I am a huge Meg Gardiner fan. She is an expert at weaving a thrilling tale and this one is right up there with the rest. I was devastated at the end of Crosscut, and while Kill Chain made me feel a little better, I'm still agonizing over the plight of Evan Delaney. Honestly, I think that's the true test of a writer of any fictional genre... can you make the reader care so much about your character's so much that they think of them as real people? With Meg Gardiner's stories, you can't help it.I was getting a little frustrated with Evan for her inability to stay out of trouble, but lately trouble seems to find her. The one thing I adore about Evan (here I go again, discussing her as though she were real) is the fact that she doesn't wait around for things to be taken care of, but jumps in with both feet whether she has all the facts or not. She would do anything for those she loves, which is what makes this book particularly heart-wrenching. The story is solid and while there is little room to catch your breath there is always Ms. Gardiner's droll sarcasm to help lighten the mood a little. I was slightly dismayed at the fact that this book is left so open-ended, because I feared that it might be the last book in the series - this book was published in 2008 and since then Ms. Gardiner has turned her attention to another fantastic series, Jo Beckett. However, Ms. Gardiner assured us that this is not the end of the road for the Delaney series, so I can breathe a little easier. Evan actually makes an appearance in Gardiner's latest Jo Beckett book, The Nightmare Thief - I actually bought this book the day of it's release but held off on reading it, because I wanted to be up to date with Evan.I don't want to say too much more about the book for fear of spoiling things, but I loved how we got some answers to questions that have been plaguing Evan for a while, even though they only brought more questions. This is a fabulous series and Kill Chain is a spectacular addition to it. I'd say it's my second favorite book in the series. I can't get enough of her work, and if you love thrillers, with kick-butt women, Meg Gardiner's books are for you!http://girlsjustreading.blogspot.com/...
The discovery of Phil Delaney’s vehicle at the bottom of a hundred foot drop sends Evan Delaney into a tailspin from which she will never completely recover. The police suspect that Phil has committed suicide since he is currently the subject of an investigation by an ambitious U. S. Attorney who is hoping for an indictment. Since Phil blew the whistle on a dirty government operation he had lost his security clearance and most of his consulting business.Evan was convinced that her father would not commit suicide and her convictions were confirmed when she received a call from Phil’s kidnappers. Her only hope of fulfilling the kidnappers request was in a bundle of paperwork left her by Jakarta Rivera, an acquaintance of her father’s and a person who worked many times outside the law. A woman named Rio Sanger was insisting on receiving all information on a operation called Riverbend and was giving Evan 72 hours to come up with the answers.Evan’s fiancée Jesse Blackburn had received a desperate phone call from Phil just before the kidnappers caught him. Phil begged Jesse to stop Evan from becoming involved but when Evan made up her mind there was no stopping her.Evan began a journey that took her to Asia and then to London and finally back to the states with a desperate hope that her father could be saved. The characters seem so very real and the story comes to a startling finale. This is the best Meg Gardiner I’ve read yet.
What do You think about Kill Chain (2007)?
This certainly charges along at a good pace, and a lack of knowledge of the Evan, the main character (who's starred in four previous novels of Gardiner's) isn't a big deal. It's the premise of the book and the actual plot I had a problem with - completely overcomplicated and ridiculous. As an example, it involves a madam who stunts the growth of several of her prostitutes so that they always look small and young to attract customers. But they're also described as wizened and with rotting teeth, so I'm not really sure how their small stature is going to overcome those issues with customers. It's things like that - ideas that the author seems to have thought, "Wow, that's so cool/creepy" and thrown into the story without thinking about practicalities. There's also a lengthy chase across several countries tracking down USB flashdrives for a program with a timer counting down on our heroine's laptop - she plays the sensitive videos on these flashdrives in places like aeroplanes. Man, I know I'd like to be sitting next to someone who's playing a video of someone being murdered. Yeah - it just didn't hit the mark.
—Celia Powell
I was kind of scared to start this book. I like Meg Gardiner's characters, but the length of the adrenaline rush she includes in most of her books is heart attack inducing. The blurb on Goodreads made me anxious about Evan being in trouble before I ever started the book, but I remember feeling the same way about Crosscut and finding that it wasn't as bad as the blurb made it out to be - Evan wasn't in trouble the entire time.This book, however, was a complete adrenaline rush almost the entire ti
—JayeL
Stephen King recommended book and author. King says this about the Evan Delaney series: "Simply put, the finest crime suspense series I've come across in the last twenty years...your basic can't-put-'em-down thrill rides."10/13/13. A thrill a minute; I could hardly put this book down. I'm so disappointed Gardiner hasn't written any more books in this series. Don't leave us hanging, Meg! So much still has to be resolved. And I'm sure our hero and heroine are going to up for another thrilling ride!
—Debra
