. Surprise. Pearson delivers the whole meal right down to the cherry on top. I cannot wait to read the rest of the Boldt/Matthews series to see what he has in store for me next.

Even the master must, I guess, have a letdown. Of all the Ridley Pearson books I have read, this one was easily the dullest. His plot was uninteresting, his characters little better than cardboard figures, the sense of peril nonexistent, and the organization was haphazard at best-and those were the GOOD points. I was turning the pages, all right, but only because I wanted to finish the book quickly. I found the plot hard to follow due to the short chapters. The characters, such as Madame Lu and Stevie McNeal, were unbelie- vable and totally unappealing. There was never any real sense of danger to any of the main characters, so one really did not have to worry if they would survive or not. Lou Boldt, usually a really interesting detective, does little more than mouth one platitude after another; it almost seems that all he does is say, "Be careful," or "This could be trouble," etc. This is a classic example of an "I don't care whate happens" book. I can only hope Pearson gets back to the technique of his previous Lou Boldt novels, all classics. This one was a real waste of time.

In Ridley Pearson's THE FIRST VICTIM, the familiar team of Lt. Lou Boldt, Sgt. John LaMoia, and Psychologist Daphne Matthews team up again to track down the location of a sweatshop where illegal Chinese immigrants are being held as slaves. Seattle PD is called in when a homicide victim is found. Matthews has a minor role in this story, as Boldt's continuing struggle with his attraction for her is replaced by a his inability to trust his wife's belief that prayer has put her cancer into remission. The always analytical and evidence-driven Boldt can't accept a spiritual power that doesn't exist for him. Matthews' skills as a profiler are less necessary in this investigation, and Boldt gets help instead from a TV reporter whose adopted sister goes missing as she follows the story. When Boldt identifies someone who may be involved, they turn up dead under suspicious circumstances. This book was not as terrifying as other Pearson novels, but I was still quite engrossed in the story, and could not seem to put it down. I would recommend it not only for Pearson fans, but for others who enjoy good detective mysteries.

I've been a longtime fan to Ridly Pearson, and this latest book is a real page-turner! I started reading it on a Friday night, was glued to it for all of Saturday, and finished (with sweaty palms) on Sunday morning. My advice: Don't start this one unless you're prepared to hunker down.I unconditionally recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the genre. The premise is excellent (illegal Chinese aliens being smuggled into Seattle in shipping containers), and the human qualities he brings to Lieutenant Boldt and the rest of the investigating team gives the book great depth. I caught Ridley at a book signing at Black Orchid Books in Manhattan last night, where I learned that this is one writer who's putting his actions where his words are. While writing The First Victim, Ridley learned that each year 40,000 Chinese girls are put into orphanages, because of China's one-child-per-couple law. (Apparently, if a couple has a male child, the parents will be able to get social security benefits as seniors, but not so if they have a girl. Hence, the girls often get abandoned on the street). Anyway, Ridley said that he and his wife were so disturbed by this news that they are adopting a Chinese baby in the next month or so. Pretty cool!

Ridley Pearson, as always, gives us a fast ride. I had become a bit tired of Lou Boldt and Daphne's clenched teeth platonic relationship, and looked forward to some new characters. I looked in the wrong direction. The plot and the modern day railroad lore are excellent, if a bit too technical at times. The characters are preposterous.

Peter Tyler is a down and out ex-homicide cop with an anxiety disorder that presents as acute claustrophobia. He is fired, in disgrace and facing a civil suit for excessive force against a black child beater. Somehow these qualifications get him temporary employment with the National Transportation Board to investigate a possible homicide involving a major railroad line. In a side-by-side story line, Umberto Alverez is seeking revenge against the railroad company for what he sees as negligence and cover-up in the crossing deaths of his wife and twin daughters. The chase and the chased gradually draw closer and closer together until Tyler and Alverez have a symbiotic relationship.

Reading about the trains was excellent stuff, interesting (hobos aren't "hobos" anymore, they are "riders") and informative. The action was fast paced. But the character's actions and motivations were like a James Bond movie gone bad. A beautiful, ambitious female executive becomes an informer on her own company because she may or may not have an itch for a scruffy, delusional ex-cop. Another fast living cocktail waitress who had a crush on Umberto when she was twelve behaves like a combination of Joan of Arc and whistle blower to save Umberto from --- what? An intelligent, highly placed government administrator misuses government authority against the railroad company because--he is in a pout?

There is a lot to like about "Parallel Lies" if you can just shut your eyes to why anyone is doing anything. The author has clearly done a lot of research on railroads, and the writing is vivid and clear. The enjoyment outweighs the frustration, but not by much.

I have read almost all of Ridley Pearson's novels and enjoy most of them. I am partial to his stand alone novels and find "Hard Fall" and "Blood on the Albatross" my favorites. When I found out that Pearson was doing another non-Boldt novel I had to pick this up as soon as it came out. What I got was another face paced rollercoster ride. Again Pearson gives another new good guy to root for and a bevy of not so nice guys to boo. The novel revolves around a series of train derailments, caused by terrorist Umberto Alverez. All the derailments involve the same the railroad company, that Alverez is trying to get revenge against. Enter Peter Tyler who is trying to get a second chance on life by getting a job at the NTSB, after losing his job as a Washington detective in a police abuse charge. Slowly Tyler puts the pieces together and finds out what Alvarez's true motive is and the massive cover-up by the railroad company. The story ends up on the F.A.S.T train and new bullet like train traveling from New York to Washington at 180 mph speeds. Pearson's style is quick and packs a punch. The last 60 pages aboard the F.A.S.T. bullet train make for great ending and will fly by. The side strories of a love interest for Tyler and Alvarez both fit in nicely to the story. This is a must read for and Pearson fan old or new. It is not as good as say "Hard Fall" but has the same feel in a lot of ways.

Peter Tyler, an ex-homicide detective thats about to lose his house, get's a temporary assignment with the National Transportation Safety Board to find out what is causing a series of train derailments. Almost 2 years ago Umberto Alvarez lost his wife and twins in a collision with a train, where the blame was ultimately put on his wife. Alvarez thinks differently and believes that Northern Union Railroad is at fault and is covering up some major problems. He want's to get even. Peter Tylers pursuit of this so called terrorist drives this story and brings it to it's exciting conclusion.

The action and romance move this story at a somewhat average pace. For some reason this latest Pearson novel just doesn't have the oomph I'm used to. More idle time than suspense could be a factor or the simple fact that some of the characters had little depth.

Recommend...Library first

This is the kind of novel that leaves you wondering if you've read the same book as the jacket writers. They say taut and suspenseful plot - I say fewer twists than an average episode of The X Files. They say multi-dimensional characters - I say "multi-dimensional" usually means more than two. They say absorbing details of forensic procedure - I say, I've read it all before.

The main problem with this book is that the initial suspect really is the killer. So not much suspense there. His motivation is highly unlikely. And his pursuit requires too much artificial tension - like burgling your own precint when you're a cop becuase it takes too long to request files internally. Really? And the action of the novel only lasts six months.

Even the pool-side deserves better than this.

Ridley Pearson is a competent writer, and never goes into 'blockbuster action movie-unbelievable' mode with his characters in this book. A deliberate introduction to the setting is interesting, but Pearson's ending ties up all the ends. I often wonder why books like this don't make it to the B-movie grate. It's a good story that's good in the bathroom, bedroom, or plane

Chain of Evidence is an exceptionally interesting and detailed story in a poorly written book. The plot keeps unwinding in surprising directions, while the forensic and high-tech details are interesting and entertaining. It's a good read, and it would probably make a good movie.

But the attempt to describe the tortured soul of the protagonist never really works. His relationships with women and his former mentor are not credible. His angst winds up feeling like heartburn. If you read novels for characters, skip this one. If you want an exciting plot, buy it now.

This was a terrible book. Multiple authors were not able to successfully make the book flow from chapter to chapter. Character development was disjointed to say the least. Way tooooo much celebrity name dropping...it almost read like People Mag. Buy "The Greatest Player Who Never Lived" instead.

At first I thought this was going to be a serious mystery novel, until I realized that each chapter was written by a different author. It was almost like they were challenging each other, coming up with situations that were more and more ridiculous. I found myself laughing out loud. I should have known something was up when I saw that Dave Barry was one of the writers. It's a great book for those who like golf and for those, like me, that have never swung a club.

It is said that a camel is a horse designed by a committee. Since a camel is very efficient doing what camels are intended to do, then the remark must mean that a camel is a very funny looking horse. Well, in The Putt at the End of the World, a committee of nine individually popular writers has turned out a very funny golf story.
The Putt at the End of the World is apparently the brainchild of last-listed author Les Standiford, shown as editor and compiler. It also seems to be a salute, at least in part, to recently deceased British writer Douglas Adams, author of the Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy series which includes The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. It is certainly reminiscent of Adam's work, with zany characters interacting amidst nefarious schemes, all centered around a golf tournament. But not just any golf tournament. Computer zillionaire Philip Bates has bought a Scottish castle and cleared original growth timber to construct the ultimate golf course-as well as rehabbing the castle into an exotic hideaway retreat. This infuriates both environmental terrorists and the last of the MacLout clan, who claims that the MacGregor sellers usurped his family's claim to the property and he should have gotten the money. Then Bates (no relation to this reviewer) scheduled a conference and golf tournament inviting all of the world's political leaders and top golf players.
One of the invitees is Billy Sprague, club pro from Squat Possum Golf Club in rural Ohio. Billy is a magnificent golfer, unless there is money involved in which case he can't even get the ball of the tee. Billy's mentor is the old retired family doctor whose life is golf, who build the Squat Possum Club and who dies immediately after giving Billy his invitation and telling him that he has to go to Scotland and play in order to lift the curse and "...save the world as we know it..." Then FBI and British Secret Service refugees from the Keystone Kops get involved because of the terrorist threat, and the rest is-not history, but hilarious.
Each of the nine authors wrote one of the chapters. They did a good job matching styles, and/or Standiford did a great job of editing, because the novel is seamless. It is a farce, but at the same time has a "Bagger Vance" note of paean to the wonder of golf. It reads fast, and it reads great.

We gonna have patience while reading thick fiction!Never Look Back was extensively researched and the background(the place where the protagonists have moved to) was believable,too - Hostile,hungry and indigent folks staring at the main character while she plowed her way through the slum.What wasn't quite believable were the protagonists - I do not mean,people do not act like those fictitious people,predictable and one-dimensional characters only do average readers injustice.Perhaps "simpler"(I do not mean to belittle!)readers will share the protagonists' thoughts and ideas,but I guess average readers are always waited to be impressed ,or touched deep inside,let alone the critics' wants.

This was a really waste of time for me. I have read all of the Lou Boldt series so I thought anything by Ridley Person would be good, boy, was I wrong. There were many, many boring pages, to much description of what I think was going on. So much was really unbelieveable. Clayton or what ever his code name is at the present time, is a superman, cannot be killed no matter what. Just an all around bad book for me. I did read it all thinking it had to get better, but it did not. Read something you know you like or some of the Lou Boldt books and leave this one alone.

Wow. I've enjoyed other Pearson books when I'm looking for a quick read, but this book was painful to finish. It seems at times to be parody of the international spy novel -- the character, dialoge and story lines are so cliche I found myself laughing out loud at times. I resorted to keeping this in my car to read only when stalled in traffic -- even then, sometimes the traffic was more interesting. Avoid this one.