Customer Reviews

Hard Fall

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book has all the elements of a solid movie: Hero, lady friend, lady friend, disabled son, almost-but-not-quite sympathetic bad guy also with lady friend/accomplice. In the tradition of Stephen Coonts, Dale Brown, and Tom Clancy, Ridley Pearson has crafted an edge of your seat thriller. I literally did not put this book down if I had even a minute of spare time to read! The only weakness I found is that it simply wasn't long enough! I wanted more.

Hard Fall was pretty good but I did not like it as well as I do the Lou Boldt series. Maybe because I have become more familiar with the characters in the Boldt group. Hard Fall will hold your attention, expecially the last half of the book. The sex parts were a little to graphic for me but to each his on. I feel for Cam Daggett and his son Duncan. It made me sad to read about them but that means the author is doing his job. Cam is good and you pull for him to find the bomber before he strikes again. Cam is lucky to have two women after him. I guess that is luck as it is hard to make one happy. Pearson will have you feeling like you are there and going through the feelings with the characters. All in all pretty good--the new man Bradley Levin was good also.

Ridley Pearson's "Hard Fall" was the first on many that I have had the pleasure of reading. The novel takes off from page one and continues to fly all the way to the suspenseful ending. The premise revolves around FBI agent Cam Daggett trying to stop terrorist Anthony Kort. Kort is a German explosive expert known for a series of plane crashes, on in which Daggett's parents were killed and his son left handicapped. Kort's experience allows him to disable the cockpit crew and use the plane as a missle to crash on a main target.

The action and excitement are pure joy as Pearson slowly brings both Kort and Daggett together. The opening sequence at Dulles Airport is a true nail biter. The character development is very solid down to Daggett's partner Lynn Greene, Daggett's girlfriend Carrie and his son Duncan.

For William Goldman fans look for the a chapter that is truly reminiscent of the novel "Marathon Man". This quick read should be on any Suspense/thriller novel lovers book shelf or to read list.

Ridley Pearson cranks out detective-thriller novels at a breakneck pace, and in doing so consistently demonstrates above-average skills in terms of crafting interesting plots that always include some exciting twists and turns. He also manages to make his characters seem truly human, and to his credit, even goes to some lengths to "get inside the heads" of his female characters as well as the males, something that a lot of male detective writers simply fail to do.

So far, so good. The problem is that although Pearson is a decent enough writer, the overall style of his prose is very simple with almost a "dumbed down" quality to it. I suspect that this is not because of any intellectual shortcomings on his part (he spent some time at Oxford, apparently), but is a deliberate gambit aimed at broadening his audience and hence maximizing the sales of his books. That's fine, I suppose, but I finished the book with a feeling that the writing was uninspired and calculatedly middlebrow. Consequently, overall Pearson's work suffers by comparison to such gifted contemporary mystery writers as Michael Connelly and Dennis Lehane.

The story itself in this book is quite gripping, as it deals with issues surrounding the sabotage of airliners and the security apparatus designed to prevent such acts of terror. What I did not care for was Pearson's creation of villains whose terrorism is carried out in the name of the "green" cause. Whether this is intended or not, Pearson succeeds in making "radical environmentalists" appear dangerous and looney, a theme that plays right into the hands of contemporary politicians who would love nothing more than to have environmentalism generally discredited.

I am a big fan of Ridley Pearson, and have read all of his books I could find. I especially like the Lou Boldt series. Hard Fall was a good read, and I probably would have given anybody else 4 stars. But this book did not captivate me like some of his earlier books. Or have I perhaps just become jaded? I will definitely buy his next book - though I am hoping it will feature Lou Boldt, rather than Cam Daggett.

I wish Amazon would change their grading system to a 10 point scaled for better gradation. HARD FALL was a great read, a good thriller with wonderful human interest stories. It was not the interplay between action and people which was almost seamless or that Daggett was so likable or that Carrie, Lynn and Monique were interesting characters who were brilliantly portrayed or that the plot was credible. All that is true but what kept harking back to me was the seemingly silly effort to give the mass murderer a "human face", justifications for doing evil because he had experienced grand tragedy. Take away 1/2 point.

There is no excuse for purposely murdering innocent people. On the other hand he shows how a political movement (ecology in this case) can become the germ for terrorism. + 1/2 point. The setting is good, the murky European background handled well, the madness and genius of the killer aptly described. The dual love stories and the father-son bond were superb tales in themselves and the way it all intertwined was a joy to behold. A little dated but still an excellent read.

This is the first Pearson book I have read and found the book hard to put down. Each chapter was a rush. At times a bit "far fetched" however exciting enough to keep me reading on. Many twist and turns in the story make for a wild ride and a race to the finish line. Worth the read!!

This is a very fast paced novel. I would rate it as Pearson's best! The story centers around a FBI Agent who is out to capture the terrorist bomber who blew up the plane carrying his parents and young son. The terrorist is out for his own type of revenge!

The hero detective chases a man who booby traps airplanes and causes crashes. Maybe this is a more true-to-life story than most I've read since the hero's girlfriend is seduced by the villian and the end of the story tells you that the bad guy may well get away with his depredations - BUT - I get enough of that kind of disillusion in real life. I don't need it in my fiction where the good guy is supposed to win and the evil twisted genius is supposed to be punished. Pearson writes real well; he just didn't write a book that I liked.

I heard a lot about R. Pearson so I thought I would try one of his books. Upon reading the plotlines 'Hard Fall' appealed to me the most. The book started off fairly boring but once I reached the half-way point of the book I was hooked. I will definately read more of his books.