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Dropzone
Brandon Stone is doing his first Accelerated Free Fall Skydive. He has done the training and his instructors are with him so nothing can go wrong…. Can it? A double malfunction and Brandon is staring death in the face. A very rare accident. Or is it?
Jason is returning to work after 3 months recovering from injuries at the hands of Boronov. Light duties? Not if Jason can help it.
DC Harriet Taylor is taking a well deserved holiday with Jon Finch that includes tandem skydiving. Out of all the planes in the country they were on the same one as Brandon.
With a detective as a witness this should be an easy case to solve. Wrong! Jason and the team need all the help they can get to unravel the lies and find the clues before more bodies turn up.
Jason is returning to work after 3 months recovering from injuries at the hands of Boronov. Light duties? Not if Jason can help it.
DC Harriet Taylor is taking a well deserved holiday with Jon Finch that includes tandem skydiving. Out of all the planes in the country they were on the same one as Brandon.
With a detective as a witness this should be an easy case to solve. Wrong! Jason and the team need all the help they can get to unravel the lies and find the clues before more bodies turn up.
216 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 2, 2019
61 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
About the author
Stewart Giles
83 books85 followersAfter reading English at 3 Universities and graduating from none of them, I set off travelling around the world with my wife, Ann, finally settling in South Africa, where we still live. After Ann dropped a rather large speaker on my head I came up with the idea for a detective series. DS Jason Smith was born. Smith, the first in the series was finished a few months later. 3 years and 8 DS Smith books later, Joffe Books wondered if I would be interested in working with them. As a self-published author, I agreed. However, we decided on a new series - the DC Harriet Taylor Cornwall series. The Beekeeper hit the shelves and hit the number one spot in Australia. The second in the series, The Perfect Murder did just as well. The third in the series, The Backpacker I have self-published and is now available.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
June 2, 2019
A dropzone is a designated area into which skydivers land.
Brandon Stone has been taking skydiving lessons and today he's doing his first Free Fall. He's a little excited, a little nervous, but his two instructors are going with him to make sure nothing goes wrong. His first chute gets tangled and his instructors are giving him the message to go to his back-up chute. That one also fails ... and Brandon knows he's going to die.
Was this murder? A rare occurring accident?
DC Harriet Taylor is taking a well deserved holiday with Jon Finch that includes tandem skydiving. Out of all the planes in the country they were on the same one as Brandon.
DS Jason Smith is returning to work after an incident on his last case. Knowing that Harriet Taylor was on the same plane as the deceased makes him think this case is going to be an easy one.
Wrong ...........
This is a tantalizing look at the world of skydiving .. and the dangers it can involve. As a lot of people say ... you gotta be crazy to jump out of a perfectly good plane.
DROPZONE is well written, the suspense starts with the flight of Brandon Stone and doesn't let up until the very last page. Smith and Taylor are recurring well-defined solid characters. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader engaged. Although second in a series, this can easily be read as a stand alone.
Many thanks to the author / Books n All Book Promotions for the advanced digital copy of this new chapter in the lives of Smith and Taylor. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
June 2, 2019
D.C Erica Whitton is sent to the skydiving club at Fulford to investigate Brandon Stone's death after he is involved in a skydiving accident but was it a accident? Time for the crew to find out. A fast gripping book that kept me turning the pages as I kept reading. Liked the glossary of skydiving terms at the beginning. Boy this author has definitely produced another excellent book in my eyes. Comes highly recommended from me.
June 24, 2019
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I love this author's writing style so I was delighted to see that he had a new release, Dropzone and couldn't wait to get started on it after seeing a few excellent reviews from other readers - well I have now read the book and they were so right in their praise!!
I thought that it was a brilliant story and so well written, the author has a natural writing ability and his books are addictive, this one was no different and I was hooked by the first few pages. His writing style makes the books a very easy read and I settled in and read this one in just a few hours. It is very, very good!!
The plot is great and I know from reading about the author that he himself is a skydiving fan so he makes the first few chapters very realistic and you almost get to feel what Brandon is going through, not a way I would want to go if you give me a choice and he has certainly put me off skydiving!!
The flow for the book is great and I had gone from cover to cover before I even realised and I loved that I was able to catch up with DC Harriet Taylor too, although I might be a bit controversial here and say that the book would have been just as good without her in it!
It is five stars from me again, this is possibly my favourite DS Smith book so far and can't wait for his next release!!
I love this author's writing style so I was delighted to see that he had a new release, Dropzone and couldn't wait to get started on it after seeing a few excellent reviews from other readers - well I have now read the book and they were so right in their praise!!
I thought that it was a brilliant story and so well written, the author has a natural writing ability and his books are addictive, this one was no different and I was hooked by the first few pages. His writing style makes the books a very easy read and I settled in and read this one in just a few hours. It is very, very good!!
The plot is great and I know from reading about the author that he himself is a skydiving fan so he makes the first few chapters very realistic and you almost get to feel what Brandon is going through, not a way I would want to go if you give me a choice and he has certainly put me off skydiving!!
The flow for the book is great and I had gone from cover to cover before I even realised and I loved that I was able to catch up with DC Harriet Taylor too, although I might be a bit controversial here and say that the book would have been just as good without her in it!
It is five stars from me again, this is possibly my favourite DS Smith book so far and can't wait for his next release!!
June 11, 2019
So this is the second in the DS Jason Smith & DC Harriet Taylor series, I would highly recommend you read at least The Enigma first, just because Dropzone contains a couple of spoilers for the other book.
Smith is still recovering from incidents in the last book and wants to get back to work. An intriguing case comes in where a skydiver’s parachute fails to deploy plunging him to his death but was it an accident or something more sinister?
As with all Stewart Giles’ books you are dropped straight into the action from the very first chapter! It’s fun, fast paced and doesn’t take itself too seriously.
You can really tell the author has done his research of sky diving thoroughly, with lots of terminology incorporated into the story. But don’t worry if like me you don’t know much about the subject, there’s a handy little guide at the front explaining the skydiving terms that are used.
I have to be honest, I would have preferred this to be a Smith novel as I don’t think that DC Harriet Taylor added a whole lot to the story, apart from causing a bit of tension between Smith and his wife Whitton, but of course that’s just my opinion.
If you’re looking for a novel with plenty of fast paced action and heart in your mouth moments, I think Dropzone is the book for you.
Smith is still recovering from incidents in the last book and wants to get back to work. An intriguing case comes in where a skydiver’s parachute fails to deploy plunging him to his death but was it an accident or something more sinister?
As with all Stewart Giles’ books you are dropped straight into the action from the very first chapter! It’s fun, fast paced and doesn’t take itself too seriously.
You can really tell the author has done his research of sky diving thoroughly, with lots of terminology incorporated into the story. But don’t worry if like me you don’t know much about the subject, there’s a handy little guide at the front explaining the skydiving terms that are used.
I have to be honest, I would have preferred this to be a Smith novel as I don’t think that DC Harriet Taylor added a whole lot to the story, apart from causing a bit of tension between Smith and his wife Whitton, but of course that’s just my opinion.
If you’re looking for a novel with plenty of fast paced action and heart in your mouth moments, I think Dropzone is the book for you.
June 5, 2019
This book is book 2 in the joint ventures of Stewart's main stars DS Jason Smith and DC Harriet Taylor of York and Trotterdown Police respectively.
As it is book 2 in the series it would help if you have read book 1 as it follows on 3 months from the end of that book so would slightly ruin it if you were to then go back and read that one.
This book starts with a crash as a group of people are in an aeroplane waiting to parachute down to earth. The first person out is freefalling and pulls on his chute, which twists up, his back up chute then malfunctions leaving him hurtling to earth at great speed, before hitting the ground with a splat.
It transpires that Harriet Taylor and her partner are also on the plane waiting to skydive so she takes an interest in trying to solve the case alongside DS Smith, although she is only working in an 'advisory' capacity.
Smith, Whitton, Taylor and the team join forces to try and work out who would want the man dead, or would want to see the skydiving company fail.
As with all of Stewart's books there are some nice little red herrings and more dead people along the way as we try and work out what happened.
I also feel sorry for Jason Smith as he must have done something to really annoy the author who keeps putting him in more dangerous situations where he ends up in hospital or loses someone or something he really cares about. This book is no exception and Stewart really does put Smith through some tough situations in this one, which could cost him his life.
Overall it is yet another brilliant book by Stewart and I can't wait to read more of either Jason, Harriet or both of them in the very near future.
As it is book 2 in the series it would help if you have read book 1 as it follows on 3 months from the end of that book so would slightly ruin it if you were to then go back and read that one.
This book starts with a crash as a group of people are in an aeroplane waiting to parachute down to earth. The first person out is freefalling and pulls on his chute, which twists up, his back up chute then malfunctions leaving him hurtling to earth at great speed, before hitting the ground with a splat.
It transpires that Harriet Taylor and her partner are also on the plane waiting to skydive so she takes an interest in trying to solve the case alongside DS Smith, although she is only working in an 'advisory' capacity.
Smith, Whitton, Taylor and the team join forces to try and work out who would want the man dead, or would want to see the skydiving company fail.
As with all of Stewart's books there are some nice little red herrings and more dead people along the way as we try and work out what happened.
I also feel sorry for Jason Smith as he must have done something to really annoy the author who keeps putting him in more dangerous situations where he ends up in hospital or loses someone or something he really cares about. This book is no exception and Stewart really does put Smith through some tough situations in this one, which could cost him his life.
Overall it is yet another brilliant book by Stewart and I can't wait to read more of either Jason, Harriet or both of them in the very near future.
June 12, 2019
The second book in a series that I have not previously read but I picked the book up and quite quickly found myself immersed in the world of DS Jason Smith and DC Harriet Taylor. Both characters are from different series and have been brought together to create another skein of Stewart Giles's clever storytelling web! I started this with a tad of trepidation as it revolves around a tragic skydiving"accident", thought maybe it wouldn't be for me. I found it so interesting and the story held me from page 1.
The story had a lot of twists and turns and at a certain point I thought a few times , yes, it's them who had done it, only to be led to a dead end! The ending was so unexpected that I couldn't have preempted that at all.
This book has made me want to read every single book Stewart has written about Smith and Taylor, so much I have got every book on my kindle! One to read alone or in the series take my word for it! excellent, immersive story! Loved it!
The story had a lot of twists and turns and at a certain point I thought a few times , yes, it's them who had done it, only to be led to a dead end! The ending was so unexpected that I couldn't have preempted that at all.
This book has made me want to read every single book Stewart has written about Smith and Taylor, so much I have got every book on my kindle! One to read alone or in the series take my word for it! excellent, immersive story! Loved it!
June 7, 2019
From the first time I picked up a DS Jason Smith book by Stewart Giles 3 years ago, I’ve been hooked. He rapidly ascended to my favourite authors list, and within a few months as I read more of his books, he overtook authors like Robert Patterson, Lee Child, John Grisham, along with other writers of their ilk.
When Harriet Taylor came along, I was thrilled to have a tough, but vulnerable female lead to get to know, and she didn’t disappoint.
I could not wait for Dropzone to land in my inbox. The fact that it combined Smith and Taylor again was even more exciting.
I read the book in one sitting. The subject of skydiving fascinates (and horrifies) me, and the author is clearly very knowledgeable and experienced in that area. I could picture the aircraft scenes, and felt my stomach lurch as the jumpers exited the plane. I loved the book from the opening sentence, to the last. I am also really enjoying the progression of the relationship between Smith and Whitton; it’s real and gritty and funny and tender.
I absolutely give this latest offering from Stewart Giles a 5 star rating, and highly recommend it to all.
When Harriet Taylor came along, I was thrilled to have a tough, but vulnerable female lead to get to know, and she didn’t disappoint.
I could not wait for Dropzone to land in my inbox. The fact that it combined Smith and Taylor again was even more exciting.
I read the book in one sitting. The subject of skydiving fascinates (and horrifies) me, and the author is clearly very knowledgeable and experienced in that area. I could picture the aircraft scenes, and felt my stomach lurch as the jumpers exited the plane. I loved the book from the opening sentence, to the last. I am also really enjoying the progression of the relationship between Smith and Whitton; it’s real and gritty and funny and tender.
I absolutely give this latest offering from Stewart Giles a 5 star rating, and highly recommend it to all.
June 25, 2019
One in a million odds and it happened to Brandon Stone. Not only a double malfunction, but two other deaths of people who were on the plane and were familiar with the Fulford Skydiving Club. Coincidence or bad luck for the club?
DC Whitton is reinstated after she killed a man on duty and has been called to the Fulford Skydiving Club to investigate a death of a skydiver. It will take the entire team plus the help of DC Harriet Taylor from Trottertown to get to the bottom of this case. DS Smith is back as well and doing his usual detective work. He won’t rest until the case is solved.
I really liked the twists and turns in this book. The characters are entertaining, interesting, and full of life. The suspense of who could have pulled this off will pull you in from the beginning and won’t let you go until the end of the book. The Detectives all work tirelessly to find the killer and they bounce their ideas off each other until something makes sense. The comments that the other detectives make towards Smith can be a bit mean at times, but Smith takes most of them with a grain of salt, unless it’s Whitton who makes the comment.
I enjoyed reading this book and give it a 5-star review. I like the DS Smith books and look forward to more of his stories, as well as the DC Harriet Taylor’s appearance in these books and her own stories. If you like crime, police procedural, detectives who work a little outside of the lines, then you should pick up this book with a one-click and read it.
DC Whitton is reinstated after she killed a man on duty and has been called to the Fulford Skydiving Club to investigate a death of a skydiver. It will take the entire team plus the help of DC Harriet Taylor from Trottertown to get to the bottom of this case. DS Smith is back as well and doing his usual detective work. He won’t rest until the case is solved.
I really liked the twists and turns in this book. The characters are entertaining, interesting, and full of life. The suspense of who could have pulled this off will pull you in from the beginning and won’t let you go until the end of the book. The Detectives all work tirelessly to find the killer and they bounce their ideas off each other until something makes sense. The comments that the other detectives make towards Smith can be a bit mean at times, but Smith takes most of them with a grain of salt, unless it’s Whitton who makes the comment.
I enjoyed reading this book and give it a 5-star review. I like the DS Smith books and look forward to more of his stories, as well as the DC Harriet Taylor’s appearance in these books and her own stories. If you like crime, police procedural, detectives who work a little outside of the lines, then you should pick up this book with a one-click and read it.
June 14, 2019
I began this book with a great deal of trepidation, as the thought of jumping out of an airplane terrifies me. Immediately, the first character makes his first Free Fall Skydive and his parachute doesn't open, quickly followed by the refusal of his reserve chute to open. He hits the ground rather too quickly (of course) and Jason Smith has a murder on his hands. As luck would have it, DC Harriet Taylor and her friend Jon Finch are in the same plane, intending to do their first tandem skydive. Harriet offers to help Smith and Whitton solve the mystery of why both chutes should fail to work properly. By this time, I was hooked on the story, so I had to read it all and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Stewart Giles mixes an absorbing tale with patches of dark human behaviour and patches of humour which all make a great balance. Once again, as with all his books, it is impossible to second-guess who is behind the murders although I try every time. As usual, it is the 'why' which is the important part of the investigation, rather than the 'who' as the 'who' follows on logically after the 'why' has been revealed. Another wonderful Jason Smith book. (I shall not mention the nightmare I had about falling out of a plane!)
Stewart Giles mixes an absorbing tale with patches of dark human behaviour and patches of humour which all make a great balance. Once again, as with all his books, it is impossible to second-guess who is behind the murders although I try every time. As usual, it is the 'why' which is the important part of the investigation, rather than the 'who' as the 'who' follows on logically after the 'why' has been revealed. Another wonderful Jason Smith book. (I shall not mention the nightmare I had about falling out of a plane!)
June 18, 2019
This is the second book in the DS Jason Smith and DC Harriet Taylor combination series and, like all books by this author, an absolute pleasure to read. Both detectives have their own best selling series of detective novels, and this story has the bonus of two great characters in one book! Smith is an Australian who now works as a DS in York, alongside a great established team including his own wife, DC Erica Whitten. He definitely likes to do things his own way which sometimes rubs the brass up the wrong way, but he is very intuitive and usually gets his man. Harriet Taylor also has a nose for the job, transferring from Edinburgh down south to Trotterdowwn for a fresh start when her own personal life went into freefall. They previously met on a particularly nasty case, and Smith is only just getting back to work after some nasty injuries. Supposedly on light duties but not if he can help it!! The story begins with the apparent one in a million chance death of Brandon Stone, a sky diving student undertaking his first solo jump where a double malfunction occurred. But is it really a rare accident? By a strange coincidence, two of the other passengers jumping off the same plane are Harriet and her boyfriend, pathologist Dr Jon Finch. DI Brownhill would be daft to refuse her help in the investigation when she offers it. There are plenty of great suspects with differing motives in this story, and when the body count starts to rise the team need to pull out all the stops to bring an evil killer to justice. A terrific murder mystery, well written with plenty of twists and very engaging characters (including a repulsive pug!) which will keep the reader engrossed right up to the last page. Highly recommended, as are all the books by this author.
June 12, 2019
I’m petrified of heights, and the concept of Dropzone scares me. Reading this had me on the edge of my seat for a few reasons, but one was definitely because skydiving is not something I would do. Brandon’s story is my worst nightmare.
I love the pace of Dropzone. It starts out strong and doesn’t let up until the last page. It held my interest all the way through, with twists and turns. I didn’t see the answers coming and I think that is a testament to Stewart Giles’ writing style.
I highly recommend Dropzone. It will have your eyes glued to the pages and your heart thumping out of your chest.
*I received a copy of this book as part of a blog tour with Bookz N All. All opinions are my own.*
I love the pace of Dropzone. It starts out strong and doesn’t let up until the last page. It held my interest all the way through, with twists and turns. I didn’t see the answers coming and I think that is a testament to Stewart Giles’ writing style.
I highly recommend Dropzone. It will have your eyes glued to the pages and your heart thumping out of your chest.
*I received a copy of this book as part of a blog tour with Bookz N All. All opinions are my own.*
August 30, 2020
Jason Smith Reaches New Heights
A fast moving detective tale where there's dirty work at the local parachuting club where sabotaged equipment leads to death from the skies.
Jason himself ultimately makes a parachute jump, albeit not from choice, when a crazed criminal abandons him in a doomed light aircraft. Not for those who are scared of heights!
A fast moving detective tale where there's dirty work at the local parachuting club where sabotaged equipment leads to death from the skies.
Jason himself ultimately makes a parachute jump, albeit not from choice, when a crazed criminal abandons him in a doomed light aircraft. Not for those who are scared of heights!
January 22, 2020
Drop Zone
I’m amazed at the way Jason Smith’s mind works...always!
He should be the DI but then he’d become locked into the station, probably tied to his desk. It would be a total disuse of an awesome mind!
I’m amazed at the way Jason Smith’s mind works...always!
He should be the DI but then he’d become locked into the station, probably tied to his desk. It would be a total disuse of an awesome mind!
June 7, 2019
Gripping
Read it in one go. Just as good as the rest of the Jason Smith books. Can't wait for Stewart Giles next book.
Read it in one go. Just as good as the rest of the Jason Smith books. Can't wait for Stewart Giles next book.
June 11, 2019
Very interesting storyline with very realistic characters. Despite being part of a series it can be read alone. Thoroughly recommended.
September 29, 2019
This is worth reading
I liked this book. Some mystery as to who done it, the story moved at a good pace. Recommended reading.
I liked this book. Some mystery as to who done it, the story moved at a good pace. Recommended reading.
November 4, 2019
Again another excellent book by S. Giles. I have read all of them so far . I will now star on the ones featuring Harriet Taylor.
Cannot get enough of these novels.
Cannot get enough of these novels.
May 1, 2020
3.5 stars. A bit of a stretch puting them together again.
December 30, 2020
Entertaining
And an enjoyable read. I have read many of the Jason Smith books but the books with both Harriet and Jason are my favorites. Although this book deals with several murders there is a lightness due to the banter between the characters.
And an enjoyable read. I have read many of the Jason Smith books but the books with both Harriet and Jason are my favorites. Although this book deals with several murders there is a lightness due to the banter between the characters.
March 25, 2024
Excellent story, always been a fan of aircraft/flying and adding parachute murders to the mix meant a book read all the way at one sitting was a certainty.
October 31, 2023
I loved this book. I think this maybe my very favourite Stewart Giles. I always enjoy a Jason Smith thriller and having Harriet Taylor get involved brought that little extra angle to the story. I thought I was going to be able to solve this one before it finished but I was wrong. It kept me on the edge to the end.
August 21, 2019
DS Jason Smith and DC Harriet Taylor to come together again with riveting suspense and labyrinthine mystery culminating in a heart stopping ending.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews