Ransom Beach

Stephanie Chalice Mystery #2

by Lawrence Kelter

NYPD's street savvy detective, Stephanie Chalice is back and not a minute too soon. Her newest nemesis is a con artist and bloodthirsty killer. Chameleon-like, she is able to change her identity at will- she's a ghost known only as Black. Chalice is called into action when a billionaire's ward, an autistic child, is abducted from under the nose of his well trained bodyguard. Black's reason for choosing this mark is not an obvious one. The kidnap victim is no ordinary child. He has never learned to read or write, and yet is capable of channeling the prophecies of his long dead ancestor, those that have long been memorialized, and those now thought to be ages lost. Chalice is put to the test, forced to decipher clues that defy explanation. Will she be able to outthink her diabolical opponent before it's too late?

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Crime, Mystery Thriller

232 pages, Paperback

Published September 8, 2008

About the author

Lawrence Kelter is the bestselling author of the Stephanie Chalice Mystery Series. A resident New Yorker, born and raised in Brooklyn and residing on Long Island. He often uses Manhattan and Long Island as backdrops for his stories. He is the author of three novels featuring street savvy NYPD detective, Stephanie Chalice: Don't Close Your Eyes, Ransom Beach, and most recently, The Brain Vault. Early in his career, he received direction from bestselling novelist Nelson DeMille, who put pencil to paper to assist in the editing of his first book. He was also a member of a private writing workshop led by the late soap opera legend and AFTRA president, Ann Loring. His novels are quickly paced and routinely have a twist ending.

Reviews

[R.P. Dahlke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of five really good mysteries I've read this year, and my only regret is that I'd read it a lot sooner.

Author Lawrence Kelter has a knock-it-out-of-the-park first, with smart, sexy NYPD police detective. Stephanie Chalice.
The book starts with a murder that is cleverly connected to the kidnapping of a wealthy woman's adopted autistic son. It soon becomes clear that the author has more in mind with this very original premise. To whit: kidnappers of an autistic savant (who is compelled to write out the quatrains of the Nostradamus) make the boy a pawn in a bidding war.

But wait! There's more! I won't do a spoiler here, but believe me, you're in for a treat, and if you think you can guess the exciting conclusion of this rollicking suspense novel, you're a better wo/man than I--and I write mysteries, and thought I knew what was coming, only to be side swiped. All I can say is, wow! Somebody needs to make a movie out of this book!

[Keith Withers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Head over heels drama

Detective Stephanie Chalice, along with her partner and secret lover, Lido, is put on a baffling case where an autistic child, of her late sister's, is abducted and held for ransom. Who has managed to abduct the child, Manny, and why. Is it for a random or does the fact that Manny purports to be a descendant of, world famous and extremely well known, Nostradamus. Why, when he writes a quatrain, does he write in french. A most unbelievable tale of murder, mystery and intrigue.

[Kathy C. Walke · Rating 1 out of 5]

Way too much sex (and thoughts of sex)

It's actually a pretty good series (what I read of it) but I had to filter so much of the sexual innuendo out it just wasn't worth it. Too bad for me because the story line was really good. Not only was the sex talk throughout the book but she even dreamed of.....just too much is all I can say.

[Karen greer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read! This was a great story full of surprises. The reader is pulled in from the first page and just cannot stop book is very fast paced, action packed and plot inside of plot. It also has a great cast of characters and I am now going to read the next in this series.

[Thomas Calhoun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book. Kept me guessing right til the finish. Would have been better if the protagonist could have kept her friggin' sex drive under control, or at least refrained from talking about it every other page. Annoying, for this guy at least.

[Alison Amiot · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fast read for a lazy weekend or the beach. The book had an unexpected twist at the end. It kept my attention, and I look forward to reading additional books in the series.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

I loved the first two books. The characters just come to life. I love the storylines but I love the characters. Funny, serious, brave.

[larry oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thriller

Good story line but not into romance. Written in first person is a little distracting from main storyline. But overall a good read with surprise ending.

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I thought it was well written and the characters were believable and interesting. There are many twists and turns that continue until the end. Highly recommend

[Grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great detective story

Another good read in this series that has a great female detective character and is full of action and twists.

[Jackie Simons]

Read 9/23

[Mary Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was a real page turner and I had a hard time putting it down. I am about to read another Stephanie Chalice mystery.

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

Stephanie Chalice may be my new favorite cop. She’s smart, sarcastic and one hell of a detective. There’s great chemistry with her partner/boyfriend too.

A murder becomes tangled up with the kidnapping of an autistic teen who just happens to be the ward of a rich and powerful cosmetics executive. The story takes some unexpected twists, but Stephanie is on track throughout.

An exciting police drama that provides plenty of fast-paced action and more than a few laughs. I will definitely be looking for more books in this series.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a quick and easy read. I gave it 3 stars instead of 4 only because I think the author spends too much time talking about what a sex fiend the lead character, Detective Stephanie Chalice is. I believe it insults the readers' intelligence, especially considering the author is a male. I get it..she's a nympho we get it. The story moves quite fast and revolves around the kidnapping of Manny, who is considered by a Gnostic faith to be a descendant of Nostradamus. Manny is kidnapped by a cold blooded killer named Moira Ryan, who holds out on the Faith and demands a 5 million ransom from Celia Thorne, a cosmetics queen who is Manny's guardian after adopting him from her deceased sister in France. The plot twist at the end was quite interesting and the author paces the story very well, so much so that I was able to read this in 3 or 4 days quite fast. For the 99 cents I spent on the Nook it is a decent read, although Nelson DeMille's assertion that Mr Kelter is a young Robert Ludlum is a tad over the top and not even close. Worth a read if you enjoy a good crime drama, not exceptional in my opinion but solid

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book, I did. I don't even write reviews often but feel I need to in the case of Ransom Beach. It was VERY hard to take Stephanie, the main character, seriously, as she was painted as a 15 year old horny boy with nothing but sex on her mind. Ok, we get it, she's got a great libido and a sexy boyfriend to use it on, but come on--she's in a life or death situation that could make or break her career--and her life--and she's noticing how 'cute' the young man sitting next to her is? It kind of felt like this was the author's dream girl, who thought of nothing but sex all the time, and it made it very hard for me to take her seriously as the good detective she is--all that totally overshadowed the plot of the book. I normally like to read thriller/mystery series if I like a character--I just have to wait for a new book to come out so I can "meet up" with the character again. But this is one I don't think I'll be reading any more of; and believe me, I'm no prude….that part of her character was just very distracting and really took away from the rest of the book.

[Jina Howell-Forbes · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first book in this series was a little pedantic, but since there was some interesting family and interpersonal drama along with the mystery, I finished it. This book is the second in the series, and I assumed the series and the writing would get better. Series generally do, in my experience.

This one, however, just got worse. Not only was the writing still disjointed and choppy, but it was an insult to anyone who cares about justice and law enforcement. Stephanie imagines sex scenes during a shoot-out, and that is just one example.

The other thing I hated was the way the author dealt with a disabled character. The criminal impersonates a boy with autism who uses a wheelchair, but is in good enough shape to outrun three cops... and everybody buys that there is nothing wrong here?

I won't be continuing with this series.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

NYPD Detective Stephanie Chalice has a feeling a big case is imminent. And then:

An autistic boy is kidnapped after his physical therapy session, his bodyguard in the waiting room. He, Manny, has been the ward of his incredibly wealthy aunt for three years. For the past year, Manny has been writing out some works of Nostradamus. In French.

Has he been taken for money? By some religious group? It is up to Chalice, with partner Lido and FBI agent Ambler, to learn who they (the kidnappers) are, what they want and how to find Manny. The man in Stephanie's dreams is not making things any easier.

The story moves quickly, twisting and turning in some unexpected directions. An all round good read.

[Adrienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

why does every author believe their characters must be in a Stephanie Plum triangle. It is boring, overused and does nothing for this series. Stephanie Chalice and her partner are trying to find an autistic child who is suddenly writing in French. Its a long drawn out story and muddled with Stephanie dreams of Batman and romantic issues with her partner.
The author needs to decide if this is a romance series or a cop series, there is no thriller going on her. Just the same old same old that other authors have already done.

[Tristan Robin Blakeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good mystery. Must admit, never saw the twist ending coming...very clever. The leading character (Det. Chalice) does go a little overboard on the constantly-in-need-of-sex routine. I mean, really - people are shooting at her, holding an autistic child as hostage - and she's thinking about having sex with her boyfriend. Really? LOL But, all-in-all, a very satisfying read.

[Maria · Rating 1 out of 5]

Great premise... kidnapping of an autistic child who is the last known descendant of Nostradamus. Unfortunately the prose is peppered with too many trite phrases and flips in point of view that make for a confusing and frustrating read. Well drawn characters and a good amount of intrigue, but just not enough to make up for what is simply bad writing.

[Cherie Reeves · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I got this book either free or pretty cheap. Easy read. Interesting twist on the mystery at the end. The main character's running commentary about her inner thoughts got a little old, but otherwise not a bad book.

[Mishka · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was okay....I liked the character and the twists in the plot but the writing wasn't super engaging. I am reading the first book now to see if perhaps it was better than this one.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a page turner. Very good so far. I guess I'm going to have to read the first Stephanie Chalice Mystery when I'm through with this one...

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, easy read

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy the stories about Detective Chalice and Lido...good fun read.

[Jeannette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great mystery

[Gwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I totally enjoyed the story line in this book. My only negative about it was there was a little too much sexual content, which took away from the plot.

[Charlotte]

it was alright. felt a little to long in some parts

[Jennij · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and the sequel before this. Very twisty plot which kept me more interested. Looking forward to next one.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Held my interest. Will try to find more by this author