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FBI Thriller #6
Hemlock Bay
Madness and murder rip through the latest suspense novel by the bestselling author of Riptide.
After five consecutive New York Times bestselling FBI novels, Catherine Coulter is a major player in contemporary suspense. "Her suspense thrillers seem to get better and better," exclaims the Midwest Review of Books. Hemlock Bay continues the streak.
FBI Agent Dillion Savich is on a challenging case involving the kidnapping of two teenage boys when trouble boils up in his personal life. His younger sister Lily has crashed her Explorer into a redwood in California's Hemlock Bay. Is it another suicide attempt, the second since the loss of her young daughter some seven months before? Savich and Sherlock discover that four of Lily's paintings, left to her by their very famous grandmother, artist Sarah Elliot, now worth millions, are at the heart of an intricate conspiracy. Lily and art broker Simon Russo are thrust into ever widening circles of danger that radiate from a notorious collector's locked room.
Dillion Savich and his sister Lily both have to face their worst fears to survive.
After five consecutive New York Times bestselling FBI novels, Catherine Coulter is a major player in contemporary suspense. "Her suspense thrillers seem to get better and better," exclaims the Midwest Review of Books. Hemlock Bay continues the streak.
FBI Agent Dillion Savich is on a challenging case involving the kidnapping of two teenage boys when trouble boils up in his personal life. His younger sister Lily has crashed her Explorer into a redwood in California's Hemlock Bay. Is it another suicide attempt, the second since the loss of her young daughter some seven months before? Savich and Sherlock discover that four of Lily's paintings, left to her by their very famous grandmother, artist Sarah Elliot, now worth millions, are at the heart of an intricate conspiracy. Lily and art broker Simon Russo are thrust into ever widening circles of danger that radiate from a notorious collector's locked room.
Dillion Savich and his sister Lily both have to face their worst fears to survive.
496 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 413 reviews
November 14, 2025
2.5 stars, rounded down
This is my second book in Coulter’s FBI Thriller series and I’m throwing in the towel. This wasn’t as bad as a 2-star rating might imply, but I found nothing of what I look for in a Coulter and which she consistently delivers in her historicals. It was missing the vivid characters I’ve come to expect and the emotional impact, both positive and negative. Coulter’s signature outrageousness didn’t even engender a shrug this time.
This was a twofer plotline, connected by siblings Dillon Savich, FBI agent, and his sister, Lily, who apparently survived an abusive first husband (the frying pan) only to marry a man who seems determined to label her a suicidal nut case (the fire). The two plot lines connect when Dillon flies to California to visit his sister in the hospital after she runs her vehicle into a redwood, only to find her in the clutches of a heinous family of oily snakes. Of the two stories in the book, this is the most successful, although it is propelled by people stupidly putting themselves in danger at every turn and ends weakly and with escapes that would put Houdini to shame for sheer impossibility.
The other plotline involves Dillon and wife Sherlock, another FBI agent, trying to apprehend a one-armed serial killer who is aided by an ability to control minds and produce mass hypnosis, and can call upon supernatural, cone-shaped light twisters referred to as Ghouls to dismember and eat victims…but only if they are presented inside a black circle drawn on the ground. The only thing interesting about this part of the book was the pathetic little cousin the killer was obsessed with. Why, I wondered? Never found out. Where did the whirling dervishes/Ghouls go? Don’t know and, even sadder, couldn’t care less.
The romance was an underdeveloped shrug.
This is my second book in Coulter’s FBI Thriller series and I’m throwing in the towel. This wasn’t as bad as a 2-star rating might imply, but I found nothing of what I look for in a Coulter and which she consistently delivers in her historicals. It was missing the vivid characters I’ve come to expect and the emotional impact, both positive and negative. Coulter’s signature outrageousness didn’t even engender a shrug this time.
This was a twofer plotline, connected by siblings Dillon Savich, FBI agent, and his sister, Lily, who apparently survived an abusive first husband (the frying pan) only to marry a man who seems determined to label her a suicidal nut case (the fire). The two plot lines connect when Dillon flies to California to visit his sister in the hospital after she runs her vehicle into a redwood, only to find her in the clutches of a heinous family of oily snakes. Of the two stories in the book, this is the most successful, although it is propelled by people stupidly putting themselves in danger at every turn and ends weakly and with escapes that would put Houdini to shame for sheer impossibility.
The other plotline involves Dillon and wife Sherlock, another FBI agent, trying to apprehend a one-armed serial killer who is aided by an ability to control minds and produce mass hypnosis, and can call upon supernatural, cone-shaped light twisters referred to as Ghouls to dismember and eat victims…but only if they are presented inside a black circle drawn on the ground. The only thing interesting about this part of the book was the pathetic little cousin the killer was obsessed with. Why, I wondered? Never found out. Where did the whirling dervishes/Ghouls go? Don’t know and, even sadder, couldn’t care less.
The romance was an underdeveloped shrug.
March 5, 2015
This book was really dreadful. I thought it was so bad, in fact, that I almost gave it two stars simply because after a while I sort of enjoyed mocking it.
There was precisely one element of this book I enjoyed. For some reason I thought it was sweet and appealing whenever Lily would describe her cartoon character No Wrinkles Remus. I liked her in those moments.
The rest of this book drove me crazy. The dialogue was the worst part. It was awful. And, yes, I think it is particularly difficult to write dialogue that sounds convincing and not stilting and ridiculous, but there's a reason why many authors use dialogue sparingly. Half of what was explained through conversation in this book could have been described in another way and should have been. Absolutely none of the conversations ran true.
The characters were all one-dimensional. There were two plots in this book and I kept waiting for them to come together but they never did. The supernatural plot was completely absurd and never explained sufficiently. The worst part was that this so-called mystery was never a mystery at all! The characters all figured out what was going on with both plots about halfway through the book (and the worst part is that half the time the reader wasn't told how the mysteries were solved, just that they detectives "had a lead" or "learned from the computer" or whatever) and then what they figured out ended up actually being true! There were no interesting twists and very little suspense.
I hate to be so harsh on a book because the author put time and effort into it. In this case, though, I really can't recommend this to anyone, unless you feel like mocking some really terrible dialogue.
There was precisely one element of this book I enjoyed. For some reason I thought it was sweet and appealing whenever Lily would describe her cartoon character No Wrinkles Remus. I liked her in those moments.
The rest of this book drove me crazy. The dialogue was the worst part. It was awful. And, yes, I think it is particularly difficult to write dialogue that sounds convincing and not stilting and ridiculous, but there's a reason why many authors use dialogue sparingly. Half of what was explained through conversation in this book could have been described in another way and should have been. Absolutely none of the conversations ran true.
The characters were all one-dimensional. There were two plots in this book and I kept waiting for them to come together but they never did. The supernatural plot was completely absurd and never explained sufficiently. The worst part was that this so-called mystery was never a mystery at all! The characters all figured out what was going on with both plots about halfway through the book (and the worst part is that half the time the reader wasn't told how the mysteries were solved, just that they detectives "had a lead" or "learned from the computer" or whatever) and then what they figured out ended up actually being true! There were no interesting twists and very little suspense.
I hate to be so harsh on a book because the author put time and effort into it. In this case, though, I really can't recommend this to anyone, unless you feel like mocking some really terrible dialogue.
April 17, 2009
Somebody snap me out of my coma. The overall story line was promising but the interaction between the characters was very weird. I wondered if they were just page fillers. I could not wait to finish it and only did so because I wanted to know how it ended.
August 27, 2022
Re-read.
Oh yeah, I remember this one. Timmy/Tammy Tuttle. Yep! This one always stuck with me. Clever, creepy and terrific! Another great Savich and Sherlock pairing mystery, along with the introduction of Lily and Simon. Oh yeah, baby! I do love this series!
Oh yeah, I remember this one. Timmy/Tammy Tuttle. Yep! This one always stuck with me. Clever, creepy and terrific! Another great Savich and Sherlock pairing mystery, along with the introduction of Lily and Simon. Oh yeah, baby! I do love this series!
December 2, 2013
It took me two weeks to read this book, and unfortunately I did not enjoy it. I did like my first foray into Catherine Coulter's work (The Cove), but this one just didn't grab me. The characters felt flat and most of them seemed to have the same voice and personality. There were also some problems that should have been caught by an editor but weren't: at one point Sherlock is talking to her husband Dillon's sister and says something about "Dillon's mother" doing something. Why didn't she say "your mother"? At another point a liquid was described as looking like iced coffee but without the ice, and a jet was said to be flying 30,000 miles up. There were a lot of things going on in the story and the plot just didn't seem cohesive to me. I know that a lot of people really like these books so I suppose that this just isn't my cup of tea.
Read
August 26, 2022Dnf.
I really tried to get into it but i couldn't. I won't rate it, as at the same time i feel as though i may be heading into a bit of a slump. This book is not the o,e,to pull me through it.
I really tried to get into it but i couldn't. I won't rate it, as at the same time i feel as though i may be heading into a bit of a slump. This book is not the o,e,to pull me through it.
March 3, 2011
This was my fourth foray into Coulter’s FBI series featuring Savich & Sherlock, and unfortunately, my least favorite of them all.
In this book, we follow two basic storylines; First, the story begins with Agent Savage rescuing two boys who are about to be dismembered by the Warlocks, a sibling pair of serial killers, by killing Tommy and shooting Timmy – only to find out that “Timmy” is really “Tammy”, a sort of mystic, who uses “ghouls” to dismember and kill her victims.
On top of this, they receive a phone call informing them that Dillon's sister, Lily, is in the hospital. Lily has battled depression since the death of her daughter, but insists that this was not an attempted suicide as her in-laws are claiming. Lily's husband would have benefited from her death since she inherited her grandmother’s paintings worth millions of dollars. Dillon calls in his art expert friend, Simon Russo, who discovers that half the paintings have been stolen and replaced with forgeries. While Sherlock & Dillon dig deeper into the mystery surrounding the paintings, Lily and Simon begin their own investigation, one that will lead them to a notorious and dangerous collector. As Dillon realizes that both he and his sister are in grave danger, a killer from the previous case he was working on returns to settle the score.
I was utterly unimpressed with this installment. While I enjoyed the art-theft storyline, and I enjoyed getting to know Dillon’s sister and friend better, the Tammy/Timmy story plot became progressively more unbelievable with every chapter, culminating in an ending that was nothing short of ridiculous.
Will I read others in this series? Probably. I like Dillon & Sherlock, and I usually find Ms. Coulter’s writing to be entertaining, even if somewhat fanciful at times. Plus, I still have “Pointe Blank” on my TBR shelf. I just wouldn’t recommend this one.
In this book, we follow two basic storylines; First, the story begins with Agent Savage rescuing two boys who are about to be dismembered by the Warlocks, a sibling pair of serial killers, by killing Tommy and shooting Timmy – only to find out that “Timmy” is really “Tammy”, a sort of mystic, who uses “ghouls” to dismember and kill her victims.
On top of this, they receive a phone call informing them that Dillon's sister, Lily, is in the hospital. Lily has battled depression since the death of her daughter, but insists that this was not an attempted suicide as her in-laws are claiming. Lily's husband would have benefited from her death since she inherited her grandmother’s paintings worth millions of dollars. Dillon calls in his art expert friend, Simon Russo, who discovers that half the paintings have been stolen and replaced with forgeries. While Sherlock & Dillon dig deeper into the mystery surrounding the paintings, Lily and Simon begin their own investigation, one that will lead them to a notorious and dangerous collector. As Dillon realizes that both he and his sister are in grave danger, a killer from the previous case he was working on returns to settle the score.
I was utterly unimpressed with this installment. While I enjoyed the art-theft storyline, and I enjoyed getting to know Dillon’s sister and friend better, the Tammy/Timmy story plot became progressively more unbelievable with every chapter, culminating in an ending that was nothing short of ridiculous.
Will I read others in this series? Probably. I like Dillon & Sherlock, and I usually find Ms. Coulter’s writing to be entertaining, even if somewhat fanciful at times. Plus, I still have “Pointe Blank” on my TBR shelf. I just wouldn’t recommend this one.
February 18, 2016
Very disappointed with this effort from Ms. Coulter. While I have mostly enjoyed the "FBI Thriller" series, I have accepted that often times the writing is silly, the characters one dimensional and the situations somewhat absurd. That's ok, I read it for entertainment and more often than not, she delivers.
This one I could really only get through because I already have a vested interest in the series. had this been the first book, I would not have continued. The majority of the writing itself was just horrible, Savich and Sherlock seemed like carton characters and the whole "Tuttle" storyline was just too much.
I couldn't connect to either Lily or Simon. They were just terribly written characters who held no enjoyment for me. The most insulting part of the story was when the local police let the two of them....simple CIVILIANS....poke around a crime scene. That was truly the moment I almost said "enough" and packed it in, but out of loyalty to the series I continued on.
I will go on to "The 11th Hour", hoping for a quick turnaround to form. Every author has the occasional hiccup.....hopefully that's all this one was.
This one I could really only get through because I already have a vested interest in the series. had this been the first book, I would not have continued. The majority of the writing itself was just horrible, Savich and Sherlock seemed like carton characters and the whole "Tuttle" storyline was just too much.
I couldn't connect to either Lily or Simon. They were just terribly written characters who held no enjoyment for me. The most insulting part of the story was when the local police let the two of them....simple CIVILIANS....poke around a crime scene. That was truly the moment I almost said "enough" and packed it in, but out of loyalty to the series I continued on.
I will go on to "The 11th Hour", hoping for a quick turnaround to form. Every author has the occasional hiccup.....hopefully that's all this one was.
June 21, 2021
This installment to the series had a paranormal aspect to it that belonged more to episodes of the Winchester brothers from TV's Supernatural than Coulter's book series which gave an unbelievable weird aspect to it. Don't get me wrong I also love paranormal suspense novels like Heather Graham's Krewe of Hunters Series but this storyline just didn't seem to fit Coulter's FBI Thriller Series. Nonetheless, it was still summer beach reading worthy.
but nonetheless was still entertaining just a little out of character for this series.
but nonetheless was still entertaining just a little out of character for this series.
November 7, 2017
The best of Savich & Sherlock here, however, there is a bit of the ???!!!Outer Limits/Twilight Zone!!!??? here as well. Did not expect that interlude but whatever, a suspenseful, gritty, sexy read which frankly, I just really got into this one....segway here "I Am So Into You' by the Atlanta Rhythm Section' back in the day.
Gotta love Savich's sister Lily, tough as nails yet fragile still, would love to know her better and in person as well. A peril of twisted, seriously psychotic individuals, just downright evil shitheads.....kinda like today's Antifa and all 'these' lifes that matter, nazi morons who have nothing better to do than disrupt our day-to-day cycle of existence. If you are into Painting and the Arts, this one is for you!
Recommend the audio as well....the narrator's rock!
Gotta love Savich's sister Lily, tough as nails yet fragile still, would love to know her better and in person as well. A peril of twisted, seriously psychotic individuals, just downright evil shitheads.....kinda like today's Antifa and all 'these' lifes that matter, nazi morons who have nothing better to do than disrupt our day-to-day cycle of existence. If you are into Painting and the Arts, this one is for you!
Recommend the audio as well....the narrator's rock!
February 10, 2019
1) Married partners in the FBI; Kay Hooper much?
2) Three pages after I start speculating this is X-Files Mary Sue fanfic, the characters compare themselves to Mulder and Scully.
3) Wife is unironically named Sherlock. Really..
4) No one talks like this. No one.
5) Imagine, if you will, an entire book of infodump dialogue. Doesn't that sound fun?
6) Chatty villain syndrome plus infodump dialogue plus Bondian machinations plus rich, one-dimensional people, plus inexplicably stupid lapses of protocol....
It's an utterly terrible book. It was a quick read or I'd have ditched it first chapter.
2) Three pages after I start speculating this is X-Files Mary Sue fanfic, the characters compare themselves to Mulder and Scully.
3) Wife is unironically named Sherlock. Really..
4) No one talks like this. No one.
5) Imagine, if you will, an entire book of infodump dialogue. Doesn't that sound fun?
6) Chatty villain syndrome plus infodump dialogue plus Bondian machinations plus rich, one-dimensional people, plus inexplicably stupid lapses of protocol....
It's an utterly terrible book. It was a quick read or I'd have ditched it first chapter.
October 3, 2013
A thriller like the other FBI series I have read with Sherlock and Savich. Twists and turns, but an overload of unexplained paranormal happenings that were supposed to be frightening but just left me shaking my head at the absurdity of it. Liked the book, but how many time could smart people make themselves so vulnerable to be targets for murderers? I will definitely continue reading Coulter FBI series, but prefer them more believable.
June 2, 2019
Dillon Savich's and Sherlock are investigating a serial killer sibling pair and finally manage to kill one and capture the other when he gets a call from Hemlock Bay, CA. His sister Lily was in an accident. Her husband and the psychologist he insists on her seeing insist that Lily tried to commit suicide again, that she's been depressed. But Dillon knows his sister and soon discovers a plot to kill Lily and rob her of her Sarah Elliott paintings (worth a lot of money). So he brings in art broker, Simon Russo, to investigate and soon, he and Lily are trying to track down four of them that were stolen and replaced with forgeries. Meanwhile, Savich and Sherlock have to get back on their case because their suspect, Tammy Tuttle, has escaped. They quickly realize that Tammy has some pretty phenomenal abilities that allow her to keep evading the FBI and that they'll have to be really smart if they're ever going to out-think her and kill her.
I think in this and the last one, you can see Coulter trying to shift away from the straight up suspense-romance and focus more on the suspense. There's still enough romance since Savich and Sherlock are passionately in love and have moments together (nothing graphic) and Simon and Lily clearly start having feelings for each other, but only ever kiss. Mostly, they investigate together. And in this case, with Simon and Lily, they spend enough time together and do enough talking that their friendship builds enough that I didn't feel the romance came out of nowhere. It actually built naturally, which is the best job done so far in this series. As for the suspense...I gotta admit that it was entertaining, despite the face-palm moments when I realize that these FBI agents are pretty damn inept. You had plenty of those suspense like mini-cliffhangers at the end of chapters and then the storyline would switch to the other couple and the same thing would happen. It's an effective formula and kept me wanting to read. I think this was one of the better ones of this series so far.
I think in this and the last one, you can see Coulter trying to shift away from the straight up suspense-romance and focus more on the suspense. There's still enough romance since Savich and Sherlock are passionately in love and have moments together (nothing graphic) and Simon and Lily clearly start having feelings for each other, but only ever kiss. Mostly, they investigate together. And in this case, with Simon and Lily, they spend enough time together and do enough talking that their friendship builds enough that I didn't feel the romance came out of nowhere. It actually built naturally, which is the best job done so far in this series. As for the suspense...I gotta admit that it was entertaining, despite the face-palm moments when I realize that these FBI agents are pretty damn inept. You had plenty of those suspense like mini-cliffhangers at the end of chapters and then the storyline would switch to the other couple and the same thing would happen. It's an effective formula and kept me wanting to read. I think this was one of the better ones of this series so far.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 13, 2025
I think she has done better tbh, there was a lot of characters and two separate plot lines that never really tied together. Still garnered my attention but I wanted the connection just two random plots
December 25, 2025
I wish there were 3 1/2 stars because I debated between three and four. The story is entertaining but so wildly unbelievable and the dialogue so stilted that it is tough to rate the book. I think this is the fifth or sixth book in the series, so it says something that I keep occasionally reading the next one because I like the ongoing characters. I guess you’d have to read one and judge for yourself.
April 2, 2021
Two-haiku review:
Her car accident
Husband thinks suicide try
But she's in danger
Started okay but
Couldn't suspend disbelief
Still, entertaining
Her car accident
Husband thinks suicide try
But she's in danger
Started okay but
Couldn't suspend disbelief
Still, entertaining
March 15, 2024
Savich's sister has married the wrong man again & his family wants her dead. Another great read in Coulter's FBI Series.
January 7, 2025
Entertaining, but one of the plots was a tad sci-fi(ish) and was a little too far out for me!
December 15, 2025
What a book, two adventures that interlink towards the end. Interesting how Tammy was able to be a man and a woman and the only people immune to her are the brother and sister!!
October 29, 2021
Took me a long while to finish this book. I’m the type of reader who wants to complete a book I’ve started…so I kept going. It wasn’t bad, just didn’t keep my interest peaked enough to want to go read it. This book is a mystery about a woman and her family artwork. It had some twists along the way and ended good. I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys a slow mysterious read.
August 2, 2012
This was a good, exciting thriller.
Husband and wife FBI Agents Dillon Savitch and Sherlock take down two vicious brother serial killers, who turn out to be a brother and sister. The brother is killed and Dillon badly wounds the sister, but when she eventually escapes and vows to get back at Dillon he knows he'll have to watch his back.
When immediately after the case finishes, Dillon receives word that his sister, Lily has crashed her car into a redwood and is in hospital, he worries if this is another suicide attempt by Lily, who has been despondant since the death of her daughter in a hit and run accident. Dillon is also suspicious of Lily's new husband and his parents, worrying they may not have her best interests at heart so he and Sherlock head up to Lily's new home in Hemlock Bay to see what they can do.
The book has two parallel and sort of intertwining storylines, and while they don't REALLY connect, they do have some slight alignments. The story itself as the overall complete plot was really quite clever and well-written. There is tons of suspense and excitment as Dillon, Sherlock and Lily, along with art broker Simon Russo, who becomes involved with Lily, try to unravel what's going on with Lily's situation, and try to catch the murderous serial killer who's after Dillon before she catches him.
I found the story moved along at a fast, thrilling pace with a few unexpected twists and turns and almost every loose end gets wrapped up with one minor exception that I won't detail to avoid spoilers - it didn't really impact my enjoyment of the entire book though so it wasn't a big deal.
I liked the characters and thought they were multi-facted and likeable - you wanted to root for them to win all the way through the book right up to the ending, which although a tiny bit predictable, was nevertheless very satisfying and exactly what you hoped for. A good read.
Husband and wife FBI Agents Dillon Savitch and Sherlock take down two vicious brother serial killers, who turn out to be a brother and sister. The brother is killed and Dillon badly wounds the sister, but when she eventually escapes and vows to get back at Dillon he knows he'll have to watch his back.
When immediately after the case finishes, Dillon receives word that his sister, Lily has crashed her car into a redwood and is in hospital, he worries if this is another suicide attempt by Lily, who has been despondant since the death of her daughter in a hit and run accident. Dillon is also suspicious of Lily's new husband and his parents, worrying they may not have her best interests at heart so he and Sherlock head up to Lily's new home in Hemlock Bay to see what they can do.
The book has two parallel and sort of intertwining storylines, and while they don't REALLY connect, they do have some slight alignments. The story itself as the overall complete plot was really quite clever and well-written. There is tons of suspense and excitment as Dillon, Sherlock and Lily, along with art broker Simon Russo, who becomes involved with Lily, try to unravel what's going on with Lily's situation, and try to catch the murderous serial killer who's after Dillon before she catches him.
I found the story moved along at a fast, thrilling pace with a few unexpected twists and turns and almost every loose end gets wrapped up with one minor exception that I won't detail to avoid spoilers - it didn't really impact my enjoyment of the entire book though so it wasn't a big deal.
I liked the characters and thought they were multi-facted and likeable - you wanted to root for them to win all the way through the book right up to the ending, which although a tiny bit predictable, was nevertheless very satisfying and exactly what you hoped for. A good read.
January 14, 2011
I expected this would be a romance novel but it was more a whodunit. Not bad---if you can believe a woman who had a splenectomy (along with other injuries) got out of the hospital after a few days and within a couple of weeks managed to take down a couple of really bad dudes with her martial arts skills, fall in love after swearing off men, and fly to Sweden to nab the head bad guy. But whenever she got in a car everyone was solicitous about putting a pillow between her stomach and the seatbelt.
January 20, 2025
4 stars.
Jan 2025 - re-listened.
_______________
March 2022 - re-listened. This is the book that started introducing the "woowoo" element into the series. Not sure whether I'm convinced about the direction but since there's been at least a dozen or more books since this one, I guess it's been a successful move.
______________
May 2013
This book starts to take the series a bit into the "X-files" realm, especially when someone commented that Savich and Sherlock are a bit like Mulder and Scully. It was "interesting".
Jan 2025 - re-listened.
_______________
March 2022 - re-listened. This is the book that started introducing the "woowoo" element into the series. Not sure whether I'm convinced about the direction but since there's been at least a dozen or more books since this one, I guess it's been a successful move.
______________
May 2013
This book starts to take the series a bit into the "X-files" realm, especially when someone commented that Savich and Sherlock are a bit like Mulder and Scully. It was "interesting".
June 15, 2013
Riptide and this book are strange. The main character is subjected to many awful, unrelated events. This author really abuses her women! I couldn't get through Riptide, but did skim Hemlock Bay. The Main character seems to have been flayed in another novel, and in this one she must face two unrelated bad guys in quick succession. I find it difficult to buy in to her characters as well as the plot.
It did make for a fast beach skim.
It did make for a fast beach skim.
August 21, 2018
OMG, what a piece of crap. As other reviewers have noted, the dialogue was
terrible - stiff, childish, and not believable. I bought this book because it's labeled a thriller, but, it was more a romance novel - using situations and language straight out of the 'romance vaults ' - the vault with all the trite, go to language for romance novels.
Additionally, I cannot believe the hell the author put Lily through.
Ugh.
terrible - stiff, childish, and not believable. I bought this book because it's labeled a thriller, but, it was more a romance novel - using situations and language straight out of the 'romance vaults ' - the vault with all the trite, go to language for romance novels.
Additionally, I cannot believe the hell the author put Lily through.
Ugh.
April 1, 2008
This is a great story, with interesting characters and a twist you don't expect. Sherlock and Dillon involved as well! Dillon's sister is either suicidal, or someone is trying to kill her! Meanwhile, Dillon is tracking a killer with some unusual talents, who wants to destroy him! GREAT STORY!!!!
February 25, 2008
I like Coulters FBI series, but this one was realllly out there. I had a hard time grasping the majic trick premise here.
December 6, 2017
I don’t think I’ve read such flat and unbelievable characters in such a long time. Wow.
September 10, 2022
from east to west coast... Maryland - 40 year old barn; FBI headquarters; Hemlock Bay, hospital, her home; Eureka, FBI office, hotel, Small art museum; New York - Art gallery, Quantico, his home; Washinton DC - Hoover Building/FBI office; Antigua - Airport / office building; Gothenburg Sweden - mansion, canal;
FBI Special Agents Dillon Savich and Sherlock (and baby Sean) : Dillon tracked the Warlocks to a cousins' property/barn; Dillon is only one to see the 'Ghouls' - wind, triangular shaped; plus they rush to Lily's side to ehlphe;
Tommy and Timmy aka Tammy Tuttle: aka The Warlocks; serial killers; they call on the 'Ghouls' (found in a cave) to kill their young prey, cowering in the black circle they make; they can create hallucinations/mind control of sorts; Tommy killed in rescue, Timmy (who ends up to be a Tammy) is shot in shoulder & her arm is removed;
Lily Savich Frasier : Dillon's younger sister; he taught her to fight; she had been married to an abuser with whom she had a daughter; Dillon had helped them get away; 11 months earlier she married again - to a nice guy she met where she moved on the coast; and 7 months earlier her daughter was hit by a car and died; She OD'd (or did she - did in-laws feed her the pills?) but seemed to be getting better - and then would have days where she can't get out of bed; then she ran her car into a redwood tree (when out at dusk on a dangerous, winding road) - and it is assumed it was suicide again;
Simon Russo : art expert / dealer; suspicious when he hears that Lily's Sarah Elliot art work is in a small gallery - he's been hearing suspicious talk of paintings replaced by forgeries... long time friends with Dillon (college roomies);
Dr. Tennyson Frasier: Lily's husband; kinda manipulated by parents into marrying her; his first wife also committed suicide... hmmm
Ian Jorgenson (and Olaf the son) : extremely wealthy; Ian was part of the up and coming art scene (1940's) in Europe; fell in love with Sarah Elliott; she turned him down for an American; he collects art - especially hers; his favorite are the ones where owners won't sell, and he arranges for an excellent forgery to be substituted, so owner doesn't even know has a forgery;
Sarah Elliott: artist whose art is respected; She wills 8 paintings to each grandchild;
Elcott and Charlotte Frasier: Lily's in-laws; wealthy, political, manipulative.
FBI Special Agents Dillon Savich and Sherlock (and baby Sean) : Dillon tracked the Warlocks to a cousins' property/barn; Dillon is only one to see the 'Ghouls' - wind, triangular shaped; plus they rush to Lily's side to ehlphe;
Tommy and Timmy aka Tammy Tuttle: aka The Warlocks; serial killers; they call on the 'Ghouls' (found in a cave) to kill their young prey, cowering in the black circle they make; they can create hallucinations/mind control of sorts; Tommy killed in rescue, Timmy (who ends up to be a Tammy) is shot in shoulder & her arm is removed;
Lily Savich Frasier : Dillon's younger sister; he taught her to fight; she had been married to an abuser with whom she had a daughter; Dillon had helped them get away; 11 months earlier she married again - to a nice guy she met where she moved on the coast; and 7 months earlier her daughter was hit by a car and died; She OD'd (or did she - did in-laws feed her the pills?) but seemed to be getting better - and then would have days where she can't get out of bed; then she ran her car into a redwood tree (when out at dusk on a dangerous, winding road) - and it is assumed it was suicide again;
Simon Russo : art expert / dealer; suspicious when he hears that Lily's Sarah Elliot art work is in a small gallery - he's been hearing suspicious talk of paintings replaced by forgeries... long time friends with Dillon (college roomies);
Dr. Tennyson Frasier: Lily's husband; kinda manipulated by parents into marrying her; his first wife also committed suicide... hmmm
Ian Jorgenson (and Olaf the son) : extremely wealthy; Ian was part of the up and coming art scene (1940's) in Europe; fell in love with Sarah Elliott; she turned him down for an American; he collects art - especially hers; his favorite are the ones where owners won't sell, and he arranges for an excellent forgery to be substituted, so owner doesn't even know has a forgery;
Sarah Elliott: artist whose art is respected; She wills 8 paintings to each grandchild;
Elcott and Charlotte Frasier: Lily's in-laws; wealthy, political, manipulative.
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