For Julie Collins the loss was shattering. First her son was kidnapped. Then he was found dead. On the fifth anniversary of his death Julie receives a Facebook message from him: “Happy anniversary, Mommy.” Is it a hoax? Or is he still alive? Former U.S. marshal Rip Lane’s pursuit of the truth plunges him into a dark world of family secrets.
This book was disappointing for me. I chose this book thinking it would be very suspenseful and emotional due to the preview and other reviews, unfortunately I could not connect with the characters. The story was flawed in many places and the characters seemed to have shallow emotions or inappropriate remarks to many serious if not devastating situations. The main character is okay and he is the only one that is given any physical description of, other than the child. Many of the problems that arose and the way they were handled were quite implausible. Many times I thought, "Is this supposed to be a comedy and I am missing the the whole point of the story?" There were some humorous parts which were fine, but the lack of emotion within the whole book left me feeling very let down since the book had potential but really missed the mark on this one for me. This book received many good reviews, so many readers may still enjoy the story. It is a fast read and had good editing. I am giving this review 2 1/2 (🌟🌟✴) stars!
Book sounded interesting but I was fooled. Instead of concentrating on building suspense, the writer jumped from creating a stud image of the main character, to the weird trailer park characters,to the gross gum habits of the mother. As my review title said, I couldn’t finish even half of this book. I don’t profess to be an intellectual but this book is really an insult to most adults. Don’t waste your time!
This was a quick, easy read. The two main characters (male and female, though this was not a romance) were good. He is a retired U.S. Marshall traveling the country in his RV. His inner thoughts give you a good insight into his character. She is a divorcee whose 3 yr old child was kidnapped 5 yrs earlier and his supposed remains were found sometime later. The two meet at a beach RV campsite in Sarasota, FL and start dating (not to much on that, as, once again, NOT a romance). She receives an FB message on the 5 year anniversary of her son's kidnapping which starts their investigation to what really happened to the boy.
The story takes you through various suspects ... her ex (they were fighting over custody at the time, of his disappearance); her druggie, criminal brother; even an old college roommate. There is a little twist towards the end, but it's all unraveled too easily (one of the culprit explains it all before the cops even arrive.). It would have been better if it had been a slow reveal under law enforcement questioning. It was just wrapped up to quickly, too neatly a for me. Might as well have tied it in a bow!
There was another mini story regarding the house where the daycare her son was taken from is located, and the original residents of the house. There are even hints that the house and original family may have some connection to her ex, yet it never brought to fruition. In fact, the story line just kind of drops and goes away, forgotten so you're left hanging in that regard. (WAS he the son of that family?)
I'm from the Tampa Bay area so I did enjoy reading about the local towns and counties where I grew up and places I've been. But even there the author did not do much research about the area. The go to a channelside mall that doesn't exist. They eat at cuban sandwiches (a staple of the area) at a cuban cafe across from the Tampa Police Station (never has been a cuban restaurant or cafe across from The Tampa Police Department ... Not at it's current location nor at it's former location.
I spite of all that, I still enjoyed the book...not too much angst but it does hold your interest. It's a pretty fast read.
I liked this book. I would have given it 5-stars, but there were some spots where the language and description was a bit crude for my tastes, but not a big problem. I just like to save the 5-stars for books that cover all my requirements (: Anyway, I liked the story and the characters in this book. The main character who tells the story in first-person is a guy named Rip. He's a retired US Marshall and a good guy who has a sense of humor, a kind heart, and knows how to handle himself. He's mellow and just wants to enjoy life in his nice RV home. In the book, he's been dating and hanging out with this young woman Julie for a few weeks. She has an RV home in the same park as he's in - on the waterfront in Florida. They have a good relationship. There are several conflicts that transpire in the book and I don't want to give anything away. Just know - this is a good book that moves along, and it's a quick read. Enjoy!
Rip Lane is a main character with an attitude. I don't always agree with him and I don't always like him, but he's very well written and keeps the story hopping. There are a few spots where there are unnecessarily long speeches, and I question that an 8-year-old boy could be kept in the dark on what was happening if was present at the incidents described.
I skipped over entire paragraphs of useless information, some entire pages too 😳 This is big because I’m not a ‘skipper’ - I finish my books. And, finish this one I did.
This writing style may make other readers get engaged but not a sophisticated reader. Seriously, the main character, Rip, was recalling how all malls in America are the same and proceeded to list off store after store after store and .... had to have been 1 whole paragraph of names of stores. At the very least 20. A couple? Of course 3 or 4 is it drives the storyline. But this? As I read I wondered how much money each store is paying the author for the mentions. Spencer’s had to have paid college tuition for his first born. ( no clue if he has kiddos, but you got the point.
***Spoiler possibly *** The way the author wrote about the mentality challenged adult character in a way that offended me as the reader. The initial introduction of this character was written with hints the author had a fair amount of knowledge and respect. But the rest?!? Utterly disgusting. The author used the disability as a tool he wielded to try and fill in the massive holes in the storyline. How disrespectful this character was written at the end made me disgusted enough to write this review.
Oh! And those lists I mentioned above? Yeah. Not a 1 time thing. It felt like the author was just naming off massive lists to increase word count and add nothing to the story.
Drama filled cliffhangers were always followed by useless internal dialogue of Rip’s that went on for pages before finally getting back to the storyline and revealing the ‘shocking’ revelations used to drive the story along. Skip skip skip, check... is it over? No? *sigh* skip skip skip...
Perhaps the preteen audience was the intended reader? I’ll bet they’d say, “ BOOOO!!!” too.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I went back and forth on whether or not to leave this review, but I'm going to do it. This book was horrible. Not just bad, horrible. I thought maybe it was a writing style I couldn't get into, but I don't think poor writing is an actual style. The dialogue was bad, the characters were not engaging in the least, there were parts that felt like a middle school kid just adding nonsense in to make a word count on an essay and the ending was so razor thin on believability that it made me kind of angry. I tried to stay in it and read the whole thing but around the halfway mark I just skimmed along to the poorly written and dumb ending. There were whole chapters I skipped because they revolved around a side plot that I still don't fully understand why it was in there. If I hadn't got this ebook for free I might actually petition to get a refund from Amazon.
I had previously read, W. J. Costello’s book California Bust and this is another thrilling mystery book that is hard to put down. It is a story about a three year old boy that was abducted and few years later his decomposed body was discovered and identified through DNA. Rip Lane gets on the case when the mother and his new girlfriend, Julie receives a video that makes her think her son is still alive. Rip is in a RV Park and his nearby neighbors are two families that he calls the Neat Family and the Messy Family. These two families start out as friends but then they turn into mortal enemies with one of them murdered and another arrested for the murder. In the end Rip solves the mystery and Julie’s mother reveals a long held secret. A very enjoyable book that I highly recommend.
I always hesitate to write a negative review purely for the fact that authors pour so much of themselves and their time into books but this book was absolutely awful. I read about 50% before turning to skimming the rest and even that was painful. There is zero character development and the male main character is, for lack of a better description, smarmy and gross - and not in a seemingly intentional way. The female main character is so 2 dimensional and flat it's absurd. This book was painful. I skipped ahead to see who the kidnapper/killer was and I shouldn't have even bothered. Would not recommend and would not read this author again.
The premise of this story is excellent - a woman who believes her son to be dead receives a Facebook message from him. Unfortunately I found the main character, Rip Lane, very annoying. I think the author is trying to mimic the Myron Bolitar character from the books by Harlan Coben. For me, he comes across as flippant and nowhere near as witty as he thinks he is. His responses are often inappropriate for the situation in which he finds himself. The writing style was easy to read but sadly, this book didn't do it for me.
This book held my interest from beginning to end. Julie meets Rip at a campground in Sarasota, Florida. Her son Max was kidnapped five years before and later a body of a child was found and identified as Max. Somehow she felt he was still alive. This feeling became stronger when a new person sent a friend request and subsequently a video of a child's hands signing Happy Anniversary Mommie. Julie had taught her 3 year old son sign language. The events that happen after this are mysterious, chilling and captivating. An excellent book.
Julie has come to terms with her son's death but someone has sent her a video and Julie just knows that is Max. But how as his body was found and they buried. Julie always thought that her ex had kidnapped him but the Police were never able to find him. She hopes that her boyfriend Rip will be able to help as he has law enforcement contacts from his days as a U.S. Marshal. Rip doesn't want to give Julie false hope but he is prepared to help. What they find will bring Julie peace but who will suffer along the way? A good read.
This time round Rip Lance surfaces in Florida. He is looking for his girlfriends' son who, having been declared dead five years before, now appears to have been kidnapped. There's also the problem of feuding neighbours in his RV park and a very odd meeting with a little girl on the beach (it serves no purpose and has nothing to do with anything else). I had a problem with 'Missouri Loves Company', the first in the series, because of the crude/coarse remarks, in 'Florida Son' Rip has cleaned up his act. It's a fairly solid detecting novel with nothing to lift it out of the pack.
Wow this book free and very interesting, I like shortchapters, and easy to follow characters, some good people along with the not so good, the details of places, the recreational vehicles, camping grounds etc. the brotherhood, cop to cop talk,
Wow this book free and very interesting, I like shortchapters, and easy to follow characters, some good people along with the not so good, the details of places, the recreational vehicles, camping grounds etc. the brotherhood, cop to cop talk, it’s relaxing and excellent written, exciting enough for me.
I decided to read this 2nd book because I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed Missouri Loves Company. Book 1 of the series. I very glad I followed up with Book 2. The main character, Rip Lane, is a 'character'. Author W. J. Costello has given him wonderful personality and sense of humor or some would say quick witted. This story stains the imagination, but if Mike Hammer can pull it off so can Rip Lane. Give this series a shot. I've really enjoyed the first two books.
This book is a very quick read, you can finish it in a few hours if you want. Not much I disliked it's not complicated which I like at times. One thing the author seems to mention quite a bit is the Marshals service and the different departments and how good they are at certain things as opposed to other law enforcement agencies, which the main character is retired from.
This is the second book in this series, and I have to say that I really like the main character, Rip Lane. Are things a little far fetched at times? Yes, but hey it's fiction, I don't expect reality, and that's part of what makes a good read for me. It's interesting, fast paced, funny in spots, sad in others. The mystery is pretty good, not too hard to figure out, but still keeps you guessing at least half way through the book. I enjoyed it.
Rip is a former US Marshall, retired and living in an rv. His girl friend, Julie, whose son went missing 5 years before. Most of the story revolves around the missing child, Max. But the author includes some side stories of feuding neighbors at the rv campground, a long little girl on the beach and Rip’s own mussing about life. Story seemed disjointed at times and connections between storylines had to make. Ok read.
I loved this book and the main characters Julie and Rip. This is a cozy mystery book. It starts with Julie receiving an invitation from a Facebook person she doesn't know and a video on the 5th Anniversary of her son's body being found. This book keeps you what will come next. There are strange occurrences happening throughout the book which all are tied up by the end of the book. I recommend this book as a relaxing fun read.
Florida Son, was just read by a REAL Floridian...lol.
Florida Son, is one of those books! You know, the one, that once you start reading it, you can't put it down, until the very end!!! A very compelling story. So much, that you feel like you are there in the story, as a bystander. A chanced encounter at a RV park, sets the course of a man and a woman, who meet there. A missing child and the search that goes in strange directions. AN AWESOME READ!!!
He uses mostly 5 word or less sentences, trying to establish a brusque funny tone. He fails. Bald, gruff, gorgeous—at least in his own mind, the hero seems to be what the author sees himself.
Commas are a great punctuation, and have a definite place in writing, though this author refuses to use them. Pedantic, and predictable storyline, but I did finish the book, so I gave him a second star for that. Will not read anything else by this author.
I liked the characters and the story line, but I was questioning the Kristen connection to the half brother. Maybe I missed something, but I felt like I needed another chapter. Also why did Mrs. Messy get taken away in a police car when she was acting in defense of her son. Also, what happened to him . Too many questions for a 5.
The author is good with the storyline and unexpected twists, but spend far too much on details that are at best tangential to the story, like what towns are nearby or the history of things. I would read more by this author, but likely would skin the irrelevant details.
Simply good. I’m always thankful when I run across a good book. This is one. The story is entertaining. The characters are relatable and memorable. It’s not full of action and a page turner nor intense as some books are but each time I picked it up, I genuinely wanted to see what happened next. I love the way it resolved. I really enjoyed this. I’m off to find another in this series.
Rip Lane is becoming a good friend. I am truly enjoying his adventures & relationships. I envy him his "home". Always loved traveling & seeing this great country. This was an intriguing mystery & it kept me interested to the very end. This family was lucky to have Rip as a friend.
Keep them coming W. J. Costello! I'm not a fast reader, but I am persistent!
5 years after her child's death his Mother gets a message inferring he is alive. Her law enforcement friend helps her untangle the bazaar story, entwined with another story in the mystery with another ending. Very good, intriguing.