Book Review: Pocket-47 by Jude Hardin

Book Description

Fifteen-year-old Brittney Ryan has taken to the streets. Leitha, her older sister and legal guardian, hires private investigator Nicholas Colt to find her and bring her home. Piece of cake, Colt thinks. With Brittney's forbidden boyfriend's address in hand, he plans to make a surprise visit and put this one in the scrapbook.But something more sinister is behind Brittney's disappearance, and Colt soon finds himself in an ever-widening maze of deceit, betrayal, and murder. When Colt learns what the mysterious phrase "Pocket-47" means, he is haunted even more by the plane crash that killed his family and rock band twenty years ago-a crash he now realizes might not have been an accident.Determined to save Brittney, Colt struggles to untangle the threads of his own tortured past. Unfortunately, one of the most heinous and violent criminals in modern history has other ideas.

Pocket-47 had a strong beginning.  I liked the story and the suspense.

At about the halfway point, I was left not caring about any of the characters.  Normally the story and the suspense of the situation can get me through a lack of character depth, but just after the halfway point, the story changed dramatically.  I had to struggle until the story and suspense of the second half caught up enough to hook me back in.

The reviews for Pocket-47 have been really high.  16 out of 19 reviews on Amazon are 5 star reviews.  The other three are 4 star reviews.  Publisher's Weekly gave it a starred review stating "Hardin gets everything right in his powerhouse thriller debut".

It's possible my expectations were simply too high.  I read Jude Hardin's Unborn recently (pseudonym Carson Wilder) and really enjoyed it.

Pocket-47 wasn't on target for me, but Jude Hardin is a great writer, and I look forward to his future books. 

Review copy provided by publisher

New Releases This Week

Earlier this week I read a great novella by Jude Hardin (writing as Carson Wilder) called Unborn.  You can read my review of Unborn here.  Jude Hardin released a new novel this week called Pocket-47.

Book Description

Fifteen-year-old Brittney Ryan has taken to the streets. Leitha, her older sister and legal guardian, hires private investigator Nicholas Colt to find her and bring her home. Piece of cake, Colt thinks. With Brittney's forbidden boyfriend's address in hand, he plans to make a surprise visit and put this one in the scrapbook.But something more sinister is behind Brittney's disappearance, and Colt soon finds himself in an ever-widening maze of deceit, betrayal, and murder. When Colt learns what the mysterious phrase "Pocket-47" means, he is haunted even more by the plane crash that killed his family and rock band twenty years ago-a crash he now realizes might not have been an accident.Determined to save Brittney, Colt struggles to untangle the threads of his own tortured past. Unfortunately, one of the most heinous and violent criminals in modern history has other ideas.

Expect a review in the near future!

Another book released this week was Cherry Beach Express - the debut novel from R.D. Cain who has "worked for the last 18 years in emergency services as a paramedic, firefighter, and police officer".

Book Description

When Steve Nastos is wrongfully accused of murdering his dentist—a man whom he believes committed an unspeakable crime against his daughter—he decides to take the law into his own hands. Freed on bail, he attempts to track down the actual killer in a town where laws are seen more as guidelines and law enforcement agents adhere to their own moral relativism. Handicapped by a recovering alcoholic lawyer, a rogue cop, and a two-faced judge, Nastos has the cards stacked against him. As his estranged yet beloved wife inadvertently becomes involved in the case, the stakes become higher, and Nastos is forced to protect her.

I'm looking forward to reading both of these!

Book Review: Unborn by Carson Wilder (Jude Hardin)

Last night was the end of a very long week.  All I wanted to do after putting the kids to bed was curl up and lose myself in a story, so I paid a visit to my favorite suspense junkie's blog The Man Eating Bookworm and "shopped" for a shot of adrenaline.  Unborn by Carson Wilder (Jude Hardin) sounded just right.

Book Description

The vengeful ghost of an aborted baby girl goes on a killing rampage. Highway drifter, day laborer, and world-renowned psychic medium John Rock tries to stop her.

Unborn is short, but it packs a big punch.  Do you remember that awesome scene at the end of Final Destination where the kid steps off the curb and BAM! gets hit by a bus?  Unborn is like that.

From the opening scene I was pulled in, and every page scared me.  I was scared of what was happening, and I was scared for what would happen next.  Now I can't wait for the sequel.

If you are easily disturbed, steer clear of Unborn.  If you love having a look of terror on your face as you read, please add Unborn to your list.  There is no better way to spend your hard earned $.99.