China Lake: An Evan Delaney Novel: 1 - Softcover

Gardiner, Meg

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0451224558 ISBN 13: 9780451224552

Publisher: Dutton, 2008

Synopsis

Evan Delaney learns that not only has her ex-sister-in-law joined a religious cult, but the unstable young mother plans to regain custody of her son and disappear with him into the fold of the fanatical group. But when murder raises the stakes, Evan is dragged even deeper into the nightmare.

About this title

Review:

From beginning to end China Lake is a book that no reader of thrillers will be able to put down. Great characters, dynamic plot, nail-biting action - Meg Gardiner gives us everything. (Elizabeth George)

Terrifying, fast-paced well-written, race-against-time US tale, with a child needing to be rescued from a scary religious cult. It has a terrific hot-tempered heroine, who, I believe, is to star in more to come. Great stuff. (Sarah Broadhurst, Bookseller)

Meg Gardiner's . . . certainly arrived with a bang. She swiftly and smoothly lures you into the plot, and, by the time you've realised it, you're already locked in its vice-like grip . . . rocked by what you've read, yet enthralled at the same time. (Alex Gordon, Peterborough Evening Telegraph)

compelling tale, a powerful mix of murder, terrorism and a wealth of dark secrets. (Publishing News)

With a colourful cast of richly delineated characters, a protagonist with whom the readers will easily identify - all big-hearted, quick-tongued and hair-trigger-tempered - this novel provides a fast-paced ride through some of the more dubious nooks and crannies of the American dream and is an impressive opening salvo by a Surrey-based expatriate who hits the bookshelves running. (Maxim Jakubowski, Guardian)

What sets China Lake apart . . . is the quality of Gardiner's writing. She has a way of capturing a character or place with a single line of epigrammatic prose. . . Readers everywhere will welcome Gardiner into the halls of praise frequented by fellow authors Patricia Cornwell and Kathy Reichs with this ebullient debut of a hot-tempered, kind-hearted and clever heroine. (Waterstone's Books Quarterly)

With energetic, punchy prose and a breathless, action-thriller plot, China Lake is an assured debut. Evan Delaney is a great character and Gardiner a writer to watch. (Tangled Web)

Sure-footed, action-packed (Bookseller)

China Lake makes a strong impression. The story grips and Ms Gardiner is a welcome addition to the ranks of American thriller writers. (Sunday Telegraph)

A colourful cast of richly delineated characters, a protagonist with whom the reader will easily identify, all big-hearted, quick-tongued and trigger-hair tempered, this is a fast paced ride through some of the more dubious nooks and crannies of the American dream . . . an impressive opening salvo (Crime Time)

From the Publisher:

As soon as I read Meg Gardiner's first novel, I realised that here was a major new talent. She writes with confidence and assurance and has the knack of creating memorable characters whose fates you become involved with right from the first page. She also has the ability to write fast-paced, heart-in-mouth action suspense. I have signed up three more novels from her and look forward to seeing Evan Delaney's further adventures in the seductive Santa Barbara landscape.

About this edition

• Publisher: Dutton
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0451224558
• ISBN 13: 9780451224552
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 416