Customer Reviews

Seventy Times Seven (Colton Parker Mystery Series, Book 2)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dodson's "Original Sin" was one of my favorite discoveries of the last year: a gritty mystery, told in sparse style, with snappy dialogue along the lines of Elmore Leonard, and a beating heart beneath the tough guy exterior. I wondered if he could pull it off again, in his second Colton Parker mystery. And I wasn't disappointed.

Although "Seventy Times Seven" takes a bit longer to snare the reader, it becomes an even better mystery than its predecessor. This time, Private Investigator Colton is trying to find a missing woman. The initial suspicions that she has merely run off from her wealthy, but homely, husband seem like run-of-the-mill stuff--until Colton begins stumbling upon some very intriguing contradictions. Along the way, he is dealing with his own wife's passing and his teen daughter's resulting depression. The estrangement between father and daughter is portrayed with minimalist perfection, spliced between surprises and action from the larger plot.

There are some rich rewards in this story, particularly for those who have read the first book. Nevertheless, this is a stand-alone mystery, and even new readers to the series will be able to follow along. I love the poetic prose of authors such as James Lee Burke, but Dodson never tries to be something he's not. He writes more along the lines of Chandler and Leonard, while still serving up a story of God's forgiveness in the midst of harsh realities. Colton Parker is a skeptic, but one slowly turning toward the light. With the third installment due in January '07, I'm assured to kick off the new year with another satisfying Dodson mystery.

Indianapolis private detective Colton Parker returns in SEVENTY TIMES SEVEN, the second book in the series by Brandt Dodson. Parker, the fired in disgrace former FBI agent, is still down on his luck. His practice barely pulls in enough money to pay the bills. He still struggles with the guilt and sadness of the death of his wife, and he still has no idea how to raise his 13 year old daughter, Callie.

Someone recommends Parker's services to Lester Cheek. Lester is a geek, a nerd, a founder of a pottery store empire in Indiana. Lester has a lot of money and no friends for most of his life. Now, the one woman who loved him for who he was, has gone missing and Lester hires Parker to find her.

Cheek gives Parker a list of his enemies and Parker begins interviewing each person. Slowly a picture begins to form about what kind of woman Lester's wife really was. When blood is found in Lester's wife's abandoned car, Parker fears the worst. But from there, the mystery only takes off. Lester's wife has a sordid past of her own, and Parker must fight to keep the mistakes she has made from ruining all of their lives.

Just as interesting as the mystery is Colton Parker's home life. After a fight with his wife, she stormed out of the house and had a car wreck that ended her life. His thirteen year-old daughter still hasn't recovered from the loss of her mom and the resulting loss of her own esteem and identity. Some of the most gripping passages are those in which Parker talks about life and faith with his daughter and with FBI friend Mary.

These books have a strong element of faith and also a lot of violence. Also, this book seemed to share some scenes from the first book in the series, ORIGINAL SIN (Parker busting into a bad guy's business unannounced and not being killed). This is a great series and I have the third book in the series on my shelf. Brandt Dodson writes books with great intrigue, realistic characters, suspenseful action and a strong message about God.

Fabulous book. Reminds me of the early days of Robert Parker only I think Dodson's writing is better. His books will all be in my permanent collection.

Seventy Times Seven by Brandt Dodson is the sequel to Original Sin starring private detective Colton Parker. This is a genre I don't normally read, but in this circumstance, I'm so glad that I did. (And I'm going to pick up the first book to read that too!) Parker is hired by perennial loser Lester Cheek to find Cheek's missing wife Gloria. But finding Gloria could not only endanger Colton's life but his sense of well-being and self too. Colton and his daughter are still dealing with the aftermath of his wife's tragic death. Dodson's writing style feels a little like boxing; his sentences are short, punctuated with little detail and straight to the point. There's definitely a bit of Raymond Chandler in Dodson, but at the same time he is able to convey a great depth of emotion in Parker without making him seem sensitive. In fact, in Parker's dealings with his friends and family, he struggles to connect emotionally. Dodson has created a solid string of secondary characters, and the conversations about God and Christianity ring truer than many I've read in fiction. This book should appeal to fans of classic detective novels and Christian readers alike.

this book was great. I always like books with strange titles. this grave mystery with twists and turns. Just trying to figure the mystery out by yourself is hard

I have all of Colton Parker's mysteries and have found them quite enjoyable as far as the mystery is concern. However, I take a dim view of any mystery whose author insists upon preaching the Gospel to the reader!! Mr. Parker would so well to write a mystery and leave the "preacher" out of the cast. There is much creativity in the plots of his stories and he develops the characters quite well. I would prefer, however, that he leaves his faith at the cover of the book..He may well believe that he must "witness" to the reader---but this reader doesn't care for mysteries that "preach"...

In this sequel to Original Sin, I find a premise I've heard before- man finds love of his life, the love runs out unexpectedly and everyone suspects that the woman has found another man. Some support the woman running out on this man-if that's what she did- others tell the detective to find the woman and bring her back.
Due to how often I've heard this premise, I was at first hesitant to read, but checked it out anyway.
I'm glad I did! I find out more on the history of Colton Parker and his life and he finds out more about himself as well. And finding out why the woman ran out on her husband just ran through my veins in a way I could barely turn away from and wanted to keep going. In this book, the overriding theme is about forgiving others no matter how dark a stain they've put on you for what they did. Daughter has to learn to forgive father for something he forgot he said. Man has to forgive woman for what she did and another man... well, I can't say without ruining. Find out how practical forgiveness can be in a gripping story that puts an ageless concept into a contemporary and applicable sense. It sure got me to think clearly abotu what's wrong with me. What about you? Up for it?

I LOVE the Colton Parker books!!!! I can't put them down! I ordered all four of them and have read the first three in 4 days time... just started book 4 this morning - they are all GREAT!!! Colton Parker is the type of character you can really believe in - he is human to the core and struggling to find God in his life after losing his wife - who was a Christian. Wonderful read!!

Colton Parker has been called to another case. This time he's been hired to find the wife of a man who supposedly had everything. She's disappeared without a trace and her husband has hired Colton to bring her back home. Without much to go on, Colton begins to hunt for Claudia while having to deal with his strained relationship with his daughter. The revelations from both events put Colton to the test in discovering more about his own personal issues.

This is a book I believe guys will love. It has everything they could possibly want in a book. Of course female readers will enjoy this book too but I really think that Dodson has huge potential for the male readership in Christian fiction. The story is a fast paced page turner. I could not put this book down. The story is riveting and makes you think a lot as well as keep you on the edge of your seat. This is one of the edgiest novels that I've read in Christian fiction and really enjoyed it more because of that fact. Like the first novel in the series, it's gritty and realistic and does not sugarcoat life at all. If you're used to clean sanitized fiction, I would recommend being prepared to read this book with wide open eyes. I really like Colton's character. He is flawed. He has relationship problems with his daughter. He breaks rules to get information for his job. But he's one of the coolest characters I've read in a book this year. The ending is a shocker, one that I did not see coming. I'm looking to forward to seeing how it will play out in future books. Fans of mainstream suspense authors like James Patterson are sure to devour this book. Like I said before everyone will enjoy this series, but male readers will definitely get a kick of these books. HIGHLY recommended.

Brandt Dodson's "Seventy time Seven" is a novel about a former FBI agent and his start-up private detective agency. It is the 2nd in the series, but I believe it can stand alone. It is a bit slower in pace at first than the first book, but it has good character development and good secondary characters. I especially thought Sean was well done.

I do not want to offer any spoilers, but be prepared for some twists and turns in the plot. I am eager to start the next book. While 70X7 is a good novel, I would have given it 4 ½ stars had that been an option. In other words, it is a sold B+ book as compared to Dodson's "Original Sin" which was a solid A.