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
Have you read Kill Chain? How would you rate it?
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)
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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Location(s) referenced: Los Angeles, London, Bangkok.
