Frames Per Second

Rating:
Summary: Frames Per Second
Review: Ben Harris is an award winning photojournalist working for the Insider, a respected news journal in Boston. His family life is not in good shape. His ex-wife is about to marry Ben's boss at the Insider, Kurt. Ben hates Kurt because he (Ben) still loves his wife, Andi, and he wants to get closer to his two children who he feels he has neglected for his job. Kurt, on the other hand, wants to erase all trace of Ben from his new family's life.

This is a tough situation in the best of circumstances, but when Ben's reporter and long time work partner, Peter, is blown up while carrying Ben's camera bag, Ben has a situation with a lot of things going on at once. As the family tensions heat up, so does the investigation and Ben finds himself up against a U.S. Senator, a young crime boss and the terrorists. And Peter's ex-wife shows up in Boston working for the Insider and determined to find out what happened to her ex-husband, sparks fly on several levels.

What makes this novel so very good is that the plot derives from the personalities of the characters rather than from the needs of the author. No one is perfect, there are no easy answers in any family situation and the fault lines are what drag the characters into the plot. Eisdon has a real insight into the relationships between fathers and their children, between the home life and the development of character. The writing is crisp, clear and to the point. Even the bad guys are complex and find themselves in situations they ought to have avoided had their personalities allowed them to act more in their own interests. It is the focus on character that sets the novel apart from run of the mill suspense novels.

Set in Boston, there is plenty of local color and the excitement level is high. Do not start reading late at night or you will stay up a lot longer than you intended to. When the novel shifts to Ben's point of view, the reader gets an interesting perspective of the world of the photographer from behind the lens. Buy it, read it and tell your friends.

Rating:
Summary: One of the 10 best intriguing thriller writers in our time
Review: I loved it. Read it on a long, cross country flight and didn't quite finish when the plane landed. I got off, and sat in a chair by the gate for 20 minutes because I HAD TO read the ending.

I just went and ordered Adrenaline.

Rating:
Summary: Better than I thought it would be...
Review: I thought this would be just another crime novel to help me fall asleep at night....BUT what makes the work of Bill Eidson outstanding is that this is just plain GOOD writing.
Some parts of the plot were predictable and, I suppose, there HAD to be some sex thrown in. However, this is a good read even if the characters weren't always believable.

Rating:
Summary: One of the 10 best intriguing thriller writers in our time
Review: Mr. Eidson is a wonderful writer who should have become so popular as those who are so famous now in the bestsellers' market if he or his publisher(s) knew how to market him. What amazed and moved me this time in this particular book was that he gave us a profound but sad situation that a camera newsie would inevitably face; an estranged/divorced wife and a broken family. The feelings were so deeply conveyed by Eidson that moved me quite a lot. The whole thriller is wonderfully crafted except the unconvincing twist that a NY FBI agent was bought out by a thug. One other thing that I'd like to remind Mr. Eidson of is that to avoid using the name "Tattinger" again and again in his books if he's not writing a series. I have no other complains whatsoever to any of Mr. Eidson's books except holding my breath for his next one.