Dead Run (MIRA)

Book Description

"I'm in trouble, Liz. I've uncovered something . . . They're watching . . . "

That panicked message on her answering machine is the last time Liz Ames hears from her sister Rachel, pastor of Paradise Christian Church in Key West, Florida.

Compelled to uncover the truth about her sister's disappearance, she heads to Key West. Within hours of her arrival a successful banker jumps to his death. Then a teenage girl whom Rachel was counseling is found brutally murdered. The ritualistic style of the killing is hauntingly similar to that used by the notorious "New Testament" serial killer -- now on death row.

Could the teen's murder be related to Rachel's disappearance? Is a copycat killer at work? And why do the police refuse to help?

For answers, Liz turns to Rick Wells, a former Miami cop who worked the fringes of the "New Testament" investigation. Together they peel away layers of deception to reveal a terrifying adversary -- and the unspeakable evil at the heart of this island paradise.

Customer Reviews:

Oh, the dialogue........2006-08-15

Erica Spindler, Dead Run (Mira, 2002)

"I'd begun to believe that maybe...that life sometimes offered up second chances. But now I wonder, was I simply a pawn in your desperate game?"

Yes, a character in Erica Spindler's Dead Run actually says this. (The ellipsis is [sic].) That should tell you pretty much all you need to know about this novel. If you're fine with brutally cheesy dialogue, then by all means, dive right in.

Of course, where one finds such dialogue, one also finds other flaws. Characterization is a big one here. While Spindler's characters-- her main ones, anyway (the minor characters are cardboard, but that's to be expected from genre writing, and we don't take points off for it here at Goat Central)-- are generally well-drawn and three-dimensional-- if not terribly complex-- their motivations are often in question. Now, that's okay if you're wondering why a character is contemplating a bit of navel fuzz while the killer is pursuing her (something that's all too common in books these days; thankfully, it never happens here, I'm just using it as an example), but when you're talking about the romance between the two lead characters, it's just not good enough. You want motivation. You want motivation that's straightforward, but subtle. You want to avoid the idiotic pratfalls that occur in every formulaic genre romance, where everything could be resolved if the characters were actually willing to open their mouths. And guess what? Every time that particular chasm opens up in the road that is Dead Run, you can see it coming all too clearly, and you know Spindler is not going to swerve to avoid it. And you will never be wrong.

The one thing she does get right is the mystery angle. Who can resist Satanic cults who are going around killing teenagers? While the evil mastermind will be obvious to you well before the book ends, Spindler does still have a trick or two up her sleeve, and she unravels them at just the right speed, leaving you a trail of doggie biscuits to snarf up while you're turning the pages looking for the clues to that last plot twist. Using the main mystery as a way to cloak a sub-mystery is a devious trick, and I am suitably impressed; I just wish it had been couched in a better-written novel. ** ½

A real "can't put it down" thriller and chiller!!.......2005-10-01

I bought this hardcover at a bargain book sale - and WHAT A BARGAIN!! I love Nora Roberts, Iris Johansen, Kay Hooper and other mystery/romance writers and now I love Erica Spindler!!

The book begins with Pastor Rachel Howard peering out her window wondering if "they" are out there and rushing to her car, driving and crashing. We get the sense that she is very scared and very desperate. The next chapter introduces Liz Ames, her sister. Liz has a weird message on her answering machine from Rachel telling her that Rachel has found something going on and that someone is watching her. Liz believes her sister is in fear of her life. Liz bugs the police in Key West but no one is interested and the police believe Rachel left on her own.

Three months later Liz has made arrangements to bring her social worker practice to Key West and opens a small storefront on the "main" street in town. Except for the police, Liz does not intend to tell anyone she is Rachel's sister so that she can get some answers. Lt. Valentine Lopez tells Liz that even Liz's congregation at Paradise Christian Church said she had been acting strangely so he believes it is no wonder she ran away. Even after Liz tells him about the phone message from Rachel, Lt. Lopez is just not buying into any sinister happenings.

In the meantime, a vice president at a local bank jumps (falls?) to his death from his third story bedroom window and another bank employee is missing. The new pastor, Pastor Tim, of Rachel's congregation does not seem very cooperative to Liz and on top of that a young teenage girl that Rachel had counseled and Liz had begun to see is found murdered in a ritualistic style after the infamous "New Testament" killer currently incarcerated.

An ex-Miami cop who owns a bar, the young boyfriend of the murdered teen, and a shop owner enter the picture and provide support and clues as Liz struggles to find out what has happened to her sister and who is committing these murders and is SHE now in danger too??

Very exciting with lots of plot twists and turns and surprises and some fun romance as well. A great read!!

Good Versus Evil.......2005-06-07

This was the first Erica Spindler book that I read and it hooked me on this author! She writes a story that will keep the reader captivated from the beginning until she decides to let you go. Chores will wait, sleep will wait, everything will wait until you know the end of this story!

Liz Ames is a family counselor who moves to Key West to find her sister. Pastor Rachel Howard disappeared after leaving Liz a strange phone message - "I've uncovered something - they're watching..." Shortly after that message was left, Rachel disappeared without a trace. Liz riles the local authorities with her endless questions and investigations. Police Chief, Val Lopez does not think anything happened to her sister and has other more pressing matters on his hands. It seems as if a slew of mysterious deaths and questionable disappearances have plagued this enchanted area. These include a loan officer who falls to his death from a second story window, a missing bank employee who's body washes up on the beach, and a teenage girl being counseled by Liz murdered in what appears to be the work of a infamous "New Testament" serial killer currently residing in prison. Enter into the picture is Rick Wells, ex-Miami cop who now owns a local bar. Romantic sparks fly as Rick helps Liz try to figure out what happened to Rachel.

Strong character development is one of Spindler's trademarks. In DEAD RUN, we not only have Liz and Rick, we are also given a colorful support cast. Val Lopez is authoritative and demonstrative, not wanting to believe anything bad can happen on his watch. Pastor Tim, Rachel's successor is a bit of a bland character who has secrets of his own. Heather Ferguson, a drop dead gorgeous bikini store owner who is just mystifying enough to send up red flags as to her innocence.

The story line is the typical good versus evil, satanic verses holy. At times Spindler flips from mystery/thriller to such heavy romantic overtures, that the reader isn't sure which genre they picked up when they grabbed this book. The reader will go from intense suspense to hot and heavy sex in the matter of a few pages. Other than flip-flopping genres, this is an exciting story that will keep you interested throughout. There isn't a dull moment in the entire book!

Spindler writes another Masterpiece.......2005-02-26

I thoroughly enjoyed Dead Run. I thought the chemistry between the characters was great! Each character brought their own piece to solving the mystery, and I didn't solve it until about the last 5 chapters of the book, which only made the end more appealing, finding out the whodoneit! Spindler's novel keeps you guessing throughout and keeps you thoroughly entertained. She mixes the right amount of romance, the right amount of mystery, the right amount of suspense and even a dash of comedy to come up with a delightful dish in Dead Run. My opinion is if your a Spindler fan (like I am) READ THIS BOOK, you won't be dissatisfied.

Erica Is A Freaking Genius!.......2005-01-05

I was truly impressed with the character development. This was my first book by Erica (I just ordered my next one). You will have a hard time putting this book down.

Dead Run: The Untold Story of Dennis Stockton and America's Only Mass escape from Death Row

Average customer rating:

Important
Not what it purports to be
Real Life, Real Drama
My GOD!! What a MASTERPIECE!!
Impossible to put down

Dead Run: The Untold Story of Dennis Stockton and America's Only Mass escape from Death Row
Joe Jackson , and William Jr Burke
Manufacturer: Crown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0812932064
Release Date: 1999-11-01

Amazon.com

Dead Run is the story of Dennis Stockton, mastermind of one of the most daring mass prison breaks in American history. It begins with his conviction for a crime he maintained that he didn't commit and weaves through his troubled life, his perpetual incarcerations, and his often brilliant, often comical escapades within the prison system. With frequent excerpts from Stockton's prolific diaries, the book reveals not only much about its surprisingly insightful protagonist but about the prison system in general, including institutionalized corruption, power-hungry guards, inmates, and prison officers. There's more than enough intrigue, action, and disturbing comedy to fill several thrillers, but Dead Run is a true story of a man who refused to sit still and wait for the hour of his death. --Lisa Higgins

Book Description

Summers are always stifling in southern Virginia, and they're even hotter on the Mecklenburg Correctional Center's Death Row when Dennis Stockton arrives there in July 1983. Charged with murder for hire, Stockton insisted he was innocent, but his jury sentenced him to die. In prison, he begins keeping a diary and it soon becomes his lifeline, nurturing dreams of freedom and publication as an author.

Mecklenburg's officials had always prided themselves on running a secure prison, but that left them vulnerable to an ingenious escape conspiracy. Though indispensable in the plotting, Stockton decides not to run, betting instead on a new trial and exoneration. The escape of the "Mecklenburg Six" is dazzlingly suspenseful, as they take hostages, don guards' uniforms, and, staging a monumental bluff, make history with America's first mass escape from Death Row. Mean-while, Stockton notes it all in his journal.

After the escape, a Norfolk newspaper editor, William F. Burke, Jr., writes to the remaining inmates, seeking information on the unprecedented breakout. Stockton's diary becomes the most revealing account, and when excerpts are published, a scandalous portrait of Death Row emerges: bribed guards, marijuana plants, homebrew alcohol, weapon stashes, unlocked cell doors, and jailhouse sex. Overnight, Stockton becomes the most hated man in Virginia's prisons for his exposé. During the next eleven years, he survives plots against his life and endures subhuman conditions.

Throughout his ordeal he struggles to find his voice as a writer, while battling to gain a new trial and escape the "monster factory," his name for Death Row. As Stockton's scheduled execution nears, the case against him begins unraveling, leaving readers to ponder the true nature of justice.

Customer Reviews:

Important.......2003-03-09

This tells the story of an innocent man killed by the state of Virginia for political reasons, an event made easy and in all probability common by a law banning the reopening of a case to hear new evidence later than 21 days after a conviction. This applies even to evidence illegally suppressed during the original trial.
The book is extremely well-written, and much of it is exciting and suspenseful, particularly that dealing with the escape. Stockton was in on planning an escape from death row, but did not take part in it. New evidence of his innocence had just emerged, and Stockton apparently had enough faith left in the justice system to believe that he stood a better chance of freedom by not escaping. He may also have been driven by a desire to declare his innocence. He later refused a deal from the state of life imprisonment in exchange for ceasing to appeal his conviction. He also published diary entries in a newspaper which he knew would win him the ill-will of many with power over him.
This excellent book is marred slightly by the introduction's instructing us that "...there is no need to pity most criminals." Such a comment transfers its author's inability to pity to the rest of us. I'd be curious to know how many readers of this book feel no pity for the escaped murderer who arrives at the border of Canada, grows scared, telephones his mother, and - on her advice - turns himself in to be killed.
More importantly, the comment about pity leaves the debates over criminal justice within the framework of a battle between vengeance and pity - a framework in which the reduction of harm done by and to both criminals and the falsely accused can have no place.
The vengeance-versus-pity idea shoves aside the question of innocence-versus-guilt, and even where guilt is evident it shoves aside questions of societal healing, restitution to victims, rehabilitation of offenders, deterrence, and costs to tax-payers.
Everyone knows that crime is most easily and cost-effectively reduced by fighting poverty. It is unlikely that America's recent draconian measures will reduce crime in the long run. Stockton chose to trust the system rather than attempt an escape, but he was relieved to be killed when the only alternative was the hell-hole known as a correctional institution, a place full of flying feces, rape, murder, and abuse of every sort.
Lately, Virginia has been doing to juveniles what it has long done to adults convicted of crimes. The director of the dept. of juvenile justice [pun possibly intended] has resigned effective Dec. 1, 1999, following the death of a retarded youth in custody, the initiation of a self-defense program allowing guards to hit and kick kids, a girl being handcuffed on her way to a hospital to give birth, and poor conditions at the state's largest detention center so egregious that the agency's board decertified the place last week citing overcrowding and sexual misconduct.
Concern for convicts (innocent or not) is not in conflict with crime reduction. It is in
conflict with state violence, with the anger promoted by politicians even in the names of victims who publicly disown it. As long as advocates of vengeance are permitted
to masquerade as advocates of crime reduction, justice will be a sham.
This book is so well done that to find anything significant to complain about, I had to turn to the introduction, which the authors didn't write. The authors are an editor and an ex-reporter for the Virginian-Pilot, a Norfolk newspaper. Much of what they write is taken from Stockton's diary, transposed into the third person, fact-checked, and supplemented. The only thing I could fault these talented writers for is the occasional misplaced journalistic balance. The preface mentions "ultimate fairness - or lack thereof," as if the whole point of the book were not to describe unfairness. On page 19, the authors accept the term "monsters" as a useful one, without really defining what it should mean. On page 234 of a book describing the Dantean conditions of a prison, they write of a victim's mother's dealing with the years before an innocent man was executed for her son's murder: "It was like she was in prison too." Maybe she had said those words, but had she read this book? Did she have any idea what being in a prison is like? On page 251 the authors say that Stockton was "witness to a struggle between justice and mercy." He wasn't. He was witness to a struggle between evil politics and vengeance on the one hand, and the demands of innocence on the other. Justice cannot be opposed to mercy because justice should be merciful. Justice is, after all, an attempt - where all else has failed or not been tried - to reduce harm.
This book is not just an exciting page-turner. It also provides a great deal of useful information, including some shocking statistics. For example: "An October 1993 report by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee said that forty-eight innocent men had been freed from Death Rows across the nation since 1972, That came to a nearly one-in-six ratio of freed to executed prisoners. Of the forty-eight men, 52 percent 'were convicted on the basis of perjured testimony or because the prosecutor improperly withheld exculpatory evidence.'" Is this surprising in a country with the bizarre practice of ELECTING prosecutors to office - and voting them out if they leave a crime unpunished?

Not what it purports to be.......2002-08-16

This book presents itself as a story of a prison escape, and while it does include information about the Mecklenburg escape, that's not what the book really is.

The real intention of the book is to make an anti-death penalty pitch and to suggest that Dennis Stockton is innocent.

I don't have a problem with either of those positions (I am against the death penalty myself), but I do have a problem paying for a book that isn't what it claims to be.

Moreover, if they want to make a pitch for Stockton's innocence, they ought to be much more thorough and fair. Juries, judges and the governor of Virginia disagree with that view. Now it may be that they're wrong, but in order to make a fair judgment you need a complete presentation of the facts. What we get here instead is a lot of suggestions about possible exoneration but no serious analysis.

Still, it's an interesting story that I can't give a "1" rating to in good faith. It's an OK book. It's just not what it claims to be.

Real Life, Real Drama.......2002-03-09

"Dead Run" is the best prison drama I have ever read, made more gripping by the fact that it is ALL TRUE. The bookd recounts the final prison term of Dennis Stockton, who was probably innocent and spent over a decade on Death Row. The first part of the book deals with the only successful mass escape from Death Row in American history, but the drama does not end there. Following that, by following Stockton through the system and finally to his execution, one becomes acquainted with the grim, crushing reality of the brutality and neglect of the American prison system.

On top of being a gripping tale of prison life, the book is a damning account of capital punishment and our prison system in general. By picking Stockton as a subject, a probably innocent man singled out by the UN as an example of a case of capital punishment that did not meet up with the standards expected of international law, the authors make a ringing statement against death penalty laws and procedures in the United States. Only the most rabid pro-death penalty advocate could read this book and not come away questioning their support for the execution of criminals.

A further feature that permeates the story is just how seedy and corrupt everyone and everything in the book are. The courts, the cops, the guards, the prisoners, the politicians - they are all part of the same basically corrupt world. Only (not coincidentally) the reporters and some of the witnesses come off as being white in a very grey and black world.

The book is a magnificent, cannot-put-it-down peice of work that I heartily recommend to any lover of a good non-fiction tale!

My GOD!! What a MASTERPIECE!!.......2001-05-29

What I wanted to know, after reading this simple, eloquent, masterfully written prose blockbuster is WHERE DO I GO TO NOMINATE THESE GUYS FOR THE NOBEL PRIZE??? Not since I read JAWS have I been so absolutely riveted!!! And I HATE prison books. And, let me tell you, I never would have thought that I would glean so many powerful management techniques from a book about prisons!! I have learned more about human nature and, you'll pardon the expression, it's "Dark Side", than I ever dreamed possible!! When I was growing up in Southern California I met quite a few prisoner, usually working in my mother's garden. Later, when I was at a large insurance brokerage in San Francisco we often had underwriting meetings that touched upon the subjects that this book treats so eloquently and persuasively. But, I have to say, if I'd read this book before I moved to Oregon I would have remained in "the life" and kept applying the valuable risk management techniques described therein to my business. I give the thing SIX stars!!!!

Impossible to put down.......2001-01-10

I'm not a big reader but this work reads fast and is extremely absorbing. I remember the Briley escape while I was in college, so the new context I never had was fascinating.

Average customer rating:

ok plot, bad editing!
Not worth reading
another winner!
Love this series!
Good thriller with pace and panache

Dead Run
P. J. Tracy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: B000HEYVJA

Book Description

The overwhelming response to Live Bait proved P. J. Tracy's second novel was no fluke. The Chicago Tribune said it best: "Tracy is a writer who can walk that thin line between humor and serious crime without sacrificing the needs of either side." For fans craving electric suspense, high-energy banter, and intricate plotting, the wait is over: Dead Run has arrived.

Monkeewrench founders Grace MacBride and Annie Belinsky, along with Deputy Sharon Mueller, are driving from Minneapolis to Green Bay, Wisconsin, where they believe a new serial killer is just warming up, when their car breaks down, deep in the northern woods, far away from civilization and cell towers. A walk through the forest leads them to the crossroads town of Four Corners, where they had hoped to find a landline and a mechanic, but instead find . . . absolutely nothing.

Something terrible has happened in Four Corners, and the complete absence of life and severed phone lines in every building make it impossible to get help. Grace, her senses honed by a lifetime of justifiable paranoia, sees the sinister in every detail, and her intuition barely saves all three of them when they witness a horrifying double murder. Grace, Annie, and Sharon are suddenly running for their lives, while the rest of the Monkeewrench crew, along with Minneapolis cops Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth, strike out on a blind search to find them.

Customer Reviews:

ok plot, bad editing!.......2007-05-17

ok plot, bad editing! they kept talking about how quiet it was but they couldn't hear a huge RV going breakneck speeds on country roads until it pulled up right in front of them? that is only one of the many inconsistencies I found. One must read it all the way through without stopping because if you stop you'll notice these things. also having never read the first two books the characters were completely faceless to me. only harley and sheriff ed pitala were explained in any way gave them 'life'. not bad for an airplane read I guess.

Not worth reading.......2007-04-11

Not only was the plot unbelievable throughout the entire book, but the ending was terrible. If the authors wish to write about computers, they should do some research first and learn how computers work.

The dual-author thing is strange also. One of the authors is definitely worse than the other. They should part ways.

another winner!.......2007-03-08

I bought Monkeewrench and loved it so much that I bought the rest of PJ Tracy's books too. Dead Run is terrific. I love how the story focuses on Grace, Annie and Sharon - these are three terrific, strong women. Great story! Keep up the good work, PJ Tracy!! You have a big fan in Indiana!

Love this series!.......2007-01-17

I enjoy the P.J. Tracy series so much that I order the next one before I've finished the current book. Dead Run is a little more suspenseful then the last two and, truthfully, more unbelievable than the last two but still a great read. This series has over the top characters and fun plot lines. You learn to love a bunch of super intelligent but emotionally scarred people. You laugh at the humorous bantering between the detectives and find yourself rooting for the hint of romance to get a move on while turning the page to see what plot twist is around the corner. Fun books, like a cozy read in that you get to know the characters well and but then with the thrill of a more hard core suspense novel.

Good thriller with pace and panache .......2006-12-19

This is another novel about the "Monkeewrench " crew and the Minneapolis and Wisconsin cops with whom they co-operate to do down the bad guys .It differs from the previous series entries in being more thrillerish and less of a murder mystery.Indeed there are no mystery elements in the book and what we get is a good chase thriller.

The women from Monkeewrench -the Rubensesque Annie and the edgy Grace -are travelling by car to Green Bay from Minneapolis accompanied by a cop , Sharon Mueller ,when their car breaks down in a mobile phone and radio"dead zone ".They make their way on foot to the small town of Four Corners ,Wisconsin which they find is deserted and whose phone lines have been cut ,They then witness what seems to be the shooting of a local citizen by a National Guardsman.In fact .the killer is a member of a right wing militia group which is planning a nerve gas attack on selected targets .There has been a leakage in the area and the group is seeking to isolate the area and press ahead with the planned attack

We then get interlocking plots as the women seek to evade the militia and escape while their colleagues and the law enforcement agencies try tolocate them and foil the baddies

The authors take time to introduce us to the inhabitants of the town torn apart by the plot and this helps readers feel more empathy than if they had just been faceless victims and there is an nice vein of humour in the relationships between the cops and the somewhat unorthodox computer geeks they are partnered with .The tension build nicely and this is a good solid entry in a consistently entertaining series

Average customer rating:

Dead Run

Dead Run: An Inspector Heimrich Mystery
Richard Lockridge
Manufacturer: Lippincott
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Customer Reviews:

Dead Run.......2003-10-21

Perhaps the driver of the big station wagon didn't see Sam Jackson on the icy December night in the parking lot of a country inn. But why weren't the wagon's headlights turned on? And why did the driver run over Sam twice?

Average customer rating:

Dead Run
Bill Pronzini
Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0881848387

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Good Characters, Too Much Dead
DOA
Good crime fiction

Dead Run
Leo Atkins
Manufacturer: Berkley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0425177777
Release Date: 2000-12-12

Amazon.com

Penzler Pick, January 2001: Creating a character who works to right wrongdoing below the Mason-Dixon Line--in places where everyone's related and where the ugliest skeletons can never be buried deep enough--is an honorable tradition. From Melville Davisson Post and his Virginia-based Uncle Abner stories to James Lee Burke and his Louisiana paladin, Dave Robicheaux, the writer of Southern mysteries is able to mine a rich vein of home-fried evil.

Leo Atkins's hero, Connor Gibbs, runs a private investigations agency, Quixote Enterprises, in Wendover, a small North Carolina city. Here, before too many pages of Dead Run are turned, a well-attended burial takes place. Few funerals are welcome, but this one is particularly tragic: a young father has been slain while successfully protecting his young daughter from a sudden rain of bullets fired in a local diner. Five innocent people were left dead after a particularly nasty gang of bank robbers panicked. Then, with a well-placed shot, Benella Mae Sweet, Connor Gibbs's longtime lady friend, managed to bring down one of the fleeing villains for a total of six dead.

But the plot does not turn on what the innocent victims' survivors experience as a result of their horrible loss. Instead, Atkins hinges his tale on the escalation of the stakes when the dead villain's very mean buddies decide to seek revenge--by teaching Benella a lethal lesson. Now Benella weighs in at about 170 and doesn't scare easily, so vengeance is not as simple a matter as it sounds, though the combined efforts of the sheriff's office, the FBI, and Connor all vying to help protect her seem to have the effect of canceling each other out.

Writing as Leo Atkins, Clay Harvey (who under his own name is the author of the Tyler Vance series) resembles some near-unimaginable blending of Joe R. Lansdale and Margaret Maron. The air of folksy neighborliness makes for just a little icing on the basic tough foundation: these grits are boiled rock hard. --Otto Penzler

Book Description

When Connor's friend Benella Sweet foils a robbery attempt, she makes some very dangerous men very angry-and they're dead-set on getting revenge.

• 3rd novel in the acclaimed Connor Gibbs, P.I., mystery series

Customer Reviews:

Good Characters, Too Much Dead.......2002-11-30

Having read the three books openly written by Clay Harvey, I find this book also by Harvey, under the pseudonym of Leo Atkins, to be one with good character development, plenty of humor and action, but with too much killing. There are too many innocent victims killed, and Harvey (Atkins) comes a little too close to treating these killings with little regret or as a ploy to get the reader to want the bad guys killed with a vengeance, or possibly a little of both. Clay Harvey's strengths for believable characters (including the bad guys), catchy humor, seeing things in an adult world through the eyes of a child, and action scenes in writing you can actually visualize all come in this book. The book has some surprises in events and character interaction within the plot which makes the book interesting. One of the surprises in the plot has the girlfriend getting more attention than and stealing scenes from the hero.

Even though the book is short, the reader is drawn into it because of the sometimes unusual and very human interaction between characters - sometimes between the good guys and the bad guys, and there are even some not so good guys. This is both refreshing and interesting. I have added this to my collection of Clay Harvey books, and am glad he is still writing. I enjoyed this book, and plan to also purchase "Play Dead" and "Dead Beat" by Leo Atkins.

DOA.......2001-09-24

A comic book of a story. No character development. Unlikey relationships. Stupid villains. Read as fast as you can turn the page. Save your time.

Good crime fiction.......2000-12-17

At the same time in Richmond, Virginia; Atlanta, Georgia; and Knoxville, and Tennessee, three pairs of similarly dressed and armed criminals using the identical MOs rob banks. Not long afterward in a family restaurant, two gunmen seemingly set on a heist open fire killing several people. A diner, Benella Mae Sweet manages to kill one of the thugs.

However, the dead felon has close friends who vow vengeance on the avenging amazon who killed one of their own. Meanwhile Benella cares for her young niece Mary Leigh since her brother-in- law Damien died in the fracas and her sister has collapsed in shock. When the thugs abduct Mary Leigh, Benella turns to her lover private investigator Connor Gibbs for help. With the Feds involved and the criminals wanting revenge, anything can still happen and does to Connor and Benella as they attempt to rescue Mary Leigh.

DEAD RUN is and exciting thriller that never lets up until the final page. The story line works because the action seems genuine and the characters real, especially Benella and Connor. The third Connor Gibbs mystery (see DEADBEAT and PLAY DEAD) proves that Leo Atkins is a talent that those fans who enjoy an exciting private investigator yarn will relish this.

Harriet Klausner

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3 Book Set By Erica Spindler; Killer Takes All; All Fall Down; Dead Run.
Erica Spindler
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000WNR9K4

Product Description

3 Book Set By Erica Spindler; Killer Takes All; All Fall Down; Dead Run.

5 Titles By Erica Spindler : Cause for Alarm - Dead Run - In Silence - See Jane Die - Killer Takes All

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5 Titles By Erica Spindler : Cause for Alarm - Dead Run - In Silence - See Jane Die - Killer Takes All
Erica Spindler
Manufacturer: MIRA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000W6ZVLK

Product Description

multiple books ship as one item. save on shipping/handling charges.

DANGER: Run from the Hangman; Reunion with Terror; The Dream; Set up for Murder; Motive for Murder; Mystery of the Master Safe Cracker; Dead Man in the Water; One of the Dead; Hand Upon the Waters; Possibility of Evil; Woman Who Wouldn't Stay Dead

Average customer rating:

DANGER: Run from the Hangman; Reunion with Terror; The Dream; Set up for Murder; Motive for Murder; Mystery of the Master Safe Cracker; Dead Man in the Water; One of the Dead; Hand Upon the Waters; Possibility of Evil; Woman Who Wouldn't Stay Dead
Saturday Evening Post (editors) (Geoffred Household; Martha Albrand; Agatha Christie; Richard Stern; Robert Standish; Philip Wylie; William Wood; William Faulkner; Shirley Jackson; Gerald Kersh; Edgar Allan Poe)
Manufacturer: Curtis Books with Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GVZFI0

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Dead in the Short Run
C.J. Romero
Manufacturer: Writers Club Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 059512626X

Book Description

Poor, brilliant, and doggedly determined, Jorge Sanchez is about to achieve his version of the American Dream: a doctorate in economics from Monroe University in Indiana. He works as a research assistant on one of two competing projects whose results will shake the nation’s capital: Does the government’s six-billion-dollar job-training program help poor people find employment? Or is the training too little and too late? Should the program be abolished? Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives, anxiously await the projects’ findings.

But when Jorge discovers an hours-old corpse, his life takes an entirely new course, with reverberations extending to the halls of Congress and the White House itself.

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