Rating:  Summary: Fantastic as always Review: Peter Tyler was a DC police officer working homicide for years until he snapped upon seeing a big man brutalize a little girl. Swooping down as an avenger, Peter vigorously attacked the assailant to an unusual degree that took several officers to finally stop him. The media goes on a feeding frenzy because a white cop beat up an African-American. The case went to court where Peter was acquitted of criminal excess use of force, but still lost his job and ultimately his girl and probably his house.Umberto Alvarez was a happy person until his wife and twin daughters died at a railroad crossing when a Northern Union train hit them. The NTSB ruled driver error, but a bitter Umberto knows that the bar and lights failed. For eighteen months, he has as sabotaged Northern Union property especially trains. His current plan is to destroy the new bullet train that is based on F-A-S-T track technology unless the president of the transit company publicly announces they caused the deaths of his beloved family. Peter gives chase, but Umberto seems several steps ahead of his pursuer as the clock to disaster winds down. Suspense grandmaster Ridley Pearson has written a fascinating action thriller in which the villain is a victim. The chase scenes on the trains take the audience for a breathless ride into hell for the pursuer. However, the heart of the tale resides with Peter who needs redemption and Umberto who demands justice as their PARALLEL LIES intersect. Harriet Klausner
Rating:  Summary: ~A Fabulous Thriller~ Review: As a true fan of mystery thrillers by Patricia Cornwell (when she was still writing good fiction) and Iris Johansen, I was thrilled to stumble across a view of this book that placed it right up with some of my favorites. On a whim, I bought Parallel Lies and immediately read it in one sitting. I just couldn't put it down...I loved the twists and turns in the plot, and really enjoyed that we knew information about the mystery that the protagonist didn't. The plot is oddly remanisant of last years "Railroad Murders", and I suppose this is the author's purpose since the crimes share so many similarities. If you're a fan of just a really good thriller that isn't so complicated (like Anne George, a great writer, but much to tedious of a read for summer), you won't regret buying this book! Give it a try!
Rating:  Summary: Not Boldt-Matthews, but almost as good! Review: This book was almost as good as Ridley's Boldt-Matthews series, but not quite! It was exciting and a page turner that I had a hard time putting down. The pace continued to the end and had a great climactic ending! Don't for a minute think that I didn't enjoy it immensely, but....I really really love Lou Boldt and Daphne Matthews books! Middle of Nowhere was so great that Ridley would have a hard time competing with himself on that one! If you haven't read the series and want to try Ridley out, Parallel Lies won't disappoint you! Read his series from the beginning though, if you want to read the best series ever!
Rating:  Summary: Must have been a first draft Review: Very poorly written novel! Just in the first part of the book, he interogates a rider, yet Priest who was driving behind him in another car is nowhere! Sometimes the plot is written with the characters making so illogical decisions and events so improbable as to create near impossible situations. How a headlight dropping causes enough noise to be noticed, but subsequent scrabbling along a gravel railbed does not and why the villian does not pick up the headlamp are but a few examples.
Rating:  Summary: Parallel Lies Review: I dont read very many books. In fact I could say none at all, but once I read Parallel Lies, I could not put the book down. The suspense in this book kept me reading. I really enjoyed reading this book and recommend this to everyone to read.
Rating:  Summary: Above average Review: Some places in the story are slow to read, otherwise it was a good read overall. Makes you feel for the guy who did the derailments because the railroad company killed his family with a major cover-up. This story could be made into a good movie.
Rating:  Summary: fun ride Review: Ridley Pearson, as always, gives us a fast ride. I had become a bit tired of Lou Boldt and Daphne's clenched teeth platonic relationship, and looked forward to some new characters. I looked in the wrong direction. The plot and the modern day railroad lore are excellent, if a bit too technical at times. The characters are preposterous. Peter Tyler is a down and out ex-homicide cop with an anxiety disorder that presents as acute claustrophobia. He is fired, in disgrace and facing a civil suit for excessive force against a black child beater. Somehow these qualifications get him temporary employment with the National Transportation Board to investigate a possible homicide involving a major railroad line. In a side-by-side story line, Umberto Alverez is seeking revenge against the railroad company for what he sees as negligence and cover-up in the crossing deaths of his wife and twin daughters. The chase and the chased gradually draw closer and closer together until Tyler and Alverez have a symbiotic relationship. Reading about the trains was excellent stuff, interesting (hobos aren't "hobos" anymore, they are "riders") and informative. The action was fast paced. But the character's actions and motivations were like a James Bond movie gone bad. A beautiful, ambitious female executive becomes an informer on her own company because she may or may not have an itch for a scruffy, delusional ex-cop. Another fast living cocktail waitress who had a crush on Umberto when she was twelve behaves like a combination of Joan of Arc and whistle blower to save Umberto from --- what? An intelligent, highly placed government administrator misuses government authority against the railroad company because--he is in a pout? There is a lot to like about "Parallel Lies" if you can just shut your eyes to why anyone is doing anything. The author has clearly done a lot of research on railroads, and the writing is vivid and clear. The enjoyment outweighs the frustration, but not by much.
Rating:  Summary: a ridley-iculous tale of fast trains Review: This book was written to attract the attention of Hollywood producers. It gives the story of a widower, seeking revenge on the evil train company who refuses to admit fault in the deaths of his wife and children. The story is fast paced and easy to read, though difficult to believe. Take it with a grain of salt.
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