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Title: Dangerous Games
ISBN: 0451411692
Author:
Michael Prescott
Publicate Date: 2005-01-04
Publish: 2005-01-04
List Price: $7.99
Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $5.18
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $0.01
Amazon Merchant Price: $7.99
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1: My third Tess McCallum book
This is the third book I have read by Michael Prescott that has featured FBI agent, Tess McCallum and the second one that also featured freelance vigilante/protector of the weak, Abby Sinclair. This was pretty typical of Prescott. He keeps the action moving and weaves a good story and you get a lot of action. My mistake is that this is the third book I've read featuring Tess, but it is also the first book in which she appears with Abby so I've read them in the wrong order. I really liked McCallum's character and did not care at all for Abby Sinclair. Tess is dedicated to solving crimes and doing her job. Abby is dedicated to her clients, but what I don't like is her flip behavior. Too many wisecracks and a smart mouth attitude. There were many characters in this book that evoked strong feelings for the reader. There were those who were not likable and those who we were supposed to cheer for. The main bad guy is truly unlikable and I pictured him as pretty disgusting as well and the method of murder is nothing if not original. Dangerous Games is easy to recommend. There really are no slow spots. Prescott continues to impress me with good stories that you can call "page turners". If you're looking for romance, this is not it.
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2: Deeper Than It Looks
Dangerous Games by Michael Prescott takes an interesting premise, a serial killer who kidnaps women and chains them in the vast storm drains that run underneath the City of Los Angeles, refusing to disclose their location unless the City of LA pays multi-million dollar ransoms to an offshore bank account. The kidnappings always occur on a day when rain is expected, making it even more imperative that the ransom be paid quickly, because if it isn't, the waters in the storm drain will rise and the victim will die-- as has happened to the first two victims.
Leaving aside the question of whether or not a city would actually pay up on such a ransom demand (I find it very unlikely.) This is really not so much of a thriller as it is a psychological examination of two women who form an unlikely partnership in investigating the kidnapper. The first is maverick FBI agent, Tess McCallum, who is brought in from the Denver Field Office as a media ploy because of her previous success in solving a major case in LA. The second woman is Abby Sinclair, a maverick sort of private investigator who specializes in putting stalkers behind bars by whatever means necessary- even if it means breaking the law.
Throughout the book, Abby insists to Tess that the two of them are actually the same-- they are both mavericks and they both play outside the rules; but Tess is reluctant to see the resemblance and finds ways to rationalize matters when she plays fast and loose with the rules.
The identity of the kidnapper is not a big secret as Prescott identifies him fairly early in the book as a disgruntled ex LA Police Officer who was sent to prison for stalking one of Abby's clients.
What is interesting about this book is the way Tess refuses to play the bureaucratic games of the FBI, while at the same time espousing her loyalty to the organization and to the law. She disdains Abby's tactics, and considers herself better than Abby because she is, after all, on the side of law and order. The book makes a statement that the higher people go in the bureaucracy of the organization, the more they lose touch with the way things really are out in the streets-- a common lament of front line law enforcement officers everywhere.
However, for those who think that the message of the book is to forget the rules, think again. Prescott at the end makes very clear that when investigators step outside the law, there are ripple effects and repercussions.
Abby and Tess are interesting characters, as is the kidnapper, William Kolb. The remaining characters are pretty one-dimensional-- the AD of the LA FBI Office is the stereotypical character of a stuffed shirt bureaucrat who cares more about image and publicity than anything else. But that's okay, because they are incidental to the main theme of the book, which is an exploration of what happens when people don't play by the rules.
For a book that is, on the surface, a pretty good thriller, the underlying message of the book packs a punch. Tess and Abby make an interesting team. It would be terrific to see them come together again in the future with Tess's newfound insight into her own character.
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3: If this one is considered boring....
This is the first book by Michael Prescott I have read and if the other reviews are correct and this story is boring, I can't wait to get my hands on his other books. I really enjoyed this book. There was a wonderful blending of mystery, suspense, humor and excitement. It is true that the killer is identified almost immediately, but I didn't feel as though that took anything away from the story. It was actually helpful to know who it was. It allowed the reader to watch how those involved interacted with the very people hunting them down.
Tess McCallum is an FBI agent who is something of a celebrity but who, like most of us, has some skeletons in her closet. Abby Sinclair, a private investigator is a gung-ho go getter with a wicked sense of humor. The killer(s) is(are) someone who could quite possibly live next door to any of us, which makes this story so believeable.
The story comes out of the shute on a dead run and doesn't stop till the finish line. I can't wait to find other books by Prescott, hope they are as good as this one was.
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4: An allright read
I've read all of Michael Prescotts books', as well as all the ones he wrote under the name Brian Harper.
I have to say that compared to all his other page turners, this one was bland and lacking.
Still a decent read - but I was definitely expecting more.
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5: Prescott Rules
I read this book in only two sittings because I could not put it down. Prescott brings back two of his more interesting characters, Tess McCallum, FBI agent and Abby Sinclair, "The Shadow Hunter." As expected, the two women do not get along very well when hunting down a serial killer but they must learn to work together in accomplishing this feat.
The book had a good combination of action, humor and sadness. The exchanges between Tess McCallum and her boss, "The Nose" are classics. They had me rolling on the floor.
Prescott is slowly becoming one of the my favorite mystery writers.
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