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judithdcollins's review
4.0
A special thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Chris Ewan's DEAD LINE, crosses over to the dark side, with professional hostage negotiator, Daniel Trent for a fast paced suspense crime thriller.
Highly skilled, Daniel Trent, the specialist works in the dangerous field of hostage negotiation...along with his fiancée, Aimee. Aimée, is also his business partner and lover, carrying their child.
When Aimee goes missing, Trent thinks he knows who is responsible and definitely will not be getting the police involved. The plan is simple, grab Moreau and make him talk. He finds himself forced to negotiate the release from kidnapping of the man as he tries desperately to secure the release of Jérôme Moreau from a ruthless gang, in order to interrogate him on the whereabouts of his fiancée.
However, someone else gets there first grabbing Moreau and finds himself working with Moreau’s beautiful ballet dancer wife- full of emotions and anguish where nothing is as it seems with eyes watching.
This was my first book by Ewan and he is quite the storyteller, a master at unfolding events at his own pace, keeping the reader on the edge with a cliffhanger ending. An intense read with twist and turns at every corner, keeping you guessing as who to trust. From gangsters, glamour, a trophy wife, plus more for a compelling action packed read.
After reading the author’s blog, found it quite interesting, his inspiration for the novel set in exotic and intriguing Marseille, mostly narrated in third-person, with extensive research, and set up for this action crime suspense novel.
Looking forward to reading, Safe House, after reading the rave reviews!
http://www.judithdcollinsconsulting.com/#!Dead-Line/cmoa/DDF77433-1295-4330-B007-0A435449251E
Chris Ewan's DEAD LINE, crosses over to the dark side, with professional hostage negotiator, Daniel Trent for a fast paced suspense crime thriller.
Highly skilled, Daniel Trent, the specialist works in the dangerous field of hostage negotiation...along with his fiancée, Aimee. Aimée, is also his business partner and lover, carrying their child.
When Aimee goes missing, Trent thinks he knows who is responsible and definitely will not be getting the police involved. The plan is simple, grab Moreau and make him talk. He finds himself forced to negotiate the release from kidnapping of the man as he tries desperately to secure the release of Jérôme Moreau from a ruthless gang, in order to interrogate him on the whereabouts of his fiancée.
However, someone else gets there first grabbing Moreau and finds himself working with Moreau’s beautiful ballet dancer wife- full of emotions and anguish where nothing is as it seems with eyes watching.
This was my first book by Ewan and he is quite the storyteller, a master at unfolding events at his own pace, keeping the reader on the edge with a cliffhanger ending. An intense read with twist and turns at every corner, keeping you guessing as who to trust. From gangsters, glamour, a trophy wife, plus more for a compelling action packed read.
After reading the author’s blog, found it quite interesting, his inspiration for the novel set in exotic and intriguing Marseille, mostly narrated in third-person, with extensive research, and set up for this action crime suspense novel.
Looking forward to reading, Safe House, after reading the rave reviews!
http://www.judithdcollinsconsulting.com/#!Dead-Line/cmoa/DDF77433-1295-4330-B007-0A435449251E
kcfromaustcrime's review
4.0
Daniel Trent is a hostage negotiator, working alongside fiancée Aimee, but he could not have expected Aimee to go missing, or his chief suspect to be kidnapped as well. All of which is setup with breathtaking speed in DEAD LINE, dragging the reader into the story from the very first page, and not letting up until the end. Every now and again I did find myself rechecking the opening pages though - the sense of pace, the tension and the sheer wild ride of DEAD LINE didn't seem like THE DEAD THIEF'S GUIDE series at all. And I really liked those books from this author.
There's something deeply satisfying about Trent's single-minded pursuit of Aimee. Anybody who gets in his road, anything that prevents him from finding where she is, who has her, swept aside with extreme prejudice. He's thinking all the time and whilst the reader might not always be in on the innermost logic of what he's up to, there's never a moment of doubt about his commitment to the cause.
What's really interesting is that there's a sneaking suspicion of an unreliable narrator as well. Trent obviously has a plan, and even the suspect's family aren't going to be allowed to get in the road, but just sometimes, there was the disquieting feeling that nobody is exactly who they seem to be - even Trent. At one point I was even starting to wonder what on earth Aimee's story was. Cleverly done, the reader can both like and not be sure about Trent at the same time as not really know who to trust.
Charging headfirst to a cliff hanger of an ending that really works in this context, DEAD LINE is a book that made this reader pay attention.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/dead-line-chris-ewan
There's something deeply satisfying about Trent's single-minded pursuit of Aimee. Anybody who gets in his road, anything that prevents him from finding where she is, who has her, swept aside with extreme prejudice. He's thinking all the time and whilst the reader might not always be in on the innermost logic of what he's up to, there's never a moment of doubt about his commitment to the cause.
What's really interesting is that there's a sneaking suspicion of an unreliable narrator as well. Trent obviously has a plan, and even the suspect's family aren't going to be allowed to get in the road, but just sometimes, there was the disquieting feeling that nobody is exactly who they seem to be - even Trent. At one point I was even starting to wonder what on earth Aimee's story was. Cleverly done, the reader can both like and not be sure about Trent at the same time as not really know who to trust.
Charging headfirst to a cliff hanger of an ending that really works in this context, DEAD LINE is a book that made this reader pay attention.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/dead-line-chris-ewan
csharp0710's review
3.0
Won this one in a First Reads giveaway. I liked it but didn't think it was absolutely wonderful. Plot was good along with character development. Not sure if this is his first book...I would recommend it though as long as you're not super picky about every detail.
linda_edwards's review
2.0
I read his previous book and enjoyed it but his one however wasn't as good. I did enjoy it until I got to the end, what a bad ending. I feel cheated now.
razreads's review against another edition
1.0
DNF at 20% (pg 71).
As seems to be the case with so many "adult" crime novels, I really struggle to get into them, and keep any sense of motivation going. There just seems to be no attachment between reader and story. I think my last status update sums it all up very well: "I'm kind of stuck in this passive interest where I want to know what is happening, but I'm not really drawn in." Is this a sign the genre is not for me (since MG, YA and NA crime have always been my favourites growing up), or have I just picked a poor selection of examples to read?
As seems to be the case with so many "adult" crime novels, I really struggle to get into them, and keep any sense of motivation going. There just seems to be no attachment between reader and story. I think my last status update sums it all up very well: "I'm kind of stuck in this passive interest where I want to know what is happening, but I'm not really drawn in." Is this a sign the genre is not for me (since MG, YA and NA crime have always been my favourites growing up), or have I just picked a poor selection of examples to read?
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