Plot is good, but the writing is such that I had to skip many sections as they have lots and lots of unnecessary, unwarranted, avoidable details of the fighting scenes. If the author had kept it simple ..... ( )

Plot is good, but the writing is such that I had to skip many sections as they have lots and lots of unnecessary, unwarranted, avoidable details of the fighting scenes. If the author had kept it simple ..... ( )

Nick Stephenson is a new read for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it. He moved things along quickly and kept you guessing. Woven in the story there was murder, mystery and humor. You can’t take it serious because the law enforcement wouldn’t have someone like the main character, Leopold Blake, get away with everything he did but it sure makes for good reading. I think Stephenson did a great job of developing all of the characters especially the main one Leopold Blake. Each of the characters were nicely developed along with all the scenes within the story. Some of it were very detailed in all the weapons used.

This book was about three murderers and a high-profile kidnapping. The police weren’t doing a great job on finding out who done it but Leopold Blake sets in and gets the ball moving. He and one of the NYC finest along with Leopold’s trusted bodyguard try to uncover the truth of what was going on with the murders and kidnapping before it was too late. Its setting also shows all the political corruption within the city.

I really enjoyed the book and it won’t be the last of Stephen’s books. I will now go back to read the first of A Private Investigator Series of Crime and Suspense Thrillers and look forward to reading them all. ( )

Just think of the Energizer Bunny: He just keeps going and going and going.

Criminology consultant Leopold Blake and the others working on his case–his body guard, Jerome, and Police Sergeant Mary Jordan--could be the bunny’s models. Despite being knocked unconscious, beaten, shot, and otherwise put out of commission, they manage to wake up, get up, and continue chasing the bad guys.
The deaths of three state senators from different areas of the country, all appearing to be suicides, and the disappearance of the daughter of a fourth one bring out the competition between the local police departments, the FBI, and an independent consultant as they fight among each other as they try to get to the bottom of the cases. Blake is sure they are connected. The FBI and local police captain aren’t so sure.
The story moves along rapidly even if the actions don’t seem at all plausible. Nick Stephenson speaks out about politics, greed, and patriotism. “Today’s America was different. In earlier times, the country had fought itself free of tyranny and had forged an empire that spanned the entire globe. Perhaps not an empire in the traditional sense, but an empire of economics and political power that affected the lives of more than seven billion people. Today’s America was weak in comparison, left frail by the disease of corruption that went all the way to the White House. Crippled by the endless greed that had sucked the soul out of this once-great nation. A nation that millions of men had died fighting to protect.” The philosophy, though, seems to have been thrown in but not elaborated on sufficiently.
He continues, “You mean blackmail? I prefer the term financial persuasion. Besides, how is it different from accepting campaign donations from companies wanting to affect government policy?”
In addition to the quick recoveries, there are a couple other inconsistencies: At one point, Blake leaves a Columbia graduation. He is soon back on campus looking for a computer. He is concerned about all the students on campus and in classes. It seems to me that there are no classes the day of and days following graduation. The language of one character, a university professor, begins quite ungrammatically: “You ain’t students of mine and I got work to do.”
The book was a fast read, especially after I decided to skip the many, many gory fighting scenes.
PANIC was a free Amazon download. ( )