Fotografía de autor

Chris Jordan (1) (1951–)

Autor de Taken

Para otros autores llamados Chris Jordan, ver la página de desambiguación.

4 Obras 378 Miembros 11 Reseñas

Series

Obras de Chris Jordan

Taken (2006) 156 copias
Trapped (2007) 96 copias
Torn (2009) 79 copias
Measure of Darkness (2011) 47 copias

Etiquetado

Conocimiento común

Nombre canónico
Jordan, Chris
Nombre legal
Philbrick, Rodman
Otros nombres
Dantz, William R.
Fecha de nacimiento
1951
Género
male
Nacionalidad
USA
Lugares de residencia
Maine, USA
Florida, USA

Miembros

Reseñas

I was at once intrigued and beguiled by the bubbling point of view of administrative assistant Alice Crane, who basically narrates the entire story for us with tongue-in-cheek humor. Naomi Nantz, private investigator extraordinaire, has put together a team of retired law enforcement, attorneys, and hackers, not to mention their live-in cordon-bleu chef, to review and resolve those crimes that lesser human beings cannot handle.
In this case, the team is brought in by world famous child rescuer and former FBI agent, Randall Shane to help solve the murder of a MIT professor whose five-year-old musical child prodigy has been kidnapped and for whom Shane has been set up for the disappearance by murky unknown shadow-government agent-types.
When Shane is kidnapped from what was supposed to be the impregnable walls of the Nantz offices, the team takes it personally and sets out to sleuth the truth, rescue Shane, and find the missing child. In a web of deceit that leads to upper levels of government conspiracy to the Chinese triads, we are whiplashed through a fast-paced thriller and left with a well wrapped satisfying package.
The Alice Crane point of view throughout, especially when the action takes place out of her immediate view, becomes awkward. I thought the incessant babbling of the female view point a little heavy-handed, but this was before I found out that Chris Jordan is a Nome de plume for Rodman Philbrick, a man writing as a woman, and then I realized he over-dramatized the female role which affects the style. Another irritating habit is that each character exhibits the same sense of humor as the author (and narrator) which produces only a skin deep character evaluation. Elmore Leonard’s rule of writing Rule #10 should be applied, ‘try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.’ The book has a fine plot, effective outline, and is a scintillating thriller, but would benefit from being effectively edited.
… (más)
 
Denunciada
MarkPSadler | 4 reseñas más. | Jan 17, 2016 |
I was at once intrigued and beguiled by the bubbling point of view of administrative assistant Alice Crane, who basically narrates the entire story for us with tongue-in-cheek humor. Naomi Nantz, private investigator extraordinaire, has put together a team of retired law enforcement, attorneys, and hackers, not to mention their live-in cordon-bleu chef, to review and resolve those crimes that lesser human beings cannot handle.
In this case, the team is brought in by world famous child rescuer and former FBI agent, Randall Shane to help solve the murder of a MIT professor whose five-year-old musical child prodigy has been kidnapped and for whom Shane has been set up for the disappearance by murky unknown shadow-government agent-types.
When Shane is kidnapped from what was supposed to be the impregnable walls of the Nantz offices, the team takes it personally and sets out to sleuth the truth, rescue Shane, and find the missing child. In a web of deceit that leads to upper levels of government conspiracy to the Chinese triads, we are whiplashed through a fast-paced thriller and left with a well wrapped satisfying package.
The Alice Crane point of view throughout, especially when the action takes place out of her immediate view, becomes awkward. I thought the incessant babbling of the female view point a little heavy-handed, but this was before I found out that Chris Jordan is a Nome de plume for Rodman Philbrick, a man writing as a woman, and then I realized he over-dramatized the female role which affects the style. Another irritating habit is that each character exhibits the same sense of humor as the author (and narrator) which produces only a skin deep character evaluation. Elmore Leonard’s rule of writing Rule #10 should be applied, ‘try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.’ The book has a fine plot, effective outline, and is a scintillating thriller, but would benefit from being effectively edited.
… (más)
 
Denunciada
MarkPSadler | 4 reseñas más. | Jan 17, 2016 |
Take one missing, possibly abducted child, one deceased research physicist, one missing Chinese national, one top secret, government-sponsored research project, and one secret possibly black ops force and find the common denominator. All are key components in Measure of Darkness by Chris Jordan.

Measure of Darkness is a suspense thriller centering on the missing, possibly abducted child of the now-deceased research physicist. Dr. Joseph Keener hired renowned child finder Randall Shane to locate his missing son, Joey. The only problem is Shane is wanted for the murder of Dr. Keener. Shane turns to a local private firm to assist him in the search for the missing child. It looks like a routine case until some unknown black ops type force enters the firm's Back Bay headquarters and abducts Shane. The head of this firm is Naomi Nantz, a skillful investigator and coordinator. Ms. Nantz is assisted by Alice Crane - the secretary, Mrs. Beasley - the chef (cook is too plebeian a term for her gastronomic delights), Teddy Boyle - resident computer guy, and Jack Delancey - chief investigator and former FBI agent.

As the team attempts to prove that Shane is innocent and find Joey, they reveal layer after layer of intrigue. Dr. Keener's co-workers and students apparently were not aware that he had a child. There is no record of the child and it appears that his mother is a Chinese national that is also missing. Not a problem, except that Dr. Keener's research company was working on a top-secret, government-sponsored research project. Is it possible that Dr. Keener was killed by a foreign government? Was Joey kidnaped to help keep Dr. Keener in line? Just when the team thinks they have a grasp on the situation more dead bodies appear. If dead bodies aren't bad enough, there are apparent ties to a federal case from Jack's past. There are too many things occurring for these to be coincidental.

Measure of Darkness provides a great premise as a suspense thriller. There are numerous twists and turns in the plot to keep the reader involved, but parts of the plot seem mired in the secretive black ops/government conspiracy theme. Although this theme may seem farfetched, it works. Naomi Nantz seems to be a combination of Hercule Poirot sans the mustache and accent and Columbo sans the wrinkled trench coat. Although she isn't a field-agent per se, she does quite well at being able to step back and see the big picture. The narrative is told from the point of view of Alice, and I think that this helps to keep the story grounded as Alice isn't wealthy or a genius but simply a hard-working, intelligent young woman that has survived hardships. If you're in the market for a fast-paced suspense thriller that is also a quick read, then Measure of Darkness may be just the book for you.
… (más)
½
 
Denunciada
BookDivasReads | 4 reseñas más. | Nov 30, 2011 |
I wasn't aware when I chose this title to review that Measure of Darkness is a spinoff of sorts from Chris Jordan's series (Taken, Trapped and Torn) featuring Randall Shane, an ex FBI agent who has become a child recovery expert. In the previous novels I believe Shane has had brief contact with a member of Naomi Nantz's investigators but while Shane has a crucial role to play in this story it focuses on the team of privately funded investigators.
Funded by the mysterious Benefactor and managed by the efficient and brilliant Naomi Nantz, the private investigation firm includes an ex cop, a young computer whiz kid and Alice, who gave up her receptionist duties in a dentists office to become Nantz's personal assistant after her bigamist husband bled her dry of her life savings. Randall Shane is in the midst of a case to find a missing boy when his client is murdered and turns to Naomi for assistance. Before he can share too many details though Shane is kidnapped by a shadowy group of operatives and subjected to days of torture. In his absence Nantz and her team try to pick up the threads of his investigation to find the missing boy while puzzling out the events that led to the murder of his father and Shane's abduction. It's a tangle of military secrets, perverted patriotism, research funds further complicated by a sociopathic mercenary and an uncooperative FBI which the team need to unravel in order to shed light on the case.
I really enjoyed the complexity of the plot of Measure of Darkness. The novel subtly weaves misdirects and suspects in the fabric of the story that has you considering your assumptions at every turn. The action is punctuated by thoughtful periods of investigation. It is a little slow in places as the team ruminate on the clues (or lack of thereof) available but if you persist the pace picks up and the final denouement is very satisfying.
Measure of Darkness is narrated by Alice, Naomi Nantz's assistant and in the third person through alternate chapters. It's a unusual method but was surprisingly successful for me. I think perhaps because I enjoyed the characters a lot, the team are comprised of some quirky though very clever people, ably supported by a gourmet housekeeper. I find I can easily visualize the group as they discuss cases in formal wear over dinner. I also thought the other characters, even the autistic professor that we never actually meet, are individual and interesting.
Measure of Darkness is a slight quirky suspense mystery with an intriguing cast and clever plot. I think it has broad appeal for both genders who enjoy a challenging mystery.
… (más)
 
Denunciada
shelleyraec | 4 reseñas más. | Nov 9, 2011 |

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Estadísticas

Obras
4
Miembros
378
Popularidad
#63,851
Valoración
3.2
Reseñas
11
ISBNs
68
Idiomas
8

Tablas y Gráficos