Customer Reviews

Damaged

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Disclaimer: A free copy of this book was received from Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review.

Damaged, by Pamela Callow, is the first book in the Kate Lange mystery series. In this book, when a teen-aged girl is found dead and dismembered, attorney Kate Lange fears that the legal advice she gave to the teenager's grandmother led to the girl's death.

This is the third book I have read in the last 6 weeks with the particular plot device upon which this novel hangs, and although the other two books were written by established mystery writers, I like Callow's handling of the plot the best, so kudos to her. I tumbled to it rather quickly but perhaps if it hadn't been for the other two novels, it might have taken me a little longer.

Kate Lange is an interesting character-- while I might sometimes wish she were just a little bit smarter and not quite so naive, she is like most real people, trying to make sense of the world and her life and her job and trying not to screw up too badly.

My biggest gripe against this book is that Callow depicts the cops as completely incompetent.They appear to be clueless in what to do to investigate this case; they don't seem to have any knowledge of how to talk to hookers on the street and the lead detective is so wrapped up in his angst over his broken relationship with Kate that he makes too many obvious errors in trying to resolve the case. Consequently Kate is forced to investigate because the cops just don't seem to know what to do.

My other gripe is that some of Callow's depictions miss the feel of reality-- for instance, her depiction of the life of a hooker seems to be based more on what Callow imagines a hooker's life to be than on any semblance of reality.

However, on the whole I liked this book and look forward to reading more in the series. There is a tinge of romantic suspense in the book, but not so much that it detracts from the overall novel. The setting of Nova Scotia adds just a touch of the exotic to the locale, which is a nice change. If you like Karin Slaughter or Lisa Scottoline, you will probably like this series.

Damaged, author Pamela Callow's freshman effort at legal mystery/suspense/conspiracy thriller, started slowly but if you are patient, you will be rewarded by what became a page-turning, perfect summer read. It builds slowly, while painstakingly laying the groundwork on central character Kate Lange, her former fiance, Detective Ethan Drake, Kate's employer, and its partner, Randall Barrett, plus a bevy of supporting characters.

I found the murder mystery and conspiracy aspects of the story to be especially fascinating, having not guessed far ahead of time the connections and the "solution" before Kate (one of the bigger disappointments for me with mysteries/thrillers). I also appreciated the resolution, as it didn't stretch reality to unnatural boundaries and it seemed the natural course by the end of the book.

I liked the character of Kate by the conclusion of Damaged although I was a bit neutral about her throughout much of the early story. I always like a tough, determined character with some humanity and all three traits were in evidence as I flipped that last page. I was particularly pleased to note that Ms. Callow will have a new mystery featuring Kate releasing next year and I hope that we will learn more about Kate on this next venture.

By the same token, I hope that we will receive additional insight into the characters of Ethan Drake and Randall Barrett, who both seemed to be yearning for additional literary time. I felt that both characters still have a wealth of information to share and excellent storyline potential.

I also hope that we will see Kate's neighbors again, the elderly sisters Muriel and Enid, who I found engaging and pleasing. Is it possible that these two have secrets themselves or is it just the conspiracy buff in me at work?

Damaged, considering its subject matter, isn't heavy on the gore or violence, although it may have a few objectionable words. There is no sexual matter, although a brief innuendo, and some mentioned drug use.

In all, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Damaged to fans of the mystery, thriller and/or legal genre, all of whom are sure to be satisfied by this debut work that packs a powerful little punch.

I thought Damaged was a great read! This makes me anticipate Callow's next literary offering. Kate Lange is the smart lawyer, with all the insecurities of a woman who is trying to overcome an early life that left her dealing with fear and guilt. As she discovered she was being used by the lawyer that hired her into a prestigious firm, she refuses to let anyone rob her of her future! The plot has many twists and turns. This is a great page-turner.

This fast moving thriller combines a bit of the legal genre with a lot of the mystery. The heroine is a character who is endearing because she is flawed enough to be believable. On occasion her ability to survive is a bit over the edge but it all works together to create a fascinating read that is hard to put down. When she is first introduced it is as a fairly newly minted lawyer who has recently broken the relationship with her policeman fiance when another officer unveils Kate's past to her fiance in front of others. His inability to understand why Kate has hidden her past from him is compounded by her own anguish at having the painful past dredged up. Nonetheless, the tension between them remains strong and is an integral part of the story, as is her past.

As first the granddaughter of her client is murdered in a horrid manner, then others are found to have been a well, she is thrust into the middle of the investigation. As a result she learns about body donation to science, how those bodies are used and what can become an ugly side of the business when greed and a lack of integrity drive the principals. The characters are cleanly drawn while the story offers enough twists and turns to keep the reader riveted. Even the ending offers freash surprises. A book worth reading.

Kate was a new lawyer at Lyons McGrath Barrett law firm. She knew that she was going to have to work hard to prove that she belonged there. Having recently ended an engagement to Ethan Drake, detective, she had got a new job, bought a new house, and acquired a dog named Alaska.

Barrett was determined to keep Kate practicing family law for 2 reasons - He had a bone to pick with Ethan Drake and with John Lyons - the partner who had recruited her. He assigned her a case with a futile outlook. A grandmother (Marian) wanted custody of her granddaughter (Lisa) - but did not have any proof that the granddaughter wasn't being taken care of properly or that she was doing drugs. The hitch was that Lisa's mom was Hope Carson, a criminal court judge known for her icy personality and demeanor.

Kate tells Marian that she really doesn't have a case, but after mulling it over tries to call her back to discuss it. Unfortunately it is too late and Lisa has been murdered and dismembered. Talk about opening a can of worms! Now Kate has to worry that she did everything by the book in talking with Marian. She figures she can throw her law career out the window when John Lyons assigns her a litigation file with Trans Tissue as the client. Trans Tissue makes surgical products and they are being sued by someone who believes they contracted Hep C after an arthroscopic knee surgery using their product. See, the surgical products are made from human tissue from cadavers harvested by tissue suppliers.

So you really have two stories in one. You have the medical mystery of how this patient contracted Hep C and you have the very grisly thriller of the serial killer. There are quite a few supporting characters which are absolutely necessary to round these out and the book kept me tuned in all the way to the end. They did not give anything away too quickly but rather dropped the pieces in a little at a time. Definitely a must read. I am eagerly awaiting the second book in the series Indefensible, which is due out in January of 2011. I just discovered there is a third book - Tattooed coming out in August of 2011 and a fourth book planned for 2012.

This novel is a must get. Most of my thriller books are set in other countries, to have one set in my backyard is a little creepy but a whole lot of fun. Eagerly awaitng Ms. Callows next thriller with the same cast and setting. K.S./N.S

Pamela Callow's debut thriller, Damaged is a page turning thriller that kept me up well past my bedtime, then had me climbing out of my bed to double check the lock! Set in beautiful Halifax, Nova Scotia, with characters that jump off the page, and a riveting, spine tingling plot, Damaged is definitely a book for the keeper shelf. I highly recommend it!

This novel was melodramatic romantic suspense at less than its best. The premise: someone is killing and dismembering young girls. Is there a connection to the body parts/tissue procurement industry? Who is involved in the dastardly plot? It's an attempt at a legal/medical thriller but there's not much law and much less medicine.

The protagonist, attorney Kate Lange, is definitely an angst ridden would-be heroine whose preoccupation with a tragedy that occurred when she was a teenager continues to haunt her despite her success. The reader is treated to frequent long stretches of internal dialogue where Kate obsesses about her past and thrashes about in the wellspring of her guilt. The other characters in the book were no more interesting and were poorly developed caricatures of police detective, managing partner in a legal firm, funeral home director, greedy lawyer, mad scientist, etc. I didn't like or care about any of them. All the men were basically lusting after Kate and the "romance" was completely absent unless you count "longing" looks and "heated" gazes. The author's attempt to insert subtle messages about medico-legal ethics, tissue donation, and the use of cadaveric materials for transplant was annoying and quite transparent. In addition, there seems to be obvious effort to get the reader to feel sorry for poor Kate who is bumbling around in her mistaken and misguided investigation without, of course, involving the police who should be handling the matters. I found her insipid and irritating as a main character and won't be reading the sequel in this series, INDEFENSIBLE, due out in January 2011.

Kate makes one stupid decision after another. Please, authors, can anyone write a suspense thriller where the heroine does not end up in the killer's clutches?? Surely there are more realistic ways to solve the crime than this old and tired climax where the (usually) female main character stumbles headlong into an investigation and manages to almost become a victim?

As far as I'm concerned, I recommend that thriller lovers skip this debut and the series.

In Damaged by P. Callow, Kate Lange is happy about her new position as a lawyer in a prestigious law firm. She was promised by the founding partner,John Lyons, to work on a civil litigation case but instead she has to work in family law. She is assigned a new client- Marian MacAdam who is seeking custody of her teenage daughter, Lisa, who is possibly mixed up in drugs. Kate wants to notify child protection, but Marian does not want Lisa's mother to be scrutinized because she is a criminal court judge. Kate discovers that Lisa is murdered and dismembered. The case is given to homicide detective Ethan Drake who happens to be Kate's former fiance and he is still mad about the breakup. There are other girls that are murdered and the killer, known as the Body Butcher, carves LOL on the bones of the victims. Kate feels that the investigation is moving too slowly and decides to investigate the case herself and discovers that she may be the next to be killed by the serial killer. Does Kate and detective Drake find the killer and does Lisa get hurt? I guess you have to read the book to find out?

I feel that the author did a good job on her debut novel. The book kept me engaged and I was always waiting for Kate to be captured or killed by the crazy serial killer. She made so many stupid mistakes throughout the book. I wanted to find out what was to happen next so I kept on reading. I really liked the ending of the story, but I did have some unanswered questions. I look forward to the next book in the series Indefensible due to be published in January of 2011.

A Spine-Tingler! DAMAGED is a fast-paced book that is full of twists and turns. I was up all night reading DAMAGED, I am so thrilled to find a new writer with such amazing talent. Pam's character development is strong from the beginning and I immediately wanted to know more about Kate and follow her story. There are plots and sub plots and they will all keep you page-flipping, and best of all they collide in a suspenseful and surpising way! I highly recommend this read!