Rating: 
Summary: The Ill Effects of Blue Flu
Review: Ridley Pearson has gathered devoted fans based on his previous novels starring Detective Lou Boldt, Daphne Matthews and Sergeant John LaMoia. Although "Middle of NoWhere" is my first visit with Ridley Pearson, I expect I will locate his earlier works and look forward to his next literary tour of Seattle.Detective Boldt is a tough-minded cop (picture the older Dirty Harry), loyal to his profession and calling. Hence, he elects not to participate in Seattle's outbreak of blue flu, despite the grief, threats and stress suffered upon him at the hands of his fellow "striking" officers. His frustration and a lack of manpower reaches a critical level when a series of violent home invasions/robberies/assaults (several on fellow officers) may or may not to be related to the work stoppage crippling his department and the city. For accustomed readers of crime fiction, Lou Boldt is not particuarly a new face. In fact, my greatest criticism of "Middle of NoWhere" is the lack of depth in his personality. He is the consummate strong and silent type, on the job and at home. Perhaps Pearson was demonstrating the character's frustration at the situtation, but he honestly seemed rather old and tired instead. Hence, the book often plodded along, as if Lou Boldt was counting his days to retirement. I found his supporting characters, Daphne Matthews and John LaMoia, more colorful and interesting. The most riveting section of the story involved Daphne's solo-efforts to ensnare the robbery suspect. I would encourage Ridley Pearson to develop LaMoia and Matthews' characters further. These few criticisms aside, in "Middle of NoWhere", Ridley Pearson accomplished a difficut feat - joining what appeared to be a group of complicated, seemingly-unrelated loose ends into a cohesive, interesting plot. From anticipated chaos, Lou Boldt and his fellow officers proved the value of teamwork and loyalty. The readers and a fictious Seattle are the beneficiaries.
Rating: 
Summary: Nowhere Near the Middle (of the Pack)
Review: Ridley Pearson has done it again. He's written a book that is sure to lead the pack when it comes to thrillers. Buy this book, or it'll be a long wait on the list at the library. His characters, Lou, Daphne and John, are so real that you're sure you'd recognize them in the news (if you lived in Seattle). Pearson gets you into his characters heads while they get into your heart. Give me the hospital address and I'll send them cards... What makes the book so good though is how well it's crafted. Pearson writes with style. It's the seemingly insignificant details that stick with you through twists and turns in the story-always guessing what will come next. It'll keep you up late into the night, but this book is a read you won't want to miss.
Rating: 
Summary: Another Boldt series
Review: I enjoyed all Lou Boldt books including this one with Boldt's same supporting characters who are enjoyable to read. "Blu Flu" situation is unusual in normal life which is something different in the story that makes it interesting to read that we don't see very often in other novels. I'm looking forward to read next series in "The Art of Deception" which I'm reading now.
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly slow-paced for a Pearson Book
Review: The plot and characters in this book are great, but it would have been a lot better if the length was cut by about 100 pages. Just one chase sequence goes on for so many pages uneccesarily. The police are following a suspect on foot, and Pearson goes on and on with the suspect getting on a bus; off a bus; in a building; out of building; etc., while the police keep switching off chasing. Rather than being suspenseful, the story comes to a complete halt. This happens repeatedly througout the book. This book just took too darn long to get where it's going. But there's also a lot to like. The recurring character of Lou Boldt is an interesting one, and his relationship to his fellow detective, Daphne Matthews, is interesting. The plot, in which Boldt is trying to solve the brutal attack on a fellow officer, whose neck was broken, is quite good. The attack took place during a "Blue Flu" and pits striking officers against working officers like Boldt. There are clues that suggest cops might have been involved in this and other attacks. The author does a good job of showing us how torn up Boldt is by the tension between him and his fellow officers. I would recommend the book to avid Pearson and Boldt fans, but warn them they'll have to suffer through a lot of extraneous pages to get to the good stuff.
Rating:
Summary: Middle of Nowhere
Review: Ridley Pearson's Middle of Nowhere starts with a shocking incident, steadily builds the tension and ends with two equally satisfying climaxes. You just can't put this one down! Pearson skillfully interweaves 'gumshoe' policework, forensics, technology and current events without sacrificing the complexity of his characters. The investigation of an attack on a police officer quickly plunges Lt. Lou Boldt into an intricate web that could very well end both his professional and personal life. Boldt faces challenges on every level as he seeks to identify and capture the attacker. His loyalty to his fellow police officers is questioned, his marriage is threatened and his closest colleagues are jeopardized. Boldt's determination to 'clear the case' is tempered by his frailties; frailties that make him human, not a 'supercop'. Pearson has written his best Lou Boldt novel to date - a novel that begs to be finshed once the first page is read. And, as usual, once the book is finished, the reader is left thirsting for the next one!
Rating:
Summary: Another Boldt series
Review: I enjoyed all Lou Boldt books including this one with Boldt's same supporting characters who are enjoyable to read. "Blu Flu" situation is unusual in normal life which is something different in the story that makes it interesting to read that we don't see very often in other novels. I'm looking forward to read next series in "The Art of Deception" which I'm reading now.
Rating: 
Summary: Not For Me
Review: When Officer Maria Sanchez is brutally attacked outside her home and left paralyzed Lieutenant Lou Bolt is assigned to investigate her case. Lieutenant Bolt, normally a homicide detective, is now put on this burglary case due to the "Blue Flu" an unofficial strike of the Seattle PD leaving all departments very short handed. Now Bolt must try to figure out if Sanchez's attack was the unfortunate result of one of a string of burglaries or if there is more to this "Blue Flu" than meets the eye. As I said in my introduction this novel was just simply not for me. It's gotten great reviews, so for police drama lovers you may really enjoy this book. However, even though Pearson did try to explain all of the police terminology, I found it to be a little too technical for my taste. I also found 'MIDDLE OF NOWHERE' to be a little slow at times and I found myself drifting off and missing entire scenes. So really it just comes down to 'MIDDLE OF NOWHERE' is not my type of book.
Rating:
Summary: GOOD BUT TO LONG!!!!
Review: I guess being to long is the only problem I have with the book. I thing some of the chase plus some pages of explaining things could have be shorter. I really like Lou Boldt. Maybe he is slowing down and so am I, I guess that is why I can relate to him. People are being robbed and police people are being hurt and even killed. Who is doing this? Is it a real crook or is it some other policeman who is out with the Blue Flu? (...) I like the characters of Bobbie Gaynes, Daphne Matthews and John LaMoia. I also liked Mama Lu, which was in a previous book. There is a lot of action and suspence. I also like Liz Boldt, I think she adds a degree of calm to Lou and she is a very strong forgiving person. A book that may be a little long but is still pretty good if you like mysteries.
Rating:
Summary: Correction: My review should say Pearson, not Connelly
Review: Oops. My previous review should have said Ridley Pearson, not Michael Connelly; must have had a brain freeze. Sorry.
Rating:
Summary: Ridiculous
Review: ALL the good guys speak alike, and ALL the bad guys speak alike. No one sounds real. The reader probably can overlook one instance of police ignoring safety procedures but there is an accumulation of instances that becomes ludicrous. I'm tired of cops who insist on going it alone sans partner. Its the easy way out for writers. It should be considered just as big a joke as "let's split up" is in horror movies.
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