Select one of the keywords
The Body of David Hayes    by Ridley Pearson Amazon.com order for
Body of David Hayes
by Ridley Pearson
Order:  USA  Can
Hyperion, 2004 (2004)
Hardcover, Audio, CD

Read an Excerpt

* * *   Reviewed by Mary Ann Smyth

Lou Boldt is back, and none too soon. Huzzahs for the hard hitting policeman from Seattle. Knowing the name of the author, Ridley Pearson, prompted me to pick up The Body of David Hayes. The suspense prompted me to keep turning the pages. Pearson's work has always, to me, proved to be a good read. His latest, the ninth of the series is, yet again, extremely entertaining.

I have to admit I was never really sure about the technical stuff that permeates this novel, but it doesn't matter a whit. The suspense kept me following the story. Lou Boldt, now a Lieutenant with the Seattle police department, must meld his commitment to the police force with his love for his wife Liz to uncover the hiding place of $17,000,000 defrauded from the bank where Liz is an executive. Everyone is suspect: Lou's ex-partner John Foreman; Yasmani Svengrad, an importer of fine caviar; Daphne Malone, policewoman and Lou's ex-lover; David Hayes, who went to jail for the fraud and was Liz's ex-lover; and a myriad of other characters, lesser but deserving of suspicion nonetheless.

Lou Boldt devises a scheme to unmask the hiding place of the money and at the same time protect his marriage and his wife's reputation in the world of banking. Fraud, money laundering, off-shore accounts, adultery, kidnapping, disloyalty, treachery, torture - and let's not forget murder - all have a place in this suspenseful thriller. The action flows smoothly and keeps the reader guessing from page one. The research that must have gone into this book is awesome. The knowledge Pearson has of the computer world provides insights into what an extremely technical world it is in which we live. His meticulous rendering of police work reeks of realism.

Pearson writes with the flow of a professional, the understanding of the relationship between a man and wife whose marriage is in jeopardy, with the expertise it takes to maintain the element of suspense throughout a whole book, and, I believe, with a love of his craft.

Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons.

Find more Mystery books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews