White, Stephen. The Seige.I've enjoyed many of Stephen White's novels about psychologist Alan Gregory and have always liked his frequent sidekick, Sam Purdy. This novel features Purdy (and Sam took to his larger role like a champ).
The story is told in different time lines, depending on the character featured. Most of the time this was easy to follow, but there was at least one occasion that the shifting timeline confused me. Nevertheless, the suspense and character-building that took place for each subplot, kept me glued to the book.
The plot: Terrorists have kidnapped a number of Yale students and are holding them in a fortress-like building. The terrorists (who are they? what do they want?) seem to have anticipated every possible rescue attempt and are killing the kids in what initially appears to be a random manner. The tension is high throughout the novel, as government authorities, local authorities, and suspended detective Sam Purdy attempt to find out what the terrorists want and how they can rescue as many kids as possible.
New characters that I liked: hostage negotiator Christine Carmody; damaged FBI Agent Christopher Poe, and CIA analyst Deirdre Drake.
An action filled adventure that kept me enthralled and tense throughout. I had a few problems with the conclusion, but have to admit that I liked everything else enough to overlook those.
Fiction. Suspense. 2009. 396 pages.
"I had a few problems with the conclusion, but have to admit that I liked everything else enough to overlook those."
ReplyDeleteYes, that's often the way, isn't it? One would like to be blown away by the conclusion, but enjoying the journey is more than half the point of a book. 'To travel hopefully is better than to arrive...'
Katherine - What a lovely quote! Thanks, Katherine, for sharing it!
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