Crawlspace

In Crawl Space, a best-selling true crime writer named Carolyn Rathbone and her put-upon assistant researcher/writer Charles 'Chip' Hahn, come to Easport, Maine, to do research for Carolyn's third book. Two brothers, Randy and Roger Dodd, had married two rich sisters. One wife's death might have been accidental, but Roger's Ann (Anne? can't tell when listening) was definitely murdered. Randy is supposed to have been accidentally killed while on the water, but Ann(e) kept insisting that he had killed her sister. Carolyn and Charles (whom she keeps calling Chip, although he's asked her not to - the author calls him that as well) go to a bar called the Artful Dodger. Chip had followed his boss and wasn't sitting near her while she got show more drunk enough to brag about why she was in town. Carolyn gets kidnapped while Chip is waiting for her.

Carolyn is not a nice person or boss. What she says to Chip shortly before she's kidnapped made me root for the killer to add her to his victims. Chip gets in touch with Jake. Back when Sam was still a kid, Chip, although five years older, had been Sam's friend and mentored him. Jake joins him as he's trying to get Police Chief Bob Arnold to take him seriously. It doesn't help that Bob keeps referring to Carolyn as Chip's lady friend no matter how often Chip says she's his boss.

Jake's current home repair project, insulting her old house, isn't going well. Also, she has some jerk calling her and claiming 'I'm going to kill you' in a very annoying voice. Helping Chip is a good way to escape those problems -- until she realizes that her son, Sam is missing. Was Sam kidnapped by the killer as well? Yes, he was. That gave me a reason to care.

The more we learn about Randy Dodd, the scarier he becomes. Carolyn spends much of the book certain that she is going to join the ranks of the murdered girls and women she's written about. Even knowing that the reason she swiped Chip's idea for a novel is because she can't bear to write about true crime anymore didn't make me care enough to want her to escape. Poor Sam is wounded.

Chip does something dumb that nearly gets him killed, but does put him in a position to either help save Carolyn and Sam or get himself killed trying.

There are a lot of near misses and out of the frying pan into the fire situations before the book is over. It was intense to listen to. I put in a CD of nice classical music after each CD of the book to calm myself down except for the last three, which I listened to in a row. show less

A bit scary for me since it involves people being trapped in small dark spaces, and I'm extremely claustrophobic, but it's still well done enough and just cozy enough that one knows it will all work out in the end, so I soldiered on. Sarah Graves not only knows her old houses, she is also well-versed in boating, tides, and off-shores islands.

HOWEVER,.....there is one small item that doesn't make sense to me, and I had to go get a print copy to make sure I hadn't missed something while I was listening to this. In fact, one of my line fellow Mainers in the 75er challenge looked it up for me and reported that yep! There is a huge discrepancy about the rescue of one of the characters who is captured and restrained by the bad guys.

It doesn't show more spoil the story, but it will get the reader who pays attention scratching their head. show less

I have read several of the books in this series, but not all of them, and not in order. It has been awhile since I read one, so it was good to get reacquainted with Jake, Ellie and the gang. I remember how much I enjoy this series.

This book seemed a little dark. The killer was really evil. I don't remember the books being this dark, but I may have just forgot. The mystery was a good one, and I liked Chip, a researcher for a writer, with ties to Jake and Sam. I wouldn't mind having him come back for a future book. The setting on the coast of Maine was great too. The sea is like a character in the book. This was a good book and I would recommend it to anyone who likes mysteries.

Unlike most of her other books, this one is more thriller than mystery. From the beginning you pretty much know who the killer is and there are only a few details that are cleared up in the end. Like many thrillers, this one kept me on the edge of my seat - would anyone survive? I didn't quite get the killer - why he kept so many people alive. But the story was compelling anyhow.

I wanted to continue this series, which I'd dropped a while back, but it wasn't entirely a success. The story was thin and sensational at the same time, and didn't include enough of the family foundation that makes this series so pleasant.

Jake and Sam somehow get caught up in what appears to be a serial killer case and Sam is in very serious danger. When a true crime writer and her assistant show up they also get deeply involved in the whole situation.

Lots of suspense in this one and a killer who is truly crazy.

I really like this series and hope it continues for a long time. Well written stories, plotted very carefully. This one wasn't so much a who 'dunnit as a how, and what will happen next.

I think that author Graves improves with each book she adds to her Jacobia Tiptree series of mysteries. This one was really a spine-tingler, nail-biter, whatever. Jake's son, Sam, goes missing along with a best-selling author who is visiting Eastport, Maine. There are lots of places around the seaport town to stash hostages or bodies. Jake searches, as does local law enforcement, and has numerous close calls. All in all, this is a great read for a long winter's night. If you haven't read this series, I definitely recommend giving it a try.