Afraid Of The Dark

Jack Swyteck #9

by James Grippando

The New York Times bestselling author's ever-popular hero, Jack Swyteck, is on his most dangerous case yet, uncovering a sinister underground world that has him racing across the globe.

Then: Sergeant Vince Paulo held his best friend's daughter, McKenna, bleeding in his arms as she uttered the name of her murderer and ex-boyfriend, Jamal. That was minutes before a blast made everything go black for Vince—forever.

Now: Miami criminal defense lawyer Jack Swyteck has been called in to save Jamal from the death penalty for terrorist activity. Despite urgent warnings from his fiancée, undercover FBI agent Andie Henning, to stay away from the case, Jack finds himself inextricably drawn to Jamal's past—even believing his alibi that he was abducted and held in a black site in Prague at the time of McKenna's death. But if Jamal is innocent, then the man who murdered McKenna and took Vince's sight is still out there . . . free.

Soon bodies begin to pile up and ghosts from the past reappear very much alive, confirmed by ominous threats from a faceless man known only as "the Dark." Vince and Jack must confront a mortal danger that goes beyond McKenna's death, across international waters—a journey to piece together the past that leads through the back alleys of London, onto illegal Internet sites, and straight into the mind of pure evil.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook, Legal Thriller, Suspense, Mystery Thriller

406 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2011

About the author

The first thing you should know about bestselling author James Grippando is that he is no longer clueless—or so they say, after “A James Grippando Novel” was a clue for #38 Across in the New York Times crossword puzzle. James is the winner of the Harper Lee Prize for legal fiction and a New York Times bestselling author with more than 30 novels to his credit, including the popular series featuring Miami criminal defense attorney Jack Swyteck. His latest, "Goodbye Girl" (HarperCollins 2024), is the 18th in the Swyteck series. His novels are enjoyed worldwide in 28 languages. As an adjunct professor he teaches "The Law & Lawyers in Modern Literature" at the University of Miami School of Law. He is also counsel at one of the nation’s leading law firms, where he specializes in entertainment and intellectual property law, representing clients who have won more than 40 Tony Awards. He writes in south Florida with Atlas at his side, a faithful golden retriever who has no idea he’s a dog.
Series:
* Jack Swyteck

Reviews

[Terence M [on a brief semi-hiatus] · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook - 12:21 Hours - Narrator: Jonathan Davis
3.0 Stars - just.

I have read/heard five "Jack Swyteck" novels by James Grippando, the first in 2010, and I rated only one as 4 Stars, "#10, Blood Money". Nothing in "#9, Afraid of the Dark" makes me want to read another of the series anytime soon.

The main story more-or-less bumbled along, with little pace or action involved. This wasn't helped by a barely average narration by the normally competent Jonathan Davis. He regularly made insufficient differences between vocal characterisations of main protagonist, "Jack" and those of blind cop, "Vince" and a co-protag, "Chuck". The result was that quite often I wasn't quite sure who was saying what to whom and why. This is an uncommon trait in audiobooks, in my experience, but when it appears it is most annoying.

[Valleri · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Jack Swytek series has sort of been all over the map for me. I find myself most liking the books where the action takes place in the courtroom but it seems like those don't happen often enough to keep a smile on my face. I found myself unable to suspend my disbelief enough to love this book. I think it's time for me to give this series a rest for awhile.

[Una Tiers · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was on a stack of books I hadn't finished and was determined to work through. The violence was overwhelming, the sentiments tired.

[Brian O'Leary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book with lots of good stuff, but way too many twists, I am done with it now and I am still not sure who did what

[Mary Gramlich · Rating 5 out of 5]

AFRAID OF THE DARK written by James Grippando
Jack Swyteck Series Book #9
03/11 - HarperCollins Publishers - Hardcover, 416 pages

What if the lies are the truth and fiction is fact?

Many interesting cases have crossed Jack Swyteck’s desk and he is a master at knowing when his client is not telling him the truth. The client he has now is not only not telling him the truth he will not event talk to him at all. Very interesting decision since he is being held at Guantánamo with no chance of release unless they figure out why he is being viewed as a terrorist. The world gets stranger when the terrorist charges are dropped and his client becomes suspect #1 in a police officer’s injury and the death of another police officer’s daughter. Jack figures out quickly why his client thought being in Cuba was safer than getting out of jail.

How is it possible that the defense becomes that there is no way he could have committed these murders he was being held in a black ops secret interrogation facility? Even Jack has trouble sorting through that and the phone call from his FBI agent fiancé telling him to walk away from this one. The truth is buried so deep and the evidence is based on the police convicting someone regardless of whether they are guilty or not. Jack won’t listen to any of this and keeps moving forward resolving to sort through the lies to get to the truth regardless of what country he has to travel to in order to find the answer. However, when Jack puts all the pieces together will he be able to handle the reality that maybe conspiracy theories are true and factual.

I am a fan of Jack Swyteck and his interesting and diverse life. The back characters are always add flavor and spice to this series and with secrets coming out about Jack’s own family the heat is turned up another notch of interesting. Loved it!

[Monica · Rating 1 out of 5]

You have your stabbed teen-aged girl and your blind cop who's trying to find her killer. And then there's the defense attorney with the client who's a terrorist - oh whoops, he's not - he's, he's the guy who murdered the girl. Or is he?

And there's the girl's father the data mining tycoon who wants revenge for her murder, and his wife who killed herself in grief, but didn't.

And the Al Shabbab guy who is the not-terrorist's father, and the other Somali guy who is even worse, and the evil owner of the Defense Contracting firm (Black ICE? puhleeze...) that operated the Black Ops site where the guy who wasn't a terrorist was interrogated before he was sent to Gitmo, and who waterboards the defense attorney's fiancee, the FBI agent, in the back of his limo. And the grandfather with Alzheimer's whose ramblings contain some truth about the attorney's family history. And the kitchen sink. Sheesh.

[Jane Biggerstaff · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was not a book I enjoyed. It was painful for me to get through, with a confusing and far-fetched plot meant to have you on the edge of your seat, but which felt flat and had me wondering where he was going with all this. The author spent practically the entire book trying to weave together the characters and plot. And here’s a spoiler, but sorry, no mother is going to search for teenager girls and deliver them as sexual slaves. Not happening. Don’t waste your time with this book. There are far too many good ones out there, instead of spending your time with this Grisham/ Patterson wannabe.

[Joanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only way this book makes sense is if women are just stupid. Uck!

[Nolan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Someone stabs a young woman to death then blows the house up while her dad’s friend, a cop, attempts a rescue. The blast blinds the cop, and you see how he deals with blindness here. It’s a typical sighted author mixed bag of decent research combined with uncomfortably large dollops of assumption and stupidity. The guy does a lot of step counting—not generally an accepted art form among blind travelers, but whatever. He uses a device called a BrainPort, which doesn’t seem to have made many inroads among blind users. But I grossly digress.

The woman who died breathed her boyfriend’s name as her last word, but he couldn’t have killed her. A private military contractor was busy torturing the guy in an off-the-books torture site in Prague. Now, Jack agrees to defend the guy against the charges that he murdered the woman.

There was no doubt that I’d finish it if I started it. It was ok, and I don’t have any regrets about the time I spent with it. But it never rises above the three-star realm of enjoyment for me.

[Sarmīte · Rating 1 out of 5]

1/2 zvaigzne par pēdējo grāmatas trešdaļu un man 1/2 zvaigzne par pacietību. Nu nepatīk šis autors, garlaicīgs un neloģisks. Kāpēc lasu? Pati brīnos.. laikam tāpēc, ka ielikts manā lasāmo grāmatu sarakstā un ja ir sarakstā - jāizlasa.. Vēl palikusi viena viņa grāmata, zinu, būs nebaudāma, bet sarakstā ir...

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good Jack Swyteck legal thriller from Grippando.
However, I had the sense that I had read this book before (when I actually hadn't). Turns out, a couple of paragraphs and phrases in this book were also in another Swyteck novel GOT THE LOOK which I had read prior to this one. I'm not sure if this is a common practice with series authors, it's the first time I've noticed it.

[Kendall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack Swyteck is a character who first appeared in THE PARDON, he was a lawyer defending death row inmates. He is of course still a lawyer defending the underdog and still knocks my socks off! Theo Knight is also back in this book. I love Theo, he is one of my favorite characters. If I could meet a character in real life it would be Theo. I would love to have a drink in his bar. Jack saved Theo from death row and yes he was innocent. He has stood by Jacks side every since. Theo brings humor into the books but he is also a loyal friend.

Afraid of the Dark is very much a stand alone novel. You don't need any back stories on the characters to enjoy this. If you've read his other books you will notice the reappearance of some characters and be happy to see them. Kinda like meeting with an old friend who you haven't seen in awhile. Knowing the characters stories and histories is always interesting but definitely not necessary to enjoy this novel.

This book is filled with twists and turns. I read it slowly, not because it didn't grab me but because I savor Grippando's books, try to make them last so it doesn't seem like such a long wait for the next one to come out!

I had a love/hate relationship with Chuck who is the father of the murdered girl. At times I wanted to cry for him and at other times I felt he knew so much more than he let on. Sgt. Vince Paulo stands out as a character with strength and bravery. Now blind he rarely feels sorry for himself and still manages to live life and help get to the bottom of things. He is a character who I would love to continue meeting in future books.

I found the plot amazing. At first I thought "oh no, another terrorist attack book" but it really was so much more. The mystery and suspense is high. The characters are well developed and lovable. I highly doubt you will figure it out before the unbelievable ending.

In my opinion Mr. Grippando writes some of the best suspense that you can get your hands on. You will find yourself holding your breath a lot in reading this book. There are not many books that I would want to re-read but anything by this author will be a book to go back to because you will enjoy it even more the second time around.

My favorite parts of the book as always are the scenes with Jack and Theo. They are always good for a smile or laugh and are a nice interlude in such a high suspense novel.

I can not recommend this book highly enough. Not just this book, any of Mr. Grippando's books. I can't say that I ever read one that was bad. Give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has no spoilers, as the book has NOT been released as of posting:

Jack Swyteck returns in this absolutely thrilling political mystery that has our prognasticator defending an accussed killer which puts him the line of fire from those who have alot to lose; including his fiancee and law partner.

We follow several different story lines: The killer calls himself the Dark; Andie Henning the FBI agent that Jack is hoping to marry; The Mays family who has gone through hell and back and still we don't know the real truth about this family. Vince Paula, who we all know was instrumental in saving Theo's life while he was on death row, also plays a huge role in this storyline.

Jack also has receives another piece of shocking news that has him questioning his families background. This from his 87 year old Grandfather that has been struck with Alzheimers.

Jack's journey takes him from Guantanamo Bay Cuba, to Washinton DC, Florida, London, England and the former Czech Republic for answers to baffling questions.

There are a plethora of questions that have to be answered in this story. It all goes back to three years before when a girl name McKenna Mays was brutally killed, and Paulo was left blind. It also included a mysterious disappearance of someone who was thought killed, and a teenager who was used in order to get to McKenna's father.

Jack travels from Guantanamo Bay Cuba to Washington, DC, back to Miami, Florida. The story then flips into high gear when he travels to London, where the story ends one part of the story.

The last part is a personal issue for Jack as he travels to Prague to learn more about his grandfather.

Thoughts: There's not really any pause in this book. James keeps the story moving right along, and I found myself done with the story before I knew it. I've always been a fan of Jack Swyteck's storyline, as well as he best friend Theo Knights. This story will appeal to those who follow political upheal, mysteries, and of course, Thrillers. I would definitely recommend this book.

Publishes April 1st 2011 -- Recv'd Arc from Publisher in lieu of honest review of book. For some reaason, Goodreads does not offer the cover to this book, even though Netgalley.com does.

[Eustacia Tan · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be honest, I wanted to read Gone Again, the 12th book in the series, because of Lectus' review. But, the NLB e-Reads programme didn't have it, so I borrowed Book 9 because the title sounded interesting, and I really wanted to see if this could work as a standalone.

Afraid of the Dark starts with the "innocent girl gets killed" scene, but with a slight twist - there's someone at the scene, and they have the name of the killer. And then it goes from bad to worse. A few years later, Jack (the hero of the story), takes on the case of a gitmo prisoner, who turns out to be the missing suspected killer, who is then killed, and really, the story just gets more confusing from there on.

Because the book started with Vince (the cop that found the girl and then was blinded), and the accusation of Jamal (the gitmo prisoner) as the killer, I was unsympathetic to Jamal for most of the book, even though he had a pretty solid alibi. I guess that's how powerful dying testimony can be. Anyway, I had immense sympathy for Vince and Chuck (the father of the victim), and didn't really get what Jack was doing.

And despite the fact that this series is about Jack, he was not my favourite character. In fact, he seemed to just get in the way of other characters, which I guess is a good thing, but didn't really affect the ending anyway. Or perhaps he's there because of the story with his FBI fiance, Andie (Andie is awesome, by the way).

Still, I gobbled up this book in two days. The previous book was one that I couldn't finish, so I really loved the fact that this kept me turning page after page. The chapters are pretty short too (about four or five pages on my iPad), so it was easy to fit in a chapter or two here and there.

I will definitely be looking out for other books in the series. I mean, if they're all this gripping, I have nothing to lose.

This review was first posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love James Grippando. He's not your typical mystery/thriller writer. He doesn't write a formula book that is the same all the time. His characters are very well developed. It's a fast read that will keep you interested the whole time. However some of the plot twists are a little fanstantic and you may need to suspend some judgment. It's still fun and exciting. It's very well written with a lot of character development with the secondary characters. Yes, this is a series but it can stand alone if you've never read any of Mr. Grippando's work before. I was fascinated by technology that this book brings into play. I hadn't really thought that people could do some of the things that are done in this book. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone that loves thrillers and mysteries and it's a must read for anyone following the series.

[Mica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm often in a hurry, and I must get my books from the library in order to support our libraries. As a result, I'm often in a hurry, don't have an author or a book in mind. One of the things I've learned is if an author has more than one book on the shelf, they must be worth reading. However, I think I'm done with Grippando. The majority of his books are a series about a criminal defense attorney who gets locked into all types of dangerous discoveries. If you like that thing, he's got a few to go through. I did find in the last two books I read, out of sequence, an entire word for word description of a scene with the girlfriend. Is that cheating? hmmmm

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a book to read all alone in the middle of the night, but it is hard to put down as the mysteries keep getting more and more involved.

Mr. Grippando has created a sinister force, The Dark, who seems to be able to know everything about his victims all the time. He also kills with impunity and total anonymity.

This story is not for the faint of heart as it includes terrorist acts, revenge, torture, brainwashing, extreme rendition and other ugly acts.

[Scottsdale Public Library]

Attorney Jack Swyteck has a problem -- well, several problems, in this excellent thriller. His client, accused of being a Somali terrorist is actually an American citizen being held at Guantanamo. When the young man disappears, so does Jack's lead to finding the real killer and uncovering the truth in the shady world of black ops.

-- Louisa --

[Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting Swyteck book where he is defending a person held at Guantanamo who is then found to be wanted in Florida and an American and he defends him there. Found the plot to be highly unbelievable and they stuck his girlfriend Andie, in her undercover role it appears solely to fill some holes in the plot. By far the worst of the Swyteck books.

[Deale Hutton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again a good political thriller. I didn't figure out the ending, and at times I was very uncertain of the plot itself. Somewhat confusing in parts, but read it quickly as it grabbed me. Think Grippando will be on my list to read more of.

[Mac MacChlerie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't waste your time.

Not a cell thought out story. Too many lose ends. Slow development and ending squished into a couple of unbelievable chapters that left some protagonists out there somewhere. Unbelievable rescues even for a usually good brighter.

[Dani · Rating 2 out of 5]

The people giving this book three stars and above are being generous. I've read far, far better by Grippando, and was sorely disappointed with this one. The "twists" were eye roll inducing and the characters were all pretty hard to root for. All in all, and unsatisfying read, IMO.

[James Thompson · Rating 2 out of 5]

See my review at
http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/revie...

[Chip Atkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great characters, clever narrative, a complicated and exciting story, wonderful writing and perfect narration make this another home run for Grippando. This novel, like all in the Swyteck series stands on its own merit. I have read five installments and none in sequence.

This story is complicated because Grippando takes us into the dark worlds of surveillance, human trafficking, private military firms and Islamic terrorism. Thankfully it Is written with great clarity and authenticity. As the mystery unravels the suspense grows.

I realize Goodreads’ andAudible’s audiences are diverse and extremely well read. No author can please all of us. But if you are a fan of suspense like I am, James Grippando is the hidden treasure we have been looking for. Certainly many people are familiar with him, but thanks to two fellow Tar Heel reviewers, Wayne and Shelly, I have become a huge admirer of his work.

I read many of your reviews before I purchase a novel. In fact, I hold listener reviews far higher than professional reviewers. If this review is helpful, I would appreciate you acknowledging it!

[Patti · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young Gitmo detainee who requires a pro-bono lawyer, Miami defense lawyer Jack Swyteck decides to take the case, despite the pleadings of his FBI girlfriend. The young man is also accused of murder and blinding Sergeant Vince Paulo, who attempted to save the young girl, the daughter of a close friend.

The case against the accused terrorist begins to fall apart when he claims he was detained at a black site in Eastern Europe at the time of the murder. However, the young girl lay dying, she accused the young man of murder.

Somali terrorists, are trying to cover up the existence of the detention site, and Chuck the father of the young girl who was murdered, who is a high tech pioneer involved in a secret government project is attempting to find who really murdered his daughter. Grippando has a real knack at being able to intertwine the two stories. The story races from Miami to London as the main character becomes more apparent. By that time, there are plenty of bodies piling up, and the story has heightened to a very intense ending.

[Marcia DeCruz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this 3.5 stars. It wasn't great, just okay. I probably won't remember it a month from now.
I guess I'm writing a review for prosperity.
To be fair, this is book 9 of a series. Maybe if I started with book 1, I would feel differently.
The story starts with Jack Swyteck defending a supposedly Somali terrorist who has been at Guantanmo Bay for 3 years. 3 years prior, McKenna May, a sixteen year old, was allegedly killed by her boyfriend Jamal. Sergeant Vince Paulo was the one to find the dying McKenna and was blinded at the scene of the crime by the fleeing perpetrator. It turns out the alleged terrorist Khaled al Jawar was Jamal.
At first, the story read like a Grisham novel, but then it fizzled and became less credible. The ending did not wow me, and at no point did it leave me at the edge of my seat.
The list of characters was way too long, and somehow, they all tied into what was going on.
I would recommend starting with the 1st book in the series. Perhaps that was where I went wrong.
Now on to next Goodread.

[John Marsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Library Audible (To remind me of the story)

Further insight and reminder of gitmo Jack Swyteck, is on his most dangerous case yet, uncovering a sinister underground world that has him racing across the globe.

Prior to Jack's involvment, Sergeant Vince Paulo held his best friend's daughter, McKenna, bleeding in his arms as she uttered the name of her murderer and ex-boyfriend, Jamal. That was minutes before a blast made everything go black for Vince—forever, the real murderer "The Dark" a franatic, self serving enslaver of people and their minds including brainwashing and mentally captivating McKenna's mother.

Miami criminal defense lawyer Jack Swyteck has been called in to save Jamal from the death penalty for terrorist activity. Despite urgent warnings from his fiancée, undercover FBI agent Andie Henning, to stay away from the case, Jack finds himself inextricably drawn to Jamal's past—even believing his alibi that he was abducted and held in a black site in Prague at the time of McKenna's death. But if Jamal is innocent, then the man who murdered McKenna and took Vince's sight is still out there . Jamal knews the work Vince's friend was doing with software that traced paedophiles file sharing back to it's source, Jamal was an employee at one time but when freed he is cocky and takes no presaution thus he is located by the dark the franatic (Who was assisted the black ops private firm facing hearings on black ops including the Prague site where Jamal had gone)

FBI agent Andie Hennings. jack's girlfriend was in undercover to crack open the illegal goings on of the company. She does and had been taken to an isoslated spot by the Chief officer and his side kick. They water board her to get her to confess who whe really is and she is rescued last minute by the FBI team ops who kill the company gangsters in the process problem solved all round.

Soon bodies begin to pile up and ghosts from the past reappear very much alive, confirmed by ominous threats from a faceless man known only as "the Dark." Vince and Jack must confront a mortal danger that goes beyond McKenna's death, across international waters—a journey to piece together the past that leads through the back alleys of London, onto illegal Internet sites, and straight into the mind of pure evil. Vince's computer friend and McKenna father is behind the search andhe himself goes to London unbeknown to Jack and Vince. In the end he takes out the man (Part of Jamal larger family connection all from North Afriuca and involved in various terrorist activities. "The dark" had turned against the family for revenge). Jamal turns out innocent of all. The man known as "the dark" plus the black ops group and even unwittingly McKenna's mother all contributed to the killings and so on.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
wow! intense, well written.
as more details/clues emerge, the case gets more complicated. it kept me guessing until the end. i didn't figure any of it out.
some of it was very graphic & violent. hard to get thru.
didn't like Andie.
i felt that the secondary storyline w/Jack's grandfather was wrapped up a little too quickly. and not enough closure for me.


b/c i'm doing this on audio, i'm doing it a bit out of order. you're not too lost doing it this way, but i would recommend doing this series in order. and as the series goes on, the narrative gets a little darker. and some series can get repetitive as they go along. this one doesn't really do that. some things are repeated but for the most part, i think the writer is improving w/each one.

[BookSalad · Rating 2 out of 5]

McKenna, a 16-year-old girl, is brutally beaten and left to die. She does so, in the arms of her father's best friend, Sergeant Vince Paulo, naming her ex-boyfriend Jamal, as her killer.

What ensues is another thriller starring Jack Swyteck, the attorney who is assigned to get Jamal out of Gitmo, where he's accused of being a Somali terrorist. Jack, together with people who may or may not be on the right side of the law, travel to London in search of answers to a mystery weaved around underage sex trafficking, secret torture rooms in Prague, and high-tech programs that can tell users intimate info on just about anyone in the world.

I love the Swyteck cases - they're usually set in Florida. For this midwestern gal, the scenery is a nice change of pace from fir trees and farms. But most of the action in this book was set in London, also a place I love novels to be set in; however, I missed Miami.

*I love the character Andie, Jack's FBI agent wife. I want to be her (except I'd be too chicken to do her undercover work). :)

[Catrinka · Rating 4 out of 5]

As legal dramas go, the Jack Swyteck series is okay--some of the books are better than others. Swyteck's character seems to be written as earnest but a bit clueless, although I sort of doubt that it's the author's intent to have him seem so bumbling.

This particular one, Afraid of the Dark, was a bit better than some of the others IMO, although its storyline was a bit ridiculous. As with the other books in the series, the action is fast-paced but often unbelievable. Sometimes I'm in the mood for a read like that, though.