Phantom Instinct

April 7, 2014
Fans of tough-to-kill heroines and thrillers in the Dirty Harry tradition will best appreciate this standalone from Edgar-winner Gardiner (The Shadow Tracer). Harper Flynn, who’s trying to bury her sordid past, is lucky to survive the attack on Xenon, the L.A. club where she tends bar; her boyfriend, Drew Westerman, was fatally shot. Aiden Garrison, a sheriff’s detective suffering from a rare career-ending psychological injury that makes him confuse people’s appearances, took out two gunmen at the scene, but he’s sure another escaped. Together, Aiden and Harper pursue this third man and his vicious attack dog through a protracted series of red herrings, gruesome deaths by dog and sledgehammer, and bloody shoot-’em-ups. Gardiner tries hard to temper terror with steamy romance and a secondary character who is a computer hacker, but a climactic pursuit that lasts more than 100 pages feels like overkill, while a dramatic revelation by Drew’s obnoxious teenage sister, Piper, fails to convince. Agent: Deborah Schneider, Gelfman Schneider Literary Agents.

June 1, 2014
Two wounded warriors team up to take down the lowlifes who hurt them and would love to kill them.Nobody believes Harper Flynn about what happened that night in Xenon, the Los Angeles club where she tended bar. Everyone agrees that a pair of masked men suddenly appeared out of nowhere and opened fire into the crowd, killing Harper's boyfriend, Drew Westerman, before they fled into the night. But no one else saw the third gunman Harper insists fired the fatal shot-no one, that is, but Detective Aiden Garrison, who was in Xenon watching meth wholesaler Arliss Bale, the shooters' presumed target, who escaped without a scratch. Like Harper, Aiden is certain there was a third gunman. But no one believes him either, because among the impressive injuries he racked up in the course of that night was Fregoli Syndrome, which not only makes it hard for him to identify certain faces, but sometimes makes him convinced that people around him aren't really who they appear to be but enemies in disguise-enemies like that third gunman, who he insists he keeps spotting in the year after the incident. Once Aiden joins forces with Harper, who's wounded only in her enduring shock and bereavement, it doesn't take long for them to identify Eddie "Zero" Azerov as the third man. After spending the first half of this tale compellingly dramatizing how hard it is for Harper and Aiden to trust each other and their own perceptions, however, Gardiner (The Shadow Tracer, 2013, etc.) has the bad guys kidnap Drew's kid sister and use her as a hostage to make Harper do their bidding.The resulting action sequences, which fill the second half of the story, are never less than breathtaking but not nearly as interesting as the setup was.

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June 1, 2014

Edgar Award winner Gardiner's (The Shadow Tracer) latest stand-alone starts off with a bang--literally. Bartender Harper Flynn and Aiden Garrison, an LA sheriff deputy, are caught in an explosive gunfight at Xenon, the club where Harper works. Harper's boyfriend, Drew, is killed. Both Harper and Aiden are convinced they saw three gunmen, not two, but a fire destroys the evidence and their eyewitness accounts are dismissed. A year later, Harper sees the third gunman again at Drew's memorial service and turns to the only person willing to believe her. Too bad Aiden is suffering from Fregoli syndrome--a traumatic brain injury that causes him to see the suspect in everyone. Romantic sparks fly as Harper and Aiden are thrown together in a high-stakes cat-and-mouse game, but staying alive is their number-one priority. Alternating third-person points of view help flesh out the characters and keep the suspense high, and, as Harper's shady past and possible connection to the third gunman is revealed, Aiden has no idea whom to trust. VERDICT Readers who enjoy strong heroines and emotionally vulnerable heroes along with nonstop cinematic action will be unable to put this fast-paced, plot-driven thriller down. [See Prepub Alert, 1/6/14.]--Charli Osborne, Oxford P.L., MI

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2014
A year after Harper Flynn's boyfriend was murdered when gunmen stormed the nightclub where she worked, Harper is still struggling with survivor's guilt and lingering questions. The LAPD investigation concluded that the two gunmen found dead in the club acted alone, but Harper saw three shooters. When she spots someone stalking her, Harper is convinced the third shooter is back. She hopes that Aiden Garrison, an LAPD detective who survived the club attack and also spotted a third gunman, will help her cause with police. But Aiden sustained a head injury in the attack that resulted in a rare disorder characterized by paranoia and hallucinations, resulting in the loss of all his credibility with the police. When Harper and Aiden compare notes, Aiden's description of the third gunman's tattoo brings Harper's worst nightmare to life. The nightclub shooter is a demon from her past, bent on revenge, and Aiden is the only person willing to help her face him. Harper and Aiden's alliance is full of heady chemistry, but a layer of mutual distrust lends a suspense-building unpredictability that thriller fans will love.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)