The First 48

Police operate on the theory that if a kidnapped victim isn't found within the first 48 hours, the chances of turning up alive are slim. Jane Redmon is a WASHINGTON POST reporter who is receiving damning information about a prominent United States senator. When she's kidnapped, under the orders of the senator, her father, retired cop Tom Redmon, and his former partner, Mike Tubbs, begin a desperate search to find her within the 48-hour timeframe. Stephen Lang does an excellent job maintaining suspense. His narration adds greatly to the enjoyment of this thriller. J.L.C. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine

January 26, 2004
More often than not, a person missing as a result of foul play will be killed if not rescued in the first 48 hours after the abduction. This actuarial statistic is taken as gospel by struggling lawyer Tom Redmond in Green's sloppy third thriller (after The Fifth Angel
) when Redmond's Washington Post
reporter daughter, Jane, disappears. Before she vanished, Jane was investigating the purported sexual misconduct of powerful Senator Gleason, who years ago destroyed her father's career as a district attorney. Now Tom believes the senator has hired a former CIA assassin to do away with Jane. Enlisting the help of former biker Mike Tubbs, Tom sets off on a 48-hour rampage of criminal trespass, kidnapping, assault, grand theft, burglary, torture and murder, racing up and down the east coast with the duct tape–wrapped senator in tow. Meanwhile, Jane makes her own escape, running half-naked around a Hudson River island, fighting snakes and psychopaths. Just as she thinks all is lost, she meets up with Mark Allen, a handsome mystery man who was one of her key sources on the Gleason story. Mark seems to be on her side—but who is he, really? After the 48 hours elapse, the action extends to the evil plan of a Ukrainian terrorist who talks like Speedy Gonzalez, and Jane's vigilantes commit a few more felonies to save the day. Improbabilities vie for attention with contrivances, and the novel is riddled with careless writing ("Mike began typing again, his stubby fingers running the keys like a prodigy"), silly dialogue (" 'This is GD big' ") and irrelevant detail ("Tom paid at the Home Depot with cash"). As things wind down to a predictable ending, Redmond's 48 hours may seem interminable. Agent, Esther Newberg. Major ad/promo.

According to law enforcement experts, the window for the successful rescue of a kidnap victim is 48 hours after abduction. Thus is the premise of THE FIRST 48. Good idea, marginal results. A WASHINGTON POST reporter disappears, and her ex-cop father, sensing foul play, engages the 48-hour countdown clock, running around and over plodding local authorities. The last-second rescue is disappointing as the damsel is no longer in distress. Scott Brick lends his smooth, unforced delivery to the action, but even his best effort fails to save this story. A first-class narrator, Brick deserves better material. T.J.M. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine