Brad Parks' Carter Ross series is no stranger to my annual Best Reads list, and I've been delaying reading the last one because I didn't want my time with the wisecracking journalist to end. Unfortunately, I didn't find The Fraud to be nearly as satisfying as the other books in the series.
I always learn something new about Newark, New Jersey when I pick up a Carter Ross mystery, and this book was no exception, but the whole book had less zip than all the others. I put it down to Ross's impending fatherhood. Every time his phone rings he goes nuts, thinking it's time to make the dash to the hospital. Also, The Fraud is pretty much a solo gig for our intrepid journalist. Everyone from the newsroom makes only token appearances and the villains are mostly offstage as well. It's this interaction with the marvelous cast Parks has created that I really missed.
The one thing I did not miss was an excellent mystery. Every time I thought I had it figured out, it changed directions, and I love that. (It's also something that the author is quite skilled in doing.)
I'll miss having new Carter Ross mysteries to read, but I wish Brad Parks all the best with his domestic thrillers. He is a very talented writer.
I always learn something new about Newark, New Jersey when I pick up a Carter Ross mystery, and this book was no exception, but the whole book had less zip than all the others. I put it down to Ross's impending fatherhood. Every time his phone rings he goes nuts, thinking it's time to make the dash to the hospital. Also, The Fraud is pretty much a solo gig for our intrepid journalist. Everyone from the newsroom makes only token appearances and the villains are mostly offstage as well. It's this interaction with the marvelous cast Parks has created that I really missed.
The one thing I did not miss was an excellent mystery. Every time I thought I had it figured out, it changed directions, and I love that. (It's also something that the author is quite skilled in doing.)
I'll miss having new Carter Ross mysteries to read, but I wish Brad Parks all the best with his domestic thrillers. He is a very talented writer.
Book Description
In the most thrilling entry yet in Brad Parks's award-winning series, investigative reporter Carter Ross must chose who gets to live: him or his unborn child.
A rash of carjackings terrorizing Newark become newsworthy when one such theft ends in the murder of a wealthy banking executive. The affable, wisecracking Ross is assigned the story, but he's weary of only writing about victims of crime who happen to be rich and white. To balance his reporting, he finds a Nigerian immigrant of more modest means who was also killed during a recent carjacking.
When it turns out the two victims knew each other, sharing an unexplained round of golf at a tony country club shortly before their deaths, Carter is plunged onto the trail of a deadly band of car thieves that includes a sociopathic ex-convict. When his unborn child is put in harm's way, it becomes more than just a story for Carter. And he'll stop at nothing to rescue the baby-even if it costs him his own life.
Parks, a rising star on the crime fiction scene known for his mix of wit and grit, delivers his most emotionally resonant book yet.
My Review
Parks is an entertaining writer and his plots have twists and turns that keep you turning the pages until the end. This is definitely my favorite Carter Ross novel and I have read them all. Carter Ross is the most likable fictional character I know. He's a down-to-earth newspaper reports who gets into hairy situations and you can't help but want him to come out on top. His relationship with Tina has progressed to where they are becoming parents and the ending of this novel is so touching that it brought tears to my eyes. I would recommend reading this series in order and I'm looking forward to the next installment and what the future holds for Carter, Tina and their child.
In the most thrilling entry yet in Brad Parks's award-winning series, investigative reporter Carter Ross must chose who gets to live: him or his unborn child.
A rash of carjackings terrorizing Newark become newsworthy when one such theft ends in the murder of a wealthy banking executive. The affable, wisecracking Ross is assigned the story, but he's weary of only writing about victims of crime who happen to be rich and white. To balance his reporting, he finds a Nigerian immigrant of more modest means who was also killed during a recent carjacking.
When it turns out the two victims knew each other, sharing an unexplained round of golf at a tony country club shortly before their deaths, Carter is plunged onto the trail of a deadly band of car thieves that includes a sociopathic ex-convict. When his unborn child is put in harm's way, it becomes more than just a story for Carter. And he'll stop at nothing to rescue the baby-even if it costs him his own life.
Parks, a rising star on the crime fiction scene known for his mix of wit and grit, delivers his most emotionally resonant book yet.
My Review
Parks is an entertaining writer and his plots have twists and turns that keep you turning the pages until the end. This is definitely my favorite Carter Ross novel and I have read them all. Carter Ross is the most likable fictional character I know. He's a down-to-earth newspaper reports who gets into hairy situations and you can't help but want him to come out on top. His relationship with Tina has progressed to where they are becoming parents and the ending of this novel is so touching that it brought tears to my eyes. I would recommend reading this series in order and I'm looking forward to the next installment and what the future holds for Carter, Tina and their child.
