Killer Summer

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 show more 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. show less

Although I have been a fan of Ridley Pearson’s work for a long time, "Killer Summer"was my introduction to his Sheriff Walt Fleming series. Now, having read this third novel in the series, I plan to go back to the first two books to get a better understanding of how Walt Fleming came to be the man he is.

Walt is the sheriff of Sun Valley, Idaho, and although he does not have to contend with a lot of violent crime, being sheriff of an enclave of some of the wealthiest people in the country comes with its own special problems. At times, Walt feels more like a combination baby sitter/politician than he does a peace officer. So when a large group of wealthy wine connoisseurs gathers in Sun Valley for an event culminating in the auctioning show more of three bottles of wine believed to have been gifted to John Adams by Thomas Jefferson, it is pretty much business-as-usual for the sheriff.

True, Walt’s personal life is not what it could be. The father of twin daughters, he now has to contend with the fact that his soon-to-be-ex-wife is living with one of his own deputies. As if that embarrassment were not enough, Walt, who barely has the time to be with his daughters, knows that he also needs to find time for his seventeen-year-old nephew, Kevin. The sudden death of Kevin’s father has left the boy without a male role model in his life and Walt’s sister looks to him to fill that gap.

Things begin to get complicated when the private security agent hired to bring the three John Adams bottles of wine to Sun Valley becomes the victim of a heist-gone-bad. Walt Fleming and his small group of deputies are left with the unenviable task of solving the attempted theft of the valuable wine while simultaneously guarding that same wine until it can be delivered to the winning bidder later in the week.

Walt soon begins to suspect that not all is what it seems to be regarding the bottles of wine and their current owner. Just when things start making a bit of sense to the sheriff, however, the situation careens out-of-control and he finds himself searching frantically for a hijacked airplane that may have fallen from the sky and the two teens, one his own nephew, feared to have been taken hostage by the hijackers at take-off.

"Killer Summer" is a quick-paced, but rather complicated, thriller that requires a little extra attention from the reader if the crime at its heart is to be completely understood as Pearson reveals it layer-by-layer. Readers might be tempted to rush to the book’s cliffhanger ending, but that would be a mistake. They should, instead, take a deep breath and make sure not to speed past any of the story’s important details. They will be happy that they did.

Rated at: 4.0 show less

I thought the 3rd book in the Walt Fleming series was the best one yet. Very good storyline that kept me guessing as to what was going to happen and at some points, I was on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what would happen next. I really like the Walt character, but find that he just needs to get on with it with regards to Fiona. Kiss her already!!!

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.

Walt Fleming is the sheriff in Idaho. His nephew, Kevin has a job at a lodge. Kevin takes up with a guest named Summer and they go out to visit her father's Leerjet. Meanwhile there is a plan afoot to steal the jet, unbeknownst to the teenagers. They are hidden away when the plane takes off. The plane runs into trouble and sets down on an isolated airstrip. Kevin and Summer must try to escape.

Walt learns that his nephew is in trouble and sets to find him and rescue him.

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.

Not one of Ridley's best. Mediocre story development but ended pretty strong.