Rating: 
Summary: A Crime Thriller for the Mind
Review: First Victim is an extremely well written and fascinating story dealing with illegal immigration, sweat shops and prostution. This is not a book to read if you are looking for blood, gore, lurid desciptions of torture victims, etc. it is a book that deals with the mind, strategy, trying to outthink the criminal as well as all the politics that go on behind the scenes of government agents - the in-fighting for credit, the hestitancy to work with each other or at least share information, the struggles of the police to make sure that they do everything within the law so that the criminal doesn't end up back on the street, and corruption. It is a treat for the mind. Ridley Pearson has given the main character Lou Boldt, police detective, a very well rounded character who tries to find balance between his love for his work and his love for his family. The other equally prominent characters of Daphne Matthews psychologist, Sergeant John LaMoia, and Forensic expert Bernie Lofgrin give the story added spice skillfully because of their extremely opposite personalities yet they blend well and compliment each other. The story line flows very well so there is no getting lost between one chapter and the next as can happen so easily in a thriller. One part of the thrillers I have always found fascinating is the forensic area of police work because no true police thriller is complete without it. Ridley Pearson has found a good balance in this area, there is enough detail when forensics is used in the book to keep someone fascinated in the area interested but won't turn off the reader who isn't and has it dispersed throughout the novel which adds to the suspense. This novel deals with the human spirit, the dark side of immigration, corruption and love. This was not the first Lou Boldt novel I have and most definitely will not be the last.
Rating: 
Summary: Pulsating police procedural
Review: Due to Typhoon Mary, the Visage lost one of its crates that it was transferring to another ship in the sea. The Coast Guard picks up the "metal iceberg" that threatens to harm ships in the Seattle area. Hearing human screams from within, they call the police and the INS. Nine Chinese women crawled out of the space with some help. Three were placed in bags. Law enforcement officials Lou Boldt and John LaMoia investigate the case with a gritty determination due to what the smugglers did to these humans. Reporter Melissa Chow convinces her "brother" TV news anchor Stevie McNeal to investigate a small lead. However, she goes undercover, only to vanish somewhere inside the Chinese brothels. Meanwhile, the two police officers keep losing their witnesses as if someone in authority is leaking information to the criminal masterminds. Time is running out for Melissa. Ridley Pearson is renowned for his action-packed police procedurals and his latest thriller will not disappoint his myriad of fans. The story line is filled with action and Lou remains a wonderfully frustrated individual. However, the novel falls victim to its own premise that centers on the cruelty of humans towards one another because that aspect never takes hold, leaving readers with little concern over the fate of Melissa. Mr. Pearson scribes an excellent police thriller that could have been a classic novel on human conditions. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Fast, Furious and Hard to Put Down
Review: A shipping container washes ashore in Seattle carrying a handful of scared and hungry Chinese women, three dead from the hard voyage across the Pacific. TV news anchor Stevie McNeal and her Chinese reporter friend and adopted sister Melissa chase after what seems to be a large scale scheme involving illegal aliens. Melissa decides to go undercover as an illegal but when Stevie doesn't hear from her she fears the worst.Seattle police Detective Lou Boldt is also on the case and now, all of a sudden, Stevie sees him as friend and ally, rather than foe. This was a fun read as are all Pearson's novels. It was fast, furious and impossible to put down. Reviewed by Vesta Irene
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but I expect better from Ridley Pearson
Review: Seattle police detective Lou Boldt is back and this time he's caught up in the illegal transport of Orientals into Seattle. When a container ship in Puget Sound loses a container full of illegal immigrants and three die, Lou Boldt along with John LaMoia are drawn into the case. To make it even more difficult, a Chinese-american reporter goes undercover and then goes missing while investigating the same case. Boldt and his crew must race against time to find where she's being held before she's killed. Mr. Pearson is an excellent writer and plot spinner and even though this entry is not as strong as his others, it's still head and shoulders above most of what passes for mystery writing on the market today. I do admit I didn't find it as compelling as his "The Pied Piper" but it wasn't bad. The characters do seem a little less richly drawn than usual but the prose is still strong. You could do worse than read this book.
Rating:
Summary: A most compelling read
Review: I've been a longtime fan to Ridly Pearson, and this latest book is a real page-turner! I started reading it on a Friday night, was glued to it for all of Saturday, and finished (with sweaty palms) on Sunday morning. My advice: Don't start this one unless you're prepared to hunker down.I unconditionally recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the genre. The premise is excellent (illegal Chinese aliens being smuggled into Seattle in shipping containers), and the human qualities he brings to Lieutenant Boldt and the rest of the investigating team gives the book great depth. I caught Ridley at a book signing at Black Orchid Books in Manhattan last night, where I learned that this is one writer who's putting his actions where his words are. While writing The First Victim, Ridley learned that each year 40,000 Chinese girls are put into orphanages, because of China's one-child-per-couple law. (Apparently, if a couple has a male child, the parents will be able to get social security benefits as seniors, but not so if they have a girl. Hence, the girls often get abandoned on the street). Anyway, Ridley said that he and his wife were so disturbed by this news that they are adopting a Chinese baby in the next month or so. Pretty cool!
Rating:
Summary: Not a bad story; seems familiar. Well read though.
Review: This is the first story of Ridley Pearson's I've listened to [I'm referring to the abridged audiocassette version] featuring Lou Boldt. It was not bad. The story seems a little familiar (perhaps, because "Law and Order" or one of the program(me)s; perhaps, CSI, I'm not sure)had a similar story. Anyway, the reader, Scott Rosema, kept the story "tight". The characters, the detective, the reporter, and her friend, who took a chance going "undercover", are fairly strong. I think I'd like to check into more of Mr. Pearson's work. Recommended to me by a co-worker. Not bad, as I said, even though familiar.
Rating:
Summary: An "A" for Effort--Keep Them Coming
Review: I get real tired with people who expect a 5 star novel every time up to bat. Personally I'll settle for a 5 star effort. The only thing that I really got bogged down with was the bureacracy. The rest of it was well paced. one of my fellow Ridley fans aptly described this as a mind thriller. definitely an apt description.
Rating:
Summary: Not up to snuff
Review: Lou Boldt is struggling with his new position as Lieutenant in the Seattle Police Department's Homicide division and with his wife's "miraculous" cure of cancer. The death of three Chinese women in a container destined for Seattle's underground sweat shops drags him away from his wife and two small children. Then when a prominent newscaster's "Little Sister" becomes involved in trying to uncover the story of illegal immigrants goes missing a new urgency drives the investigation forward.
This book is not up to Pearson's usual high standards. The character of the newscaster, Stevie McNeal, is well developed but the others except for Lou Boldt, who we know from other novels, are poorly developed and their interactions and story line limp at times.
Rating:
Summary: "GOOD AND NOT SO GOOD"
Review: Boldt, LaMoia and company are called on to help stop the importing of illegal aliens. As it says on page 221, "it is a complex operation, involving ships, the containers, the cargo, the rendezvous, transporation, fake ID's, graveyards, brothels and sweatshops." The TV news gets in the act in the form of Stevie McNeal. Her adopted sister, Melissa, disappers. Some high ranking agent has to be on the take for it to work. Boldt and his group work their selves to death and everytime they get close some dummy from a TV news team messes it up for them. Never did know what happened to Coughlie or who he worked for. I really liked the character of Mama Lu. Hope she is used again. Pearson writes a fast paced book but I thought the several pages it took for McNeal to get on board the ship took way to long. The book is good, but some things you don't find out are not so good.
Rating:
Summary: Hanging On
Review: This is my first read of Pearson. I found it thoughtful and intriuging. The story is creative yet real and gives the reader a new set of world issues to consider. A good read.
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