Kill Chain
An
Evan Delaney Mystery
Meg
Gardiner
Signet (Mass Market Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-451-22523-6 (0451225236)
ISBN-13: 978-0-451-22523-8 (9780451225238)
Publication Date: October 2008
List Price: $7.99
Synopsis (from
the publisher): When Evan Delaney's father disappears, the cops think
he's fled the country to avoid prosecution. But Evan is sure he's been
abducted or killed for reasons associated with his work for Naval
Intelligence. As Evan hunts for clues, she's attacked by an armed man.
The attacker ends up dead--and turns out to be a federal agent. Now
Evan is on the run, implicated in his murder. And then she's contacted
by a sinister duo--a madam and gigolo mother-and-son team who claim her
father was mixed up in their very dirty business. Can Evan save her
father's reputation--and his life?
Evan's suspicions of something sinister are confirmed when she receives
a call from her father's kidnappers. The ransom isn't money, but more
of a puzzle—one that Evan has only 72 hours to piece
together, as she follows a madman's trail into the very heart of
darkness.
Review:
Evan Delaney is on a frantic search for her kidnapped father in Kill Chain, the
gripping fifth mystery in this series by Meg Gardiner.
One Sunday Phil Delaney leaves a cryptic message on his
daughter’s fiancé’s answering machine
that he is in mortal danger. He is about to be abducted, possibly
tortured, and most definitely left in some difficult to find place to
die. He implores Jesse to fulfill his urgent request that day, as
Monday may be too late. Under no circumstances is he to reveal the
contents of this message to Evan or allow her to become involved in any
way. If she does somehow find out about this mission she will not only
put herself in danger, but also members of her family. They will become
components of the kill chain.
Just a day later Phil’s car is found nose down at the foot of
a ravine against a boulder. Phil is missing, as is his computer which
Evan said he had placed on the floor behind his seat. Evan receives a
call from the kidnapper, demanding a ransom, not in money, but a life.
She is told her father has about 72 hours of water and air to stay
alive unless she obtains and delivers certain mission
documents that Phil had been involved in while working for the
government. These documents would not only prove murder, but also the
mistreatment and the cruelty of people who did monstrous things to
children and who would continue if they were not stopped. Evan must
find the trail that leads to the documents. The trail is a long arduous
one taking Evan from her home in Los Angeles to Bangkok and London.
This confusing, intricate web Evan muddles through to find answers
brings to life evidence that Phil had led a secret life outside his
family and the government. With gangsters, the FBI, and police putting
up road blocks every where she turns, she must circumvent all
entrapments to be able to find the documents no matter what information
turns up against her father. Finally she gets back to L.A. but is she
in time to find her father in order to save his life? Whose life does
the kidnapper want for Phil’s and why?
Kill Chain
is a profound, multi-faceted, exhilarating novel. Thrilling and
fast-moving are also applicable adjectives. Some of the characters are
loving and compassionate while others will make the reader's spine
tingle. If this mystery is typical of the series, Evan may not have
the stamina to appear in many more! Kill Chain is
highly recommended.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Kill Chain and to Penguin Group for providing a copy of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.
Mysteries in this series ...
China Lake
Signet (Mass Market Paperback), June 2008
ISBN-10: 0-451-22455-8 (0451224558)
ISBN-13: 978-0-451-22455-2 (9780451224552)
Mission Canyon
Signet (Mass Market Paperback), July 2008
ISBN-10: 0-451-22472-8 (0451224728)
ISBN-13: 978-0-451-22472-9 (9780451224729)
Jericho Point
Signet (Mass Market Paperback), August 2008
ISBN-10: 0-451-22485-X (045122485X)
ISBN-13: 978-0-451-22485-9 (9780451224859)
Crosscut
Signet (Mass Market Paperback), September 2008
ISBN-10: 0-451-22522-8 (0451225228)
ISBN-13: 978-0-451-22522-1 (9780451225221)
Kill
Chain
Signet (Mass Market Paperback), October 2008
ISBN-10: 0-451-22523-6 (0451225236)
ISBN-13: 978-0-451-22523-8 (9780451225238)
Omnimystery keywords for Kill Chain ...
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