Killer Weekend (edition 2007)

I'm enjoying my alphabetical tour of the US, and "meeting" a lot of new-to-me authors. The project should take me well into next year at least, since I just finished the Idaho book, Ridley Pearson's KILLER WEEKEND.

This excellent thriller, set in the Sun Valley-Ketchum-Hailey area, has some plot and structural elements in common with THE DAY OF THE JACKAL, but it is in no way derivative. A good author can make a fine new book out of an old plot, and that's what Pearson has done here.

Sheriff Walt Fleming has a lot of problems in KILLER WEEKEND, both personal and professional. Professionally, a part-time resident whose life Walt saved some years before is about to announce her candidacy for President. Walt has good reason to believe she may be the target of an assassin, but not all of the many other Federal and private security people around her are willing to believe him. The conference at which she's announcing is also the target of protesters, and cougars seem to be attacking dogs and people. Then there's a murder. Walt's personal life is in shambles too -- he's about to be divorced, his only brother is recently dead, his nephew is in with a bad crowd, and his drunken father is on the scene as a high-up in one of the private security firms.

As in THE DAY OF THE JACKAL, we also get to see the activities and plans of the assassin, but unlike in that book, the identity of those who hired him is part of the mystery, and in addition, he is not at all a sympathetic character.

Pearson is described on the dust jacket as a thriller writer, and this was indeed a thrilling book; it also had some of the hallmarks of the contemporary thriller, such as some very short chapters. But the characters of the sheriff, his team, and his family are more fully realized than in many thrillers, and the story also has many elements of the police procedural.

Of course, one of the main reasons I'm reading these books is for setting. Pearson doesn't go overboard on the nature writing, but you definitely know you're not in Kansas (or Maine) any more. Even more than the natural setting, I was fascinated by the descriptions of the social setting of an area where the super-rich and famous are such an important and visible part of the landscape. We have our rich and famous people in Maine too, but they tend to lie low and not splash money around quite so blatantly as the characters in this book (and from what I've read of the influx of celebrities and big money into the mountain West, it's quite accurate). Sheriff Walt has to walk a fine line when his investigations take him too close to the wealthy power-brokers, but he doesn't back down, and I like that.

I enjoyed KILLER WEEKEND a lot, and look forward to more about Sun Valley from Ridley Pearson.

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Killer Weekend is a crime thriller about an assassination attempt on a presidential hopeful. The reader knows the identity of the assasin, but the details of the assasin's intricate and unusual plan unfold gradually. It's a good example of its genre, with a great storyline and fast pace. Some elements of the story were particulary appealing to me: two working dogs, a cougar, and the Sun Valley setting. ( )

A female presidential hopeful is about to announce her candidacy at a posh resort in Sun Valley, Idaho while at the same time a contract killer is going to try and eliminate her. This is headache enough for the local sheriff, Walt Fleming, but throw in the secret service, private security and some high profile media bigwigs and he has the makings of on disastrous weekend. Of course his previous connection to the future candidate and a troublesome past don’t help either.

This book covers a four day period leading up to the candidate’s announcement and the attempt on her life. I did find that the characters were lacking development but the book had lots of action with an intricate plot. Set in the beautiful Sun Valley area of Idaho, I found Killer Weekend to be a quick and easy read. ( )

Walt Fleming saved Elizabeth Shaler's life eight years ago before she became the US Attorney General. Today she has returned as a speaker at a conference hosted by Patrick Cutter and rumor has it that she will announce her candidacy for President. However, there have been threats on her life. Sheriff Walt Fleming, Cutter's security and the Secret Service must keep her safe. The book focuses on Walt Fleming and finding the person who is trying to kill Liz Shaler. While in the midst of doing this you learn about Fleming's life and family. A really great thriller that has surprises all over. I will be reading the next book in the series. ( )

A great first in a series about a sheriff in Sun Valley, Idaho. Fleming is the sheriff of this popular resort town and is tasked with offering protection for the Attorney General who will be announcing her candidacy for President at an upcoming Apple-type convention. I enjoyed the "two-faced-ness" (literally) of the assassin and how that played out. There were some weird coincidences, but at the end it all made sense. I will definitely continue with the series. ( )