Customer Reviews

The Seventh Survivor

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This book, I hope, is sure to be the first in a line of suspense novels from this author. It really gets your attention and makes you want to read until your legs ache from sitting it one position. I can't wait to read more from this lady. If you are a fan of Patricia Cornwell, Mary Higgins Clark, or others like them you will love this book. You will never look at charity functions the same way again.

The Diamond Foundation is one of the most prestigious in East Tennessee. Their mission is to help survivors of crime from families who've lost a member to murder to employers who have had funds embezzled, the Diamond Foundation attempts to give some restitution when the Justice System simply has nothing to offer. What's exceptional is that in the heartland of the 'good old boys' club', this group is run solely by an all-woman board of directors.

Palmer Reed finds it a signal honor that she and her best friend Keely have been invited to join the Foundation as directors. Marjoram Swall, the head of Diamond, is one of Palmer's personal heroes, since she saved Palmer from kidnappers years ago.

That kidnapping still haunts her and is coming to the foreground, since Scott Thurgood, the man who masterminded the kidnapping, is running for Congress and will stop at nothing to win.

Worse, as Palmer learns more about the Diamond Foundation, she realizes the group's method of collection is not entirely legal--and that people who don't pony up the cash have a bad habit of disappearing...

What will happen to her if she tells?

"The Seventh Survivor" is a well-told tale of suspense from first-time author, Lori Lacefield. The CO-based author has a good feeling for the South and recreates much of the landscape very well.

Ms. Lacefield also has a knack for building suspense. Her story is well-constructed, particularly for a first-time author. Kudos also to her editor for actually copy-editing this book.

Palmer has good depth of character, but much of the rest of the cast are simply paper tigers-tigresses.

This novel's only serious flaw is that Ms. Lacefield was somewhat over-ambitious. "Survivor" is just over 300 pages, covering from March to September. The book is comprised of 88 chapters--I think the longest chapter is about 4 pages. In the case of this particular novel, the James Patterson style partitioning is somewhat distracting and takes away from suspense.

I loved Frankie Johnson, and hope this is the first book of a series based on her character. Lacefield does a great job of creating a realistic woman investigator who is smart, clever and a bit cocky... but still has her "female" side. So many women in this genre are either super-butch, super-bitchy or fem-fatales in disguise. I was waiting for someone to get this right. Lacefield finally did. I read the book in one sitting. I guess that makes it a true page-turner. Highly recommended!

Lacefield does a wonderful job getting you intested and wrapped into the characters. If you love mysteries you should try this book.

What an incredible book by an upcoming author. If you like mysteries you will love this book. Full of suspense and a couple of unexpected turns this book leaves nothing to be desired.

It is a quick read and once you start it you can't put it down.

We need more books Lori!

Palmer Reed is ecstatic when she is selected to the exclusive position on the board of directors for the Diamond Foundation. As a child she had been kidnapped by her father's enemies so she can related well to the Foundations goal to raise money to help victims of crime. She is especially pleased to have been hand chosen by the Foundation's high profile Chairperson Marjoram Swall. Swall was also the woman who had rescued her from her kidnappers twenty years before. It seems like a perfect combination of women to work together to help victims such as Jeremiah who nearly died when his parents lit him on fire or the rape victim, and the parents of murdered children. It seems like a golden opportunity to both help others and advance her own career.

Palmer's grand dreams come to crashing end when, at one of the Board meetings, Marjoram Swall lets the newest board members in on the ways the Board actually raises the majority of its funds. Palmer is greatly disturbed by the choice she must make- agree to be part of the method she feels is not right or resign her position on the Board. This decision becomes a moot point when she alone discover Swall's personal means of revenge for the victims. Palmer must take flight for her life from pursuers of both her present and past

In this up coming book (September 2006) Capital Crimes is publishing another twist on the moral mystery/crime scene. Lori Lacefield has written a book that manages to be both entertaining and thought provoking. The drama enfolds both the plot lines, which realistically weave Palmer's past and present together, and the ethical principles involved with revenge. A crisp story line with straight forward writing style enhance the pace of the narrative. Lacefield wisely draws the reader into the drama on both an emotional, personal level (what would I do) and a narrative level. the main characters are well thought out but the characters are not the focus of the book- it is the events and the ideals that are the real protagonists. It is an excellent feat for a debut writer.

We will be looking forward to Lacefield's next endeavor, 99 Truths, advertised as the first in a series about novice FBI agent Frankie Johnson.