Customer Reviews

Long Lost

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

LONG LOST is definitely a page turner. I read it in two days. However, as with Morrell's THE PROTECTOR, I was expecting more. I've read most of what he has written, and his most recent books cannot be compared to his earlier ones.

LONG LOST is different from most of all his other novels, in the sense that the main character is not a bodyguard, spy or other type of super human caracter. Brad Denning is a typical wealthy american, who is dedicated to his work and his family. He is, however seriously affected by the fact that his kid brother was kidnapped 25 years before. He feels responsible and has carried guilt with him practically all his life.

The plot is well laid out, and Brad Denning is a credible character.

The book is very easy to read and chapter after chapter you will simply want to go on, and find out what happens next. The ending, which again never happened with most of his prior works, is rather predictable.

If this book is compared to others of the same genre, it will definitely come out on top, but Morrell has set very high standards with his prior novels, and fans will be left with a bit of a sense of emptiness.

Overall, the book is pretty good, and it's worth the time it takes to go through the 300+ pages.

I am starting to think that the muses of inspiration have abandoned Morrell, but since he still has to make a living, he continues to write.

Being not only an avid reader, but also a music addict, I must say if I compare books to music, I had a similar feeling with U2, right after they released RATTLE AND HUM. In my opinion, they put out quite a few weak albums, which people continued to buy simple because it was U2.

Morrell has written so many good books, that I am willing to give him alast chance. If his next book does not rise to my expectations, that's it for me and him.

David Morrell's new novel, "Long Lost," is about Brad and Karen Denning, a happily married couple who live with their eleven-year-old son, Jason, in Denver, Colorado. Brad is a prosperous and well-known architect. He has received favorable magazine and television coverage praising the innovative structures that he has built.

Brad has one major regret in life. When he was a thirteen-year-old youngster in Ohio, he once told his nine-year-old brother, Petey to go home by himself, since Brad's friends didn't want a little kid tagging along with them. Tragically, Petey got on his bike, pedaled away, and disappeared off the face of the earth. Petey's disappearance devastated the Denning family and Brad has never gotten over his grief and his guilt over the loss of his brother.

One day, a man shows up out of the blue and calls out Brad's name while Brad is walking along the street in downtown Denver. The man states that he had seen a television spot featuring Brad, and he insists that he is Petey, Brad's long-lost brother. "Petey" claims to be elated to have the opportunity to reconnect at last with his family and he seems anxious to make up for all the lost years when the brothers were separated. After an initial period of understandable skepticism, Brad buys the man's story, particularly because "Petey" knows facts about the boys' childhood that no one else could have told him.

Brad soon finds that he has inadvertently plunged himself and his family into a morass of terror and despair by allowing this man into his home. Is this man really Brad's long-lost brother, or is he an impostor? What soon becomes clear is that "Petey's" agenda is not about reconciliation. Brad is soon put into a position of having to single-handedly save his family and himself from disaster.

Morrell's writing in "Long Lost" is simple and understated. The chapters are brief and he uses the first person, which makes the action more personal and immediate. The novel is fast-paced and exciting and the reader is kept on the edge of his seat wondering how the plot will resolve itself. The only downside is that occasional melodramatic touches seep into the narrative, and there are a few cliches which detract from the flow of the story. However, for the most part "Long Lost" is a good summer read. Put your feet up and prepare to lose yourself in a story about a desperate person who will do anything to reclaim his life from a very dangerous man.

As the older sibling thirteen-year-old Brad Denning knew he was responsible for his kid brother nine-year-old tag along Petey. However, his friends encouraged Brad to send Petey home. So Brad told Petey to leave. The sobbing preadolescent biked away. However, when Brad returned home for supper he learns that Petey did not come home. Frantically their parents called friends and the police, but the skinny little kid never came home.

Nearing forty, Brad is married, has a son, and has a successful architect career, but remains guilt stricken by the sobbing of a LONG LOST nine year old. Desperate for closure he appeals on TV for Petey to come home. In Denver, a mangy looking construction worker calls Brad by name insisting he is Petey. Though initially skeptical, Brad begins to believe him because this guy knows insider things about Brad and their parents. Brad takes Petey home, where his wife and son warmly welcome him.

While camping, Petey shoves Brad off the edge of a cliff before abducting his sister-in-law and nephew. Brad survives and begins an odyssey to rescue his family from the avenging serpent.

LONG LOST is a taut suspense thriller that hooks readers from the very first line until the one sitting tale is finished. Though Petey's revenge seems extreme, especially the events he committed after he left his brother for dead, the suspenseful plot thoroughly retains its grip on the reader. David Morrell has furnished a powerful haunting thriller with a frightening ending that just adds to the depth of a hard to forget novel

Harriet Klausner

David Morrell has built his career around suspense novels. His earlier novels often had adventurous sorts (ex-assassins, soldiers, et cetera) battling ... conspiracies. His more recent works have dealt with more human adventures, sometimes with more success than others (I personally find Double Image one of his weakest efforts).

In Long Lost, Brad Denning is a successful architect who is traumatized by the unsolved kidnaping of his brother twenty-five years earlier. After being featured on national TV, he encounters a man who claims to be his brother. While this brother appears to be genuine, knowing things only Brad's brother could know, the experienced reader will know that something bad is afoot.

And something bad does happen. The brother tries to [end the life of] Brad and kidnaps his wife and son. The FBI assists and tells Brad that the culprit was someone impersonating his brother, but are no good at finding Brad's family. It is up to Brad to figure out if the kidnaper is his brother or not and more importantly to rescue his family.

This is a pure suspense novel, a great page turner. Morrell isn't interested in any great insights into human nature, just entertaining, and he succeeds well. A week from reading this, you'll have forgotten the characters names and the settings will begin to fade, but you'll still remember the most important thing: that you had a blast while reading this book.

Well I can't believe there are people that didn't like this book. I have read 4 of his books and this by far is the BEST!! I finished this book in one day. I am an avid reader and can't say that I read any other book so fast. I read reviews on here that people say "Brotherhood of the Rose" is better, but I didn't think it was nearly as good. Different Strokes for different folks I guess!! If you want a book you can't put down, then pick this one up and happy reading!!

Most of you remember telling a pesky sibling or younger friend, "Get lost. Go away. Leave me alone." You didn't really mean it, of course. You just wanted some time with your buddies without your bothersome little brother getting in the way. You didn't think about "what if?"

What if? What if you told your little brother to get lost...and he did--for twenty-five years? Brad Dennings is now a successful architect with a beautiful wife and adoring young son. A quarter century earlier, his nine year-old brother Petey disappears. At a baseball game thirteen year-old Brad gets tired of his little brother following him around and tells him to go home. Petey never makes it home. He's apparently been kidnapped--his bike and baseball glove found abandoned just blocks from home.

Brad carries the guilt of his brother's kidnapping with him into his adult life, but buries it deep inside, where it lies dormant as he becomes a happy successful business owner, husband and father. One unexpected day,the persuasive words of a stranger bring Petey back into Brad's life. His feelings of guilt also return, so Brad shoves away his lingering doubts about this hardened, disheveled man who claims to be his "long lost" brother. His suspicions are validated when Petey disappears once again--this time taking Brad's wife and son with him. Now Brad must literally step into his brother's shoes to find his stolen family--before it's too late.

David Morrell is truly a master novelist. His ability to balance rich descriptions of characters and scenery with heart-pounding action makes you feel as if you are perched on the edge of a sheer cliff, feeling the adrenaline burn through your veins as you desperately try to keep from falling.

From the man who gave us Rambo comes this story of Brad Denning, thirty-something, happily married family man and architect who remains guilt ridden over the disappearance of his younger brother Petey some twenty years before.

When Brad is approached by a man claiming to be Petey he is at first skeptical, but based upon the strangers in depth knowledge of their shared childhood experiences, becomes convinced that this man is indeed his long lost brother, and brings him home to meet his wife and son .

What ensues is a shattering situation that forces Brad to abandon his career and his calm, regimented lifestyle and embark upon an investigation that requires him to call upon his "inner Rambo" with a little Indiana Jones thrown in for good measure. ("SNAKES, there had to be snakes") in order to save the day.

Not as good as some of Morrell's other books like Brotherhood of the Rose, you will probably be able to guess the outcome of this adventure, but there is enough action going on to keep you turning the pages.

This is one of the best books on tape that I have ever heard. Neil Patrick Harris (AKA Doogie Howser) does an absolutely wonderful job of conveying the emotions of Brad Denning, the main character. Harris makes you feel the loss of Denning, the joy of re-discovering his long-lost brother, the horror of having his family kidnapped...Well done!

The plot of the book is detailed elsewhere but I can tell you that this was an absolute joy and a thrill to listen to. If you are looking for something to do during a boring commute, this is the book you are looking for. I couldn't wait to hear more.

I give this one an A+. Kudos all around!

Brad Denning's life is going well--a prosperous Denver based architect ,his work is attracting positive interest nationally ,and his marriage to the beautiful and intelligent Kate is solid and has produced one son ,Jason.There is a shadow over his life however -the disappearance of his younger brother many years previously ,when he was 13 and Petey ,the brother,8 .He blames himself for the vanishing as Petey had been told he was not welcome at a ball game for older kids and was trekking forlornly home ,never to make it.

Following an appearance on national TV ,Brad is contacted by a stranger claiming to be his long lost brother and relating a history of abduction ,abuse and casual labouring in construction.He is able to produce snipppets of information that persuade Brad and his family of his bona fides and is welcomed into the family.He rewards them by attemting to murder Brad and then kidnapping Kate and Jason.
FBI investigations come to naught and so Brad sets out to trace the man .Along the way he finds answers to the key questions --Is the man really his brother? Are his family alive and if so can they be rescued.

You will have a good time finding out and some of the scenes are especially vivid as when Brad is trapped in a pit full of rattlesnakes (this is similar to the cave scene in First Blood in its vivid intensity) and the book builds to an explosive and powerful climax.

Simpler and leaner than some of his more labyrinthine outings this shows the author in a rich vein of literary form and is a satisfying thriller likely to be enjoyed by a wide readership.

Neil Patrick Harris, probably best known for his leading role on TV's "Doogie Howser, MD," gives authentic voice to the beleagured narrator and protagonist in David Morrell's latest thriller.

Brad Denning, it would seem, has it all - a terrific wife, Kate, a young son, Jason, and a top-of-the-heap career as an architect. Nonetheless, he is haunted. Years ago his younger brother, Petey, was lost. Petey had been 11-years-old, and Brad blames himself for the boy's disappearance.

Then from out of nowhere a man presents himself at Brad's Colorado office with an astounding claim - he is Petey, the lost brother. At first it seems too incredible to be true, but then Brad puts aside his disbelief and accepts the man as Petey. A poor decision.

Kate, Jason, and the presumed Petey disappear. The police and FBI are stumped. It's up to Brad to find his family and discover why they have disappeared.

Is that really Petey? The story is in the hunt.

- Gail Cooke