Down for the Count (Delilah West Mystery) [Hardcover]

Maxine O'Callaghan (Author)

Book Description

Series: Delilah West Mystery | Publication Date: November 1997

Street-savvy Delilah West can't stay out of trouble in this sixth mystery in the series. First she's in a mall when a gunman opens fire, then she finds herself enmeshed in murder, kidnapping, and romance. Things are getting too hot for even this smart, sassy PI to handle.

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

Private eye Delilah West must be the toughest cookie in Orange County: In her sixth case (Trade-Off, 1994, etc.), she survives two of the most violent meet-cutes on record. The first takes place in the pre-Christmas rush at the Main Street Mall, when an unemployed aerospace worker goes homicidally berserk. Delilah not only kills the perp (guiltily covering up her heroic complicity and letting a dead security guard take the credit) but meets her newest and youngest client: mall-rat Brian Hall, 12, who pays her a ten-dollar retainer to find his missing dad. Delilah starts phoning Texas, where trucker Travis Hall was last seen, but hardly has time for a nibble before the second meet- cute, when her lunch with her boyfriend Erik Lundstrom's daughter turns into a double kidnapping. Nicki Lundstrom, who's 18 but acts as bratty as a 12-year-old, breaks the silence of the room they're locked in to tell Delilah that it's all her (Delilah's) fault, and she's right, though in a way that neither of them can predict. And even after the kidnapper turns Delilah loose to run back to glamorous megabucks developer Erik and bring the hefty ransom to the drop-off point, it's almost as bad as still being locked up: Erik ignores her to deal with his grief and distraction, and his security chief broadly hints that Delilah was in on the snatch from the beginning. Meanwhile, Travis Hall is still missing. A no-frills tale that's as good a marriage of detective work and domestic problems as you're likely to see this season. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (November 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312168209
• ISBN-13: 978-0312168209
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,646,916 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Start This Late At Night, You'll Never Put It Down, November 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Down For The Count (Paperback)

This book is one of the best. A real page turner. Impossible to put down. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I don't usually read P.I. mysteries. Plot driver, centered in Orange County, California, it is superb! Don't miss this one!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another winner from Maxine O'Callaghan!, August 5, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Down for the Count (Delilah West Mystery) (Hardcover)

"Down for the Count" is fast-paced and exciting, the kind of book that you literally won't want to put down. Delilah seems so real that you will feel as though you are experiencing her misadventures right along with her.

The book is wonderfully plotted and filled with interesting (and, in some cases,menacing)supporting characters. Men and women will enjoy this book!

I encourage readers to look for the other books in the Delilah West series, as well as the two books about Anne Menlo.

4.0 out of 5 stars A good read, January 23, 2001

By 

Amy Leemon (North Fond du Lac, WI) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Down for the Count (Delilah West Mystery) (Hardcover)

Delilah West is a PI in Santa Ana, California. She's single but involved with Erik Lundstrom, a rich, sexy man who wants her to get to know Nicky, his teenage daughter better. They take an instant dislike to each other but are forced into a lunch date.

On the way to the restaurant, Nicky and Delilah are kidnapped and they have to learn how to trust each other and work together to survive. Delilah is eventually let free but Nicky is held for ransom. Delilah knows that Nicky was left with neough food for only a few more days.

The second part of the book is about her struggle to figure out who has kidnapped Nicky and why so she can be rescued.

Delilah is a very likable character. She is honest about her shortcomings and has a sense of humor. But she is also able to be tough when she has to be and to accept the consequences.

There is very good character development between Delilah, Nicky and Erik. It has a twist at the end which makes you wish there was at least one more chapter.

This is the 6th in the series and there definitely will be a 7th.