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Summary: A gripping family drama filled with secrets.
Review: Archeologist Walt Gaines has a loving wife, three great sons, and a life of wealth and privilege, but all that will change in the blink of an eye.On an excavation in La Chimenea Walt and his team of young students have uncovered artifacts of great historical interest. Three months into the dig Walt's team is attacked leaving the artifacts missing, and one person dead...Walt's wife Jocelyn. One year later, the Gaines family, still grieving over their loss, are trying to move on with Walt making the biggest changes. Walt has decided to sell the family house and move to California, leaving behind his grown sons. The Gaines boys, Clancy, Tom, and Will have all remained in Chicago, and have lost constant contact with their father, but a chance encounter with him will have them question everything they thought they knew about their family. Living in California, Walt has changed many things about his life including his involvement with a much younger woman. Shocked by the news of their father's new relationship the Gaines boys begin looking into their father's business, as well as the mystery surrounding their mother's death and what they find is more shocking than anything they ever imagined. 'Fallen Idols' is a secret filled family drama, one that is gripping and wonderfully written. The characters jump off the pages, and the plot grabs hold early on and doesn't let go. J.F. Freedman is a writer of great power, and his novels get better and better. A great beach read 'Fallen Idols' should be put on every suspense fan's must read list. Nick Gonnella
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Summary: A loooooong way to go to cross the street.
Review: I like Mr. Freedman's writing, and having read several of them "Against the Wind" remains one of my favorites. "Fallen Idols" won't share that praise. It becomes mundane. The progeny of suspicion is generally more suspicion. But all of this gestalt theorizing (did dad kill mom?)could be addressed by normal familial cofrontation. "Dad. How did you end up widowed and with 4 million dollars?" Will's sons are all extremely intelligent. Walt Gaines' is highly intelligent. Their mother was highly intelligent. So. Ask him! When Jocelyn Gaines, also a Professor like her husband Walt, is killed on a archeological dig headed by her husband, the family unites for the tragic farewell. Briefly following that dad drifts of to lala land, figuratively and literally. There's a lot of places here for confrontation and love and therapy and the like, but these adult, highly gifted men walk around saying lines that would get rejected in a "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" script. Good story; painful but somewhat insightful look at families. Poor dialogue, poor prose.
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Summary: Where was the editor?
Review: I too am a long term fan of J.F.Freedman, but came away from his latest book disappointed. While starting out with a good story line, it quickly bogged down in too many words and details that added nothing significant to the plot or character development. The portrayal of the nefarious world of antiquity thievery, political corruption and human greed was solid despite the rather unbelievable efforts of family members to resolve their grief and confusion. Neither tight nor thrilling, but good beach reading.
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Summary: Not Freedman's best, but worth a look.
Review: I'll admit to being a bit disappointed by this book. Not because it was a bad book, but just because I've come to expect better from this author (I've read all his other books also). The story begins at a high-profile archaeological dig in Central America, and then moves to the efforts of a famous archaeologist to distance himself from an unfortunate events there, and his three sons attempts to unravel the mystery. The premise of the book captured my interest, but the execution of the story was a bit underwhelming, and some elements struck me as downright implausible (the sons' ability to dig into their parent's financial dealings at will didn't ring true, nor did the identity & described behavior of the "day-trader" in the book's final chapter). This book asks the question: "How well do we really know our loved ones?" An intriguing question, but after reading this book, I'm not sure I ever truly got to know any of these characters, or cared enough to want to. Not a bad book, but character development in this one is not up to the level of earlier works such as "The Disappearance" or "The Obstacle Course", at least in my opinion.
Rating:
Summary: Not Freedman's best, but worth a look.
Review: I'll admit to being a bit disappointed by this book. Not because it was a bad book, but just because I've come to expect better from this author (I've read all his other books also). The story begins at a high-profile archaeological dig in Central America, and then moves to the efforts of a famous archaeologist to distance himself from an unfortunate events there, and his three sons attempts to unravel the mystery. The premise of the book captured my interest, but the execution of the story was a bit underwhelming, and some elements struck me as downright implausible (the sons' ability to dig into their parent's financial dealings at will didn't ring true, nor did the identity & described behavior of the "day-trader" in the book's final chapter). This book asks the question: "How well do we really know our loved ones?" An intriguing question, but after reading this book, I'm not sure I ever truly got to know any of these characters, or cared enough to want to. Not a bad book, but character development in this one is not up to the level of earlier works such as "The Disappearance" or "The Obstacle Course", at least in my opinion.
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Summary: Oh, what a tangled web we weave..............!
Review: I've been a fan of J.F.Freedman's books for years, so I was pleased to see that he had written a new one. The plot line was fascinating: stolen artifacts, a mysterious woman, a lying deceitful father, a murdered mother, sudden wealth, and three sons seeking the truth. I could hardly read fast enough to take it all in. However, I did think that the ending fell a little flat. I guess I am used to books having an exciting climax at the end. This one didn't. The mysterious happenings were explained, and that was that. It was still a highly readable and interesting book. I will look forward to his next one.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Padded with unnecessary description and inane conversation. I had to look on the internet to be sure that this book was not written by a woman.
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Summary: A Page-Turning Plot with a Very Unexpected Ending
Review: The famous archaeologist Professor Walt Gaines has been deep in the jungle in Central America uncovering a historical site, La Chimenea. It was supposed to be the highest achievement in his career. But on the day that he is to return to the USA, he is faced with mounting troubles that will end up altering his life forever. From having to make the journey through the jungle without the usual security escort, to engine failure in one of the four-wheel minivans, to tropical rains and fallen tree logs blocking the muddy roads, it seems to Walt that things couldn't get any worse - until he and his archaeological team are met by armed robbers, that is. The thieves raid all their belongings and upon the discovery of artifacts from the excavation site, they accuse Walt of trying to steal from their country. In a fit of rage, one of the raiders fires his gun, but all of Walt's crew escape by fleeing into the jungle - all except his wife, who is shot and killed. When Walt arrives home to bury his wife, it's shortly thereafter that he begins making unexpected decisions, leaving his three sons perplexed and confused. Not only does he quit his job and take early retirement, but he moves to California and begins to live the life of a millionaire with a mysterious younger woman. The only problem is - his sons don't understand how he suddenly came to be so wealthy. As Walt's sons realize that he has been avoiding them and even lying to them, they begin to suspect that he may have had something to do with their mother's death, so they set out to discover the truth. But as they delve deeper and deeper into their father's affairs, the truth becomes harder to bare, taking a very unexpected turn that none of them could ever have imagined.
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Summary: entertaining suspense thriller
Review: The finding of the Mayan ruin La Chimenea is the epitome of an already illustrious career for archeology team Dr. Walt Gaines and his beloved spouse Jocelyn. As they work the dig he thinks back over his three decades of marriage and their three adult sons. He knows his wife has kept him young. However, their glorious moment ends tragically when thugs kill Jocelyn and loot much of the find. Even bringing her remains to Wisconsin for cremation is an ordeal as cops from both countries imply that Walt arranged the murder of his wife. One year later, Walt has pieced together what really happened in Central America, but keeps the truth from the law and his three sons. His suddenly rich and living in California lifestyle includes a new girlfriend closer in age to his children. His silence leads to his three sons to wonder if their father killed their mother. The trio makes inquiries that links Walt's affluence to a Mayan artifact black market. They speculate that their mother learned what their father was doing and threatened to expose his nefarious dealings so he had her silenced. Now what to do with what they believe they know. Though at times quite suspenseful and filled with an interesting closing twist, readers will have to accept that the three sons could coax information from various sources known for protecting clients. The story line shines in Central America and those scenes when the threesome suspects that their father is a spousal killer. Though there are many inane details that subtract from the tale, J. F. Freedman has written an entertaining suspense thriller. Harriet Klausner
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Summary: Cleverly Credible !
Review: The path home from the jungle of Central America proves to be a treacherous one for Archaeologist Walt Gaines. And upon returning to the U.S., his bizarre behavior perplexes all who know him, or think they do. J.F. Freedman has a knack for taking the small things of life and developing them into insights and ideas that simply resonate with reality, for example, how fathers relate to sons, how wives relate to husbands about fathers, and how the least secure son reflects on life. "Fallen Idols" has a delicious series of twists and turns that are totally believable and the ending is worth the wait. Freedman has found a new venue and a new approach, and he continues to produce some of the most inventive and clever plots and realistic personality portrayals in American writing today.
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