My opinion - not her best work.Savich, Sherlock and their son, Sean, are spending some family time at a cabin in the Poconos. On his way back from the market, Savich’s SUV blows a tire. Just as he’s done changing it, a woman comes running out of nowhere, not suitably dressed for the weather, screaming about a man in her house. His cell phone all of a sudden not working and unable to call for back-up, Savich goes with the woman back to her house. Making her wait in the living room, he searches the house, and other than a small incident, there’s no one there. Exactly no one, for even the woman has disappeared. The house now seems abandoned, as if it had been that way for years. Had Savich actually been talking to a ghost?And just when he tries to convince the local sheriff of what happened, Savich and Sherlock are called back to D.C. to head up the investigation of a murdered supreme court justice, Stewart Califano. He’d been murdered right in the Supreme Court Library, and all they have to go on is the guard who’d been knocked out.Metro detective Ben Raven is helping Sherlock and Savich with the case, the appointed liason between the FBI and Metro police. They met the now widow, Margaret Califano, as well as her daughter, Callie Markham, an investigative reporter for The Washington Post. Taking a leave of absense, she’s determined to help the FBI find her stepfather’s killer. And now Ben is stuck with her. And that’s just the beginning of a spark.Everyone is interviewed, from the other justices, the clerks, family and friends. Then one of Califano’s clerks is murdered, the same M.O. With the help of MAX, the computer finds the M.O. matches the M.O. of a killer who hasn’t killed in over 20 years. How can that be? Is no one safe and who could be next?**Could have been better. All those interviews and no clues from them. And the more the interviews, the more I started to get bored. They kept revisiting the same information. A few events in the book make you sit up and take notice, just for it to go back to more interviews. And then finally, you get face to face with the killer, and it made no sense - there was no connection between this person and his victims. And just when you’re thinking “You’ve got to be kidding me,” you read the barest of connections, a rather neat twist, and yet you still don’t know much about the killer or who it really was he associated with. Callie finds out by mishap, but doesn’t tell, not even Ben.Savich and Sherlock were their usual selves, and I really like them as characters, as man and wife, as mom and dad. We see them more with Sean in this one and I liked that aspect. Callie - I liked her personality; no nonsense, she pushes to get her way. Ben - I liked him as well. Even when he’s not happy of being saddled with Callie, he makes the best of it. I liked the banter between them, but that spark you feel at the beginning, stayed just like that. A spark - one. That’s it. After that, I felt a camaraderie between them and nothing more. Then there’s that twist, and you’re thinking “Holy Cow!”, but it stays there. You still don’t know who the killer was associated with. While I have an idea, it’s not confirmed, and that bothered me.Meanwhile, there’s a second, smaller investigation, for the ghost of Samantha Barrister won’t leave Savich alone. They do find her son, in a most unusual way, and even solve her murder. I actually enjoyed that part more than the main investigation, and I believe that more could have been added to it and made its own book, I think.While it was good, the book could have been better.
In the first storyline, Agent Savich has a paranormal encounter with a victim of a murder that took place thirty years ago. He works hard to bring out the truth, to figure out what happened, and to bring peace to the victim and the remainder of her family. In another storyline,Callie, an investigative reporter for a well-known newspaper, comes back early to visit her mother and stepfather. She gets to the house, but notices something amiss. Her stepfather, one of the Justices for the Supreme Court, has been killed. She works closely with the FBI to find out what happened, and to bring justice to her family. As the FBI and Callie work to seek justice, the murderer continues to strike. Will they be able to stop him? The characters were really well developed, though I felt that Detective Raven had an abrupt change of character towards the beginning of the story. However, he maintained that new attitude consistently throughout, and it added the romantic plot line to the novel. It was not necessary, but it did add a little extra, including a satisfying ending. I would have enjoyed the first storyline being fleshed out a bit more. It didn't really serve a purpose towards furthering the main plot - the murder of Justice Calafino - but it was interesting on its own merit. It would have been neat to if they had intercepted in some manner, or if the second plotline had at least been given more airtime. It seemed to get tied up pretty abruptly, and it came to a really anti-climatic conclusion. It was surprising, but only mildly so. For the most part, this novel does fit into the mystery/suspense genre that it's in, but the paranormal aspect to the subplot doesn't really fit in with that. I do recommend it, though, to anyone wanting a mystery that keeps you guessing. Even after the killer is announced, I found myself still trying to figure out the motive until it was revealed.
What do You think about Blow Out (2005)?
meh, the same old plot, the same it was fate and love and we're meant to be together! Oyo! Disappointing, I thought the plot was weaker than usual and events that lead the investigation are unbelievable and ridiculous.However, best quote in the book. Two of the main characters Ben (police officer) and Callie (reporter for the newspaper) are tracking a potential witness to the crime in D.C., January. The witness is visiting the Vietnam Memorial Wall. As they're walking to the wall "Callie looked aorund the vast empty space as they pulled into a parking place on the street. "Well, it is January cold, and the only tourists likely to be here have to be from North Dakota." end quote. Hilarious.
—Emily
FBI agents Savitch and Sherlock are enjoying some down time in the Pocono mountains, when Savitch has a blow out on his car. When he has finished with the tire, a woman suddenly appears from the woods. She is terrified and saying someone is trying to kill her. When Savitch takes her home, he searches the house and finds no one. The woman also is no longer there. He seeks out the local sheriff to start a search for the woman, only to be told the woman he helped, died some 30 years ago.He wants to do more searching and some research into this story. But before he has the chance, he and Sherlock are summoned back to D.C. A justice of the Supreme Court has been murderer in the court library.Callie Markham is an investigative reporter for the Washington Post. She has just discovered that her step father Justice Califano has been murdered. The detective assigned to the case, Ben Raven, is working with the FBI to solve this murder. Callie wants to help with the investigation, she knows the people involved, and they will be more willing to talk to her, a member of the family, than a cop. She promises not to be a reporter, and even takes a leave of absence from the paper.The last thing Ben wants is a civilian reporter tagging along. But he takes her along. And she proves to be useful. Two of The Justice's law clerks are also murdered in the same way, and the agents go to great lengths to protect the third. As it turns out, the murderer has an unknowing insiders feeding him information. And the killer is closer than anyone expected.I was a bit unsure about this book after the first chapter, the whole "ghost" thing in a thriller. But it is not the focus of the story, and its well written, believable. I liked the book. Loved Ben and Callie.
—Dotti Elrick
One of Catherine Coulter's good ones! Agent Dillion Savich has two mysteries to solve, one a haunting from 30 years ago, the other more current. (2004) He is assisted by his wife, Agent Sherlock, (no favoritism in this book) except for their unrealistic child, Sean (2-3-ish). The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is murdered, among other people; hypnosis is used beneficially. The story weaves in and out, with a love story added to the supernatural, plus a mystery, and finally resolves predictably on page 300 or so, with some issues not resolving until pages 340 or so, and one issue is not resolved at all. No one is exactly the bad guy in the first few pages (well, maybe!) Like I said, one of Coulter's best.
—Sherrill Watson
