Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Bad Guys by Linwood Barclay

After reading Bad Move a couple of weeks ago and really enjoying it, I picked up the next in the series at the library. I was really glad I did, since I really enjoyed this one as well. 4 1/2 stars out of 5.

Zack is back, and much to his family's relief, the work-at-home science-fiction writer has left the house to take a job as a features writer for the city paper. But now that Zack's incessant plotting can no longer be hatched from the comforts of his own home, he must be ever more vigilant to outwit the evil at large, whether in the suburbs, the city, or his own imagination. Zack is ready... or so he thinks.

While researching his first feature article, Zack stumbles upon a real-life crime scene, but what seems like an ordinary hit-and-run may actually be a homicide linked to a gang that's been burglarizing Crandall's high end shops. Suddenly Zack finds himself at the center of a violent crime wave and destined for a confrontation with Barbie Bullock, an unsettling figure infamous in the crime syndicate for his ruthless business tactics and peculiar proclivity for collecting dolls.

And all is not quiet on the home front either. Zack's protective instincts launch into overdrive when he discovers that his daughter's rejected suitor has been tracing her every step and may harbor a much more ominous motivation than winning a Saturday night date. Nor does his son's strange behavior and recent friendship with a creepy computer recluse inspire joy in a father's heart.

As worlds begin to collide and boundaries between family and foe blur, Zack goes on the attack, and heaven help the bad guys when this resourceful father comes to make good on a deal gone bad.

I really enjoyed this story and look forward to upcoming books in this series. Zack is a really likeable character and I find his antics and over-protectivness attitude. There is always laugh out loud moments and the suspense is pretty good too. While most of the books I read have the point of view of a woman, it is nice to see it from a man's point of view. This book is a very quick read (though it did take me almost a week to read... but that was because of school and work) but you really get to know the characters and their motivation. My library does not have the next book in the series, so I will be on the lookout the next time I make it to the bookstore. There is also a fourth one coming out in May, so I have that to look forward to! I also saw that Mr. Barclay has a stand alone book coming out towards the end of the year, so I will be counting on that. I hope Mr. Barclay continues his his voice and humor in the upcoming books! He is a wonderful new find in the new year!

The only reason why I didn't give this book five stars is because I feel that five stars has to be something that I would love to read over and over and couldn't part with. Since I really do not re-read books (hence the reason why I get so many books from the library), I don't think there will be too many fives out of me.

Up next... not sure! I think whatever catches my fancy... but I think it might be one of the new books I got from the Next line through Harlequin. I stopped at the UBS yesterday on my way to class and got two more of them! (I know I said no more new books, but I had time to kill...)

Hope everyone's reading is going well and more successful than mine has.

No comments: