Fallen Idols

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.

Rating:
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.

Rating:
Summary: A Search for the Truth
Review: Walter Gaines is an archaeology professor at the University of Wisconsin. He and his wife are on an important dig in Central America. Looting is a big problem at the site. Walter and Jocelyn are ambushed on their way back to go home. When the attack is over, artifacts are taken and Jocelyn is dead. After the funeral Walter leaves Wisconsin for LA and is virtually cut-off from his three grown sons. The sons find their father's behavior very strange and work together to try to uncover the truth of what happened in Central America. The deeper they delve in to the strange financial transactions they uncover, the more confused they become.

I have enjoyed J.F. Freedman books in the past, but found too many contrived plot points in this book. Once the sons started unraveling the mystery, things just fell into place much too easily. Everyone they talked to was very forthcoming with information with barely any questions asked. It was as unrealistic as it was unconvincing. The ending had a twist, but again suffered in its predictability. I found myself flipping pages just to move the story forward. I wanted to like the book, but at the end it was not really worth the time it took to read it.