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theavidreaderandbibliophile's review
3.0
Jump Cut by Libby Fischer Hellmann is the fifth Ellie Foreman book. Ellie Foreman is a video producer living in Chicago, Illinois. Ellie is divorced with a grown up daughter named Rachel (twenty-five). Ellie has been hired by Delcroft Aviation (they do commercial and military projects) to do some promotional videos (for posting on social media). While shooting at a trade show, Ellie meets Gregory Parks. Gregory hangs around the Delcroft booth during the shooting and ends up in the video. When the video is edited and shown to the bigwigs at Delcroft, Charlotte Hollander (Vice President of Engineering) objects to them. Ellie’s project is canceled and this upsets her (she does not want this to affect the reputation of her or her company). Ellie arranges to meet with Gregory to see if he can provide some insight. When Ellie shows up at the meeting spot (near subway), she sees a blur, hears brakes squealing, and then sees a body on the tracks. Gregory Parks is dead. Ellie finds Gregory’s cigarette package on the platform with a flash drive inside. The information is encrypted. Ellie is really curious now especially when she notices some strange people in her neighborhood. What is going on? Did Gregory commit suicide or was he pushed? Ellie is intent on getting answers, but will she be alive to enjoy them!
Jump Cut is the fifth book in the series, but it can easily be read as a stand-alone book (I did not know it was the fifth book until after I read it). It has been ten years since the last book in the Ellie Foreman series. Jump Cut sounds like a great suspense/thriller book, but I was disappointed. Jump Cut is a slow paced book (wrong pace for a suspense novel). I did not get suspense or thriller from this novel. The chapters are very short and choppy. The beginning of the novel (like the first half) is more what Ellie does every day (shopping, Zumba, walking the neighborhood, drinking too much and telling info to wrong person). I found Jump Cut to be a very clichéd suspense novel (reminded me of the television show Hart to Hart). It is also very unbelievable (the novel took a strange turn with Chinese spies, etc.). There is a great deal of foul language and sex in Jump Cut. The ending makes the novel feel incomplete or unfinished (it was strange). I give Jump Cut 3 out of 5 stars (it was okay and I am being generous with the rating). Jump Cut was just not for me. As I have said before, not every book will appeal to every reader.
I received a complimentary copy of Jump Cut from the author in exchange for an honest evaluation of the novel!
Jump Cut is the fifth book in the series, but it can easily be read as a stand-alone book (I did not know it was the fifth book until after I read it). It has been ten years since the last book in the Ellie Foreman series. Jump Cut sounds like a great suspense/thriller book, but I was disappointed. Jump Cut is a slow paced book (wrong pace for a suspense novel). I did not get suspense or thriller from this novel. The chapters are very short and choppy. The beginning of the novel (like the first half) is more what Ellie does every day (shopping, Zumba, walking the neighborhood, drinking too much and telling info to wrong person). I found Jump Cut to be a very clichéd suspense novel (reminded me of the television show Hart to Hart). It is also very unbelievable (the novel took a strange turn with Chinese spies, etc.). There is a great deal of foul language and sex in Jump Cut. The ending makes the novel feel incomplete or unfinished (it was strange). I give Jump Cut 3 out of 5 stars (it was okay and I am being generous with the rating). Jump Cut was just not for me. As I have said before, not every book will appeal to every reader.
I received a complimentary copy of Jump Cut from the author in exchange for an honest evaluation of the novel!
inmyhumbleopinion's review
5.0
Jump Cut is a smart, sharply written, intense modern day thriller. I listened to the audio and was on the edge of my seat. My husband passing by stopped to listen. A totally engaging story. Recommend.
lisaarnsdorf's review
4.0
The first Ellie Foreman novel in 10 years. It's fun to pick up with Rachel as an adult and revisit all of the old cast of characters in their new roles in life. This was more of a spy / conspiracy story than the previous Ellie books, which I was not expecting. It was fast paced and entertaining. I was missing the motivation of the main "bad guy;" I was never quite sure why he became such a loose canon. There were a lot of threads left hanging, but that resulted in me thinking about the moral and ethical implications of our perpetual state of war on terror. Definitely a book I'll continue to ponder for a long time!
snazzybooks's review
4.0
Reviewed on www.snazzybooks.com.
Before reading Jump Cut I hadn’t read any others from the Ellie Foreman series, but have read Nobody’s Child, which is the fifth in her Georgia Davis series. So in my opinion doesn’t matter whether you’ve read others in the series- I still got what was happening, the characters were still developed enough for me to get them and what they’re like and the story, although perhaps making reference to previous books in the series, was self-contained enough to ensure I could enjoy it on its own. No doubt I may have picked up on more background if I had read the others but I felt it wasn’t necessary.
The story was fast paced enough that I didn’t get bored or lose interest as I was reading, and was quite easy to read and follow. It had a good dose of action, a lot of suspense and, for those who like their conspiracy/ spy thrillers, Jump Cut is a lighter but really enjoyable offering.
The various characters were mostly believable and Ellie Foreman, though at times very forceful and rash at making decisions, seemed quite likeable and a strong female lead, which is always great to read about! I was rooting for her throughout – Libby Hellman makes you care about the characters enough to ensure you keep reading on, and I certainly got through this novel in no time!
I would recommend this novel for anyone that wants an entertaining, fun read with an element of mystery and plenty of action.
* many thanks to the author who provided a copy of this novel in return for an honest review *
Before reading Jump Cut I hadn’t read any others from the Ellie Foreman series, but have read Nobody’s Child, which is the fifth in her Georgia Davis series. So in my opinion doesn’t matter whether you’ve read others in the series- I still got what was happening, the characters were still developed enough for me to get them and what they’re like and the story, although perhaps making reference to previous books in the series, was self-contained enough to ensure I could enjoy it on its own. No doubt I may have picked up on more background if I had read the others but I felt it wasn’t necessary.
The story was fast paced enough that I didn’t get bored or lose interest as I was reading, and was quite easy to read and follow. It had a good dose of action, a lot of suspense and, for those who like their conspiracy/ spy thrillers, Jump Cut is a lighter but really enjoyable offering.
The various characters were mostly believable and Ellie Foreman, though at times very forceful and rash at making decisions, seemed quite likeable and a strong female lead, which is always great to read about! I was rooting for her throughout – Libby Hellman makes you care about the characters enough to ensure you keep reading on, and I certainly got through this novel in no time!
I would recommend this novel for anyone that wants an entertaining, fun read with an element of mystery and plenty of action.
* many thanks to the author who provided a copy of this novel in return for an honest review *
heidiliz72's review
4.0
I'm not typically a fan of spies and espionage in my books, but the great characters and just enough humor made this book very enjoyable. This was the only book in the series that I've read, but I liked the characters enough that I'll definitely go back and read the others. I won't go into the plot, so as not to give anything away, but I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys political/espionage/spy thrillers.
samhouston's review
4.0
Although Jump Cut is the first addition to the series in almost ten years, it is Libby Hellmann’s fifth Ellie Foreman book. Ellie may be a decade older now than readers remember her, but the Chicago-based video producer is as independent and tough as she ever was. Most tellingly, she is yet to buy into the old adage that curiosity has ended the lives of more than a few curious cats. And now that the huge aviation company for which she has been shooting a puff-piece promotional video fires her before it is finished, Ellie is as curious as any cat has ever been. But if she’s not very, very careful she’s going to go the way of all those overly curious cats that preceded her.
The more she thinks about it, the more certain Ellie is that video shooting was halted because of one man whose image was prominently captured in the preview footage she presented to Delcroft’s officers for review. She knows that being fired by a company of Delcroft’s stature will be bad for business, so Ellie is determined to find out exactly why she was so rudely and aggressively cut loose by the company. But when she arranges to meet with the man whose presence in the video apparently doomed it, he dies only a few feet from her. All she can salvage from the scene is one expertly encrypted flash drive she now believes the dead man intended to leave with her.
And now the real fun begins. Ellie is not the only one who wants the information stored on that flash drive because, as she learns, the dead man may have been working with the Chinese to steal plans for the new anti-drone system technology Delcroft is in the process of producing. So what do the Delcroft people know about this supposed spy, and what is it about his appearance in the video that makes someone there so desperately want to kill the whole project? Ellie is determined to find the answers – if only she manages to live long enough to do it. And she is not without a few assets of her own, especially the friendship of two men (one of whom is her boyfriend Luke) who have spent their lives working in various covert roles for the U.S. government. Too, as would be expected, Ellie’s “assets” have assets of their own, and they are willing to call in as many favors as it takes to put them into play on Ellie’s behalf.
Jump Cut reads like a story snatched from the headlines of the world we live in today, a world in which war between governments is waged behind the scene to such a degree that most of us only hear about them when they are all but over. Libby Hellmann definitely has a winner in Ellie Foreman, so here’s hoping we don’t have to wait another ten years to hear from Ellie again.
The more she thinks about it, the more certain Ellie is that video shooting was halted because of one man whose image was prominently captured in the preview footage she presented to Delcroft’s officers for review. She knows that being fired by a company of Delcroft’s stature will be bad for business, so Ellie is determined to find out exactly why she was so rudely and aggressively cut loose by the company. But when she arranges to meet with the man whose presence in the video apparently doomed it, he dies only a few feet from her. All she can salvage from the scene is one expertly encrypted flash drive she now believes the dead man intended to leave with her.
And now the real fun begins. Ellie is not the only one who wants the information stored on that flash drive because, as she learns, the dead man may have been working with the Chinese to steal plans for the new anti-drone system technology Delcroft is in the process of producing. So what do the Delcroft people know about this supposed spy, and what is it about his appearance in the video that makes someone there so desperately want to kill the whole project? Ellie is determined to find the answers – if only she manages to live long enough to do it. And she is not without a few assets of her own, especially the friendship of two men (one of whom is her boyfriend Luke) who have spent their lives working in various covert roles for the U.S. government. Too, as would be expected, Ellie’s “assets” have assets of their own, and they are willing to call in as many favors as it takes to put them into play on Ellie’s behalf.
Jump Cut reads like a story snatched from the headlines of the world we live in today, a world in which war between governments is waged behind the scene to such a degree that most of us only hear about them when they are all but over. Libby Hellmann definitely has a winner in Ellie Foreman, so here’s hoping we don’t have to wait another ten years to hear from Ellie again.
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