Under Cover of Darkness
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Description
The youngest lawyer ever to grab the helm of Seattle's most prominent law firm, Gus Wheatley has found success–as well at money, power, and prestige. He thinks nothing can interfere with his meteoric rise to the top. Until his wife, Beth, vanishes.
Beth's disappearance coincides with a series of brutal murders the FBI dubs the "bookend killings." They think Beth isthe killer's latest victim... or his willing accomplice. But Gus knows his wife would never ally herself with a cold–blooded killer. The further he searches, however, the more he discovers that Beth isn't the woman he thought he knew.
Beth may be alive. She may or may not be innocent. She may have come up against evil far more reaching than a serial killer. And for Gus and his family, that evil is much too close to home.
Also in this Series
Published Reviews
Booklist Review
From the author of the recent spine tinglers The Abduction (1998) and Found Money (1998) comes a thriller about a prominent lawyer whose investigation of his wife's disappearance forces him to confront the possibility that she may not be a serial killer's victim but his accomplice. Grippando's yarns are always refreshing for several reasons. His characters are well drawn but not excessively detailed; his plots are intelligently conceived and executed; and he avoids many of the cliches of this genre. Here, for instance, the lawyer is working with a tough, attractive female FBI agent, but, for a change, we aren't treated to the usual sexual-tension, will-they-or-won't-they subplot. A smart, straightforward, and--yes, the pun is unavoidable--gripping thriller. --David Pitt
Publisher's Weekly Review
A workaholic attorney is forced to examine his priorities when his wife disappears amid a spree of serial killings in the Pacific Northwest. Grippando's fifth thriller (The Pardon; Found Money) springs energetically from the gate, creating tension and pace before a few unbelievable plot twists cause it to lose traction. Attorney Gus Wheatley, general partner of one of Seattle's biggest and most prestigious law firms, is interrupted from his busy schedule by a call from his daughter's dance instructor: his wife, Beth, failed to pick up six-year-old Morgan after class. At first merely annoyed, he next assumes his wife is having an affair (they have been experiencing marital problems) but soon calls police when he realizes Beth has disappeared without a trace. Ambitious FBI agent Andrea "Andie" Henning believes Beth may have fallen victim to a serial killer. In the days following her disappearance, Gus is stunned to learn that his wife suffered from bulimia and kleptomania, conditions pointing to extremely low self-esteem. Her emotional condition and other cluesDstrange phone calls, a tip from a prison inmateDeventually tempt investigators with another theory: Beth may have joined a local cult that includes murder among its group activities. The most successful component of this story is Gus Wheatley's growing awareness of his emotional separation from his family. Former trial lawyer Grippando displays expertise in police and legal procedures, but the connection between the killings and the cult strains credulity. Several key characters are not drawn convincingly, and the finale is more of an ambush than a surprise. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
School Library Journal Review
A workaholic attorney is forced to examine his priorities when his wife disappears amid a spree of serial killings in the Pacific Northwest. Grippando's fifth thriller (The Pardon; Found Money) springs energetically from the gate, creating tension and pace before a few unbelievable plot twists cause it to lose traction. Attorney Gus Wheatley, general partner of one of Seattle's biggest and most prestigious law firms, is interrupted from his busy schedule by a call from his daughter's dance instructor: his wife, Beth, failed to pick up six-year-old Morgan after class. At first merely annoyed, he next assumes his wife is having an affair (they have been experiencing marital problems) but soon calls police when he realizes Beth has disappeared without a trace. Ambitious FBI agent Andrea "Andie" Henning believes Beth may have fallen victim to a serial killer. In the days following her disappearance, Gus is stunned to learn that his wife suffered from bulimia and kleptomania, conditions pointing to extremely low self-esteem. Her emotional condition and other clues--strange phone calls, a tip from a prison inmate--eventually tempt investigators with another theory: Beth may have joined a local cult that includes murder among its group activities. The most successful component of this story is Gus Wheatley's growing awareness of his emotional separation from his family. Former trial lawyer Grippando displays expertise in police and legal procedures, but the connection between the killings and the cult strains credulity. Several key characters are not drawn convincingly, and the finale is more of an ambush than a surprise. (July) (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Library Journal Review
In this latest from Grippando (Found Money), the marriage of high-powered attorney Gus Wheatley and his insecure wife, BethDalready unfamiliar terrain to both partnersDis invaded by a serial-killer. Beth seems to have it all: the perfect home and a precious young daughter. Yet she vanishes one afternoon without taking a single piece of her life, including her child, who is left waiting all evening at private school. Rookie FBI agent Andie Henning has recently ditched her loser of a fianc at the altar and welcomes the opportunity to work on what turns out to be a high-profile serial-killer case. Gus's world continues self-destructing, as his daughter, sister, and colleagues judge and reject him, the killer piles up Beth lookalike victims, and eerie telephone clues indicate that she may be alive and in the killer's clutches. In the meantime, Gus learns some rather sad and unsavory things about the wife he thought he knew. Another riveting tale of suspense from Grippando. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 3/15/00.]DSusan A. Zappia, Paradise Valley Community Coll., Phoenix (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Book Review
Grippando's latest lawyer-in-distress yarn asks what happened to the missing wife of a successful attorney, and comes up with an answer beyond your wildest dreams. Gus Wheatley's wife Beth didn't pick up their preteen daughter Morgan from her big-ticket school for the best reason in the world: Beth had vanished--without packing her bags, taking her car, or touching her bank account. The Seattle cops, joined by the FBI, fear that she's the latest victim of a serial killer whose first two victims were graying 51-year-old divorcÉes who both drove Ford pickups, and whose third victim looked an awful lot like Beth. And as Gus, held at arm's length by the partners whose firm he'd been managing before Beth's vanishing act brought up the abuse complaint she'd briefly entered against him years earlier, takes his first close look in years at the stranger who'd shared his bed, what he finds is unnerving. Beth had suffered from bouts of bulimia and shoplifting she kept from her husband, though she confided every last detail to his sister Carla. What other secrets had she been hiding? And what to make of clues that suggest she's still alive and maybe even conspiring with the still-active killer? Unhappy with the inconclusive reports of FBI profiler Victoria Santos (The Informant, 1996), Gus decides to offer a fat reward for information about Beth's whereabouts, and the convict who claims the bounty dangles a single clue that links Beth to a nefarious cult, whose appearance sends all credibility from whooshing from the tale like air from a punctured balloon. FBI agent Andrea Henning's climactic infiltration of the sect answers every question about Beth's disappearance and the trail of murder surrounding it except one: who could possibly believe this stuff? An ingeniously entertaining mess for readers who won't mind the way the case soars off the rails, or who just plain don't like cults. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Reviews
From the author of the recent spine tinglers The Abduction (1998) and Found Money (1998) comes a thriller about a prominent lawyer whose investigation of his wife's disappearance forces him to confront the possibility that she may not be a serial killer's victim but his accomplice. Grippando's yarns are always refreshing for several reasons. His characters are well drawn but not excessively detailed; his plots are intelligently conceived and executed; and he avoids many of the cliches of this genre. Here, for instance, the lawyer is working with a tough, attractive female FBI agent, but, for a change, we aren't treated to the usual sexual-tension, will-they-or-won't-they subplot. A smart, straightforward, and--yes, the pun is unavoidable--gripping thriller. ((Reviewed May 1, 2000))Copyright 2000 Booklist Reviews
Library Journal Reviews
In this latest from Grippando (Found Money), the marriage of high-powered attorney Gus Wheatley and his insecure wife, Beth already unfamiliar terrain to both partners is invaded by a serial-killer. Beth seems to have it all: the perfect home and a precious young daughter. Yet she vanishes one afternoon without taking a single piece of her life, including her child, who is left waiting all evening at private school. Rookie FBI agent Andie Henning has recently ditched her loser of a fiancé at the altar and welcomes the opportunity to work on what turns out to be a high-profile serial-killer case. Gus's world continues self-destructing, as his daughter, sister, and colleagues judge and reject him, the killer piles up Beth lookalike victims, and eerie telephone clues indicate that she may be alive and in the killer's clutches. In the meantime, Gus learns some rather sad and unsavory things about the wife he thought he knew. Another riveting tale of suspense from Grippando. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 3/15/00.] Susan A. Zappia, Paradise Valley Community Coll., Phoenix Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
School Library Journal Reviews
A workaholic attorney is forced to examine his priorities when his wife disappears amid a spree of serial killings in the Pacific Northwest. Grippando's fifth thriller (The Pardon; Found Money) springs energetically from the gate, creating tension and pace before a few unbelievable plot twists cause it to lose traction. Attorney Gus Wheatley, general partner of one of Seattle's biggest and most prestigious law firms, is interrupted from his busy schedule by a call from his daughter's dance instructor: his wife, Beth, failed to pick up six-year-old Morgan after class. At first merely annoyed, he next assumes his wife is having an affair (they have been experiencing marital problems) but soon calls police when he realizes Beth has disappeared without a trace. Ambitious FBI agent Andrea "Andie" Henning believes Beth may have fallen victim to a serial killer. In the days following her disappearance, Gus is stunned to learn that his wife suffered from bulimia and kleptomania, conditions pointing to extremely low self-esteem. Her emotional condition and other clues strange phone calls, a tip from a prison inmate eventually tempt investigators with another theory: Beth may have joined a local cult that includes murder among its group activities. The most successful component of this story is Gus Wheatley's growing awareness of his emotional separation from his family. Former trial lawyer Grippando displays expertise in police and legal procedures, but the connection between the killings and the cult strains credulity. Several key characters are not drawn convincingly, and the finale is more of an ambush than a surprise. (July) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
Reviews from GoodReads
Citations
Grippando, J. (2009). Under Cover of Darkness . HarperCollins.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)Grippando, James. 2009. Under Cover of Darkness. HarperCollins.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)Grippando, James. Under Cover of Darkness HarperCollins, 2009.
Harvard Citation (style guide)Grippando, J. (2009). Under cover of darkness. HarperCollins.
MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)Grippando, James. Under Cover of Darkness HarperCollins, 2009.
Copy Details
Collection | Owned | Available | Number of Holds |
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Libby | 1 | 1 | 0 |