In Harm's Way

‘In Harm’s Way’ is the third Ridley Pearson book I’ve read (along with ‘Kingdom Keepers’ and Peter and the Starcatchers’) but the first book with his character, Sheriff Walt Fleming. I probably won’t be reading any more.

The plot is okay, although it’s not going to appear on anybody’s top reads list. The mystery kept me guessing and it could have been a real nail-biter. Unfortunately, even a good plot is not going to get off the ground if the author is not a good writer and Ridley Pearson, surprisingly for one who has authored as many books as he has, is not a good writer. Not a page went by where I didn’t wince at some stilted language or awkward dialogue. As an example, in chapter 19 Sheriff Fleming interviews a show more woman who is described as “…could have been going on sixty but looked more like forty”. Keep in mind that a scene, even if written in the third person, must consistently maintain a single point of view. This means that, in this case, Sheriff Fleming thinks that this woman looks to be both 60 and 40 years old. Huh?

Finally, in a world where we have become inured to product placement in movies and television, I shouldn’t be surprised to see it in books but Pearson seems to have found a lucrative niche in this market. In his books kids don’t watch movies; they watch a ‘Disney Channel Original Movie’, and they do it while playing ‘Animal Crossing’ on their ‘Nintendo DS’. He doesn’t videoconference; he uses ‘Skype’. He doesn’t look up tree house plans on the internet; he goes to ‘Google’ and clicks on the ‘Images link at the top of the page’. I’m sorry, but if I want advertising I’ll pick up a newspaper or a magazine.

As far as ranking goes, I give the plot four stars but subtract one each for the poor writing and the product placement. Final score: 2 stars. show less

Sheriff Walt Fleming returns in another shock filled adventure in picturesque Sun Valley Idaho.
Fresh from saving the life of a young girl Walt’s crime scene photographer and recent romantic interest Fiona Krenshaw tries unsuccessfully to stay out of the camera’s view finder, Walt mistaking this for modesty thinks little of it until it’s apparent that there’s something insidious going on. Now he has more crimes to solve than you can shake a stick at, still at war over his ex-wife’s antics including her involvement with his star deputy and trying to raise his twin pre-teen daughters so the last thing he needs is a hot shot homicide dick from Seattle horning in on his territory too, but that’s exactly what he’s got.
There are show more many things that stand out about the brilliance of Ridley Pearson he’s a master storyteller as evidenced by my refusal to put down this latest thriller and his character development as evidenced by his many, many fans of both his series and his stand a lone novels. Well fans of his Lou Bolt and Walt Fleming series have something extra to love about in “In Harm’s Way” both Lou and Walt are in the house, solving crimes and keeping the streets safer for their residents. Walt as the main protagonist is brilliant as a law officer so it’s especially nice to see him bumbling around like a teenager with his first crush when you bring in the heroine in this case a feisty, independent and yet very vulnerable Fiona who has a slew of secrets of her own. The plot is always interesting as you mix the have and have nots of Sun Valley while the dialogue is not what you might expect of a crime drama and further evidence of Mr. Pearson’s excellent writing ability because he can ably write a suspenseful, chilling, edge of your seat thriller without dropping the “f” bomb, or for that fact other crude and offensive language, not that I’m opposed to such language, but it is nice to have a refrain from it once in a while. His characters are amazing in their complexity from the one liner all the way to the star of the novel.
This is one read you must not miss, believe me you will be sorry if you do. It will be an instant best seller. It reads well on it’s own but I would strongly suggest starting the series from the beginning to get the full picture. show less

In Harm's Way by Ridley Pearson

Publishers weekly says - “In Pearson's subpar (sic) fourth crime thriller featuring Idaho lawman Walt Fleming” and I have to say that if this book is sub-par then I can’t wait to read the first 3 books in this series. Perhaps I wouldn’t have liked it so much had I read the first three, but for those looking for a new author to read and are contemplating this book WITHOUT reading the first three, I say go for it. If the others are even better than this particular book then this series is a sure winner.

I enjoyed this book thoroughly (no I haven’t read any of his other books so I have nothing to compare it too). I loved the writing style and REALLY enjoyed the lack of inner dialogue found in most of show more these kinds of novels. Although Booklist calls this “oddly stunted dialogue” I disagree…I found it to be a refreshing change from the other types of thrillers. There are sufficient clues and red herrings to keep most mystery lovers engaged. The ‘romance’ isn’t very romantic, but I think that this too is refreshing. I get very annoyed with thrillers that find time for the protagonists to tryst and bill and coo in the middle of the action.

This was a quick fun read for me, and piqued my curiosity enough for me to buy the first book in the series. show less

This is the first book that I have ever read by Ridley Pearson and I have to say I find his work pleasantly enticing. I love reading mysteries and was thrilled to win this book from the Early Reviewers program. I started reading the book as soon as it arrived in my mailbox.

In Harm's Way is the 4th book in the Walt Fleming Novels. I am honored to say that I was able to enjoy the book even though I was not familiar with the characters in the novel prior to reading this book.

Walt Fleming is sheriff in a small town in Idaho who is raising two twin eleven year old girls. I found Walt Fleming to be a complex character while still being interesting and entertaining. He has a small staff of deputies and a photographer whom is the love interest show more of Walt. I found some of the characters of little interest and didn't create a bond towards them while reading In Harm's Way.

In Harm's Way is a well crafted story of intrigue and suspense. As I read the book I found myself getting more and more drawn into the story and thinking I knew who did it before I finally reached the end. It is enjoyable when reading a book and not being able to figure out who committed the crime before the end. I was getting to the point where I started to actually talk back to the characters while reading the book. When that happens you know I am drawn into the story. show less

I used to like Ridley Pearson’s work quite a bit, especially his series involving Seattle Police Sergeant Lou Boldt. But ever since he changed to a series that takes place in Sun Valley featuring Sheriff Walt Fleming, I haven’t been knocked out by him. In Harm’s Way seeks the best of both worlds by adding some characters from the Seattle series to this story that takes place in Sun Valley.

Sheriff Fleming, divorced with a pair of eleven-year-old twins, is interested romantically in his crime scene photographer, Fiona Kenshaw. Fiona runs from steaming hot to icy cold with Walt, and for some reason, he doesn’t seem to mind – in fact, he just figures he has forgotten how to read women. (I, on the other hand, found Fiona very show more annoying.)

Fiona is house-sitting for a wealthy couple who are away for the summer, and she has invited her mentee Kira Tulivich to be her associate caretaker. Kira is a 21-year-old girl who was the victim of a violent assault two years earlier. The whole town seems to feel protective toward Kira, but Fiona in particular has an ability to empathize with her. One suspects that Fiona has had a similar experience.

When a prowler starts vandalizing the rich homes in the area, Fiona and Kira, somewhat isolated on the large property where they are staying, are quite frightened and keep baseball bats by the doors. And when a famous football player shows up dead from a baseball crack to the skull, Walt fears that either or both of the women may be implicated.

Seattle's Lou Boldt enters the picture because he has also encountered a dead body with ties to the famous football player, as well as to some of the glitterati in Sun Valley. Although the two men join forces to solve the crimes, Walt holds back information from Lou. Walt thinks he may be in love with Fiona, and in any event he wants to protect Kira after her previous trauma.

Evaluation: Readable, but not memorable. I would primarily recommend it for fans of Ridley Pearson and in particular, those who follow either or both of the two detective series. show less

In Harm’s Way was a bit of a mixed bag. While the writing was professional and the story was compelling enough to keep me interested throughout, it had enough flaws to keep me from thoroughly enjoying it. Set in Sun Valley, Idaho, a hideout for the rich and famous, the start of the mystery portion of the novel and the subsequent events that unfold occur when Sheriff Walt Fleming finds the dead body of a former professional football player with a very violent past. The player has ties to several people in Sun Valley. There are several seemingly unrelated crimes that are occurring, but all tie back in some way to the murder.

The trouble spots for me are primarily with characterization. Although I found Walt to be a solid character, his show more love interest, Fiona, who also happens to be a person of interest in the case was not particularly likeable or consistent as a character. Their relationship didn’t work for me at all, and were some of the least entertaining aspects of the novel. She also conveniently had temporary amnesia to manufacture fake drama in the story. There is also a major plot hole in the story that serves as a red herring to the story. In the end, this was an entertaining read that could have been a good novel if some of these issues had been cleaned up.

Carl Alves – author of Conjesero show less

This is the second Pearson book that I have read. I enjoy the twists and turns that he puts into his books. He leads the reader into thinking who the guilty party is but before you know it there is another twist and you were wrong. I love a book that keeps me guessing.

I found that there were quite a few characters to keep track of so that may frustrate some readers. I loved it. I enjoyed the complexities of the cases. The further you read, the more complex the cases became and it really pushed me to think like the character Walt.

There were times that I was frustrated with the interaction between Walt and Fiona. I became irritated at times because if felt like they should just talk and not play games with each other. I also was a little show more disappointed to read some of the decisions that Walt was considering. I felt like he was a stronger character than to be tempted like he was at times.

I felt like Pearson wrote the conflict between Walt, Brandon, and Gail in an accurate way. Pearson wrote it so that the conflict did not dominate the book but that it was a real issues that had to be addressed between them all.

Overall, I did enjoy this book. It forced me to think throughout the book and I liked the challenge. I would recommend this book to others as long as they are not looking for a super easy read. It seems that Pearson's books are the type that move fast but you have to stay focused or you lose track of characters and events in the story. I hope that Pearson writes another Walt novel in the future because I would love to see what else can happen in Walt's life. show less