Beyond Recognition (Lou Boldt/Daphne Matthews Series) [Audiobook, MP3 Audio, Unabridged] [MP3 CD]

Ridley Pearson (Author), Dale Hull (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 25, 2005 | Series: Lou Boldt/Daphne Matthews Series (Book 4)

A strange series of fires is raging in Seattle - white-hot fires that burn so cleanly even the ash is consumed, along with all traces of the fires' victims. Brilliant forensic investigator Police Sergeant Lou Boldt is back, battling the mysterious arsonist. He is also keeping his eye on the Fire Warden, who seems to be a little too close to the heat. But police psychologist Daphne Matthews is more concerned about the victims of the blazes, especially the smart and wily ten-year-old boy who had a terrifying encounter with a disfigured, badly burned man. Beyond Recognition is the story of a deadly, taunting game of cat and mouse, where the stakes are raised to a burning point that might spell disaster for Boldt - and the city of Seattle.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Ridley Pearson manages to make high-tech crime-fighting more human and fascinating than anyone else in the field--witness such bestsellers as Chain of Evidence. Once again, Sgt. Lou Boldt, inspired and seemingly tireless forensic investigator for the Seattle police, zigs from the lab to the field--this time to find out why single mothers are being burned to death by flash fires fueled by an unknown, amazingly volatile fuel. The chief villain might remind you of recent headlines, but Pearson's research and writing skills create fiction more interesting than fact. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

A rag and a bone are literally all the Seattle PD has to work with after a violent fire consumes a home and its helpless female occupant, a divorced mother. When a second victim dies the same way, detective Lou Boldt (Chain of Evidence, etc.) and police psychologist Daphne Matthews (both Pearson regulars) begin the process of profiling a serial killer who uses rocket fuel to torch women because they resemble his mother. Elsewhere, a young boy named Ben, whose abusive stepfather has all but driven him into the street, has been befriended by a fraudulent "psychic" named Emily Richland, who hires Ben to scout her clients' vehicles while they're meeting with her. This task leads, in the novel's best scene, to Ben witnessing an exchange of cash for rocket fuel, a sighting that in turn eventually takes the police to their killer. Much of the plot teeters on the coincidental nature of all these connections, and on the unlikely bits of evidence used to corner the suspect (e.g., a ladder's impressions left on backyard grass). The intricate forensics that have driven so many of Pearson's novels are largely missing here, and secondary characters are sketched quickly and without depth. Even Boldt and Matthews have lost their shine, bickering a lot while insisting that they love one another, while Boldt's long-suffering wife, Liz, is discarded in cruel fashion. But no doubt the Boldt-Matthews team will be back, hopefully to solve cases less confusing and farfetched than this one. Major ad/promo; author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• MP3 CD
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio on MP3-CD Lib Ed; Library edition (April 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593359357
• ISBN-13: 978-1593359355
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,314,267 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ridley Pearson (www.ridleypearson.com), the first American to be awarded the Raymond Chandler/Fulbright Fellowship in Detective Fiction at Wadham College, Oxford University, is the bestselling author of over 35 novels including, Peter And the Starcatchers (co-written with Dave Barry), the young adult novel, The Kingdom Keepers, and two dozen crime novels including: Probable Cause, Beyond Recognition and Killer Weekend (July 2007). His novel The Diary Of Ellen Rimbauer, a prequel to a Stephen King miniseries, was a New York Times #1 bestseller, as was Peter and the Shadow Thieves (#1 for 6 weeks). Ridley adapted The Diary Of Ellen Rimbaurer for ABC Television; it aired in 2003.

Peter and the Starcatchers is to open as a stage play, off-Broadway in March 2011, under Disney Theatrical.

Ridley is a founding member of, and plays bass guitar in, the all-author rock band, The Rockbottom Remainders (www.rockbottomremainders.com), with Dave Barry, Stephen King, Scott Turow, Mitch Albom, Amy Tan and Greg Iles. The band has raised over 2.5 million dollars for charities over its 18 year history.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great one in the Lou Boldt series by Pearson, April 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Beyond Recognition (Hardcover)

This fourth book in Pearson's Seattle based detective novel, BEYOND RECOGNITION, kept me hook from the very first chapter. For anyone who calls the Pacific Northwest home, Pearson's books are realistic. It was difficult to second guess each new turn and twist Pearson has planned for Lou Bodt and Daphne Matthews. His continued development of character personalities is great. The characters grow with each new book and there is just the right mix of new people too. The aronist angle was well developed and believable. The only complaint is the book was to long, much longer than his earlier books. I would have enjoyed BEYOND RECOGNITION if it had been about 75% of the pages. Still I would recommend the entire series to everyone living the Pacific Northwest.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Knocked my socks off --, August 28, 2001

By 

Louise C. Stone (Sunland, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beyond Recognition (Mass Market Paperback)

This book really grabbed me and hauled me into the book before I was past page 5. I was so involved in the solving of this case that I had trouble monitoring my loads of laundry so that everything was wrinkled beyond recognition from the dryer. You will love this book!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beyond Recognition is beyond the ordinary crime tale., October 10, 2000

By 

"blancabee" (Gaston, OR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond Recognition (Mass Market Paperback)

Ridley Pearson lights another burning success with this book about unexplained serial arsons in Seattle. More than just a plot driven mystery, Pearson develops further the interesting and complex web of characters he has introduced to readers in other Lou Boldt series.

The story begins a bit slowly until it suddenly ignites into a fully engaging read. Police psychologist Daphne Matthews seemed a bit brittle in this novel but other characters expand and glow. The story itself taught me things I did not know I wanted to know about firefighting and arsonists - the sign of an excellent author!

Ignore your mundane tasks and blaze through this visit to Pearson's world of crime fighting with very human characters fighting demons both within and outside the psyche.