For me this was a fast paced page turner! Times I thought I had figured it all out and was taken for a twist! Great read!

I received a free copy from NetGalley. Kidnapped and pregnant. Very pregnant. Told from several perspectives it is fact paced and action filled and it would probably make a decent movie. I have not read others in the series and did feel lost reading this one as a stand alone.

Diane was a forty three year old eight month pregnant judge. She felt huge and it was hard for her to get comfortable. Diane is looking out a atypical scene in her courtroom. As usual a team of federal prosecutors to her left. Two of whom she had before in her past. But at the defense table s a bevy of lawyers and Juan Manuel Escalante who is a known drug cartel leader who was lured to Florida through a DEA scheme and then arrested by the Feds. There is no jury before Diane. The decision on this case was hers alone. Juan brought up Diane’s and her unborn child’s health. Diane was not sure if it was a threat or not. The obstetrician said the only way he would let Diane keep working if she avoided undue stress. She needed to relax. Then she is going to a cafe for lunch and is pulled into a van. Diane is married to a lawyer , Billy who hires his close friend and former police officer -Max- turned private detective to find out what he could by any means necessary. Diane is determined to get away from her kidnappers and the baby be fine in her stomach. Diane has been a judge for several years and she has dealt with every criminal imaginable so being a hostage she is more aware.
I didn’t really care for this book. I just didn’t connect with it. That wasn’t the books fault it just didn’t catch or keep my interest. I had action right from the start. I don’t really know why but this just wasn’t for me. But I am sure someone will really enjoy it.

Another Max Freeman mystery -- King's former police officer turned detective. This time the wife of a friend has been kidnapped. She happens to be a federal judge and 8 months pregnant. Max has to break a few rules to rescue her.

A fast-paced mystery filled with lore and legends of the Florida Everglades. Nothing surprising or new here, but another entertaining way to pass the time. Definitely a must for fans of series mysteries.

Max Freeman is an ex-cop turned detective. He works for Billy Manchester, a black lawyer with great skills. Billy is married to Diane who is from an old established white family and is a US District judge. Diane is presiding over a drug lord’s extradition trial. She goes to lunch and never returns to the courthouse. Kidnapped but why?

Bill immediately calls Max to help locate her. It is very important that they get her back as she is eight months pregnant with their first child. Max doesn’t follow the rules and is just the person needed to figure out who took Diane, why they took her and where she is so they can get her back.

Set in Florida, the book describes the Everglades, the Indian casinos and reservations found there. It is a fast-paced book and one that I had a very hard time putting down. If you like a good detective story and one that keeps you guessing about “who-done-it”, this should be a book you read.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

US district judge Diane Manchester has looked across the courtroom into the eyes of evil before. But today, as she presides over the extradition hearing of a notorious Colombian drug lord, she is also eight months pregnant. Her chair is uncomfortable, her robe is constrictive, and her due date is fast approaching. If she shows a single sign of weakness, Diane risks jeopardizing the biggest trial of her career and setting a vicious murderer free.
In seconds, her situation takes a harrowing turn for the worse. Walking to her favorite lunch spot, Diane is grabbed off the street, thrown into the back of a white van, blindfolded, and threatened with death. She has no idea who her kidnappers are or what they want. Maintaining a strict code of silence, they refuse to give her even the smallest glimmer of hope.
But Diane's captors have overlooked a crucial detail: Her husband, Billy, is the employer and best friend of Max Freeman, Philadelphia cop turned South Florida private investigator. Tossing off the rule of law, Freeman sets out to determine which of a rogues' gallery of suspects took Diane—and to save her and her unborn child before it's too late.

*3.5 stars*

This was another case of nailing one or two aspects of a story but failing in a few others...

The best thing about this book for me were the characters. Max Freeman is a brilliant private investigator and the real star of the show. Diane, eight months pregnant and Federal judge, plays the perfect hostage. We feel empathy toward her but also cheer for her at the same time. And even the abductors are written so well, we can't help but feel sorry for them.

The other thing that worked really well was the location - I have never been to the Florida Everglades but I sure felt like I had by the time I finished this book. Great descriptions of the area and really brought the area to life in my mind.

The biggest negative to me was the actual investigation itself. I have read more than my fair share of mystery/thriller novels and this one just really didn't have either of those things. We kinda know who the abductors are early on (so no real mystery) and the story was pretty slow. One of the biggest issues I had was the different POV's and the changes in tense. Told from 3 characters - some in present tense, some in past - this just never really had a chance to build real tension. And that is disappointing as it had all the hallmarks of being a cracking novel.

Overall, not a bad book - just one that fell down a little with execution (in my mind, at least) - but you should be the judge of that!


Paul
ARH