Saxton Reads! & Reviews

*****CarolK

A Forensic Scientist to Watch!

I can't figure out where I read about this author in the last few days. I read lots of reviews and reader blogs so it may have been on one of these. Or it could have been in an article about September 2009 releases. This is annoying me and I'd like to remember so I could back and see what prompted me to go looking for Lisa Black's first book, Takeover. I do know that I was intrigued that Black is a forensic scientist at the Cuyahoga County Coroner's Office and that her character in this book, Theresa MacLean shares this occupation with her creator. I remember reading about this debut novel back in August 2008 but it quickly left my range of consciousness until the announcement of the new book prodded it into my radar. 

Reading Lisa Black's Takeover sparked the same thrill I felt when first reading Cornwell's Postmortem. Though not as heavy on forensics as reader's of that genre might like, Takeover is a fast paced, hard to put down, suspenseful read. Taking place mostly in just one day, June 25th, starting at 6:42 AM, I was never bored with the events as they unfolded. Initially there's a dead body, hence MacLean's involvement. The body might be Mark Ludow, a recently hired federal reserve bank employee. Homicide Detective Paul Cleary, MacLean's fiance, begins an investigation at the bank when two persons storm the lobby, grab hostages and are at a standoff as their escape vehicle is driven away by a security guard. Whether or not their intent is to rob the bank is unclear but the hostage situation is a serious one, prompting Cleary who is in plain clothes, not to reveal his ID as a cop, biding his time for an opportunity to nail the bad guys. The hostage negotiator, Chris Cavanaugh arrives and sets up house in a library of all places. The next ten hours are a nail biting, tense ride. The characters are wonderfully drawn, I grew quite fond of Cavanaugh, the story is darn good, and by day's end, you're hoping for another book featuring MacLean and company. Did I see where the story was going, the why of Ludow's death. Yep, but it didn't lessen the enjoyment of the book one iota.

Looking forward to reading Black's Evidence of Murder !