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somanytictoc's review against another edition
4.0
Gardiner is a very visual writer. You can easily picture all of her novels being turned into screenplays. This book is FULL of action. For some reason though, I just kept putting it down, sometimes for days at a time. I can't explain it, and it's not that I don't highly recommend it. I just don't find it quite as gripping as the brilliant UNSUB. 4 stars is still really good.
robinsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Stephen King wrote about this book in Feb 2007 and I was a little skeptical as I don't always agree with his choices, but now agree that it is a perfect plane or beach book. Full of taut action, interesting characters, and almost too much suspense, it kept me reading from the first page. There were times when the action got a little too unbelievable, but isn't that fairly common in a good suspense packed thriller? I said earlier that I was hoping I would like this since I purchased all five of these in the series, and I am now looking forward to reading the rest. The series in order are: CHINA LAKE, MISSION CANYON, JERICHO POINT, CROSSCUT, KILL CHAIN, and all are paperback.
Short synopsis: Evan Delaney (female) is the series character who resides in Santa Barbara and is a lawyer, although she has aspirations to be an author and just published a science fiction book. Evan's sister-in-law joins a cult and Evan becomes involved with their nefarious schemes. Characters involved in the plot include her brother, a Navy pilot (hence [part of the action takes place in China Lake), her paraplegic boyfriend, Jesse, plus other assorted relatives and friends.
Short synopsis: Evan Delaney (female) is the series character who resides in Santa Barbara and is a lawyer, although she has aspirations to be an author and just published a science fiction book. Evan's sister-in-law joins a cult and Evan becomes involved with their nefarious schemes. Characters involved in the plot include her brother, a Navy pilot (hence [part of the action takes place in China Lake), her paraplegic boyfriend, Jesse, plus other assorted relatives and friends.
sebastianmalloy's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
selinamarcille's review against another edition
5.0
This was such a fun read! It was awesome to see the crazy cult and how well Meg Gardiner was able to present their crazy as obvious logic to the cult-member characters. The ending didn't feel rushed and I loved the development of the characters. Definitely a new favorite author!
**
I love these books and I have only read this book once despite reading through all of the others a couple of times. I don't know why I was inclined to skip this one- it is so enthralling! The cult logic is even more pressing and terrifying today based on the political climate of fear and lack of knowledge.
**
I love these books and I have only read this book once despite reading through all of the others a couple of times. I don't know why I was inclined to skip this one- it is so enthralling! The cult logic is even more pressing and terrifying today based on the political climate of fear and lack of knowledge.
catiandrah's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars! I'll definitely read more of this author.
tallulahxyz's review against another edition
4.0
Liked this a lot more than I thought I would. Lots of humor and a crazy cult.
quinnster's review against another edition
4.0
I was pleasantly surprised by this book! I'd never heard of Meg Gardiner when I picked up the first three books in the Evan Delaney series last year so I put off reading them until just now. The book was fast paced, full of suspense and nail biting tension! There was so much going on that it wasn't hard to keep you guessing, but even with everything that was going on it didn't feel jumbled or scattered. Great read!
amothersmusings1's review against another edition
4.0
This is my favourite Meg Gardiner book, really enjoyed it from start to finish and would recommend.
butcept's review against another edition
2.0
This is another Edgar Award winner novel, this time for Best Paperback Original. I'm not sure why there is a category for this because if it was in hardback first, shouldn't it have won then? A new format makes it a winner? I don't understand.
If you read the previous review, then you know that I haven't been thrilled with mystery novels lately. On top of that, I am not a fan of mystery novels with the same 'detective'. You know, series of novels. And this one is not just 'China Lake by Meg Gardiner', it's 'China Lake: An Evan Delaney Novel'.
So I seriously thought about not reading the thing because, just by that, I was instantly turned off. But I was on vacation and I thought 'screw it' and read the darn thing anyway.
And it wasn't bad. I would say this one and the previous one are more of a summer read...not the romance type beach reads, but I feel that it's the same type just different genre. Shallow-but-fun reads.
This one had the religious cult edge to it. Evan Delaney and her BFFs are at a funeral for one of her BFFs mom, who has died from AIDS. There is a protest from an extreme religious cult, the Remnant. And these folks are outright WACKOs.
They are more involved with Evan Delaney than she thinks because her ex-sister-in-law is now part of the cult. This matters because the ex-SIL is the mother of her nephew, who she has been taking care of.
AAAANNNNDDD...Evan's brother is a fighter pilot in the military -- father to the nephew (of course) -- and the Remnant are conspiracy theorists that believe the military is responsible for biological warfare on ordinary citizens.
Definitely NOT MY CUP OF TEA but I read it to the end nonetheless. I didn't think I would like Evan Delaney, those stereotypes of strong women who fight evil but she wasn't too bad.
But not good enough, probably, for me to pick up another novel in which she fights crime.
If you read the previous review, then you know that I haven't been thrilled with mystery novels lately. On top of that, I am not a fan of mystery novels with the same 'detective'. You know, series of novels. And this one is not just 'China Lake by Meg Gardiner', it's 'China Lake: An Evan Delaney Novel'.
So I seriously thought about not reading the thing because, just by that, I was instantly turned off. But I was on vacation and I thought 'screw it' and read the darn thing anyway.
And it wasn't bad. I would say this one and the previous one are more of a summer read...not the romance type beach reads, but I feel that it's the same type just different genre. Shallow-but-fun reads.
This one had the religious cult edge to it. Evan Delaney and her BFFs are at a funeral for one of her BFFs mom, who has died from AIDS. There is a protest from an extreme religious cult, the Remnant. And these folks are outright WACKOs.
They are more involved with Evan Delaney than she thinks because her ex-sister-in-law is now part of the cult. This matters because the ex-SIL is the mother of her nephew, who she has been taking care of.
AAAANNNNDDD...Evan's brother is a fighter pilot in the military -- father to the nephew (of course) -- and the Remnant are conspiracy theorists that believe the military is responsible for biological warfare on ordinary citizens.
Definitely NOT MY CUP OF TEA but I read it to the end nonetheless. I didn't think I would like Evan Delaney, those stereotypes of strong women who fight evil but she wasn't too bad.
But not good enough, probably, for me to pick up another novel in which she fights crime.