Member Reviews

Freddy Ferguson, former boxer and PI is the main character in Andrew Diamond?s thriller, Gate 76. Freddy observes a woman who is obviously forced to board a plane, then sneaks off and boards another. The plane she was supposed to be on crashes, and Freddy feels like something is up and follows up on the woman. Because she was listed on the flight, she is presumed dead, and even though Freddy knows she is hiding and very much alive, he attends her funeral picking up leads from her family into why these things may have happened. Freddy gets involved with the FBI and while searching for the woman, also gets involved with dirty politicians and other unsavory characters. Freddy wants to save the woman, who is a prostitute and drug user, before she is found by others who want to kill her; his search takes him cross country.

While Diamond has done an excellent job of developing Freddy?s character, he isn?t a character that is particularly likeable. In fact, he is low class and not one that most of us would like to interact with in real life. His language is atrocious, there is a lot of sexual innuendo involving him, and even though he seems to be a generous, caring individual, he isn?t someone most of us would typically turn to as a friend.

Freddy?s former boxing days take center stage in several places in the novel; the author is obviously familiar with the sport, and the scenarios ring true. There are dozens of twists and turns in the book, and some of the happenings are a bit far-fetched. However, since this is fiction, it can be believable with a bit of imagination.

With the exception of the foul language, which is not really necessary to tell the story and only serves to make the character unlikeable, the novel is well-written, the plot is good, and the story will keep readers on the edge.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

Was this review helpful?

Freddy Ferguson is in the airport when he notices a woman being held by a suspicious looking man who has his hand wrapped around her wrist. Out of curiosity, he follows to see what happens. She is escorted to her flight and then the man leaves her there after whispering something in her ear. The plane is going to Honolulu.

After her captor leaves and she looks around, she get out of the ramp and flees into the concourse. After entering a bathroom she comes out completely different and Freddy is intrigued. He knows something is up.

After he gets off the plane where he has gone to, his boss sent him a message to call as soon as he gets into Washington Dulles. He happens to look up at the CNN screen and the airplane the woman was supposed to take blew up and fell into the sea! He just knows he has to find her!

Freddie and his boss are hired to look into the plane crash, what happened and who is responsible. A cell phone video shows the plane blowing up in mid air. While his boss goes to San Francisco he starts his own investigation, and it quickly turns into an investigation of many people in high places guilty of every crime there is-money laundering, gambling, drug trafficking, as well as drug use by members of political and law enforcement.

This book is fast paced, has a great plot that twists and turns and I never saw what was coming around the corner! All the characters are well developed, and this book is amazing! I love this book and hope tp read more by this author!

I gave this book 5 suspenseful stars!

Was this review helpful?

Anna and Freddy are both running from their live, they are just at different places in the running. The breadcrumbs that Freddy is chasing to find Anna leads him to so many sketchy characters that add more depth to this story and paint a world full of controversy. This story delves into politics, criminal justice at all levels and inside family life behind closed doors and the secrets and lies that live in all of those places. There are so many threads that connect in this story and that kind of puzzle kind keep a reader intrigued and unwilling to put the book down until they can see the whole picture. I recommend this book to lovers of mystery and suspense. Thank you Netgalley, Edelweiss and Stolen Time Press for a chance to review a copy of the final copy of this book.

Was this review helpful?

WOW. This book was not at all what I thought it was going to be. LOVED it. Once I started, I couldnt put it down!!!

Was this review helpful?

Good plot with enough twists to keep you turning the page. I recommend it! Author has a good feel for the characters and has developed the plot a good amount of suspense. .

Was this review helpful?

“Gate 76” by Andrew Diamond is a modern thriller with a classic noir feel. Freddy Ferguson, A private detective with a dark and troubled past, notices a suspicious woman at San Francisco International airport. When the plane that lists her on the passenger manifest explodes, killing everyone on board, he resolves to find answers. The case mesmerizes the nation, and Freddy works to discover the truth. In the process, he uncovers corrupt politicians, dirty cops, and past secrets.
Diamond creates a complex tale with slow suspense, plot twists, and cliffhanger moments. The characters are numerous (almost too many) including the good, the not so good, and the ones who might be both.
I received a copy of “Gate 76” from Andrew Diamond, Stolen Time Press, and Net Galley. I recommend it for readers who want the old noir feel in a current setting. I am not usually a reader of noir, either classic or current, so it is hard for me to accurately rate a book of this genre, but I liked “Gate 76.” It has the elements of a good story, and the mixed chapter length gives readers needed breaks from the drama.

Was this review helpful?

I received a digital copy of this book via Netgalley for the purposes of providing an unbiased review.

I liked Freddy Ferguson well enough in the beginning, but the further I got into the book, the less appealing he was as a narrator. He had a vaguely creepy way of looking at and describing women.

As a long-time Texan, I found the author's use of route xx to indicate Interstate Highways irritating. I-10, I-20, and I-30 are not piddly little rural routes. And you cannot turn south on "route 30" from 635. Seriously.

The mystery itself was solid, well within the limits of plausibility in today's political atmosphere, and compelling enough to keep me reading despite the negatives.

Weighed against the narrative voice, the author's style isn't enough to make me read another.

Was this review helpful?

Give me a book by a new to me author any day after reading this!! The cover plus the synopsis was what drew me in. I am so glad I read this book. One chapter in and I was hooked! In the first little bit of the book, we learned about Freddy Ferguson's rough life before becoming a Private Investigator and also some more important parts of his life, parts that helped shape him into the man he is. There are so many twists that keep the story interesting and engaging and most definitely free from a predictable ending. The way he wrote about his characters makes me think he might be working on a series, and if so, I can not wait! 

Thanks to NetGalley, Andrew Diamond and Stolen Time Press for the chance to review this book! 

Like the review? Read some of my others at http://calibookreviews.com

Was this review helpful?

Thankyou to NetGalley, Stolen Time Press and Andrew Diamond for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of Gate 76.
I enjoyed reading this book. The storyline was well thought out and fast paced with engaging characters,. It definitely kept me on the edge of my seat.

Was this review helpful?

I really enjoyed this book and there was really only one flaw that made it hard to finish; it lagged towards the end. For most of the book, there is plenty of action and dialogue that keeps you engaged, but about 3/4ths of the way, it was too easy to see what was going to happen and the dialogue wasn't sharp enough to really carry it. I still really enjoyed the book and I still recommend it, just know that the last little bit isn't quite the same quality as the rest. I do have to say that the beginning of the book is great and there's quite a rush and a lot of momentum in the book overall. I really liked the flawed characters and the way you're given back story to know why they are the way they are. I really loved the main character, the former boxer, and his back story. All in all, I recommend checking it out.

Was this review helpful?

HEART POUNDING. Loved this mystery and the roller coaster ride the author took us on. All my guesses were wrong which means I was surprised.

Was this review helpful?

Apart from some mild humour of a dry sardonic kind I did not find much to interest me in this book. They were far far too many characters and places for me to assimilate. I made it to the end, but I have to say that I felt like giving up halfway, but I do not like to do that.

It held promise at the start, but this was not fulfilled. Sorry

Was this review helpful?

This fast-paced thriller begins as Freddy Ferguson, a former boxer turned private investigator, a observant man, notices a woman in the security line as he waits his turn. Something just doesn’t seem right to him, so he continues to watch her as she moves through the airport to a gate that leads to a flight to Honolulu. She talks with two men who are watching closely to see that she boards that flight. After a few minutes, Freddy sees her sneak off the plane and go to the ladies room, coming out looking like someone else entirely. She instead boards a plane heading to Chicago.
Freddy gets on his plane to D.C. only to find upon his arrival there that the plane that had been headed to Honolulu blew up in mid-air.
No doubt that the woman he saw was somehow involved in this incident.
Freddy and his partner, Ed, discover the woman’s name, and they are determined to find out what’s going on.
I was engrossed in this book from first page to last, with its twists and turns.

Was this review helpful?

A fantastic book that has you gripped from the off until literally the very last page! Can't recommend this book highly enough!!!

Was this review helpful?

This was a great book, i was hooked from the start and i look forward to reading more by this author. I think this would make a good series.

Was this review helpful?

A really good story. I enjoyed this read. Fast paced. A clever and unusual plot. Want quick and enjoyable read, pick this up!! Highly recommended!

Was this review helpful?

I got this book as a free copy from Netgalley. This is the first time I have read book by Andrew Diamond and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The main characters are Freddy and Anna. The narration goes back between past and present describing how Freddy turned into a private investigator from the professional boxer. Freddy has a keen eye for observing things - him observing a women behaving in a strange way at the airport, and trying to co-relate the scene he observed at the airport with plane crash forms the storyline.

Was this review helpful?

This was a great page turner for me! There was a good plot which was fast paced with many twists and turns The opening pulled me right in and kept me captivated. Thanks to Stolen Press and NetGalley for providing me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Former boxer turned private investigator, Freddy Ferguson notices a woman in an airport security line. Later he sees the same woman deboard one plane and get on another. When the first plane she boarded crashes into the ocean and Freddy’s company is hired to investigate, he knows he has to find this woman. What comes next is a tale of drugs, politics, and personal demons.

Was this review helpful?

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC, this book got to me right from the first page.
It's always exciting when something happens in a plane, isn't ? Its more of an uncontrollable chaos. Here a mysterious woman decides to shift flights, minutes before her previous (actually scheduled plane) blows to pieces. She runs between the gates in the last minute, catches the wrong flight to San Francisco and disappears into thin air.
The blown-up plane killed everyone on board, at least that was the initial reports said. Private Airline Investigator Freddy Ferguson knows better to suspect that woman, more than an innocent who boarded the wrong flight.
Bring it on, Andrew Diamond. I am sure to recommend this brilliant plot to my fellow readers.

Was this review helpful?