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Jo Beckett #4
Todesmut
Zu ihrem 21. Geburtstag wünscht sich Autumn Reiniger etwas ganz Besonderes. Ihr Vater, der keine Kosten scheut, um Autumn glücklich zu machen, wird diesem Wunsch gerecht. Sie und ihre Freunde werden in der kalifornischen Wüste an einem spektakulären Reality-Game teilnehmen. Autumn ist außer sich vor Freude. Was sie nicht weiß: Ihr Vater hat einen Ranger engagiert, der für besondere Überraschungen sorgen soll. Doch dieser Ranger hat ganz andere Pläne. Als ein Teilnehmer unter unerklärlichen Umständen zu Tode kommt, bittet man Jo Beckett um Hilfe. Im Camp angekommen, bietet sich ihr ein Bild des Grauens.
Ein neuer Fall für die forensische Psychiaterin Jo Beckett.
Einen rasanten Sportwagen hat sie schon, ebenso ein schickes Appartement im angesagtesten Viertel San Franciscos. Autumn Reiniger kann ihren 21. Geburtstag kaum erwarten. Ihr Vater hat ihr ein außergewöhnliches Geschenk gemacht: Gemeinsam mit ihren fünf besten Freunden wird sie an einem luxuriösen Reality-Game in der kalifornischen Wildnis teilnehmen. Am Strand von San Francisco geht es los, und der Trip könnte keinen aufregenderen Anfang nehmen: Mit einem Speedboat wird die Gruppe zum Treffpunkt gebracht, von dort geht es mit einem Transporter weiter. Das Gelände wird immer unwegsamer, die Bäume dichter, die Wege verschlungener. Mehr und mehr entfernen sich die Jugendlichen von der Zivilisation. Plötzlich gerät der Wagen ins Schleudern. Der Kofferraum springt auf und gibt eine grausige Fracht preis. Panik bricht aus. Es beginnt ein Albtraum, aus dem es kein Entrinnen zu geben scheint.
Ein neuer Fall für die forensische Psychiaterin Jo Beckett.
Einen rasanten Sportwagen hat sie schon, ebenso ein schickes Appartement im angesagtesten Viertel San Franciscos. Autumn Reiniger kann ihren 21. Geburtstag kaum erwarten. Ihr Vater hat ihr ein außergewöhnliches Geschenk gemacht: Gemeinsam mit ihren fünf besten Freunden wird sie an einem luxuriösen Reality-Game in der kalifornischen Wildnis teilnehmen. Am Strand von San Francisco geht es los, und der Trip könnte keinen aufregenderen Anfang nehmen: Mit einem Speedboat wird die Gruppe zum Treffpunkt gebracht, von dort geht es mit einem Transporter weiter. Das Gelände wird immer unwegsamer, die Bäume dichter, die Wege verschlungener. Mehr und mehr entfernen sich die Jugendlichen von der Zivilisation. Plötzlich gerät der Wagen ins Schleudern. Der Kofferraum springt auf und gibt eine grausige Fracht preis. Panik bricht aus. Es beginnt ein Albtraum, aus dem es kein Entrinnen zu geben scheint.
464 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
98 people are currently reading
1424 people want to read
About the author
Meg Gardiner
35 books2,243 followersMeg Gardiner is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of seventeen thrillers. Shadowheart, her latest novel, is part of the UNSUB series featuring FBI agent Caitlin Hendrix. The Real Book Spy calls it “A mind-trip of a story.” Booklist says, “As always, the writing is exquisite and the story is perfectly crafted.” UNSUB, the first novel in the series, won the 2018 Barry Award for Best Thriller. The Dark Corners of the Night was bought by Amazon Studios for development as an hour-long television drama.
Heat 2 is a prequel/sequel to the film Heat, co-authored with the film’s writer/director, Michael Mann. Booklist’s starred review calls it “Riveting… the fully fleshed human stories support and even transcend the often-breathtaking action.” The Associated Press says, “Slick as a Neil McCauley heist and as intense as a Vincent Hanna chase, ‘Heat 2’ is just dynamite.” It debuted at #1 on the NYT best seller list.
Meg is the author of the Evan Delaney series, the Jo Beckett novels, and several stand alones. China Lake won the 2009 Edgar award for Best Paperback Original. The Nightmare Thief won the 2012 Audie Award for Thriller/Suspense audiobook of the year. Phantom Instinct was one of O, the Oprah magazine's "Best Books of Summer."
Meg was born in Oklahoma and raised in Santa Barbara, California. A graduate of Stanford Law School, she practiced law in Los Angeles and taught writing at the University of California Santa Barbara. She's also a three-time Jeopardy! champion. She lives in Austin, Texas.
Find Meg on Facebook: Facebook.com/MegGardinerBooks Twitter: @MegGardiner1 and Instagram: @Meggardiner1.
Series:
* UNSUB
* Evan Delaney
* Jo Beckett
Heat 2 is a prequel/sequel to the film Heat, co-authored with the film’s writer/director, Michael Mann. Booklist’s starred review calls it “Riveting… the fully fleshed human stories support and even transcend the often-breathtaking action.” The Associated Press says, “Slick as a Neil McCauley heist and as intense as a Vincent Hanna chase, ‘Heat 2’ is just dynamite.” It debuted at #1 on the NYT best seller list.
Meg is the author of the Evan Delaney series, the Jo Beckett novels, and several stand alones. China Lake won the 2009 Edgar award for Best Paperback Original. The Nightmare Thief won the 2012 Audie Award for Thriller/Suspense audiobook of the year. Phantom Instinct was one of O, the Oprah magazine's "Best Books of Summer."
Meg was born in Oklahoma and raised in Santa Barbara, California. A graduate of Stanford Law School, she practiced law in Los Angeles and taught writing at the University of California Santa Barbara. She's also a three-time Jeopardy! champion. She lives in Austin, Texas.
Find Meg on Facebook: Facebook.com/MegGardinerBooks Twitter: @MegGardiner1 and Instagram: @Meggardiner1.
Series:
* UNSUB
* Evan Delaney
* Jo Beckett
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 195 reviews
September 26, 2015
Extremely spoilt Autumn Reiniger was surprised and excited to receive an extreme urban reality game with Edge Adventures as her twenty first birthday gift from her indulgent and wealthy father. Lasting the whole weekend with the SFPD being notified in advance that any crime situation in the area was the doing of Edge Adventures and that it was a game – they were to ignore all cries for help. When Autumn and her five friends were picked up by limo on the morning of the big adventure, the mixture of excitement and fear was palpable.
But unbeknownst to them all, a plan had been in the wind for some time – Autumn was to be part of a huge revenge deal by an evil and twisted psychopath. With the game running, the slight changes were explained away by the Edge employees who were in balaclavas and held guns. They looked real but of course they were fake, weren’t they? Autumn felt twinges of unease – her boyfriend Dustin was getting drunk; her other friends were having a great time. Nothing could possibly go wrong – could it?
Forensic psychiatrist Jo Beckett and partner Gabe Quintana were following up on a suspicious death in the mountains – a lawyer had died in an old mine miles from anywhere. Jo was sure it wasn’t accidental, but they needed proof that the investigation could be reopened. When they hiked back to their vehicle they were surprised to find a limo parked beside theirs with a couple of adults and a number of teenagers milling around. There was something definitely wrong with the scene though – Jo and Gabe both felt shivers run down their spine as unease settled in. What was going on? Was this an innocent adventure the young people were participating in - or what?
After a relatively slow beginning, The Nightmare Thief by Meg Gardiner took off! A gritty, tension filled thriller, the pace picked up and raced along. Jo Beckett is a gutsy, courageous heroine, and Gabe was a person you definitely want on your side. I thoroughly enjoyed this intense thriller and will pick up another by this author soon! Highly recommended.
But unbeknownst to them all, a plan had been in the wind for some time – Autumn was to be part of a huge revenge deal by an evil and twisted psychopath. With the game running, the slight changes were explained away by the Edge employees who were in balaclavas and held guns. They looked real but of course they were fake, weren’t they? Autumn felt twinges of unease – her boyfriend Dustin was getting drunk; her other friends were having a great time. Nothing could possibly go wrong – could it?
Forensic psychiatrist Jo Beckett and partner Gabe Quintana were following up on a suspicious death in the mountains – a lawyer had died in an old mine miles from anywhere. Jo was sure it wasn’t accidental, but they needed proof that the investigation could be reopened. When they hiked back to their vehicle they were surprised to find a limo parked beside theirs with a couple of adults and a number of teenagers milling around. There was something definitely wrong with the scene though – Jo and Gabe both felt shivers run down their spine as unease settled in. What was going on? Was this an innocent adventure the young people were participating in - or what?
After a relatively slow beginning, The Nightmare Thief by Meg Gardiner took off! A gritty, tension filled thriller, the pace picked up and raced along. Jo Beckett is a gutsy, courageous heroine, and Gabe was a person you definitely want on your side. I thoroughly enjoyed this intense thriller and will pick up another by this author soon! Highly recommended.
June 23, 2020
I was a bit sceptical after the first chapter. I thought the college kid characters were going to annoy me too much. However, not the case. This was a fun read, with lots of twists and turns in the tale. I enjoyed trying to work it out, but didnt quite manage to solve it. I would recommend this to those who enjoy a bit of suspense, without taking things too seriously.
July 31, 2011
Glad to see Evan Delaney back in a novel... now she just needs to be the main character. Decent thriller.
March 3, 2021
4,5 stars
"When you can't change a situation, and can't get out of it, you have to go forward".
I just finished reading THE NIGHTMARE THIEF by Meg Gardiner and - WOW - what a book this was.
The plot happens in the period of some hours, a night, when a group of young people start one of those urban reality games (does this really exist?) and are kidnapped and Jo Beckett and her boyfriend, Gabe Quintana, are caught in the mess and they must help the kids, right?
Non stop action, high adrenaline, this is an addictive reading, I loved this book.
"When you can't change a situation, and can't get out of it, you have to go forward".
I just finished reading THE NIGHTMARE THIEF by Meg Gardiner and - WOW - what a book this was.
The plot happens in the period of some hours, a night, when a group of young people start one of those urban reality games (does this really exist?) and are kidnapped and Jo Beckett and her boyfriend, Gabe Quintana, are caught in the mess and they must help the kids, right?
Non stop action, high adrenaline, this is an addictive reading, I loved this book.
July 24, 2017
This wasn't what I thought it would be. I was hoping for horror -not action.
I guess I shouldn't complain - it was one of the many I picked up second hand at the end of a fete - all you can carry for a gold coin donation.
On second thought- maybe it wasn't too bad for 20 cents.
I guess I shouldn't complain - it was one of the many I picked up second hand at the end of a fete - all you can carry for a gold coin donation.
On second thought- maybe it wasn't too bad for 20 cents.
October 25, 2018
Definitely recommend to anyone who likes mysteries! She is a good writer, looking forward to reading her other books!
October 29, 2020
Normāla viena vakara grāmata - pietiekami aizraujošs sižets, lai izlasītu vienā piegājienā. Tas arī ļoti ok, jo citādi diezgan daudz neloģismu:)
June 11, 2021
Took a little while to build, action-packed last quarter particularly. Despite the events being completely unbelievable, none of it felt ridiculous. A good fun read!
August 9, 2023
Where has Meg Gardiner been all my life. Another phenomenal book by her. The plot is so scary but oh so good. Literally didn't want to put the book down. Can't wait to read more of her books.
February 8, 2022
Part outdoor adventure, murder mystery and survival saga. Pixture that with a couple responsible adults and half dozen spoiled rich kids against murderous gang serial killers.
October 1, 2024
not the typical Jo Beckett book, but I loved it!
December 8, 2025
Another good read in this series. A fast paced, action packed thriller. There were parts of the book I wanted to skip over, particularly towards the end where there is way to much mind boggling involvement regarding money investments and ransom negotiations. I get the feeling this series was written with the aim of getting movie productions.
August 6, 2011
In the California wilderness no one can hear you scream.
San Francisco Forensic Psychiatrist Jo Beckett doesn’t dissect the body or the crime scene – she dissects a life and a mind, recreating the victim as a person, piecing together the story of their death to get to the truth. And then she goes after the killer.
Autumn Reiniger wants something special for her twenty-first birthday. Daddy’s bought her the car and the apartment, but now she wants excitement. And what Autumn desires, she gets.
Her father signs-up her and five friends for an ultimate urban reality game. ‘Edge Adventures’ alert the SF police that a ‘crime situation’ is underway, so the authorities will ignore any squealing tires or desperate cries for help.
Then – when working on a case nearby – Jo Beckett encounters a group of men carting six sullen college kids to the woods for a wilderness adventure. Suspicious, she takes a closer look. And winds up with an invite to a birthday party she may never leave …
When I began reading The Nightmare Thief by Meg Gardiner – in the very early hours of Saturday morning – I had in the back of my mind the idea that I would read a couple of chapters, put it to bed so to speak and pick up the following morning just like any sane person would do – after all it was the weekend! Two hours and a strong cup of Twinnings tea later I admitted defeat, turned off the light, placed the book on the bedside cabinet and slept!
The opening chapters in any book are incredibly important and given the number of hours - sometimes days - a book demands of us, get it wrong and you’ve lost a potential customer for future publications – obviously very important for serialisations. No such fears with Meg Gardiner’s latest offering however, the opening chapters are full of adrenaline packed scenarios, effortlessly setting the scene all the while building a solid foundation for the skirmishes and twists found later in the book.
The Nightmare Thief sees Meg Gardiner’s leading ladies – Jo Beckett and Evan Delaney - join forces for the very first time in what is Jo Beckett’s fourth outing, although the pair don’t actually have that much face time in this book. They do work well together, albeit from afar, aiding each other’s attempts to secure a satisfactory conclusion to a game that began innocently enough. The question is can their combined power stop the inevitable?
Characterisation is well developed and although Jo Beckett is billed as the protagonist in this series it was Gabe – her boyfriend and National Guard pararescueman - who shone for me. A strong character he manages to exert his experience and personality on the group, a group in serious trouble, as they try to find a way out from a deadly predicament. Jo and Gabe work well together and the relationship is an interesting one that Gardiner develops and explores throughout.
Full review on my blog:- http://www.milorambles.com/2011/07/03...
San Francisco Forensic Psychiatrist Jo Beckett doesn’t dissect the body or the crime scene – she dissects a life and a mind, recreating the victim as a person, piecing together the story of their death to get to the truth. And then she goes after the killer.
Autumn Reiniger wants something special for her twenty-first birthday. Daddy’s bought her the car and the apartment, but now she wants excitement. And what Autumn desires, she gets.
Her father signs-up her and five friends for an ultimate urban reality game. ‘Edge Adventures’ alert the SF police that a ‘crime situation’ is underway, so the authorities will ignore any squealing tires or desperate cries for help.
Then – when working on a case nearby – Jo Beckett encounters a group of men carting six sullen college kids to the woods for a wilderness adventure. Suspicious, she takes a closer look. And winds up with an invite to a birthday party she may never leave …
When I began reading The Nightmare Thief by Meg Gardiner – in the very early hours of Saturday morning – I had in the back of my mind the idea that I would read a couple of chapters, put it to bed so to speak and pick up the following morning just like any sane person would do – after all it was the weekend! Two hours and a strong cup of Twinnings tea later I admitted defeat, turned off the light, placed the book on the bedside cabinet and slept!
The opening chapters in any book are incredibly important and given the number of hours - sometimes days - a book demands of us, get it wrong and you’ve lost a potential customer for future publications – obviously very important for serialisations. No such fears with Meg Gardiner’s latest offering however, the opening chapters are full of adrenaline packed scenarios, effortlessly setting the scene all the while building a solid foundation for the skirmishes and twists found later in the book.
The Nightmare Thief sees Meg Gardiner’s leading ladies – Jo Beckett and Evan Delaney - join forces for the very first time in what is Jo Beckett’s fourth outing, although the pair don’t actually have that much face time in this book. They do work well together, albeit from afar, aiding each other’s attempts to secure a satisfactory conclusion to a game that began innocently enough. The question is can their combined power stop the inevitable?
Characterisation is well developed and although Jo Beckett is billed as the protagonist in this series it was Gabe – her boyfriend and National Guard pararescueman - who shone for me. A strong character he manages to exert his experience and personality on the group, a group in serious trouble, as they try to find a way out from a deadly predicament. Jo and Gabe work well together and the relationship is an interesting one that Gardiner develops and explores throughout.
Full review on my blog:- http://www.milorambles.com/2011/07/03...
January 4, 2012
I struggled with the first 9-ish chapters of this book, whilst Gardiner sets the scene for all the action that is about to unfold. I couldn’t really remember who was who, and thought I wasn’t ever going to really care. However, once we get into the nitty-gritty kidnapping, it turns into a fast-paced action thriller which is packed full of non-stop action that will keep you turning the pages. However, it’s much more action adventure (about survival) than thriller.
I believe this is the fourth book which follows Jo Beckett, and whilst I hadn’t read the other three, I didn’t feel I needed to in order to read and enjoy The Nightmare Thief. I was a little disappointed that we don’t see much of the forensic psychiatrist side of Jo, but I suppose for that I should read the first three books in this series.
You might need to suspend belief in real life for a while, but it’ll keep you entertained for a few hours. It even has a life lesson, moral-to-the-story type ending. It wasn’t predictable, and the story intertwines and weaves its way towards the ending, but at the same time, there weren’t any jaw dropping light-bulb moments. It was enjoyable, but perhaps not memorable enough for me to remember in a few weeks’ time.
I believe this is the fourth book which follows Jo Beckett, and whilst I hadn’t read the other three, I didn’t feel I needed to in order to read and enjoy The Nightmare Thief. I was a little disappointed that we don’t see much of the forensic psychiatrist side of Jo, but I suppose for that I should read the first three books in this series.
You might need to suspend belief in real life for a while, but it’ll keep you entertained for a few hours. It even has a life lesson, moral-to-the-story type ending. It wasn’t predictable, and the story intertwines and weaves its way towards the ending, but at the same time, there weren’t any jaw dropping light-bulb moments. It was enjoyable, but perhaps not memorable enough for me to remember in a few weeks’ time.
February 27, 2012
Another Jo Beckett novel. Jo is a forsenic psychiatrist, whose specialty is as a consultant to the local police station. She is often asked to help determine the psychological status and mind set of individuals who have died. She has been consulting on the recent death of a local lawyer, whose body was found in an abandoned mine in the Sierra Mt. range. Jo contacts a newspaper reporter, Evan who is also trying to determine how he died. Between the two of them, they find new leads. Jo decides to take a trip to the abandoned mine and takes her boyfriend, Gabe, a pararescue jumper. They inadvertently stumble onto a abduction scene. A young girl, Autumn is turning 21. Her weathy father is the head of a successful hedge fund. He arranged a realty adventure experience for her, unknowly setting up the kidnapping of Autumn and her friends. Jo and Gabe get caught up in the abduction and struggle to try to determine why Autumn was targeted and if it involves the murdered lawyer. Lots of action, hard to put down as I wanted to see what was going to happen next. Looking forward to her next novel with these main characters.
August 10, 2011
This was a good book, but not as good as the previous Beckett novels. It was great that the author brought Beckett and Evan Delaney together on a case. I liked the Delaney novels and it was good to have her back but there wasn't much substance to the return. More of an action book than anything.
August 15, 2011
This is the second book in this series that I've tried and I don't know what it is about this series. I just can't get into. I found this book to be extremely boring and predictable. The concept of the book was pretty orginal and seemed promising. But when I began to read it was a real downer.
October 1, 2024
It’s The Most Dangerous Game meets John Wayne in this swashbuckler thriller. You absolutely need not have read the first three books in this series to enjoy this one.
Lovely rich girl Autumn Reiniger is about to turn 21. Her dad worries she’s far too fixated on his money rather than on growing up. He attempts to remedy that by hiring a company that plans simulated urban crimes. People hunt one another and the scenes are realistic—so much so that the game company must notify law-enforcement authorities when they’re staging one of their urban crime sprees in their town. The goal was to force Autumn into realistic circumstances that would force her to set aside her selfishness and deal with adversity. Of course, because it’s her birthday, in the end, she escapes the big, bad U.S. Marshals whom she must evade through the several days of the game. She wins, and her friends join her in a drunken rich brat party extraordinaire.
Jo Beckett is a forensic psychiatrist. She takes a death and works backward through the person’s life to see whether she can figure out why they died. Was it suicide, for example? Or something else? Jo and her survivalist boyfriend team up with Journalist Evan Delaney from another Gardiner series to determine whether a guy offed himself or whether he had help. Jo is at a campground when a group of college kids show up. Clearly, something’s off about their game.
The game runners who were supposed to have run the game for Autumn failed to show up for various reasons, and the replacements kidnapped her and her friends. The kids don’t realize Autumn is the kidnap target until one of them dies by gunshot. The kidnappers ensnare Jo and her boyfriend into their net of captivity.
You get fast-paced constant action, and it involves everything from guns to poisonous snakes. The plot glued me to the book for as long as it took to finish it. The storyline was propulsive enough that it drove off the evil forces of Morpheus who regularly attack me two hours or more before I’m supposed to be in bed. I loved this plot, and I loved this ending. Yes, many of the actions of the characters seem improbable considering how shot up, broken, and bitten they are, but if you strap into your favorite John Wayne outfit and pretend you are general Zaroff hunting poor Rainsford, you’ll be able to set aside more easily the improbable portions of the plot.
Lovely rich girl Autumn Reiniger is about to turn 21. Her dad worries she’s far too fixated on his money rather than on growing up. He attempts to remedy that by hiring a company that plans simulated urban crimes. People hunt one another and the scenes are realistic—so much so that the game company must notify law-enforcement authorities when they’re staging one of their urban crime sprees in their town. The goal was to force Autumn into realistic circumstances that would force her to set aside her selfishness and deal with adversity. Of course, because it’s her birthday, in the end, she escapes the big, bad U.S. Marshals whom she must evade through the several days of the game. She wins, and her friends join her in a drunken rich brat party extraordinaire.
Jo Beckett is a forensic psychiatrist. She takes a death and works backward through the person’s life to see whether she can figure out why they died. Was it suicide, for example? Or something else? Jo and her survivalist boyfriend team up with Journalist Evan Delaney from another Gardiner series to determine whether a guy offed himself or whether he had help. Jo is at a campground when a group of college kids show up. Clearly, something’s off about their game.
The game runners who were supposed to have run the game for Autumn failed to show up for various reasons, and the replacements kidnapped her and her friends. The kids don’t realize Autumn is the kidnap target until one of them dies by gunshot. The kidnappers ensnare Jo and her boyfriend into their net of captivity.
You get fast-paced constant action, and it involves everything from guns to poisonous snakes. The plot glued me to the book for as long as it took to finish it. The storyline was propulsive enough that it drove off the evil forces of Morpheus who regularly attack me two hours or more before I’m supposed to be in bed. I loved this plot, and I loved this ending. Yes, many of the actions of the characters seem improbable considering how shot up, broken, and bitten they are, but if you strap into your favorite John Wayne outfit and pretend you are general Zaroff hunting poor Rainsford, you’ll be able to set aside more easily the improbable portions of the plot.
January 8, 2019
Book: The Nightmare Thief (Jo Beckett Book 4)
Book 2/52 for the year
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Time to Read: 6 Days
How Did I Get It? Digital Version From Library
Mini Review: This is the fourth installment in the Jo Beckett series. Jo is a forensic psychologist she will investigate the lives of people who have died and their deaths are unexplained.
In this book, Jo and her partner Gabe Quintana are investigating a death but get pulled into a strange game.
Autumn is given a special game for her birthday a simulated drug deal, jail break, kidnapping and manhunt. The cops know all about it. Unfortunately the game doesn’t go as planned and Autumn and her friends are playing a game of life and death.
I have liked the previous books in the series but this book was a little outlandish. It was fast paced and full of thrills, but I kept thinking wow what more can they throw at the group. The book also had a few twists and turns which made it fun. But as I said a little outlandish. I started getting tired of all the things that could be thrown at Jo and Gabe. It made the last 40% of the book slow reading for me.
I looked to see if there were more books in the series but it seems it’s the last one. The book also introduced Evan Delaney an attorney turned reporter. Gardnier started a series about Evan that I will check out.
Have you read this book?
#bookstgram #books #bookworm #booksofinstagram #reading #bookreviews #bookrecommendations #readingchallenge #goodreads #amreading #currentlyreading #kindle #ebook
Book 2/52 for the year
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Time to Read: 6 Days
How Did I Get It? Digital Version From Library
Mini Review: This is the fourth installment in the Jo Beckett series. Jo is a forensic psychologist she will investigate the lives of people who have died and their deaths are unexplained.
In this book, Jo and her partner Gabe Quintana are investigating a death but get pulled into a strange game.
Autumn is given a special game for her birthday a simulated drug deal, jail break, kidnapping and manhunt. The cops know all about it. Unfortunately the game doesn’t go as planned and Autumn and her friends are playing a game of life and death.
I have liked the previous books in the series but this book was a little outlandish. It was fast paced and full of thrills, but I kept thinking wow what more can they throw at the group. The book also had a few twists and turns which made it fun. But as I said a little outlandish. I started getting tired of all the things that could be thrown at Jo and Gabe. It made the last 40% of the book slow reading for me.
I looked to see if there were more books in the series but it seems it’s the last one. The book also introduced Evan Delaney an attorney turned reporter. Gardnier started a series about Evan that I will check out.
Have you read this book?
#bookstgram #books #bookworm #booksofinstagram #reading #bookreviews #bookrecommendations #readingchallenge #goodreads #amreading #currentlyreading #kindle #ebook
March 25, 2020
Jo and Gabe are in the mountains as Jo is looking into a suspicious death. At the same time Autumn Reininger is getting ready to celebrate her 21st birthday with an ultimate reality game and 5 of her friends.
I personally thought the book started off a bit slow. Autumn and her friends head out to start her birthday and it becomes apparent that it is not going to happen as planned. Someone else has had plans for a long time and want o kidnap her.
Jo and Gabe happen to be in the wrong place and cross paths with Autumn and everyone. Soon, it is a fight to stay alive as others around them die or are hurt.
As the story progresses it gets better in my opinion. More action, story seems to move at a faster pace while rooting for some and not for others. Sad to see that so far this seems to be the last in the Jo Beckett series.
I personally thought the book started off a bit slow. Autumn and her friends head out to start her birthday and it becomes apparent that it is not going to happen as planned. Someone else has had plans for a long time and want o kidnap her.
Jo and Gabe happen to be in the wrong place and cross paths with Autumn and everyone. Soon, it is a fight to stay alive as others around them die or are hurt.
As the story progresses it gets better in my opinion. More action, story seems to move at a faster pace while rooting for some and not for others. Sad to see that so far this seems to be the last in the Jo Beckett series.
June 9, 2019
This has been on my bookshelf for ages because I misread the back blurb and thought it was a supernatural horror story about kids getting lost in the woods......gosh have I been missing out!
This is about a Forensic Psychiatrist, Jo Beckett, who is trying to find information about the murder of a lawyer. She goes on a hike with her boyfriend to the scene of the crime and is sucked into a urban adventures game that has gone wrong. This is well written, exciting and everything is interwoven really well making a good story that is well thought out and very well written.
The 4th in the series, and I haven't read the other books, but at no point do you feel as if you've missed something by not having read the other books. I'm looking forward to going back and reading the first book.
This is about a Forensic Psychiatrist, Jo Beckett, who is trying to find information about the murder of a lawyer. She goes on a hike with her boyfriend to the scene of the crime and is sucked into a urban adventures game that has gone wrong. This is well written, exciting and everything is interwoven really well making a good story that is well thought out and very well written.
The 4th in the series, and I haven't read the other books, but at no point do you feel as if you've missed something by not having read the other books. I'm looking forward to going back and reading the first book.
October 21, 2012
This book felt like a gimmick. Fans of the Evan Delaney books have been waiting YEARS to find some resolution to the cliffhanger of Kill Chain, but Meg Gardiner has moved on to Jo Beckett. Enter: The Nightmare Thief, which promised to include Evan Delaney (and Jesse Blackburn) in the fourth Jo Beckett book. Sounds promising enough, right? Both Evan and Jesse appear in the first chapter, and though things haven't changed between them, Jesse is in town (SF) arguing before the 9th circuit, so we think: yay, at some point, we'll get a scene with them together!! Well, sorry to say, but Evan is a plot device in this book, and over 350 pages pass before Jesse is even MENTIONED again. That's right: he doesn't appear again in the book, is simply mentioned as a motive for something Jo did in the climax. So he's essentially a plot device, too.
The fact that he purposefully appears in the kindle preview made me feel even more manipulated. The only consolation is
Putting those issues aside, though, I came in not expecting to see much Jesse. Hoping, but not expecting. I thought, maybe I'll fall in love with Jo and Gabe and go back and read the other three books. Yeah, not going to happen. The Nightmare Thief is long, boring, and lacks the fun twists and great characters of the previous books. It does have a psycho as a villain, though! (Wouldn't be a Meg Gardiner book without one, right?)
As far as the plot goes, it's boring. Maybe because things happen too soon so there isn't much room for escalation, I honestly don't know. But I felt like I had everything figured out (or did so pretty early in), so the book didn't feel like a roller coaster ride. Maybe it was because info got repeated several times among the different characters. So by the time Jo figures something out, we already know it via the bad guys AND Evan (for example), so there's no, *GASP OMG* moments. I didn't really feel the "thrill" or "tension" at any point in the book like I do in the ED novels, like I'm on the edge of my seat, not knowing what's happening next. Even the finale didn't really do much for me. The whole book just was a big blah YAWN.
I think part of this also has to do with the characters/storytelling. Although I have my issues for the way Ms. Gardiner breaks the rigidity of the first-person narrative by telling events that Evan isn't there to witness, having her as the narrator really (apparently) affects the enjoyment of the story immensely. You get her personality big time during the telling of the story itself--her sense of humor in particular. The Jo Beckett books are third-person, and so we don't get Jo's personality injected into the prose in the same way we do in first-person. While this is an inherent limitation of the POV, I do think a good writer can still write the third-person narrative around the voice of the particular person whose POV you are in at that moment. However--and maybe this is partially because I haven't read the other books in this series--I didn't feel like Jo or Gabe (or anyone else really, for that matter) was a "real" person. I could be biased, because I read all five ED books in order, but I really felt like there was character development there--especially for Jesse, so that by the time we get to the fifth book, it's obvious they're not the same people they were in book one; I feel like MG really got better with character by the time I got to the last book.
In The Nightmare Thief, I think I didn't feel tension or anxiety while reading because I didn't really care enough about any of the characters. Jo felt like a non-entity. I couldn't really tell you anything about her other than she's a forensic shrink and has brown curly hair, and looks a lot like her sister. Yeah, I know a bit about her backstory (her husband was killed in a medivac crash three years ago and she has a claustrophobia because of an accident that happened, I guess, as a child), but none of this really made me feel like she was a real person. Part of what drives the ED books is the love between Jesse and Evan. Even though they're always fucking things up as far as their relationship goes, that's always there, always strong, and I feel like you get that from book one. Although it's obvious Gabe and Jo care about each other, I never felt that same power in this book. Maybe also because I didn't get a good sense of Gabe, either. He felt pretty stock character to me.
In fact, the only really interesting character in the whole book was Ferd, Jo's neighbor, who is an avid gamer, has a massive crush on Jo, and has a pet monkey.
Generally, this book didn't excite me the way the other MG books have. The characters were flat, the plot was boring, and it didn't have the wit and humor of the ED novels (which is a large reason I enjoy them so much). On top of all this, it felt like putting Jesse in the first twenty pages and including Evan were simply gimmicks to try to get those of us in love with the ED series to jump ship to Jo Beckett.
Sorry, MG. I had put off buying this book for a while because I suspected it wouldn't satisfy my missing Jesse and Evan, and I kinda wish I had stuck to my guns. PLEASE give us another Evan Delaney book - and make sure it has lots of Jesse in it. I resented that Jo and Gabe are so HAPPY and are going to be together and live HEA, but Evan and Jesse can never do that :(.
Big disappointment on many levels.
The fact that he purposefully appears in the kindle preview made me feel even more manipulated. The only consolation is
Putting those issues aside, though, I came in not expecting to see much Jesse. Hoping, but not expecting. I thought, maybe I'll fall in love with Jo and Gabe and go back and read the other three books. Yeah, not going to happen. The Nightmare Thief is long, boring, and lacks the fun twists and great characters of the previous books. It does have a psycho as a villain, though! (Wouldn't be a Meg Gardiner book without one, right?)
As far as the plot goes, it's boring. Maybe because things happen too soon so there isn't much room for escalation, I honestly don't know. But I felt like I had everything figured out (or did so pretty early in), so the book didn't feel like a roller coaster ride. Maybe it was because info got repeated several times among the different characters. So by the time Jo figures something out, we already know it via the bad guys AND Evan (for example), so there's no, *GASP OMG* moments. I didn't really feel the "thrill" or "tension" at any point in the book like I do in the ED novels, like I'm on the edge of my seat, not knowing what's happening next. Even the finale didn't really do much for me. The whole book just was a big blah YAWN.
I think part of this also has to do with the characters/storytelling. Although I have my issues for the way Ms. Gardiner breaks the rigidity of the first-person narrative by telling events that Evan isn't there to witness, having her as the narrator really (apparently) affects the enjoyment of the story immensely. You get her personality big time during the telling of the story itself--her sense of humor in particular. The Jo Beckett books are third-person, and so we don't get Jo's personality injected into the prose in the same way we do in first-person. While this is an inherent limitation of the POV, I do think a good writer can still write the third-person narrative around the voice of the particular person whose POV you are in at that moment. However--and maybe this is partially because I haven't read the other books in this series--I didn't feel like Jo or Gabe (or anyone else really, for that matter) was a "real" person. I could be biased, because I read all five ED books in order, but I really felt like there was character development there--especially for Jesse, so that by the time we get to the fifth book, it's obvious they're not the same people they were in book one; I feel like MG really got better with character by the time I got to the last book.
In The Nightmare Thief, I think I didn't feel tension or anxiety while reading because I didn't really care enough about any of the characters. Jo felt like a non-entity. I couldn't really tell you anything about her other than she's a forensic shrink and has brown curly hair, and looks a lot like her sister. Yeah, I know a bit about her backstory (her husband was killed in a medivac crash three years ago and she has a claustrophobia because of an accident that happened, I guess, as a child), but none of this really made me feel like she was a real person. Part of what drives the ED books is the love between Jesse and Evan. Even though they're always fucking things up as far as their relationship goes, that's always there, always strong, and I feel like you get that from book one. Although it's obvious Gabe and Jo care about each other, I never felt that same power in this book. Maybe also because I didn't get a good sense of Gabe, either. He felt pretty stock character to me.
In fact, the only really interesting character in the whole book was Ferd, Jo's neighbor, who is an avid gamer, has a massive crush on Jo, and has a pet monkey.
Generally, this book didn't excite me the way the other MG books have. The characters were flat, the plot was boring, and it didn't have the wit and humor of the ED novels (which is a large reason I enjoy them so much). On top of all this, it felt like putting Jesse in the first twenty pages and including Evan were simply gimmicks to try to get those of us in love with the ED series to jump ship to Jo Beckett.
Sorry, MG. I had put off buying this book for a while because I suspected it wouldn't satisfy my missing Jesse and Evan, and I kinda wish I had stuck to my guns. PLEASE give us another Evan Delaney book - and make sure it has lots of Jesse in it. I resented that Jo and Gabe are so HAPPY and are going to be together and live HEA, but Evan and Jesse can never do that :(.
Big disappointment on many levels.
May 14, 2018
This book was pretty generic. I'm pretty sure I've read/watched this story at least a dozen times before (fancy roleplay experience goes wrong and turns into actual murder/kidnapping). That being said, this was pretty entertaining. I didn't necessarily mind that it didn't offer anything new simply because it was a solid read with enough action that there was never a point to stop and think. While it wasn't necessarily a great book, it was definitely worth the read for me. A fun little mindless thriller.
October 6, 2019
Avventuroso, ma nulla di più. Forse non ha aiutato che fosse il quarto libro di una serie (non lo sapevo quando l’ho comprato usato), ma in ogni caso ero stata attratta dalla professione della protagonista (una psicologa forense) e pensavo che questo aspetto avrebbe avuto una qualche rilevanza nel libro. Invece c’è poca psicologia e molta sopravvivenza spicciola, che non è il mio genere, anche se devo ammettere che il libro si leggeva velocemente e la suspence si sentiva tutta.
-Librovora miki_tr
-Librovora miki_tr
February 24, 2022
I really liked this series. The plots were different, the characters were so likable, and I kept wondering whether or not I should read the Evan Delaney series, (she makes a guest appearance throughout the whole book vs. Jo videocalling Caitlin in UNSUB series). I wish I remembered exactly how the interaction went with Jo and Caitlin (and which book) but ya know.... reading so many books. Meg Gardiner can right Mystery Thrillers yall!! I didn't see one of these twists and it was so good!!! Plus the added humor of the cadre that supports Jo!!! Ferd and Mr. P!!!
April 4, 2020
Another excellent read from Meg Gardiner, and this book gave me some closure from the last Evan Delaney book. Jo Beckett teams up with Evan Delaney in this book while investigating whether or not a man killed himself. She and Gabe Quintana find themselves drawn into the middle of a kidnapping scheme and the plot comes full circle. Lots of action and a cracking mystery!
September 20, 2020
The Nightmare Thief gets five stars just for bringing Evan Delaney back (even though I think I prefer Jo Beckett.) At first, I thought the mystery was too coincidental, but in the end, Gardiner explained everything to my satisfaction. This one had non-stop action and I definitely enjoyed reading it.
October 23, 2017
Very slow to start. Too many characters in too short a time and I almost gave up on it. Was a book club book so stuck with it. Does start to engage you near the end of the first third and is stronger in the second half.
January 29, 2018
OMG & WOW!!! I swear I'm hyperventilating from the suspense & psycho action to the end of this book. This author is amazingly talented. Indeed, the characters come to life, the pages turn themselves. You just need to remember to breath, seriously!!!!!
May 29, 2019
I am quite surprised by how much I really didn't care for this book. The plot held such promise but the writing left me confused. Too wordy and somehow not descriptive enough-left me without any idea what was going on in some of the scenarios the characters found themselves in.
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