Middle of Nowhere - Softcover

Pearson, Ridley

3.78

1,203 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0786889608 ISBN 13: 9780786889600

Publisher: Hyperion, 1900

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Known for his meticulous, fascinating research, as well as his ability to create exciting plot twists that inevitably, a month or two later, seem to have anticipated real-life headlines, Ridley Pearson has genered praise as a "master" of the suspense novel.

In Middle of Nowhere, the "Blu Flu" has struck the Seattle Police force and a majority of the officers are on a unofficial strike, with the exception of a few, including Detective Lou Boldt, who is committed to the job. When a string of robberies and the brutal assault of a female cop rock the city, the pressure of isolation threatens Boldt's psyche and his marriage. With the help of psychologist Daphne Matthews and Sergeant John LaMoia, Boldt is able to make progress on both the assault and the robberies, but things soon spin out of control, and Bodt's refusal to drop the case puts his own life at risk. Filled with the fast-paced, spiraling action that has made Pearson's previous novels "irresistable" (Los Angeles Times Book Review) works of suspense that "grip the imagination" (People magazine), this offering from "the best thriller writer alive" (Booklist) is certain to keep the reader breathless.

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Review:

A brutal attack that leaves a young woman paralyzed is horrifying enough, but when it happens to one of Seattle police lieutenant Lou Boldt's own officers, and all the suspects wear the same uniform as the victim, it's much worse. The SPD has been struck by a not-very-mysterious case of the "blue flu," a labor dispute that's turned cop against cop. Frustrated by the work slowdown in the department, Boldt is working almost on his own, except for forensic psychologist Daphne Matthews and detective John LaMoia, familiar characters in Pearson's popular series (The Pied Piper, The First Victim). Despite not-so-veiled warnings from some of his colleagues, Lou is determined to unmask Maria Sanchez's attacker, even if it turns out to be a fellow cop. And if that's not enough, the piano-playing lieutenant with a devoted wife--and a lingering yen for his coworker Daphne--has to deal with a crime wave that's increasing every day as the blue flu fells more of the force.

Investigating a string of robberies, Lou and Daphne follow the evidence to a telemarketing operation in a Colorado prison and question an inmate who may have used inside information to set up the robberies for his brother in Seattle to carry out. When the inmate dies, his brother goes after Lou, who isn't sure who to blame when violence hits too close to home--the brother or the striking policemen. Middle of Nowhere isn't Pearson's best outing: the plot is thinner than usual and the pacing somewhat slower, although the detailed explanation of how to catch a criminal using new telecommunications technology is fascinating. Still, Lou Boldt is an always interesting character whose inner conflicts are well drawn and whose essential decency makes up for a lot. His understated romance with Daphne deepens in every new adventure; the real mystery is what's going to happen to the two of them. --Jane Adams

About the Author:

Ridley Pearson is the award-winning co-author, along with Dave Barry, of Peter and the Starcatchers, Peter and the Shadow Thieves, Peter and the Secret of Rundoon, Peter and the Sword of Mercy, Escape From the Carnivale, Cave of the Dark Wind, Blood Tide, and Science Fair. In addition to Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark, Kingdom Keepers: Disney at Dawn, Kingdom Keepers: Disney in Shadow, and Kingdom Keepers: Power Play, he is also the author of the young adult thrillers Steel Trapp: The Challenge and Steel Trapp: The Academy. He has written more than twenty best-selling crime novels, including Killer View and Killer Weekend. He was the first American to be awarded the Raymond Chandler/Fulbright Fellowship in Detective Fiction at Oxford University.

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