HARD STOP by Chris Knopf
(The Permanent Press, $28.00, May, 2009).
Rating: A-
The fourth Sam Acquillo mystery set in the
Hamptons. Sam was flying high in corporate America when he
was forced out of his high-paying job. Not long afterwards
his wife divorced him and took their house. He went back to
his dad’s small house
in the Hamptons to wallow in his newfound poverty. That’s
where the series started and with each book we find Sam happier
and happier to be out of the rat race. He earns enough in construction
work and finish carpentry to pay his bills and enjoys life with
his wealthy girlfriend when he is not working.
What he doesn’t expect is to come home one night and find
someone ransacking his humble abode. He catches the guy and finds
out that he was hired by his old boss. So he pays his old boss
a midnight visit to find out what is going on. Without giving
too much away, Sam agrees to find Iku Kinjo, a brilliant consultant,
who has disappeared. His reward is the large payout that was
denied him when he was fired. Now he must maneuver his way in
and out of corporate intrigue to find the young woman and why
she went missing. And it’s the “why” that really
drives him on and not the money. And it’s the “why” that
propels the reader through to the last page.
I’ve found the well-written books in
this series to be highly satisfying and enjoyable. Chris has
told me that he has a stand-alone novel coming out later this
year from Minotaur.
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