Tag: Catherine Coulter

‘Reckoning,’ book 26 in Catherine Coulter’s FBI Series

On By Malcolm R. CampbellIn books
Released in 2022

I’ve read all, or almost all, of the books in this series which began in 1996 with The Cove. She co-authored three books with J. T. Ellison in a Brit in the FBI series. All of these novels move quickly, feature snappy dialogue, and have characters whose histories have grown deeper (like, for example, the characters in James Patterson’s Alex Cross books) as the series progresses. The action focuses on husband and wife agents Agents Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock, and for those who wonder, somebody finally said, “No shit, Sherlock,” just to get that slang out of the way. I haven’t read any of Coulter’s romance series, so can’t speak to them.

From the Publisher

“Agents Savich and Sherlock are back in the latest installment in Catherine Coulter’s #1 New York Times bestselling FBI Thriller series, and this time both are enlisted to help women with traumatic pasts who are in mortal danger.

“When she was twelve years old, Kirra Mandarian’s parents were murdered and she barely escaped with her life. Fourteen years later Kirra is a commonwealth attorney back home in Porte Franklin, Virginia, and her goal is to find out who killed her parents and why. She assumes the identity of E.N.—Eliot Ness—and gathers proof to bring down the man she believes was behind her parents’ deaths. She quickly learns that big-time criminals are very dangerous indeed and realizes she needs Dillon Savich’s help. Savich brings in Special Agent Griffin Hammersmith to work with Lieutenant Jeter Thorpe, the young detective who’d saved Kirra years before.

Coulter

“Emma Hunt, a piano prodigy and the granddaughter of powerful crime boss Mason Lord, was only six years old when she was abducted. Then, she was saved by her adoptive father, San Francisco federal judge Ramsey Hunt. Now a twelve-year-old with a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, she narrowly saves herself from a would-be kidnapper at Davies Hall in San Francisco. Worried for her safety, Emma’s entire family joins her for her next performance, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.. Sherlock and officers from METRO are assigned to protect her, but things don’t turn out as planned…”

From the Reviews

Kirkus: “Pulse-pounding terror mixed with romance makes for page-turning pleasure.”

Publishers Weekly: “Scintillating suspense surrounds the dual mysteries as the stakes rise for Savich and Sherlock and those they’re seeking to protect. Series fans will be riveted from the very first page.”

Library Journal: “The twenty-sixth installment of Coulter’s FBI series delivers just what the author’s fans have come to expect: a story that doesn’t go where we might expect it to; a supporting cast of new and exciting characters; and two familiar faces, Savich and Sherlock, who have come to feel like old friends.”

–Malcolm

Malcolm R. Campbell is the author of the Florida Folk Magic novels which you can buy at a savings in one Kindle volume

Some times are good times for a little light reading

On By Malcolm R. CampbellIn books3 Comments

Sometimes I run out of new books to read. My official wish list is long, but my wallet isn’t full enough to keep the shelves stocked up with fresh reading. So, I re-read some of my favorites from the past such as “The Prince of Tides” and “The Great Gatsby.” Or, I turn to light reading.

Catherine Coulter probably wouldn’t like to hear me referring to the 16 books in her FBI Series as light reading. Her latest is “Back Fire,” released this month. Here’s the publisher’s description:

San Francisco Judge Ramsey Hunt, longtime friend to FBI agents Lacey Sherlock and Dillon Savich, is presiding over the trial of Clive and Cindy Cahill – accused in a string of murders – when the proceedings take a radical turn. Federal prosecutor Mickey O’Rourke, known for his relentless style, becomes suddenly tentative in his opening statement, leading Hunt to suspect he’s been threatened – suspicions that are all but confirmed when Hunt is shot in the back.

Savich and Sherlock receive news of the attack as an ominous note is delivered to Savich at the Hoover Building: YOU DESERVE THIS FOR WHAT YOU DID. Security tapes fail to reveal who delivered the tapes. Who is behind the shooting of Judge Ramsey Hunt? Who sent the note to Savich? And what does it all mean? Savich and Sherlock race to San Francisco to find out…watching their backs all the while.

Savich and Sherlock are a husband and wife FBI team. They work well together. They solve cases. They’re fun to read about. Judge Hunt is also a great character. No, I’m not reading “Back Fire;” Judge Hunt also appears in “The Target” (1998) which I’m reading now. “The Target” is the third FBI Series book I’ve read in the past month, so Savich and Sherlock seem like neighbors now. (It’s also the third book in the series, though I’m not reading them in the same order they were released.)

For me, one appeal of books in a series such as Coulter’s and Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabody books is the fact that the characters, genre, author’s style and general tone of the books are known going in to each new story. In addition to the familiar characters, the plots have enough mystery and action to keep my interest until the next shipment of official reading list books arrives from Barnes & Noble.

I’m guessing that a lot of avid readers have books and series they turn to when there’s suddenly nothing new waiting on the nightstand. They’re rather like old friends, the kind who stop by for a cold beer and easy conversation on a hot afternoon.

—Malcolm