Got the Look

November 7, 2005
Attorney Jack Swyteck and his jazz musician sidekick Theo Knight josh, joke and kid, but unfortunately the case they're working—the kidnapping of Jack's girlfriend by a sadistic murderer—doesn't lend itself to humor. The disconnect of monkeyshines versus the grim, detailed torture of a helpless woman cripples this thinly plotted, disappointing thriller set in Grippando's familiar South Florida. The girlfriend in question, the gorgeous Mia Salazar, turns out to be (unknown to Jack) married. After she's been seized, her betrayed husband makes it clear that he has no interest in paying any significant ransom. This duty then falls to Jack, who, working with FBI agent Andie Henning (reprised from Under Cover of Darkness
), frantically tries to find Mia. Though Jack and Andie are the proverbial oil and water, the results of this pairing are entirely predictable. And when the kidnapper is finally revealed, his identity is as unbelievable as the tortured reasoning that attempts to connect the many disparate plot elements. The chase scene at the end lends some much-needed firepower, but it's too little too late for anyone but the most diehard Grippando fan.

Starred review from December 1, 2005
What is the price of a human life? That is the central question confronting Florida lawyer Jack Swyteck as he grapples with kidnapping and treachery. He's just beginning to believe that new girlfriend Mia Salazar might be the one when he discovers she's married. Jack dumps her and, while licking his wounds, finds out that she is the latest victim of a serial kidnapper. Or has her husband killed her and faked the entire incident? Jack must use all of his instincts to uncover the truth, even if he doesn't like the answers. Fans of legal thrillers will devour this novel; first-time readers of former trial lawyer Grippando ("Hear No Evil") and the Swyteck series will not feel left out. Jack is a wonderful character, and the main mystery is both puzzling and shocking. For all fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 10/15/05.]" -Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L."

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2005
This fifth Jack Swyteck novel (following " Hear No Evil," 2004) finds the Miami defense attorney head over heels in love with a captivating woman named Mia and in an uncharacteristically mellow mood, leaving him a prime target for the snarky humor of his best friend, Theo, a strapping ex-con. Then Jack is dealt a double blow when he finds out that his lover is married to a wealthy real-estate developer and that she has been taken captive by a sadistic serial kidnapper whose previous victim wound up dead. Stiffed by the cuckolded husband, the kidnapper moves on to blackmail Jack, demanding that he pay whatever he thinks Mia's life is worth. Jack is contacted by FBI Special Agent Andie Henning, a highly competent professional whose personal life is in shambles. As Andie and Jack try to work in tandem, with Theo watching Jack's back, the narrative shifts to incorporate Mia's terrifying ordeal at the hands of her captor. Grippando sets some of the novel's most gruesome scenes in some of Florida's most stunning settings, including an enormous aquifer, an underwater limestone labyrinth of interconnecting caves. Although his dialogue could use some work, Grippando has a great feel for pacing and writes highly effective, gripping action scenes that will leave readers in suspense until the final page. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)