not a thriller or that suspenseful but not a loser either...

books:


	• Point Blank (FBI Thriller (G.P. Putnam's Sons)) Catherine Coulter G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2005 - 432 pages average customer review:based on 55 reviews view larger image
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Not Bad, Just Not Great

I picked this book up at the B&N discount section and though I'm glad I didn't pay full price, I still feel I got my money's worth. I've been seeing her books around for years, but never tried one until now.

Point Blank is part of a series about, or at least including two FBI agents, Sherlock and her husband (can't remember his name) on a recurring basis. Half the book is about their case, and the other half is about Ruth, another FBI agent, and Dix a local sheriff. The stories are intertwined and Catherine doesn't do a bad job with that.

The first problem I had was the dust jacket blurb says the story takes place in West Virginia, where it actually takes place in Virginia. I'm not originally from West Virginia, but having lived there and with family there, they wouldn't take too kindly to being confused with "Virginia."

Second problem was that as part of her writing style, Catherine mixes points of view so much it's hard to keep track of who's saying or thinking what at times. Fortunately, I was able to keep up with the constantly changing POV's but as I've stated in other reviews, as a struggling writer, I'm bound by all these basic "rules" of writing just to try and get an agent. It really irks me to see an established author so flagrantly ignore these "rules."

As far as the story is concerned, it starts out well enough but throughout, I thought Ruth and Dix were the main characters, when from what I've read about this series, Sherlock and her husband are supposed to be the main characters. You'd never know it from this book. Ruth is involved in a hunt for a serial killer in "Virginia" where Sherlock and her husband are involved in another serial killer case in the DC area. Sherlock and co take a break from that case to help Ruth with hers, but keep getting called back to DC until they finally get their bad guys in a pretty un-climactic way. I kept seeing so much potential for stuff to happen that never did.

Back to Ruth and Dix again. This is the main romantic part of the story and I won't go into the details on that. But their murder case has a weird ending that I liked better than Sherlocks.

Overall, this was still a good read despite the flaws. It makes me curious to see what else she can do with her more popular books. Recommended with reservations.

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not a thriller or that suspenseful but not a loser either...

I'm so glad I chose to read book 10 of Couter's FBI thriller series. I wasn't looking forward to it as it had an average rating of a '2'. I read the series in order, although not critical to their enjoyment but it's how I like to read them. The storyline did not have me at the edge of my seat but I wasn't bored either. I enjoyed the story for what it was and the interaction of the main characters was well done. I know this review is kind of bland and doesn't sound as if it rated a '4' but I ENJOYED the read. Not every book has to have you chewing your fingernails to rate a '4' or higher. In general I recommend the series and am looking forward to reading #11.

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Can't wait for the next one

Don't have much more to add about her FBI series except I find them fun, exciting, hard to put down and very very entertaining. I hope the newest one comes out in paperback soon. Her books are one of my "author keepers" and I only lend them out to special people who know how to take care of books. I anticipate reading them over and over again.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

FBI agents Lacey Sherlock and Dillon Savich face the most dangerous case of their careers in Catherine Coulter's explosive new thriller.

Point Blank's propulsive story takes off when FBI agents Dillon Savich and Dane Carver are nearly killed while trying to rescue popular entertainer Pinky Womack from kidnappers. Lured to a motel in Pumis City, Virginia, by a known snitch, the only thing the agents discover is a glowing red timer. The place is demolished in a catastrophic explosion, but everyone survives.

The same snitch leads them to Arlington National Cemetery, promising the agents Pinky's safe return. The search is interrupted when Savich takes a fateful call on his cell. The mysterious caller taunts Savich with other threats-against him, and against his wife, fellow agent Lacey Sherlock. Up against an untraceable foe-not even MAX can locate him-Savich and Sherlock find themselves fighting an unstable villain with a very long memory.

At the same time, Agent Ruth Warnecki's passion for treasure hunting leads her to Winkel's Cave and a cave chamber that really shouldn't exist-as well as a dead student from Stanislaus Music School, left there for eternity. Some students have wandered quite far from the beaten path, with terrible consequences.

An edge-of-your-seat thriller as exhilarating and frightening as anything she's ever written, Point Blank is Catherine Coulter's finest achievement.

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