If you are familiar with the tv series Leverage, this book could be a script (but better written than a script) for Leverage gone way wrong! Well written and full of red herrons, this is a good read. ( )

Could not get into it at all. ( )

Ridley Pearson has just published his third Walt Fleming thriller - Killer Summer. It is set in Sun Valley, Idaho. This story involves a theft attempt on bottles of wine reputed to have been bought by Thomas Jefferson for John Adams as a late-life peace offering. The tightly plotted adventure also features rock climbing, river rapids and a teenage boy and girl who get caught up in a plane hijacking and emergency landing at a mountain ranch. It is a fast-paced and intricate tale for mystery fans of Ridley Pearson.

This is my first Ridley Pearson read, the third with the protagonist, Sheriff Walt Fleming (Killer Weekend and Killer View). Walt is a likable hero, a guy with a complicated family life. He is being divorced by his wife, who is living with their two daughters and one of Walt's own deputies. Walt is also trying to be a father figure to his nephew, Kevin, who recently lost his father.
This book is different than the usual suspense, crime novels as the reader meets Christopher Cantrell, the mastermind criminal at the beginning. The main plot is about an attempt to heist three very rare bottles of wine from the annual wine auction in Sun Valley. There are a lot of subplots- the daughter of a wealthy producer, Walt's relationship with a co-worker, the possibility of the wine being fake and the cover-up, Kevin's relationship with a reckless rich girl and his questions about his father's death. I really had to pay attention to the details while reading this as the plot was a a little more intricate than the usual fare. But it was suspenseful and kept me hooked until the end. Cantrell is a great, complicated character and added a lot of psychological suspense. ( )

http://www.book-blog.com/2009/07/pear... ( )