Book Review, Ransom, by Gilbert Stack.

I found Gilbert Stack when he reviewed one of my books. As I always do, I took a look at the links on his email and found this novel. The premise interested me so I had to get a copy.

Blurb

ABBA, Air Supply, Charlie’s Angels, Ronald Reagan—it’s 1981 and real estate attorney, Lynne Winters’, is struggling to manage a constantly complaining mother and a law practice tanking in the worst real estate market in a decade. Then her life really goes insane when a long brown envelope lands on her desk. The heir to the Mackland furniture empire has been kidnapped and the kidnapper has forced Lynne smack in the middle of the ransom negotiations. It’s the most important case of her career, but in a time when professional women too often aren’t taken seriously, it will take all of Lynne’s resourcefulness and grit to find a way to bring the boy safely home again.

My review.

A boy, the son of an apparently rich businessman, has been kidnapped. The person responsible has an unorthodox way of getting in touch to demand his ransom.

Lynne Winters has to deal with this; while juggling her chaotic personal life, addiction to caffeine and the fact that nobody takes her seriously. Worse, they suspect her motives.

There’s a cast of believable characters; from the family of the rich victim, all with their own idiosyncrasies, to the police who investigate and Lynne’s mother, who complicates Lynne’s life with issues of her own. The way people react differently to a stressful situation is very well explored, leaving you with suspects, motives and dysfunction. They’re all realistic characters, behaving just like you could picture any family, if they were faced with this sort of situation.

This is a fast-moving, well-written story with enough twists and turns to satisfy and leave you wondering who is at the bottom of things. I particularly enjoyed the authenticity of it. Lynne is portrayed as a real person, not some crime-fighting superhero. Like most of us, she has so much going on, yet she manages to cope with it all, surprising herself in the process.

I also found that Gilbert has written so much more than this book. As well as contemporary thrillers, there are supernatural tales, high fantasy, historical fiction. The question is, which one to try next?