Customer Reviews

Abandoned: A Thriller (Smoky Barrett Series)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

One of the staples of thriller literature is the deranged killer. The more imaginative authors are able to use these madmen to take their readers by the hand and nudge them to varying degrees in the direction of the abyss of madness. In some cases, it's a glance toward it; in others, a peek downward. And, in the most extreme, it's a push forward when you reach the edge. ABANDONED by Cody McFadyen goes a bit further, dragging you kicking and screaming to the chasm and then giving you a hearty two-handed shove.

While this is only McFadyen's fourth novel, his writing is possessed with a sureness and confidence that some veteran authors would kill for. This talent is beautifully displayed in ABANDONED, which features the return of Smoky Barrett. An FBI Special Agent, Smoky has had so much happen to her in McFayden's preceding volumes that the mere whisper of her presence is enough to cause familiar readers to cringe. Her family murdered and her face terribly scarred (not once, but twice), one fears what will happen to our heroine next. But somehow, she finds the strength to soldier on. And in ABANDONED, she finally has a chance at happiness: she is in a relationship with the quiet and capable --- and very deadly --- Tommy; she has Bonnie, her adopted daughter, who is everything one could wish for in a child; and, separate from this, she has two secrets, one she keeps with Tommy and the other from him.

While celebrating the wedding of Callie, her team member, Smoky receives an enigmatic text message followed shortly by the abrupt deposit of a seriously injured woman into the midst of the festivities. The woman, a police officer, had been missing for seven years and is unable to describe what has happened to her in her current condition. Smoky and her team begin an investigation, one that uncovers what appears to be a clandestine service run by a criminal mastermind who, for a significant fee, will make a troublesome wife disappear without a trace. That is, until such time as she can legally be declared dead and insurance proceeds can be collected. The provider of the service is detached, precise and amoral. And heaven help the man who reneges on the agreement.

Smoky precisely and methodically leads her team through the investigation, discovering similar occurrences as they slowly move in on the fiend. Then, just as they seem to be on the verge of honing in on him, the unthinkable happens. Smoky has to make a terrible choice, one that will change her and the team forever, even as the identity of the mastermind provides the biggest surprise of all.

I haven't lived what one could call a sheltered life by any stretch of the imagination, but McFadyen manages to make me cringe. Naturally, I loved every word, every sentence. McFadyen's storytelling prowess and plotting ability as displayed in ABANDONED would be enough to recommend it; however, he is also a remarkable writer who brings considerable literary skills to the desk. The result is a work that, while horrifying in (many) places, skillfully slices into and out of that which is life, good and bad. Be fairly warned: the trip into the abyss is long and frightening...but worth taking.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

Without going into detail about the plot (especially since some of the other reviews have given away too much of what happens), let me just say that in Abandoned McFadyen has created a killer who doesn't kill for thrills, sex or even for power -- it's far more twisted than that. The concept of this plot is quite complex, and McFadyen succeeds quite well in executing the plot in the first quarter and last quarter of the book. During these parts of the book the story is intense and had me on the edge of my seat. However, I found that the second and third quarters of Abandoned dragged on with insufficient action and thrills being provided. Further, while McFadyen continued to provide this reader with a deeper understanding into the psyche of his main character, FBI special agent Smokey Barrett, and into his psychopathic killer, McFadyen gave short shrift in Abandoned to several of the key supporting characters that helped make his previous three books so memorable for me (i.e., Shadow Man, The Face Of Death and A Darker Place). As such, I'd strongly recommend to anyone considering reading Abandoned and who has not previously read at least one of Mcfadyen's other books, that they first read at least Shadow Man in order to begin to understand and to develop an appreciation of McFadyen's richly developed characters. I don't believe a new reader will get this sense of appreciation from beginning with Abandoned, and will probably not care much about the characters that were so richly developed in McFadyen's other books (e.g., Callie Thorne, Alan Washington, James Giron, etc.); which, in turn, will lessen their overall appreciation of the book. In net, while Abandoned has its flaws and while it is the weakest of McFadyen's four thrillers, it is still a book well worth reading.

Parts of this book were compelling, but all in all, not the best writing. Here are 3 things I didn't like: First, all the drawn out detail about the internet blogging was extremely boring and unnecessary. This occurred in the middle of the book and dragged the story down to the point where I almost stopped reading. Second, I detest endings where the captured villian spills their guts and tells you all the motivation and planning behind their actions in minute detail. Not only would this not happen, it's cheating on the part of the author who doesn't have the skill to finish the story in a more credible fashion. And third, if the character Callie called one more person "Honey Love", I think I would have thrown up. Gosh dang, what bad writing. This book didn't work for me at all. I barely managed to finish it (hoping for a better ending), but will not read another Cody McFadyen. I give this one and a half stars.

I know it sounds crazy, but if you read even one Smoky Barrett book, you'd agree completely. These books are so smart, so well-written, the characters so good EXCEPT...EVERY single time one of the main characters, Callie, speaks, expect the descriptive "honey-love". It gets the reader so crazy, and is so distracting, that you start reading "Callie" and saying to yourself "here comes honey-love". And the explanation as to why she has to say this so often (that is, that it's semi-saracastic) doesn't really gel with her constant use of it (she often uses it when she's not being sarcastic.)

One more thing that keeps these books from flowing effortlessly, is that if you've read even one book, you notice that the author "cuts and pastes" from one book to the next, whole paragraphs about characters in the book (for example, that Bonnie was tied to her murdered mother for 3 days before she was rescued.) We are told this in every single book, and in EXACTLY THE SAME LONG DESCRIPTION each time.

So these are my only criticisms, but they are big blocks to the story nonetheless. I will keep reading these, as they really are so well-written and smart, but I really hope that these two major distractions cease.

I love the author, and I have enjoyed all of his books. I have enjoyed the continuing characters. BUT...........in this book there was too much of a good thing. I got so tired of the profiling details, the internet details, chat dialog, etc. It was like McFayden was just filling space. And as for the main character, I truly have enjoyed her, but a woman can only get kidnapped, raped, and beaten so many times and then it is time to move on to new characters. I think the author has used this one up!

FBI profiler, Smoky Barrett and her crack team of experts have come across some really horrific serial killers in their time together, but the latest in this series sports a killer more organized and patient than anyone they have previously encountered. This killer takes hostages and keeps them alive for 7+ years then returns them or kills them; depending on the actions of the spouses who had them "disappeared" in the first place. According to the profile, the husbands desire to have their wives disappear. They make contact via internet and before they can say life insurance, their wives "disappear". Seven years later they collect the insurance money, and the one who made the wives disappear collects his "fee". But if the husbands default or try to renege, "severe consequesnces" are put into place. And these are truly horrific.

Smoky and her team follow the clues to lead them to the hideout where the women have been kept in isolation and fear. But this killer is leading them to his own backyard by intentionally leaving clues to follow. The question is why? The killer who leaves notes to not try to find him, in contrast leaves a clear trail of breadcrumbs. Smoky and her team have to make hard decisions in this fast-paced novel of suspense and terror. As the nosse begins to tighten, and cyber sleuthing as wel ans forensic clues lead them on the path to finding the killer, each one is also dealing with their own personal decisions for their future.

This pyschopathic serial killer has no remorse. All is business as usual for him. Trying to get into the mind of this killer proves to be a challenge for Smoky and her team. They have not encountered anyone with this degree of machine-like traits before and it is truly baffling. The final resolution will come as a surprise to readers and will make us wonder, once again, about the monsters who are walking amongst us.

Near the beach in Los Angeles, Callie Thorne is marrying Sam Brady with most of the attendees being from or associated with the local FBI office. Both work for the Feds with the bride employed in the local branch of the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC) and the groom on the SWAT. However, a car driving by stops for a nanosecond to throw out a bald headed emaciate female. The incoherent female has been missing for eight years and was a cop.

NCAVC local branch chief Smoky Barret, a matron of honor at the wedding, soon begins to put together the ugly picture of a psychopathic mercenary dubbed "Dali". Apparently husbands hire this maniac to kidnap no longer wanted wives to rid them from their lives; the abductor stores them in tiny dark cells for years as pieces of meat in case the need arises to demand remittance from a slacker client. The culprit receives half the life insurance or else extorts a lot more from those who renege on their fee. When Dali realizes Smokey is getting close to unraveling the motive for liberating the victim, the meat processor abducts her giving her a choice between her liberty and the death of a teammate.

Putting aside Smokey's abduction record (her face scarred and her spouse and preadolescent daughter murdered) and the text messaging taunting, Barrett's fourth FBI serial killer is a super cat and mouse game. The chilling brilliant psychopath, whose "meat packing" business is thriving in spite of the ecomony makes for a fast-paced story line from the moment the maniac text messages Smokey with a gift and never slows down from there. Fans of the series will relish Smokey's latest violent crime case (see SHADOW MAN).

Harriet Klausner

The book moves at a good pace with very little lull.

It keeps your attention and has you wondering what will happen next.

I agree that you will want to read these books in order to get to know the characters. However I did not like the 3rd book, the Darker Side.

But would still recommend skimming through it before reading this one.

This was an excellent story; I was new to Cody McFadyen and when I first read one of his books, I've continued to look for and purchase more books by this author. His stories are my kind of read. Keep him in your "library" as long as he continues writing these great books.

All I can say is: Wow! Started off a little slow in the first chapter or so, but then became one of the best thrillers I have ever read. Still gives me nightmares. A definite "must read."