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The Randall Lee Mysteries #2
Pressure Point
Randall Lee is back!
"I need you to do… whatever it is that you do, Randall. Help him. Please."
Just back from a relaxing vacation, acupuncturist and Tai Chi master Randall Lee returns to find his friend, Detective John Knox, in critical condition following a bizarre attack by a seemingly unstoppable assailant.
Against the wishes of the police and his own girlfriend, Randall begins to look into the case... but in vowing to help Knox, Lee must descend into a world of organized crime, mysterious assassins, and his own shadowy past to discover the truth.
"I need you to do… whatever it is that you do, Randall. Help him. Please."
Just back from a relaxing vacation, acupuncturist and Tai Chi master Randall Lee returns to find his friend, Detective John Knox, in critical condition following a bizarre attack by a seemingly unstoppable assailant.
Against the wishes of the police and his own girlfriend, Randall begins to look into the case... but in vowing to help Knox, Lee must descend into a world of organized crime, mysterious assassins, and his own shadowy past to discover the truth.
300 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 2012
32 people are currently reading
92 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
January 12, 2018
When somebody hospitalizes Randall Lee's cop buddy, he starts poking around. Of course, the cop's partner doesn't like it. Lee finds organized crime, old friends from China, underground cage fighting, and a designer drug.
Not bad. A lot of misplaced liberal guilt on display. Some good fight scenes. For supposedly intelligent guy, Randall sure lacks a lot of common sense.
Not bad. A lot of misplaced liberal guilt on display. Some good fight scenes. For supposedly intelligent guy, Randall sure lacks a lot of common sense.
October 2, 2012
Randall Lee is my new favorite antihero! He's not the typical tall, dark, handsome, perfect-but-damaged storybook hero. Instead, Randall is an average looking guy who excels in martial arts and gets himself in a lot of trouble while trying to do something good. Randall could lead me anywhere and I'd follow, simply because he's so much fun to hang out with.
Charles Colyott writes with a rare combination of suspense and humor. Pressure Point had me biting my nails one minute and laughing the next. Highly recommended!
** If you haven't read Changes, the first in this series, I'd recommend starting there. **
Charles Colyott writes with a rare combination of suspense and humor. Pressure Point had me biting my nails one minute and laughing the next. Highly recommended!
** If you haven't read Changes, the first in this series, I'd recommend starting there. **
December 9, 2012
People, I am on a ROLL with my book choices, lately. It just keeps getting better. Admittedly, however, I was pretty sure I wouldn't go wrong with Pressure Point, seeing as it is a sequel to another 5 star book I reviewed recently, entitled Changes. In this new book, Randall continues to use his amateur sleuthing and his not-so-amateur-at-all martial arts skills to solve another complex mystery. As in Changes, he partners in love with his "opposites attract" girlfriend, Tracy; partners in sleuth with his policeman friend Knox, and trains with the finest Tai Chi master in the area. It's sarcastic and funny and dark and engrossing all at the same time. When the end came, I kept pressing the forward button on my Kindle app...sure that this COULDN'T be the end of this story. As it turns out, it's not...the next installment comes out in April 2013....I'll definitely be back for more!
August 15, 2012
Changes, the first Randall Lee novel was excellent, and Colyott takes it to a whole new level with this second entry in the series. I can't wait to read the public's reaction when Pressure Point is released.
October 1, 2013
Charles Colyott's character Randall Lee is rapidly becoming one of my favorite book characters. He's complex and layered, flawed and self-deprecating, and someone you'd love to have a cup of tea with. But you wouldn't want to hang out with Randall Lee for long, for close proximity to Lee can be dangerous to your health. Trouble follows him like night follows day, and innocent people tend to get caught in the cross fire.
The ending of this book left me gasping, so I can't wait for Colyott's next installment in the Randall Lee Mysteries.
The ending of this book left me gasping, so I can't wait for Colyott's next installment in the Randall Lee Mysteries.
January 11, 2013
Simply another winner from Charles Colyott! I see an addiction coming on! :-)
September 27, 2013
Outstanding!
October 2, 2021
I hate when trilogies do this. There's no real ending, just a commercial for the next book. I wouldn't mind so much if the entire series were in the Kindle Unlimited program so that you can binge the whole thing, but the way it is set up, I paid for a book, and all I got was a bunch of cliffhangers. I'm so mad and disappointed; I'm not even going to buy the third book. From the description, it's just a dark thriller anyway, so IDK why the word mysteries is included in the series name. It's false advertising and a complete misnomer.
The case/investigation is so flimsy that it reads more like a half-assed thriller with multiple threads. There are missed opportunities to explore Randall's unique perspective and abilities that are frustrating. For example, when he's reviewing the security camera footage of his friend being attacked. The author gave too little time or attention to developing the story, and I kept expecting it to be a more significant clue, but the author made very little of it.
The case and the story are both chock-full of cliches about mobsters and drugs, and anyone old enough to remember the Iran-Contra scandal of the Reagan era will figure everything out right away. But, heck, you don't even have to be that old. The Freeway Rick Ross beef between the actual guy who colluded with the CIA to flood the inner cities with crack and the rapper who stole his name/cred is only a few years old at this point. I wish the author had put more effort into the actual mystery and plotted out the case more before publishing this.
All of the charms of Randall and his Tai Chi are absent from this book. All of the posture names for what he's doing are gone. So even the grace and intention of the fight scenes are gone now. Even the acupuncture feels more like a plot device rather than the healing art to which Randall has dedicated his life.
There's a difference between being obtuse and bumbling. In this book, Randall rarely has the agency or the insight to ever feel like he's pushing things forward, so, for vast swaths of the book, it seems like he's bumbling along. Sure, he takes action to meet with informants, but his presence and impact on the milieu are blunted compared to the first book, and he comes across as being both obtuse and bumbling. This is not a great combo in a protagonist. Even the typical anti-hero has a larger set of principles or ideals that put him at odds with the world. Sure, I suppose Randall's reluctance to use Dim Mak might constitute an attempt at positioning him as an anti-hero, but the author handles this so poorly that to me, it serves the author more than the character.
Much of Randall's character arc gets a shoddy treatment in this book. There are still elements of his misanthropic attitude towards the world writ large contrasted with him caring about his girlfriend and Knox and Daniel/Tony. But instead of these moments causing an internal conflict or a moment of relief or support, Randall reverts to his old ways and begins to see all of them as only causing him pain. The author treated this dynamic much better in the first book and even approached it with humor in the scenes with Master Cheng. I wouldn't mind it so much here if there were a better resolution at the end.
Every stint of personal growth is bound to have some regression, but Randall's arc through this book is so heavily weighted towards disintegration that by the lame, cliffhanger chapters at the end of the book, I realized I'm done with him. I don't care what happens next. I don't care if he ever repairs his relationship with Tracy. I don't care if there's a crazy librarian scientist with a vendetta against him. I don't care if his mobster nemesis Julian is alive or dead or coming after him too. I'm done.
The end of the tournament was a cheap shot. It was a total cop-out, and I think Randall, as well as readers, deserve better. Don't waste your money on this tripe. The minute the CIA shows up is the minute you'll regret your purchase and wish you could get your money back.
The case/investigation is so flimsy that it reads more like a half-assed thriller with multiple threads. There are missed opportunities to explore Randall's unique perspective and abilities that are frustrating. For example, when he's reviewing the security camera footage of his friend being attacked. The author gave too little time or attention to developing the story, and I kept expecting it to be a more significant clue, but the author made very little of it.
The case and the story are both chock-full of cliches about mobsters and drugs, and anyone old enough to remember the Iran-Contra scandal of the Reagan era will figure everything out right away. But, heck, you don't even have to be that old. The Freeway Rick Ross beef between the actual guy who colluded with the CIA to flood the inner cities with crack and the rapper who stole his name/cred is only a few years old at this point. I wish the author had put more effort into the actual mystery and plotted out the case more before publishing this.
All of the charms of Randall and his Tai Chi are absent from this book. All of the posture names for what he's doing are gone. So even the grace and intention of the fight scenes are gone now. Even the acupuncture feels more like a plot device rather than the healing art to which Randall has dedicated his life.
There's a difference between being obtuse and bumbling. In this book, Randall rarely has the agency or the insight to ever feel like he's pushing things forward, so, for vast swaths of the book, it seems like he's bumbling along. Sure, he takes action to meet with informants, but his presence and impact on the milieu are blunted compared to the first book, and he comes across as being both obtuse and bumbling. This is not a great combo in a protagonist. Even the typical anti-hero has a larger set of principles or ideals that put him at odds with the world. Sure, I suppose Randall's reluctance to use Dim Mak might constitute an attempt at positioning him as an anti-hero, but the author handles this so poorly that to me, it serves the author more than the character.
Much of Randall's character arc gets a shoddy treatment in this book. There are still elements of his misanthropic attitude towards the world writ large contrasted with him caring about his girlfriend and Knox and Daniel/Tony. But instead of these moments causing an internal conflict or a moment of relief or support, Randall reverts to his old ways and begins to see all of them as only causing him pain. The author treated this dynamic much better in the first book and even approached it with humor in the scenes with Master Cheng. I wouldn't mind it so much here if there were a better resolution at the end.
Every stint of personal growth is bound to have some regression, but Randall's arc through this book is so heavily weighted towards disintegration that by the lame, cliffhanger chapters at the end of the book, I realized I'm done with him. I don't care what happens next. I don't care if he ever repairs his relationship with Tracy. I don't care if there's a crazy librarian scientist with a vendetta against him. I don't care if his mobster nemesis Julian is alive or dead or coming after him too. I'm done.
The end of the tournament was a cheap shot. It was a total cop-out, and I think Randall, as well as readers, deserve better. Don't waste your money on this tripe. The minute the CIA shows up is the minute you'll regret your purchase and wish you could get your money back.
August 18, 2017
( Format : Audiobook )
"What's wrong with you, Randall?"
Randall Lee is a healer, a doctor, an accupuncturist and practitioner of Chinese medicine. According to Tracy, his girl friend, he is not a crime fighter. Nor is he Batman. But he can't resist poking his nose into the search for the wife of the abrasive Detective Ramerez when she disappears after her husband is injured.
Because, although mild mannered and not wanting to put himself or Tracy into danger, Lee is far more than he seems on the surface.
This was a very different book from the usual crime/action thriller, with brilliant characterisations and the unexpected poking out around every corner. Plenty of action, too, much of it one-on-one organised fights and also Martial Arts sequences. For someone like me who knows nothing about (and cares even less for) this form of engagement, these often longish passages should have been deathly dull. There were not. They were rivetting, so well and tensely were they written. The story situations were also unusual.
Randall Lee himself emerges as a fully formed, three dimensional flawed but sympathetic character and narrator, Todd Curless, performs him perfectly, a slightly nerdy, sarcastic but self doubting man haunted by his past, his love for Tracy and his need to fulfill his path as a doctor. All this Mr.Curless conveys in his reading with good modulation and clear, warm diction. His voicings of the other characters, sometimes complex, are also good and mostly distinctive, the text readings perfectly paced.
I received this book, as a freely given gift, from the rights holder, via Audiobook Boom. Thank you so much. Before requesting a copy, I had not previously read any other books by Charles Colyott and knew nothing of the Randall Lee Mystery Series of which Pressure Point is, apparently, number two. It was totally unnecessary, for the enjoyment of this strange and very exciting story. However, I will now be looking for the first book to get to know this strange and rather enigmatic figure better and await the next story with a definite impatience. Highly recommended - it might surprise you.
"What's wrong with you, Randall?"
Randall Lee is a healer, a doctor, an accupuncturist and practitioner of Chinese medicine. According to Tracy, his girl friend, he is not a crime fighter. Nor is he Batman. But he can't resist poking his nose into the search for the wife of the abrasive Detective Ramerez when she disappears after her husband is injured.
Because, although mild mannered and not wanting to put himself or Tracy into danger, Lee is far more than he seems on the surface.
This was a very different book from the usual crime/action thriller, with brilliant characterisations and the unexpected poking out around every corner. Plenty of action, too, much of it one-on-one organised fights and also Martial Arts sequences. For someone like me who knows nothing about (and cares even less for) this form of engagement, these often longish passages should have been deathly dull. There were not. They were rivetting, so well and tensely were they written. The story situations were also unusual.
Randall Lee himself emerges as a fully formed, three dimensional flawed but sympathetic character and narrator, Todd Curless, performs him perfectly, a slightly nerdy, sarcastic but self doubting man haunted by his past, his love for Tracy and his need to fulfill his path as a doctor. All this Mr.Curless conveys in his reading with good modulation and clear, warm diction. His voicings of the other characters, sometimes complex, are also good and mostly distinctive, the text readings perfectly paced.
I received this book, as a freely given gift, from the rights holder, via Audiobook Boom. Thank you so much. Before requesting a copy, I had not previously read any other books by Charles Colyott and knew nothing of the Randall Lee Mystery Series of which Pressure Point is, apparently, number two. It was totally unnecessary, for the enjoyment of this strange and very exciting story. However, I will now be looking for the first book to get to know this strange and rather enigmatic figure better and await the next story with a definite impatience. Highly recommended - it might surprise you.
March 26, 2018
Stunning!
Thank you, Charles Colyott! Once again you have written an amazing story.
I wish I had the words to properly review this book. Randall Lee is a character that you will not forget. His knowledge, skills, and snarky personality are wonderful. He is not only a skilled practitioner of the martial arts, doctor of Chinese medicine, acupuncturist, and all round wise guy, he is also apparently a trouble magnet. Somehow trouble seeks him out and truly messes him up. It can't be Karma because too many really lousy things happen to him and I don't think anything he's done deserves that. Yet, he keeps plugging away. He is basically a really decent guy but he's also very human and has his flaws. He has endured great tragedies but has not been destroyed by them.
This book was nearly impossible to put down. Who needs sleep anyway?
Thank you, Charles Colyott! Once again you have written an amazing story.
I wish I had the words to properly review this book. Randall Lee is a character that you will not forget. His knowledge, skills, and snarky personality are wonderful. He is not only a skilled practitioner of the martial arts, doctor of Chinese medicine, acupuncturist, and all round wise guy, he is also apparently a trouble magnet. Somehow trouble seeks him out and truly messes him up. It can't be Karma because too many really lousy things happen to him and I don't think anything he's done deserves that. Yet, he keeps plugging away. He is basically a really decent guy but he's also very human and has his flaws. He has endured great tragedies but has not been destroyed by them.
This book was nearly impossible to put down. Who needs sleep anyway?
August 8, 2017
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Great start to a new crime series. Listened it from beginning to end in one sitting (big trip).
Todd Curless did a pretty amazing work.
He ends this book with a cliffhanger (so... there's a book 2 coming?).
Great start to a new crime series. Listened it from beginning to end in one sitting (big trip).
Todd Curless did a pretty amazing work.
He ends this book with a cliffhanger (so... there's a book 2 coming?).
July 16, 2017
This was another good book in the Randall Lee series. The ending was certainly unexpected and darker than I thought this author author would go.
There is some editing mistakes, but I can forgive those as they did not detract from the story.
There is some editing mistakes, but I can forgive those as they did not detract from the story.
April 3, 2015
Pressure Point is the second book in the Randall Lee Mysteries by Charles Colyott.
Here we meet Randal returning from a well deserved vacation, only to find his detective friend Knox lying in a hospital bed in critical condition due to some vicious attack by someone unknown. And just in case this is not enough, he finds out that Knox’s wife is apparently missing, which makes for some very disturbing thoughts in Randal’s mind.
Everyone, including Knox, tells him to lay off the case and go back to doing what he knows best, healing folks with acupuncture and doing Tai-Chi, however Randal wouldn’t be Randal if he didn’t at least take a peek at what is going on – and hey, maybe even solve it since he’s at it already. Especially since the way Knox was hurt seems kinda familiar…
There is a lot going on in this book and the further you get in the story, the darker it gets. While this book is darker – much darker than the first novel, Changes, the humorous elements are still there to break the tension at the right moment.
I love Randal and his younger punk girlfriend Tracy. They have an odd, but loving relationship which I very much enjoy reading about.
A complex character with complex relationships, all in a complex, gripping and nail-biting story that will literally leave you reading till late at night until you turn the last page in the book.
You can read the full review at http://mysterysequels.com/pressure-po...
Here we meet Randal returning from a well deserved vacation, only to find his detective friend Knox lying in a hospital bed in critical condition due to some vicious attack by someone unknown. And just in case this is not enough, he finds out that Knox’s wife is apparently missing, which makes for some very disturbing thoughts in Randal’s mind.
Everyone, including Knox, tells him to lay off the case and go back to doing what he knows best, healing folks with acupuncture and doing Tai-Chi, however Randal wouldn’t be Randal if he didn’t at least take a peek at what is going on – and hey, maybe even solve it since he’s at it already. Especially since the way Knox was hurt seems kinda familiar…
There is a lot going on in this book and the further you get in the story, the darker it gets. While this book is darker – much darker than the first novel, Changes, the humorous elements are still there to break the tension at the right moment.
I love Randal and his younger punk girlfriend Tracy. They have an odd, but loving relationship which I very much enjoy reading about.
A complex character with complex relationships, all in a complex, gripping and nail-biting story that will literally leave you reading till late at night until you turn the last page in the book.
You can read the full review at http://mysterysequels.com/pressure-po...
July 28, 2015
As the second book in the series, this catches up with the characters after a few months of vacation and enjoyment. But, after just a few chapters, it's evident that the thrill ride is about to pick up where it left off.
Charles does a great job keeping the characters solid and life-like while making a truly enjoyable sequel. The voice of Randall Lee keeps his sarcastic wit while dealing with an entirely new kind of threat to him and his lady-friend. I'd highly recommend this, as I had a hard time putting it down.
Charles does a great job keeping the characters solid and life-like while making a truly enjoyable sequel. The voice of Randall Lee keeps his sarcastic wit while dealing with an entirely new kind of threat to him and his lady-friend. I'd highly recommend this, as I had a hard time putting it down.
January 21, 2016
The second suspense thriller/mystery starring Randall Lee, the martial arts practitioner and acupuncturist. The story was ok, but I really like Lee, who is very human, peace-loving, and vulnerable, yet gets pulled into violence and mystery. Lots of humor too. Unfortunately this one didn't conclude everything, and I'll have to wait for the next book to find out what happens.
March 27, 2016
Amazing dialogue and character development.
This was a really entertaining read. The dialogue pacing was perfect and I enjoy the old characters from the first book and new characters introduced here. The fight scenes are very well developed and described, as if you're watching the fight in your mind's-eye.
This was a really entertaining read. The dialogue pacing was perfect and I enjoy the old characters from the first book and new characters introduced here. The fight scenes are very well developed and described, as if you're watching the fight in your mind's-eye.
December 5, 2013
As good as the first, Randall has my sense of humour, read a snippet of the next one, good job it's all written as would have been annoyed at having to wait after reading that heart in mouth beginning!!
August 20, 2020
So happy there's a third book!
Love reading Charles Colyott! Perfect blend of macho badass and self-effacing humor. He's an amazing character writer who keeps me coming back for more. Each book is better than the last. Keep 'em coming Charles!
Love reading Charles Colyott! Perfect blend of macho badass and self-effacing humor. He's an amazing character writer who keeps me coming back for more. Each book is better than the last. Keep 'em coming Charles!
May 16, 2015
Grittier than the first and ending on a dark note, this book I thought was not quite as good as the first one. Having said that it was an enjoyable read and made a good 'work' book.
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December 28, 2015Fast-paced and fun to read.
Would recommend to any oriental medicine and martial arts aficionado. There is quite a bit of humor mixed in which makes it fun to read.
Would recommend to any oriental medicine and martial arts aficionado. There is quite a bit of humor mixed in which makes it fun to read.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews