Killer Weekend

Ridley Pearson

Edition	Hardcover
List Price	$24.95
	$18.21 (Save 27%)

Published by	G. P. Putnam's Sons
Release date	2007-07-10
ISBN	0399154078
Availability	Usually ships in 24 hours

The #1 New York Times bestseller returns with a completely new setting-the magnificent natural beauty of Sun Valley, Idaho-and a heart-stopping story in which a local sheriff struggles to protect a controversial politician from the elegant plan of a hired assassin.

Eight years ago, in Sun Valley-snowcapped playground for the wealthy and ambitious-all that stood between U.S. Attorney General Elizabeth Shaler and a knife-wielding killer was local patrolman Walt Fleming. Now Liz Shaler returns to Sun Valley as the keynote speaker of billionaire Patrick Cutter's world-famous media and communications conference, a convergence of the richest, most powerful business tycoons. The controversial attorney general is expected to announce her candidacy for president. It's a media coup for Cutter-but a security nightmare for Walt Fleming, now the county sheriff.

As the Cutter conference gets under way, authorities learn of a confirmed threat on Shaler's life, and various competing interests-the Secret Service, the FBI, Cutter's own security forces -begin jockeying for jurisdiction. Amid the conference's opulent extravagances, Walt is suddenly shaken by an apparent murder, his nephew's arrest, and a haunting legacy from his family's past. The clock ticks down toward Shaler's keynote address as we track the chilling precision of her assassin's preparations.

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Reviews by Nan Kilar - A so-so effort

Eight years ago, someone tried to kill New York Attorney General Liz Shaler while she was vacationing at her second home in Sun Valley, Idaho. Rookie cop Walt Fleming happened to notice something amiss at the house and ended up saving Liz and nailing the intruder. Today, she's back in Sun Valley to announce her candidacy for President at a big communications conference hosted by a local zillionaire.

Add to the mix: Salt Lake City police are notified of a mutilated body in a body bag found in the ceiling of the airport and report the find to Walt who is now the county Sheriff. A blind man attending the conference gets off the plane in Sun Valley, but is told his dog died during the flight; that puts a crimp in his plans. A local woman is found dead. The Sheriff's estranged wife is sleeping with one of his deputies, and his nephew gets in with the wrong crowd and gets into trouble.

There were way too many characters introduced at the beginning of the book, way too many subplots, and too many loose ends when the book ends. But it's a quick read and keeps you wondering who hired the killer. The author has penned better stories.

Pearson's done better

When I was around halfway through Ridley Pearson's Killer Weekend, someone asked me about it. It's okay, I said, but he's done better. By the time I reached the end of the book, my judgment hadn't changed.

Killer Weekend introduces a new series character for Pearson, Sheriff Walt Fleming of Blaine County, Idaho (which is in the Sun Valley area). Fleming rose to prominence after saving the life of Liz Shaler, who eight years earlier was an attorney general for New York. Now, she's about to announce her run for the presidency, and she intends to do it at a high-level business conference in Sun Valley. She isn't a candidate yet, however, so her protection is limited to a small Secret Service detail and a mishmash of private and public cops, most notably Walt himself.

Walt's involvement is a good thing, as he's one of a few who is taking seriously rumors of a hired assassin. The assassin, the ruthless Milav Trevalian, has come under the guise of a blind man, and has set up a second identity as well in which to operate. His unfolding plan is pretty clever, and it will fall upon Walt to try and identify and stop him. He will have other problems to contend with as well, including his estranged wife sleeping with his deputy, a wayward nephew falling into a life of crime and another, seemingly disconnected murder involving the wife of a local bigwig.

On a technical level, there is little wrong with Killer Weekend, but it also never drew me in. As a villain, Trevalian is intelligent but not very compelling and Walt Fleming is not all that engaging either. Compared to Pearson's other series character - Lou Boldt - I just found Fleming to be dull. Killer Weekend is not a bad book, but it's not a really good one either: Pearson has done better, in almost anything else he's written.

Unsure...

Not quite sure how to play this one. I really enjoy Pearson's Boldt series, but this one... not that great, I hate to admit.

I felt disconnected while reading this; like reading it because it's there but the author fails to suck you into the story. Strange, but true. I found the characters were the same as everything else I've read - nothing to draw them apart, make them special. You get a glimpse of Walt's past and understand why he and his father are always tense around each other, but in the now, Walt should have been able to get over that. I'm sure to a twelve-year-old it was too much, but as adults - I mean, come on! Enough is enough already. All the talk about Walt and his wife no longer together, that it didn't work and yet, his feelings at finding out his ex-wife is with someone else, let alone a co-worker is spinning him around. I have to give kudos to Pearson, however: Walt is a very smart sheriff. I'm glad he solved it.

And yet, still, with all the characters in the book, there's nothing personal in it. While there are a couple of scenes between two secondary characters, it was more of a set up for what happens, and I felt cheated. You don't get to the heart of any of the characters except for Walt, and even then it feels disconnected. The synopsis of the book talks about Liz, but she isn't even close to a primary character in the book, even if all the events are surrounding her. It's like there should have been a previous book on both characters so that you understand them better.

And the whole killer in disguise thing - it's been done before. Mind you, the way Pearson put it in his book was pretty inventive. And what he does to the dog... while I found that a little `tacky', pretty inventive as well. Some might freak on the whole "animal cruelty' thing, but the dog is fine, nothing happens to her, so get off it already.

All in all, while it was pretty good and it had some high points, especially near the end, it still fell far short of expectations... and I hate it when that happens.

Disappointing and dumbed down

Neither a thriller nor a mystery, Pearson plods though what could have been an exciting story and makes it boring. Large print makes it look about the size of a Pearson novel, but even that is skimped upon. There are all sorts of pieces that could have been expanded upon, saving the life of the target, the man who hired the killer, the nephew who is angst ridden, the bitchy sister-in-law, the disappointed father, the animal loving veterinarian, the murdered man, the hired killer, the cuckled husband, the murdered wife, need I go on, but not one of these central characters were expanded upon. The entire book is a sketch for a better book. I probably won't read the next one.

Not My Usual Type Book

But it was given to me. I was pleasantly surprised. I thought it was fast paced and well written. I had a hard time putting it down. I hope this is the start of a great series.