Rating: 
Summary: EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT
Review: A case of the "blue flu" has struck the Seattle police force, causing a majority of the force to be on an unofficial strike, leaving Detective Lou Boldt to remain (forced actually)on the job.With the near death of a female officer, and a string of house robberies, Boldt is pushed to the limit to find answers. Boldt enlists the help of police psychologist Daphne Matthews, and Sergeant John LaMoia to aid in his investigation. As Boldt struggles with three seemingly seperate situations, he begins to question if they are actually un-related. As things go out of control, resulting in more robberies and "warnings" to Boldt, he refuses to give up, putting his life on line to solve this case. I will start off by saying...THIS IS AN EXCELLENT NOVEL. I am not going further into detail on the plot, all the fun is finding out the secrets as you go. "Middle Of Nowhere" is a fast-paced, well written novel that entertains as it shocks with new plot twists. Boldt is one of the most interesting and likable hero's in any current fiction series. Ridley Pearson has written the novel that lives up to his reputation of being the "best thriller writer alive". After the disappointing "The First Victim", fans of the Boldt series get what they expect, a great book. If you are new to the series, start with this book and then go back and read the other Boldt novels, excluding "The First Victim" (not the best entry in the series). "Middle Of Nowhere" is a great summer read...it's great read in any season. A MUST read! Nick Gonnella
Rating: 
Summary: Fiction collides with fact: the story of my life!
Review: Like so many of my novels, Middle Of Nowhere was inspired by anews story. In this case, it had to do with telemarketing operatorsworking in PRISON! On top of that, I wondered what a city would be like if the police simply walked off their jobs one day. (Little did I know that the WTO "riots" in Seattle would occur after I'd written Middle Of Nowhere, and that there would be rumors of a police "blue flu"!) Anyway, I hope you get caught up in the story as much as I did while writing it. I recently read the novel for Brilliance Audio (abridged and unabridged) and the engineer in the studio (a friend, Amos Galpin) called through from the engineer's booth and said, "Don't stop now! I'm hooked!" Hope you feel the same. Thanks for all the support! Ridley Pearson.
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: Twists 'til the very end
Review: Ridley Pearson does it again, revisiting the life of Seattle cop Lou Bolt. The "Blue Flu" has infected the Seattle Police Department and over half the force sits at home while Bolt, Daphne Matthews and the regular cast work to find the person that brutally attacked a fellow officer. Bolt is a likeable character, that faces the daily struggles of being a husband, father, friend and cop. Facing division in the force, Pearson's writing forces Bolt to look deep within himself to find answers. Pearson is a master at weaving several storylines around one another, until they reach the shattering climax together. "Middle of Nowhere" is a must read this summer! Having lived in Seattle for 8+ years, I feel like I am walking down the streets along with the characters. Pearson's storytelling dares you to put down the book, a feat not easily accomplished by most of today's writers. You won't be disappointed to find your self in the "Middle of Nowhere". The only disappointment that you will have is waiting for the next book from Mr. Pearson.
Rating:
Summary: "Hurry, you won;t find me there!"
Review: I don't write reviews well. I don't care for endless superlatives that go on and on about "not much".
This is the first Ridley Pearson book I've read. I buy all my novels in paperback and from garage sales and from Half-Price Books. Hard backed novels are a waste of space and time.
So to rate Pearson's style, I'll do it this way: Comparative styles. If John Sanford's "Prey" novels are each a "10", then; 1/Tami Hoag's novels are a "10" and
2/ Clive Cussler's novels are a "10".
3/ Pearson comes in at a "9.4" while Stephen King is way behind at 4.7.
Do I like Ridley Pearson's characters?. Very Much.
Do I like his imagery. Again, very much.
Not that it ever will happen but I'd like to see some books based on investigations in the following locales:
Brownsville/Mc Allen, Texas
Shreveport/Bossier City, Louisana
Albany/Upstate New York
San Juan County (the all-Island County) in Washington State
The New Mexico Desert in the summer
Reno, Nevada
Greenville/Columbia, South Carolina
Anywhere in Maryland, Delaware or New Jersey
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Rating:
Summary: Welcome back!
Review: I was about to give up this series after reading "The Last Victim." I'm certainly glad I didn't. "Middle Of Nowhere" is just as good (if not better) as the earlier Lou Bolt novels. Plenty of action and twists. Can't wait now to read the next book in the series. For those of you new to the Lou Bolt series, I would recommend reading them in order and skipping "The Last Victim."
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: Ho Hum
Review: The Blue Flu is a euphimism for a police strike. Not all the police agree with the "sickout" so there is infighting taking place when one of their own is brutally attacked. The story seems to drag from the opening when the assualt takes place and a long way around to finding any workable clues. The hero Lou Boldt is unexciting and moralistic.
Rating:
Summary: A THRILLING THRILLER
Review: As the author of a recently published first mystery, I have been an admirer of Ridley Pearson's work for years. MIDDLE OF NOWHERE is a strong entry in Pearson's popular Lou Boldt series. A policewoman is assaulted during a blue flue wave, and Lou is determined to discover the identity of Maria Sanchez's attacker. As Pearson continues the sub-plot strands that have made this series so popular, Lou struggles to solve the Sanchez assault as well as a number of other crimes, leading to additional violence. MIDDLE OF NOWHERE is a fine book, and I continue to learn much about mystery writing by observing the way Mr. Pearson develops his plot and handles his characters. MIDDLE OF NOWEHRE is an excellent read.
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