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Out of Order [Hardcover]

Bonnie Macdougal (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)


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Book Description

August 3, 1999
A successful career. A charismatic new husband. A bright, limitless future. Philadelphia lawyer Campbell Smith seems to have it all. But in Bonnie MacDougal's powerful new novel of suspense, beneath the thin surface of tranquillity and realized dreams, dark events threaten to throw Cam Smith's neatly arranged life profoundly--and perilously--Out of Order.

On the night of a lavish party celebrating newlyweds Doug and Campbell Smith, tragedy strikes when the thirteen-year-old son of an influential senator is kidnapped. The senator--Doug's mentor--urges Cam to track the boy down. It is an offer she cannot refuse, despite her own unsettling suspicion that the statesman seems less concerned about his child than about keeping the scandal out of the headlines. But as Cam soon discovers, everyone has something to hide.

With a circle of wealth and ambition closing in tightly around her, Cam penetrates layer upon layer of lies and invention. For the abduction is not what it seems. After using all her investigative skills to find the missing boy, she begins to uncover the shocking story that links him to his captor. Surprised at her deepening attachment to them both, struggling between her duty and what is best for the child, Cam starts to question her loyalties, her marriage, her priorities, even the man she thought she loved.

As she pieces together an intricate pattern of abuse and cover-up; as a series of brutal murders looms ever closer, Cam is forced to make the most agonizing decision of her life--to reveal the devastating secret of her own past . . . and the shattering lie she has lived for years.

The Philadelphia Inquirer called Bonnie MacDougal's last searing novel "one hot read." The San Francisco Chronicle declared it "captivating." With Out of Order, MacDougal raises the stakes--and the heat--creating a gripping, passionate thriller.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Political drama and star-crossed romance mix with the suspenseful action of a legal thriller and family mystery as MacDougal tackles murder, espionage, kidnapping, statutory rape and corrupt political campaigns in this followup to Angle of Impact. Beautiful newlywed lawyer Campbell Alexander fears her murky past will come to light when her husband, Doug, is named his party's (it's called the Party, with no further political ID) surprise candidate for a Delaware congressional seat, backed by formidable, deep-pocketed Senator Ash Ramsey. Cam fails to convince Doug to stay out of the political spotlight and winds up fearfully playing the loyal, supportive wife under the whip of campaign strategist and D.C. femme fatale Meredith Winters. When Sen. Ramsey's son Trey is snatched off the street, Cam is hired to find the kidnapper, who turns out to be the boy's biological father, Steve, who was tricked into giving up his son years before. A series of brutal murders linked to Cam's long-missing mother gives the secretive lawyer more crimes to worry about. As ambitious Doug descends into dirty politics and her marriage falls apart, Cam falls for Steve. Eventually, Cam's childhood secret is unearthed by one of Doug's enemies, who has secrets of his own, leading to political mayhem; the ensuing maneuvering and courtroom action are flawlessly nasty, while illicit sexual affairs provide welcome, if sometimes sappily dialogued, balance to the murderous gore. Fans of romantic suspense will relish the labyrinthine plot and the dramatic scenes of Cam and Meredith waging battle in the heart of the men's club, outsmarting the boys most of the time. (Aug.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

MacDougal's third (Angle of Impact, 1998, etc.) finds the author in ripping form, her writing keener and more glamorous than ever. Center-stage this time is a self-made Philadelphia lawyer who marries into fashionable Wilmington society, only to find herself in a world she never knew and facing an aspect of her husband she never suspected. Campbell Smith, whose specialty is tracing assets in divorce cases, has no hint that one reason she was pursued to the altar by fellow lawyer Doug Alexander after her Philadelphia firm merged with Doug's smaller Delaware firm was that she came to him with no baggage from the past that would have to be overcome politically. For Doug's old family friend Senator Ashton Ramsey suddenly announces at their fancy country wedding reception that Doug is the Party's choice to run in November for the US House of Representatives. Campbell, though stunned, can't understand why the Party has chosen Doug, a self-effacing real-estate lawyer of middling charm, but no great candidate. On the way to the reception she has happened to see Senator Ramsey's 13-year-old son, Trey, on a wilding spree, knocking over country mailboxes; and this very evening Trey is kidnaped while secretary Gloria Lipton of Campbell and Doug's firm is abducted, raped and murdered. Cam says that Gloria's an orphan whose parents were murdered by Muslims in the Philippines. But does her brutal murder have something to do with Camwho may have baggage after all that could compromise Doug's run? And why does Senator Ramsey show more concern for politics than for his missing son? Then Doris Palumbo, an associate of Gloria's, is murdered too, followed by Joan Truesdale, who'd also been part ofwell, let's not say. The gore aside, MacDougal writes with heart, Cam being a character who bears real feelings, not only the burdens of melodrama. Even the ending avoids standard showdown clichs. Bravo. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 400 pages
  • Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1st edition (August 3, 1999)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0345434447
  • ISBN-13: 978-0345434449
  • Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,012,599 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews
5 star:
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4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Mystery worth ordering, June 20, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Out of Order (Hardcover)
By marrying rising superstar Doug Alexander, Philadelphia attorney Campbell Smith has seemingly added the final piece to the perfect life puzzle. Senator and Mrs. Ramsey host a celebration in the honor of the newlyweds because he is Doug's mentor. At the party, Cam learns that her new spouse is running for a seat in the House.

The happiness at the gala event turns sour when some unknown assailant(s) kidnaps the Ramseys' teenage son. Instead of notifying law enforcement officials, the Senator demands Campbell finds his boy. Cam, experienced in investigations, soon learns some of the darker secrets kept by Ramsey that he would not want to have surface. As Cam digs deeper, she begins to look within as murders strike close to home due to a deep secret she keeps.

OUT OF ORDER is an excellent who-done-it filled with viable red herrings and several reasonable twists. The well-crafted story line is filled with passion. However, the characters make this novel very entertaining as everyone seems to be carrying hidden baggage so that the fear of dark secrets surfacing dictates decisions. Bonnie MacDougal provides readers with a winning suspense-laden tale that grips the audience from the start to the finish.

Harriet Klausner

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly entertaining, May 5, 2001
This third book by Mrs. Macdougal is quite up to expectation; a simple entertainig thriller to be read on holiday or in a relaxed mood. It is a straight forward well plotted novel written in a sympathetic and sensitive style with enough plot and twist to keep the interest level high.

It is a nice reflection on the devastating impact public life, ambition and politics can have on the private lifes of those involved, particularly on those next to the limelight.

Her description of what happens to the little boy is quite realistic and never gets into the " that could not happen to us".

All in all, an enjoyable read.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling and provocative, October 7, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Out of Order (Hardcover)
This is a novel in the grandest tradition of novels, with a multi-layered plot and a complex and dazzling cast of characters. It's fast-paced but not facile; indeed, it's thought-provoking and incisive and really exposes our political and legal systems for what they are. The characters are rich and real, and the ending took my breath away.

More people need to discover this author. She's heads above the rest of the crowd.

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