Customer Reviews

Flash Flood

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3 star:		(1)
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The blurb on the back that says that "Susan Slater can flat-out write" is true to a point; the rather intricate plot is a lot of fun. However, the plethora of basic mistakes that permeate this novel will bother some people. Indeed, it sometimes reads like a quiz in which grade school students are expected to spot the errors.

If the following constructions don't bother you, the errors in this book probably won't either. (If they don't bother you, you should disregard this review; but make sure to study hard if you have to take an SAT test, or even if you want an educated boss to take you seriously!)

"The three were posed in front of some cathedral that looked familiar. The vacationing American family in Europe." (P. 69.)

"A decorated platform took up space beyond the pool; must plan on speeches later judging by the sound system with speakers poised on poles around the yard." (P. 174.)

"He found a beer and wandered toward the miniature grandstand, might as well listen to the speeches." (P. 178.)

"Dan didn't know cattle but this one seemed different. Even in her condition, better than the rest." (P. 193.)

"The small cemetery . . . also held the remains of Billy Roland's mother and father, a couple of ranch hands and their families who had died from cholera in the early 1900s." (Pp. 224-225.)

I was also disconcerted to find the country of Colombia spelled "Columbia" in phrases like "competitions from Columbia to Japan" (p. 46) and "Columbian drug lords" (p. 143). Oddly, it's spelled correctly elsewhere in the book.

As I said above, the plotting of this book is terrific. I don't want to discourage anyone from reading it--except those who will be distracted and annoyed by the all-too-frequent mistakes. What happened to editors, anyway? Back in the day, books were not published until errors like these were corrected.

Incidentally, I read this book because it was recommended by Thomas Perry, an author who is one of my current favorites. His plots are great too, but an entire Thomas Perry novel contains fewer mistakes than you'll find in some of the PARAGRAPHS of this one.

Bill Roland Eklund, the owner of the Double Horseshoe Ranch in Tatum, New Mexico lost three heads of cattle over a three-month period. He has filed claims worth over $600,000 with United Life and Casualty but before they remit such a huge some of money, they want to make sure there is no fraud involved so they dispatch Dan Mahoney to find out what is going on at the reach.

Before he reaches the ranch, Dan witnesses a double homicide. When one of the victims, Eric Linden turns up alive, he contacts Dan to tell him that he took the fall for Billy a drug charge and expected two million dollars waiting for him when he got out of prison. Now Eric wants revenge and he intends to find the evidence to give to Dan that will send his former employer to jail for life. Dan has a lot of problems with this scenario including the fact that he likes Billy and is in love with Eric's wife who is divorcing him.

The hero doesn't realize why he is out in the field after years behind a desk, but that doesn't stop him from solving the case in a very unique manner, helping the FBI find the real drug dealer and falling for his sister's best friend. Though relationships make solving the case harder on Dan's conscience, the story line is exciting and action packed. Susan Slater's new series is compelling and will lead the audience to want to read the next installment as soon as possible.

Harriet Klausner

I am not qualified as a literary critic to do a review of ANYONE'S writing. I must simply say Susan's work has an authentic Soutwest flavor to it while she pulls you into a fascinating story. I don't normally read Mysteries, but I'll probably read all her work.

Every once in a while you encounter a murder novel in which all the characters are so interesting, you hate seeing anyone get killed. This is one of them.

The main character is a Dan Mahoney, an insurance investigator and a man you'd like to know. In some ways, he has the 'solid' feel of characters in John Lutz's novels.

He's also unflappable. In one of the best scenes, good ol' boy ranch hands set Dan up with an ornery horse, and I loved how he handled the situation.

The unwinding of the story is more cinematic rather than whodunit. It has a little bit of tasty sex and a lot of characterization.

Bill Roland Eklund, the owner of the Double Horseshoe Ranch in Tatum, New Mexico lost three heads of cattle over a three-month period. He has filed claims worth over $600,000 with United Life and Casualty but before they remit such a huge some of money, they want to make sure there is no fraud involved so they dispatch Dan Mahoney to find out what is going on at the reach.

Before he reaches the ranch, Dan witnesses a double homicide. When one of the victims, Eric Linden turns up alive, he contacts Dan to tell him that he took the fall for Billy a drug charge and expected two million dollars waiting for him when he got out of prison. Now Eric wants revenge and he intends to find the evidence to give to Dan that will send his former employer to jail for life. Dan has a lot of problems with this scenario including the fact that he likes Billy and is in love with Eric's wife who is divorcing him.

The hero doesn't realize why he is out in the field after years behind a desk, but that doesn't stop him from solving the case in a very unique manner, helping the FBI find the real drug dealer and falling for his sister's best friend. Though relationships make solving the case harder on Dan's conscience, the story line is exciting and action packed. Susan Slater's new series is compelling and will lead the audience to want to read the next installment as soon as possible.

Harriet Klausner