Customer Reviews

Paying the Piper (Leisure Fiction)

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Eight years ago, a kidnapper dubbed the "Piper" began kidnapping children. Once the ransoms were paid, the children were returned, unharmed. During the last kidnapping, the Piper contacted Scott Fleetwood, a reporter with the San Fransisco Independent. Only, the man Scott was talking to wasn't the real Piper. To teach the public, Scott, and the FBI a lesson, the real Piper murdered Nicholas Rooker and left the body in a park. Not a day goes by that Scott doesn't think about Nicholas Rooker. And now the unthinkable has happened... Scott's own son, Sammy, has been kidnapped right in front of the school. It's the Piper - and it's payback time.

A ransom is demanded, and Scott and his wife Jane, don't have the funds. But Charles Rooker, Nicholas's father, pops up at the most unexpected time and saves the day, putting up the ransom; he swears he harbors no ill will toward Scott and his family; he wants the Piper caught, once and for all.

And now the Piper has Scott running in circles and through hoops - for Scott has a lot to answer for. Scott has to do what the Piper wants him to do or the Piper will hurt Sammy. And if things couldn't get any worse, in the middle of the night, their other son, Peter, is taken right from his own bed, with Jane unable to stop it. And a new ransom is demanded; Charles Rooker swoops in once again. He doesn't care about the money - he wants the Piper caught. And now the Piper has made a new demand: Scott is given a deadline - he has to find the Piper.

But FBI Agent Tom Sheils is on the case. He still holds contempt towards Scott, but regardless, he's determined to take down the Piper and bring the boys home. But he knows that Scott is keeping secrets, and he's determined to get to the bottom of it. The question is: will Scott and Sheils figure it out - before it's too late?

**Incredible suspense, the tension is palpable. There's no putting this book down. Just when you think you're starting to get a handle on what's going on, who's involved, a twist occurs that blows your theory out of the water, time and time again.

The characters are complex and full of emotion, especially guilt. The main character, Scott, feels it daily; not one day has gone by in eight years that he doesn't think of what happened to Nicholas Rooker. All the main men characters feel some form of guilt, and because the FBI had been made fools of, Sheils still harbors anger toward Scott, making for some very, very tense scenes.

On the back cover of the book, there's a quote from Book Browser: "Simon Wood knows how to create tension, he knows how to build three-dimensional characters, and he has proven he can tie everything together in a high-octane climax." I couldn't agree more. An excellent novel and highly recommended!

Eight years ago the Piper kidnapped preadolescent Nicholas Rooker demanding two million dollars in ransom from his wealthy father, a successful bay area realtor. The serial abductor began calling San Francisco Independent reporter Scott Fleetwood leaving clues for the cops to track. However, by the time the police realized that the caller was a fake, the Piper changed is MO of retuning the kids unharmed once remittance occurred; this time he killed Nicholas.

In the present, after a hiatus the Piper abducts one of Scott's children, Sammy. He feels Scott owes him more than just the money he lost; he blames the reporter for his killing Nicholas, the first time he committed murder. Nicholas' father Charles Rooker puts up the ransom money hoping that this time the FBI, led by Agent Shiels, captures his son's killer. The cat and mouse game has just begun on the streets of San Francisco with the Piper warning Scott to play by his rules because of ACCIDENTS WAITING TO HAPPEN.

Although an action-packed thriller that never slows down even when the cast climbs the hills, the story line belongs to the four male protagonists who make up a macabre square with each feeling strong degrees of guilt over what happened to Nicholas. Fascinatingly the Piper regrets having had to murder Nicholas although he holds Scott culpable; Scott feels the same way and to a degree so does Charles and even Shiels. PAYING THE PIPER is a terrific thriller as the quartet knows that they all fall down on this one.

Harriet Klausner

This is a wonderful book about a kidnapping with lots of twists, all believable. It took me 2 days with interruptions to get it read. I had to find the truth & the WHOLE story behind the kidnappings.

If you like thrillers that also have mystery, this is a good book for you. I liked Simon's book Accidents Waiting to Happen; I loved Paying the Piper. By the way, it would also make a great suspenseful movie.

The main characters are well drawn. You will find yourself empathizing with the father of the kidnapped children. You will come to understand what motivates several of the other main characters in the book - both the good and the bad. The cast of characteres includes the newspaper reporter, the kidnapper, the FBI guy, the local police, the parents of previous kidnap victims, a private eye, the children, and others. I highly recommend Paying the Piper.

Plot/Storyline: 4 Stars

This is a kidnapping plot with more than one smart twist to it. Just when I thought I had it figured out, another monkey wrench was thrown into the story to get me off target.

There were a couple of obvious red herrings that irritated me when I thought back on them. By that, I mean thoughts of a character that were meant to throw the reader off the trail. When it bothers me is when the author keeps certain thoughts very generic, and you look back at them later thinking that the author made a mistake, but then realize that the author just worded the information in such a way as to make the reader think the wrong thing on purpose.

A rather unrealistic portion of the storyline was that the FBI let the father work so closely in the investigation at the very end. I am pretty certain that's not standard FBI protocol in kidnappings. However, I can see where it might have been necessary for the sequence of the story, so the author can claim poetic license here.

I also noticed that Mr. Wood did not delve too deeply into the past kidnappings. I think this was because the most difficult part of getting away with the crime of kidnapping for ransom is the actual collection of the ransom. The Piper not only gets away, but he manages to get away multiple times.

Character Development: 4 Stars

As the father of the kidnapped boy, Scott is a very well-developed character. His remorse and determination to save his son bleed from the page into the heart of the reader.

I found the mother to be an unbelievable side character. I just couldn't swallow her not even once blaming her husband, even though everyone, including her, knew that the kidnapping was a personal strike against him. I kept expecting her to strike out at Scott in her grief, just once, to show she was human, but it was not to be. She was just a cardboard cut-out of a human.

The FBI agent in charge of the case was protrayed as a fairly sympathetic person, even though he came on a bit strong at times.

Writing Style: 5 Stars

The writing style was superb with sentences that picked the reader up to carry them through the story. The flow was excellent. The descriptions were concise, not flowery, as befits an action/mystery novel. The dialogue was real with great voice.

Editing/Formatting: 5 Stars

Both were of professional quality.

Rating: PG-15 for Adult Situations and Violence

As a parent and grandparent I found my deepest fears in Simon Wood's "Paying the Piper". His story of child kidnappings, betrayal, revenge, and terror had me squirming from the moment I picked it up. The amazing love story within, of parents for their children, made me cry and pray that this terror never cross my path in real life. Simon created a completely plausible story in our world. This book can & will change the way you look at parents and their reactions to extreme circumstances. Along with "Terminated," Simon Wood has given us a look inside the minds of average, everyday people, gone horribly wrong.

I really enjoyed this book! Great suspense, great twist! It kept me page turning, which is what you want in a good read. I had the pleasure of meeting Simon Wood (very funny and quite charming as only an Englishman can be I must say)at a book signing in San Diego, which my writing group attended. I'll admit I'd never heard of him...but after enjoying the event and hearing him tell how he got into writing novels and about his vast interesting background, I just had to experience his writing. I asked him what book was his fave of the bunch (cuz I was only buying one!) and he recommended Piper. Well...guess I have to go out and get all his books now, cause this man can WRITE! :)

I don't even have children, but when I got as far in the book as to find that it would be about an abducted child I knew it would be a page turner. I felt like I held my breath to the end until finding out what would happen. There is a lot of action in this book.

Absolutely one of the most intense hostage/ransom books to be written.

Crime Reporter Scott Fleetwood built his reputation writing about a ruthless kidnapper known as "the Piper." It evolved into Scott believing he was actually contacted by the Piper, but he was fooled. The real Piper, then felt that he had to kill his victim. Now, eight years later, the Piper has returned and has kidnapped Scott's 2 boys. Thus begins the negotiations and hunt for the Piper.

This story takes evil twists and blind turns and has you turning pages to see who is the real Piper and if Scott saves his children, much less survives.

Incredibly intense and a rich plot. I would recommend to everyone!

Paying the Piper is the first book I've read by Simon Wood, I had no idea what to expect.

Paying the Piper is about the kidnapping of a young boy, the plotting is tight, the characters and dialog are both believable and it's obvious Simon Wood is a gifted writer.

What I think makes this a 5 star book is how I felt reading it. I was totally gripped by panic from the first page. The tension intensified from one page to the next relentlessly until the very last page.

You really do need to be prepared to read this book in one sitting. I tried putting it down several times either to take a break from the tension or because I had to do something, and I couldn't.

As soon as I catch my breath I'm going to read TERMINATED, also by Simon Wood.

Excellent thriller. Always changing. Each chapter brings a new dilemma, just when we may have the problem solved, the author springs a new twist of paying through the pipeline of the Piper. Who is the real Piper as the story unfolds? A surprise ending when the author was telling the reader all along an unpredictable ending was inevitable.

Worth reading and staying close to the book. You do not want to miss a thing, especially the safety of the two boys. A five star read in anyone's book!