Customer Reviews

Mission Canyon

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I first heard about Meg Gardiner and her five "Evan Delaney" novels (China Lake, Mission Canyon, Jericho Point, Crosscut, and Kill Chain) almost three weeks ago when Stephen King wrote a rather long endorsement on his website about this fabulous crime-suspense author, who's an American, but lives in England and whose books are only published outside of the United States. Whew! That was a mouthful. King praised all of Gardiner's novels and was unable to understand why someone so talented isn't being read on a much larger basis. Because Meg Gardiner's books are not being published in the United States (King should talk to his American paperback publisher about this), it's a little more difficult to find her stuff without paying an arm and a leg for it. I was able to find two of her paperbacks on Amazon through the "used books" section. Not bad for a few minutes of work. The only catch is that I have to start with the second novel in the series, Mission Canyon, but beggars can't be choosers.

The plot of Mission Canyon revolves around a hit-and-run accident that happened three years before and involved Evan Delaney's fiancé, Jesse Blackburn, and his close friend, Isaac Sandoval. Both Jesse and Isaac were riding their bicycles through the hills of Santa Barbara and were struck from behind by a car that was supposedly driven by Franklin Brand, a VP at Mako Technologies, a corporation that deals with cyber security. Jesse was paralyzed below the waist and Isaac was killed. To avoid prosecution, Franklin Brand skipped the country and disappeared. Now, he's suddenly back in town, and Evan, Jesse, and Isaac's brother, Adam, want him arrested for vehicular manslaughter. If only life was so easy. As Evan and Jesse and Adam try to put Brand behind bars once and for all, they unexpectedly find themselves caught up in a labyrinth of deceit and lies that go far deeper than the car accident. There's something going on that not only involves Franklin Brand, but also Mako Technologies, the F.B.I., money laundering, cyber crime and extortion, a small ring of criminals from Los Angeles, and a pair of ex-contract assassins who used to work for the Central Intelligence Agency. Before Evan can even say, "Cousin Tater," people are going to be dropping like flies, and she's going to have a hard time keeping herself alive, not to mention Jesse and Adam. Justice will come at a heavy price!

I have to say that Mission Canyon is certainly one of the most complex novels that I've read in quite a while. It's necessary for the reader to pay attention to what's going on, or he may find himself lost and confused about who's doing what to whom. I won't say that a score card is needed, but it does come close when you consider how many different characters are involved in this story and how often their roles change throughout the novel. Almost no one can be trusted. Every character seems to be hiding something. Poor Evan Delaney finds herself caught in the middle, not knowing whom she can turn to. I only wish she carried a handgun. She comes so close to being killed a number of times that I found myself shouting out loud in my apartment. "Get a gun! Get a gun, damn it!" Now, since this is only the second book in the series, I hope this issue has been resolved. If you're going into dangerous territory, you'd better be packing some heat. I also want to add that the book is extremely fast paced. Gardiner knows exactly how to pace her novel so that the reader has to put off going to the bathroom in order to find out what happens next. I hated her for that! Though a great read, I still had a couple of problems with some of the scenes in the book. In one scene, though Evan understands that she's in danger, she still decides to baby sit her neighbor's child and almost gets herself and the kid killed. I think this was bad judgment on the main character's part. In another scene, though several people have already been murdered, Evan and her fiancé, Jesse, have an argument about a woman he had an affair with before she came into the picture. She already knew that he'd been involved with someone, just not who. To me this was wasted energy on Evan's part. If she's going to be tough, then she needs to start acting tough and not like a prima donna. My thought was that if you and Jesse get out of this alive, then you can rake him over the hot coals. Right now, both of you have more important things to worry about. As one character tells her, "You're not as tough as you think." All in all, a fabulous novel by a relatively unknown author, who just happens to look like her main character. I'm certainly looking forward to reading my next "Evan Delaney" novel and eventually the whole series. Come on, Steve, let's get moving with your publishers. That's the only way Meg Gardiner is going to become a household name here in the United States.

I was also directed by Stephen King to the Evan Delaney thrillers, although I did not get the word until his column in "Entertainment Weekly" extolled the novels of Meg Gardiner. It has been years since I had read a first rate thriller by Tom Clancy and the last time I took a recommendation from King, the Chief Mario Balzac crime novels of K.C. Constantine, that had worked out great so I decided to make the effort to track down Gardiner's novels. I knew that the books were not published in the United States, since that was a key part of King's encomium, and since it never dawned on me that there is another country in this hemisphere that publishers books in English, I did not stop, passed go, and went to Amazon on the Thames to get the first three paperbacks. They did not come in that order, because that would have made sense, but I held out and waited until I had "China Lake" so that I could start at the very beginning. I forced myself to read a couple of other books before I allowed myself the pleasure of devouring Gardiner's second effort, "Mission Canyon." It has been a long time since I had to stay up hours past my bedtime to get to the last page of a novel, but that is what happened with this one.

The titles of Gardiner's books (so far at least) are the names of places, and "Mission Canyon" is the place in the foothills of Santa Barbara where a satin-gray BMW left Evan's fiance Jesse Blackburn paralyzed and broken. It also killed his friend his friend Isaac Sandoval. Now it is three years later and while Evan is trying to help Jesse serve papers to Cal Diamond of Diamond Mindworks, a software company, when Jesse Brand spots Franklin Brand, the hit-and-run driver who ran him down. What would make a multi-millionaire who fled the country to avoid manslaughter charges come back to Santa Barbara? Jesse does not care, because all he and Isaac's brother Adam want is to see Brand pay for what he has done. But Evan knows that figuring out why Brand is back will make it easier to track him down and bring him to the authorities. What she does not expect is that every thing she finds out about Brand, Jesse and Isaac would make her rethink what happened that fateful day in Mission Canyon. Even if they get out of this one alive, Evan and Jesse's relationship could be over.

I do think that you can enjoy "Mission Canyon" without having read "China Lake," although obviously the first book is where Gardiner introduces her characters. There is really only one real reference to the previous novel and Gardiner does not provide any spoilers that would ruin the experience, but of course I would urge you to do the other one first. Either way I would be surprised at anybody who would not want to read another one of these, although I suppose such a thing is possible. There are two significant twists in this thriller, or rather I should say that there were two significant twists that I anticipated. This was not because Gardiner was telegraphing the twists, but instead that since this was my second Evan Delaney Thriller I had a good idea of how complicated she likes to make things and I kept taking each new disclosure with a grain of salt and challenge my basic assumptions. So actually the fact that I was not surprised was a good thing, because I was on the same wavelength as Gardiner, which would also be a good thing, especially when that covers before her caustic wit as well as her plot complexities. Now the only question is how long I can wait before I start doing her third novel, "Jericho Point." My best guess would be not long. After all, it promises: "Sex, Drugs, Rock 'n' Roll. And Murder."

Mission Canyon is the second book in the Evan Delaney series,and the second Meg Gardiner book I have read. I am certainly not trying to disrespect Stephanie Plum(Evanovich books), I have read all but the last of the Evanovich novels and poor Stephanie does not seem to ever get a clue. While there are lots of laughs in those novels, the Evan Delaney books seem to be the next step for me; Meg Gardiner pulls you into the story from the start and keeps the pace up the whole way through. I won't post a long winded synopsis of the story here, as I myself don't enjoy that type of review, but I will say this book is a wonderful read and I can't wait until the next in the series is released here in the United States.

After all the hype from Stephen King about this author, I really was looking forward to reading this book which I paid dearly for. I was disappointed. Although it did hold my interest, it didn't strike me as one of the best mysteries I've ever read. Plus, I'm getting a bit tired of the constant tug-a-war between the heroine, Evan, and her wheelchair bound lover. Get married or move on...

I am, in general, fairly critical about authors, and believe many authors get away with more success and accolades than they truly deserve. Even so, when I thought I had seen the worst, this book came my way. The only reason I bought this book, was because the author won the Edgar award for the first book in this series (which I also believe to be undeserved, though that book (China Lake: An Evan Delaney Novel (Evan Delaney Mysteries) at least had some good moments. I have read that book and this one, and while I could tolerate the first, this book is so wrong in so many ways related to suspense/mystery/thriller books. The protagonist is so stupid, she goes to places with the fearless abandon of a two year old - no watching her back, no checking out for who might or might not be there. She is so unbelievable in so many ways - for example, she explains too much to a key character towards the end, when she hardly knows the person - I can understand her calling a bluff, but going on to explain how she found the bluff out, seemed totally unnatural. Also, drama, when used at turning points is not at all chilling - and often, it is not clear what the fuss is about. I highly recommend this to all readers/writers who want a comprehensive tutorial on how NOT to write a novel. Also, the character is very vague - she is at times a lawyer, at times a journalist, at times a writer, and while these things could make sense in one individual, the character needs to be carefully balanced to put such a complex variety in one character, which she absolutely isnt. When i finished China Lake, i decided to give this second book the benefit of doubt, and hoped to see some of the flaws in the first one go away, but I only saw the flaws exaggerated, and none of the goodness of the first. I could write a review as long as the book itself pointing out its flaws, but I would encourage you to pick it up the next time you are at a bookstore or library, and see for yourself.

This sophomore effort from Meg Gardiner was just that - sophomoric. It starts off pretty strong, but runs out of fire. And some aspects of Evan's character make me want to punch her in the face. Wouldn't you want to kick a person who escapes the ever-present bad guys by sliding down the drain pipe, while holding a baby? It was painful to read that whole chapter, where in page after excruciating page Evan holds a sleeping baby and creeps along the attic of the church to escape the bad guys. And then at the end... her phone rings!

"The people who are left only want to shut you up. Irrevocably," writes Meg Gardiner in her new suspense thriller, Mission Canyon. Evan Delaney finds herself in the middle of a wicked blackmail scheme after her fiancé, Jesse, is severely injured in a hit-and-run accident that leaves him partially paralyzed and his best friend Isaac dead. The suspect shows up in town three years after the crime and begins a dangerous series of events involving career criminals, assassins, cover-ups, money-laundering, and the FBI. The surviving witnesses to the crime begin turning up brutally murdered. Can Delaney solve the mystery before she, too, ends up dead?

Mission Canyon is one of those rare novels that captures your interest from page one. Gardiner brings you on a wild ride of dangerous characters, twisted and exciting plot lines, and colorful diction that will thrill you to the end. The main characters are well developed and interesting; the villains, terrifying and believable. I couldn't put it down and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good read.

by Jennifer Melville
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

I have read three of Meg Gardiner's books now in the past three weeks, man oh man are we all just lemmings or what? A celebrity tells us something is great and we all jump off the cliff. I bought them all without even reading a word, pathetic! For the genre, ala female hero, mystery woman, this is good. The plot is feasible, the characters build with each passing book and they are generally fast reads. The only thing I would wish for is a bit of tightening from an editor on these. There are moments of mind wander because of what I would deem as "filler". With a good 50+ page trim the suspense would be more dramatic. I won't go into explaining plot, because the previous reviewers have done so. If you like the Alphabet mysteries, the culinery mysteries then this should be your cup o tea. Speaking of tea, when will the Brits get a US publisher to push Ms. Gardiner onto this side of the pond, so she can climb a few of the bestseller lists due to distribution and readily available titles in our stores? Oprah? Stephen King? Imus? What will we all read next or should I say, WHOM?

I read memory collector before this one and i already had it in my head that it would be constant action. Its a little slower climax, but as it progresses it gets better and better. Lots of action about middling in the book and great ending. It was not what i expected.

Others have given sufficient of the plot. For me, these are usually fast reads, but ths one by the author does warrant slowing down a bit to fully absorb the several characters involved and the little twists that permeate the novel.I do appreciate the author's sense of humor and also the subplot examinng the relationship between Evan and Jesse, especially his concern that he is being truly loved and not pitied, that Evan's feelings are sincere and not the result of feeling noble by continuing a relationship with a criopple.All in all, a good read as a mystery and as a novel.