Blind Fear

Cold Case Thriller #2

by Lynn Abercrombie

Atlanta Police Department Cold Case Unit Detective Mechelle Deakes wakes up to discover that she is blind and being held prisoner by a mysterious captor, while her partner, Lt. Hank Gooch, using clues from an old murder case, races against time to find her. Original.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Horror

381 pages, Paperback

First published November 14, 2006

About the author

Also writes under the pseudonyms Ruth Birmingham and legal name Walter Sorrells.

Reviews

[Dawn Olson-Cotie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually a 2-1/2 stars...

I found this book to have a good premise but there were a little too many twists and turns that just didn't add up to a believable ending. Alot of situations were a bit too convenient (ex: getting job back and having a badge and ID printed up in 1/2 hour). I enjoyed reading it and wanted to find out the ending, I just think the story (and ending) could have been stronger.

This book takes place in 13 hours....3 days would have been more realistic timing for all the events and driving around Atlanta that took place.

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really really good mystery book with well developed characters and some good twists. Only problem was the person "whodunnit" sorta jumped out at you. Afraid I had this one figured out in the first 100 pages.

[Brey · Rating 3 out of 5]

very nice twist at the end when you find out who did it...

[Samuel · Rating 2 out of 5]

An entertaining enough thriller with a decent twist ending, but it's too over the top and contrived for my tastes. I did lots of eye-rolling while reading. The only reason I read this was because I got it for free when my brother was moving and trying to get rid of some things.

I also realized that Lynn Abercrombie is a pen name for Walter Sorrells. Not that it really matters, but once I realized that it was a male author, the way the dialogue was written made more sense and tracked better. It just did not seem like a female author would say some of these things.

Again, not a terrible story, but not really worth going out of your way for it either.

[E.R. Yatscoff · Rating 1 out of 5]

Defies believability. Retired cop waltzes into his old office and goes to a detectives desk and gets on her computer? The dialogue is too stilted. I didn't get far reading this one. Also, the young cop who seeks out Gooch should be written as a dept. computer nerd or forensic guy, not a detective. Guys like this character do not even apply to be cops. My crime books are based in reality. Good for Lynn at least she found a publisher who somehow saw past the huge flaws.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bookcrossing - http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/5...

I really enjoyed this book! It moved fast, hard to put down. The characters of MeChelle and Hank did progress even through this whole case. I kind of figured out who was pulling the strings early on, even though it sounded so bizarre. I hope there are more in this series someday! I want to see what happens next.

[Eleanor Thompson · Rating 1 out of 5]

What started as an interesting premise quickly devolved into a hot mess. Hank Gooch is an unlikeable overly macho gunslinging ex cop who comes out of retirement to help his former partner who is trapped in a soundproof room. I should have stopped reading when the deux ex machina device was used but I was down to the last hundred or so pages.

[Dokusha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eine Frau kommt zu Detective MeChelle Deakes und sagt ihr, sie wisse, wer vor 18 Jahren ihre Mutter umgebracht habe. MeChelle nimmt sich der Sache an, doch noch bevor sie richtig angefangen hat, wird sie entführt und mit zugeklebten Augen in einer Wohnung eingesperrt. Eine automatische Stimme sagt ihr, daß sie 13 Stunden Zeit habe, den Fall aufzuklären, ansonsten würde sie sterben. Ihre einzige Unterstützung sind fünf Hinweise, die in der Wohnung liegen, und ein Telefon, mit dem sie drei Mal pro Stunde für jeweils höchstens eine Minute telefonieren kann. Sie arbeitet also mit dem aus der Rente zurückgekehrten Ex-Polizisten Hank Gooch zusammen, der "draußen" versucht, die losen Fäden zusammenzubekommen. Und während die beiden den Wettlauf gegen die Zeit aufnehmen und versuchen, den Mord aufzuklären, stellen sie fest, daß an der ganzen Geschichte so manches nicht stimmt. Angefangen bei der Identität der Frau, die zu Beginn bei MeChelle war und das Ganze losgetreten hat. Und der Mörder ist offensichtlich auch informiert worden, denn jemand versucht mit allen Mitteln, die Untersuchung zu stoppen. Eine spannend erzählte Geschichte, die durch die Idee mit der blinden und eingesperrten MeChelle einen besonderen Reiz bekommt. Und der Spannungsbogen bleibt das ganze Buch hindurch erhalten. Immer neue Verdächtige tauchen auf, und erst sehr spät wird klar, wie alle diese Personen tatsächlich miteinander und mit dem Mord zusammenhängen. Ein empfehlenswertes Buch, auch wenn das heroische Durchhalten und Weitermachen von Hank, nachdem er angeschossen wurde, etwas arg dick aufgetragen ist.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book with interesting characters. The mystery evolved quickly and the suspension kept building. It jumped right in, no slow build up. Everything had a reason and there were no loose ends. The ending was good, promising for another good story with our emotionally confused cops.

The word choice in this book is a little different then others I've read but it seems to have added instead of gained from the story line. It pushes the point of a time when black officers were as thought of as a white one. It pushes the point of black and white period.

So not only is this a mystery book, a good cop story but it shows things about acceptance and being what you want no matter what you look like. There are many lessons to be learned in this book, some you just have to read between the lines for.

[Sabrina Moores · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a slow reader and it takes me a while to get into a book even if it is a good book. I devoured this book in two days. It held my attention with its storyline that twisted and turned more than a roller coaster. I could not put the book down even though I figured out pretty early on whodunit it was still an interesting read seeing how they got to that conclusion

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a n amazing Cold Case Book,had you on the edge of your seat trying to figure out who did it. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves suspense and wants to see if they can figure it out before the end of the book. I did.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have given this a 5 except for swear words. I thought cozies were not supposed to have that?(As stated before this author was recommended as one on cozy.com) Was really hard to stop reading book. Loved the characters. Loved their stamina and grit. Great twist of a story

[Dave Thorner · Rating 3 out of 5]

2-1/2 stars

Fast-moving but banal and unbelievable at points. Almost too convenient sometimes. That said, I did not find this book totally unenjoyable. It should have taken place over a longer period of time.

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up as a subway read but was pleasently suprised!

[Eunira · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first by this writer. Implausible, but fun, IMHO.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know why I read stuff like this. It freaked me out again.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a slow start, this Cold Case Thriller kept me on the edge of my seat.

[Shauna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better on character interpretation, not on reality factor. The entire events of the book are supposed to take place in the span of 14 hours. Unless Hank Gooch is a master of time management, it just can't realistically happen. It would have been much more doable for it to be 48 hours; to much traveling around for this to have occurred.