The Abduction (2007)

I really like this author. His books have really well-drawn characters and the stories just suck me in. This was the second book I read after The Color of Law and I enjoyed it as well. The Vietnam Era is my era, so it had some historical resonance for me as well. Recommend it to those who like legal or even semi-legal thrillers. ( )

I don't think I will ever read anything else by this author. He used that easy plot device of someone having a dream where facts were acquired. There could have been another way to have the mystery solved. Another thing I am tired of is vigilante justice. The climax of the story centered around vigilante justice on the "right side" being the moral thing and manly thing to do while vigilante justice on the "wrong side" is evil. I would never have finished this book in print form. I listened to an audio book and was on a long car ride--a semi-captive reader. And then there was this repeated theme of manhood (or lack thereof). ***SPOILER ALERT**** this theme got even worse at the end of the book when the computer geek finally became a man because he used a gun and shot up a lot of bad guys. ( )

This great novel weaves a path from the Vietnam War to current day through the lives of the men who served there and their families. Gimenez creates wonderfully believable relationships between the players in the story. The continuing lack of full disclosure prevents family members from developing strong lasting relationships. The stress of the abduction causes the players to extend beyond themselves, bonding together to reach a common goal. Excellent book, riveting to the end. ( )

A 10 year old girl is abducted from her soccer game. She went to the concession stand for a snow cone, while her father, who attended the game, stayed in the stands talking business on his cell phone.. Her coach actually pointed her out to the abductor who passed himself off as her uncle. Her mother was working late and arrived to find her daughter gone. She will probably never forgive her husband.

This book details the anguish, guilt and anger and invasion that a family goes through in this situation. From her younger brother who doesn’t understand, to her helpless grandparents, this family is broken, probably beyond repair.

But, of course, this is no ordinary family. The father is a certified genius who is about to become an overnight billionaire, her mother is a brilliant defence lawyer with a mysterious past, and her grandfather a decorated military hero who blew the whistle about a massacre in Viet Nam. So was Grace taken for ransom, taken for revenge or just taken by a random pervert?

As these questions slowly unfold and the truth revealed, the book goes into over-drive as her father and Grandfather race to find and rescue her.

I found this book rather slow to get into, but once the action started, it kicked into high gear. The author was a little heavy-handed with his characters, his bad guys were truly evil, and his good guys were practically super heroes. The victim, Grace was a little too spunky and sophisticated for a ten year old, but, with all of that this was a thriller and it certainly managed to deliver the thrills. ( )

The cheesy writing in this book was too much! ( )