Crystal Blue

Buck Reilly Adventure #3

by John H. Cunningham

Paid trip to the Caribbean sound good? Buck Reilly thinks so--flying rock stars and celebrities to a remote island for a charity concert seems a breeze--until all hell breaks loose when the promoter disappears and one of the A-list stars is kidnapped. The charity's vision to revolutionize women's Choice collides with a collection of threats that sends Buck on a wild race through the Virgin Islands fighting forbidden lust and multiple crazed killers determined to derail the event. When the facts are turned upside down and all seems lost, Buck's motley network of smugglers, arms merchants, and island eccentrics steer him to a full moon showdown to save not only the victims but the charity's mission and the woman he's falling for. Crystal Blue is a white knuckle ride from Key West to the British and U.S. Virgin Islands. A thrilling addition to the Buck Reilly series that includes Red Right Return and Green to Go.

Genres: Mystery, Adventure, Fiction

286 pages, Paperback

First published August 30, 2013

About the author

John H. Cunningham, outdoorsman, world traveler, and aviation enthusiast, is a commercial real estate professional and former editor. He splits his time between Virginia, New York and Key West with his wife and two daughters. His books include RED RIGHT RETURN, GREEN TO GO, CRYSTAL BLUE, SECOND CHANCE GOLD, MAROON RISING, FREE FALL TO BLACK, SILVER GOODBYE, WHITE KNIGHT, and THE LAST RAFT.

Reviews

[Frank Kelso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Russians opposed to adoption???

Buck Reilly rides his trusty Gruman flyniboat to rescue a fair damel only to find she was married, so he rescued her kidnapped husband.
All in a day's work for our hero??

[Tom Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite Buck Reilly so far. Fast paced, quirky humor and characters, deft descriptions of actual Caribbean locales, and the Beast - what's not to like? The ending was a bit over the top for my taste, but I will still recommend that you not leave for vacation without this book on your Kindle.

[Satrajit Sanyal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was quite amusing. I would have given it 5 stars except for the weepy, sobby heroine. I don't think the author does particularly well writing about women, but the book was really a fun read. Buck, our hero, seems to live with very little sleep or food. He didn't seem to shower, change his clothes or comb his hair and ran around like he wasn't sure of what he was doing. I like this series much better than others I have read regarding the Florida keys. Buck is not so perfect as other heroes and does not have the money to live much above the pavement level. He treated his partner in a despicable fashion and I keep expecting him to atone for this, but this does not seem to happen; at least in the next book which I have just finished.

[Melinda M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crystal Blue by John H. Cunningham is the third Buck Reilly Adventure. It is an exciting adventure which ends up being in the Caribbean as Buck gets a paid trip to see a charity rock concert as he has the charter for a group going there. If you know Buck, nothing stays quiet so there is fast paced action and adventure and investigations that he is not suppose to be part of. If this is your first adventure with Buck, you will like him but trouble seems to be his normal. john H. Cunningham tells the story with humor involved and keeps the pace going. This is the first Buck Reilly Adventure that I have read but it will not be the last one.

I received a copy of this book thru a Goodreads Giveaway.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bucks back at it again. This time he takes up a charter to ferry around celebrities for a benefit concert on a private island. Along the way one of the sponsors and a celebrity go missing. Now buck also needs to find them. He’s of course enlisted again by agent Booth and of course finds a new love interest. There’s no mention of what happened to bucks previous fling from the end of the last book. During this adventure buck looks for help from some unsavory characters.

If you enjoyed the others I’m sure you’ll enjoy this one too. Sometimes I had trouble remembering who was who with new characters. A fun beach read that shouldn’t be taken too seriously. I’ll continue to read this series.

[Arthur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crystal Blue (Buck Reilly #3)

Buck takes on a charter involving a group promoting adoption and finds himself facing opposition from local and international mobsters who resort to kidnapping to force cancellation of the fund raising event in the Virgin islands. Even though warned to "stay out" of the investigation, Buck can't help himself and ends up in the middle of all the action and ends up in jail, getting declared "persona non grata" but continues his quest to find the missing husband of Crystal, the promoter who hired him. Read for yourself how it all comes down.

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've enjoyed the first three Buck Reilly stories but this one just didn't quite do it for me. Reilly is hired by Crystal to charter musicians and movie stars to her Adoption Aid concert on the islands. Then suddenly her husband vanishes as well as one of the world's biggest action film stars. Reilly decides to help Crystal find both while she still aims to hold the concert fundraiser. It was an enjoyable read but the plot just didn't seem to work.

[catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crystal Blue

John Cunningham has penned another Buck Reilly blockbuster ! The thrills and suspense never stop coming and Buck always seems to get into one predicament after another but manages to stay alive! If you like plenty of action on land, in the water and in the air with a mix of good and bad characters you will love this episode!

[Barry Soorenko · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t read the first two books in the series, so maybe I missed something, but Crystal Blue read like a dime store novel. The characters felt flat, and the plot was dull. I thought about going back to the first book, but after finishing this one, I don’t have the energy. Overall, very disappointing.

[Pdamon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok, a fun little Caribbean romp through the BVI and USVI. Not very deep, but entertaining.

He does misquote Bob Marley. It’s “every little thing gonna be alright” not “everything’s going to be alright.”

[Chaplain Stanley Chapin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another flying mystery

I like to fly and enjoy a good mystery, so this is enjoyable. However, It does get a bit unbelievable in his ability to get through some of the escapades. I would love to have his old airplane, lol

[G.Richard Mccafferty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing tale

Once again less than a day and hard to sleep the buck Riley guy just keeps the balls in the air not dropping one ..
Super great story of saving g the world amen...ciao from the beach in st Pete florida..my Scottish terrier and i...

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fast paced emotionally charged Buck Reilly romp, this time, through the Virgin Islands, instead of the Florida Keys. I think all of the Buck Reilly adventures are fun reading!

[Sheree Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok

I bought this because it was was Jimmy Buffett tribute. It was ok , I think I just did not care for the main character.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crystal Blue is a crystal clear hit

Enjoyed this episode of the adventures of Buck Reilly. It keeper me interested in the plot and made me feel I was there.

[Craig L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Filling in for Travis McGee

Buck is a good replacement for Travis McGee. I am glad to have found another great book series to read

[Dana L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect summer read, full of crazy events and pomp.

[M Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good - from beginning to end

I really enjoyed this book. It amazes me that John H. Cunningham can keep each and every page filled with adventure and just great story telling.

[David Berkley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!

A strong story that keeps getting better and better. Plenty of action and adventure for our main character in the seas.

[Tim Anderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

A terrible story that wandered all over.

[Moby Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

More Buck Reilly adventure. Loved the Caribbean local and guest appearances.

[Lynn's · Rating 3 out of 5]

Setting: US Virgin Islands
Time Period: Modern Day

“Crystal Blue” by John H. Cunningham is an action adventure novel about a pilot who helps a concert promoter with a show in the US Virgin Islands. But before Buck even has a chance to fly the husband and wife team out of Key West to the islands, the husband turns up missing and one of the entertainers held for ransom. Instead of cancelling the concert, Buck is determined to help find out who is behind this and get the missing people back - alive.

I’ve learned that when you read the “action and adventure” genre from a male author in the mainstream market, the wording is going to be very casual and use a lot of slang. It was definitely like that in “Crystal Blue,” but I still enjoyed the novel. The plot was very interesting and ended up having a pretty serious theme about adoption vs. abortion and the fight against the women’s choice movement. The author used this storyline to bring up an important question - why don’t we lower the cost of adoption and make abortion not the norm? By carrying out the plot of some mysterious, powerful person threatening to cause harm to the concert attendees in the novel, a deeper question was brought out not only in the story, but food for thought in real life too - is the whole thing political? Some hard questions are raised in this book! Yet, woven in between the deep issues of life was a bit of comedy, quirky characters and action.

Conclusion: This was an interesting book. It had some language in it, but otherwise, was fairly clean. There was one scene that could have been questionable, but the one character didn’t let it go anywhere, so I won’t be too hard on it. This book is #3 in a series and I’m not sure I’d continue reading the other books, but that’s due to the genre and writing style, not really anything wrong with the author or book/s themselves.

[Chuck Shenk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wasn't Disappointed

A long time ago I spent time in the Virgin Islands, and enjoyed watching as, one after another, a Grumman Goose would land in Christiansted harbor and power up onto a dry pad, dropping off passengers at the end of a shopping center. I wasted a lot of my free time there, and was excited to see this book about a Goose pilot flying in the Virgin Islands. It was sure to bring about old memories. Mission accomplished! And, there were interesting characters and lots of action to boot. No slow spots in this book. There are a lot of bad guys, some of whom aren't all bad, and humor sprinkled throughout. I highly recommend it for those who enjoy adventure novels. Now I have to read the other books in the series.

[Al · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Buck Reilly adventure by John Cunningham, who clearly knows his way around the Caribbean. Great characters, great action and of course another great cameo appearance by Jimmy Buffet himself. A "crate of Margaritaville Tequila..."....that's great imagination! I couldn't stop laughing! Once again, the perfect beach read for a couple of weeks on Isla Mujeres. Looking forward to lots more Buck Reilly adventures.

[Erik Dewey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun Buck Reilly book. I appreciated the lack of political intrigue in this book as opposed to the other two and Buck seems to be getting better at handling the things life throws his way, however he still does not plan at all and occasionally has to pay the price.

Again, he has some kind of incredible charisma to lure multiple beautiful women into romantic interludes with him, but other than that it's another fun adventure. Looking forward to more.

[Ben Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series gets better and better. I really enjoyed this third book, branching out from Key West but still keeping the characters rooted there was a nice change. Mr. Cunningham has written so it's not imperative that you read the books in order while still keeping it from being too much tedious background info for those of us who have. I'm looking forward to the 4th Buck book!

[Angela Sciurca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book from goodreads and was looking forward to reading it. It was a difficult read for me because I seemed to loose the thread quite often. I had trouble getting the characters straight and finally finished it with no idea of what I had read. I usually like all kinds of books, but this one I passed on. Sorry.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Story...... I had not read this author before, but I will again as he captivated
me from the beginning. All the characters are colorful and yet human. As the story goes
I found myself looking for the quick fix like superman would do but that was not the
case. I was in this story to the very end. Thank you for the ride..........

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting trip to the Virgin Islands

After this Buck Reilly adventure I can't wait till the treasure hunt that's bound to be in the making!! I enjoyed this story and the characters old and new. I believe this group will keep brewing quite a fun exciting stew. I really hope Buck will finally get the girl of his dreams. While I live vicariously through his schemes..

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the usual cast of characters but struggled a bit a first with the theme ofthis one. I won't reveal the plot but it seemed there may have been a political /social statement trying to be made. The storyline gets back to the action, and tells a pretty good tale set in the islands.