Five Days in Summer [Paperback]

Kate Pepper (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 6, 2004

Before the long drive home from vacation, Emily Parker made a quick run to the grocery store...and disappeared. But as her husband and a retired FBI profiler scour the Cape for her, Emily's thoughts are not on her own safety. Kept helpless in a madman's lair, she watches him prepare a five-day countdown that will bring him to his real victim-her seven-year-old son...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this tightly plotted debut thriller, seasoned FBI profiler John Geary teams up with young detective Amy Cardoza to track down a particularly clever killer. As the title suggests, the story takes place over five days, starting when Emily Parker, devoted wife and mother of three, disappears without a trace from a supermarket parking lot in Cape Cod. Precious hours are wasted as Emily's husband Will tries to convince the local police to waive the 24-hour waiting period for missing persons and start looking for his wife. But when John, now retired and writing a book on serial killers who were never caught, identifies a connection between Emily's kidnapper and a killer who resurfaces every seven years, the search shifts into high gear. Pepper wisely restrains from giving the killer his own voice and instead focuses on the frustration and anguish that Emily's family must cope with, as well as the entertaining dynamic between the veteran behavioralist John and his smart, gutsy partner, Amy. Although the final showdown smacks of an action-packed B-movie (with Will and his son David, both skilled in aikido, facing off against the killer), Pepper's finely drawn characterizations and taut, clean storytelling make this an enjoyable read.
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Review

A "tightly plotted debut thriller...finely drawn characterizations and taut, clean storytelling make this an enjoyable read."--Publishers Weekly

"Fans of Mary Higgins Clark and Lisa Gardner will definitely want to pick this one up, as the suspense and thrills permeate each page.... A taut, edge-of-the seat mystery." --Curled Up With a Good Book

"The pacing is swift, the actions scenes leave the audience breathless and the suspense is at a high level." --Harriet Klausner

A "fast-paced race against time. Eerie and chilling... impossible to put down until the serial killer is finally identified, and all the doors are locked." --RT Book Reviews --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Onyx; First Edition edition (July 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451411404
• ISBN-13: 978-0451411402
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,531,263 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Countdown Begins for the Righteous, January 15, 2006

By 

dessert - See all my reviews

This review is from: Five Days in Summer (Paperback)

A chilling and disturbing plot. The torture and mutilation of humans is vividly captured through the analytical thoughts of a retired behaviorial scientist, Dr Geary, who interprets his findings to the police whom he is helping in hunting down the perpetrator.

What sets this thriller apart from those in the genre is the sudden life and death claim on a typical American family set in the calm and solutide of Cape Cod. Here, time is suspended in space as vacationers take their hard earned break but is savagely turned into an hour sand glass with just 5 days to identify & track the perpetrator. Any normalcy is rudely cast aside for a typical American family thrown to live in a surreal world as the mother, Emily Parker, mysteriously disappears while out shopping at a supermarket.

Lots of red herrings planted so that the plot turns 180 degrees but cleverly steers readers back to think thru who we know so far could have done the hideous crime.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Page Turner, May 30, 2005

By 

Moe (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Five Days in Summer (Paperback)

Awesome book. Total surprise ending. For the last chapter of the book, I could not turn the pages fast enough to find out how this was going to turn out. I was engaged throughout and the author did a fabulous job of keeping you guessing. I cannot imagine this happening to me. I will read more of her books.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Upsetting the parents in "Five Days In Summer", September 6, 2005

By 

Kevin Tipple (Plano, Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Five Days in Summer (Paperback)

For Emily Parker, mother of three, her life, unknown to her, began to unravel the moment she decided to go to the local grocery store. It was supposed to be simple enough as their last summer vacation before school starts winds down. She was leaving in the morning with the kids and returning home to New York as she wanted to leave the house stocked with food for her mom, Sarah. She never returns.

For Will, her husband, his carefully constructed life begins to unravel the moment his mother-in-law calls him late at night. Will knows what the death of a parent can do to a child having lost both of his when he was four due to a car crash. He also knows that Emily would not have just vanished. Before long he is on the road speeding south, to Cape Cod and his mother-in-law's home seeking answers.

It should have been the local police who found Emily's abandoned care in the parking lot of the grocery store full of groceries. Instead, it was her husband, Will and a retired FBI profiler, Dr. John Gary, who is writing a book on serial killer's by researching cold cases. The fact that Emily is missing reminds him of an earlier case he recently read and before long he finds others. His research has led him to an inescapable conclusion. They have five days to find Emily before there is another victim taken from the family. It will be a son.

Shifting in POV, this novel weaves a tale that is guaranteed to stress any parent. Full of interesting characters and constant misdirection by the author, Kate Pepper, readers are kept guessing as to the identity of the kidnapper/serial killer as the days click by. The result is tension filled read for the entire 304 page paperback novel that leads to a violent showdown between forces of the good and evil.

Kevin R. Tipple (c) 2005