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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.92
EAN num: 9780451224552
ISBN number: 0451224558
Label: Signet
Manufacturer: Signet
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 416
Printing Date: June 03, 2008
Publishing house: Signet
Sale Popularity Level: 49988
Studio: Signet
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
Finally available in the U.S.
Evan Delaney learns that not only has her ex- sister-in-law joined a religious cult, but the unstable young mother plans to regain custody of her son and disappear with him into the fold of the fanatical group. But when murder raises the stakes, Evan is dragged even deeper into the nightmare.
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Rated by buyers 
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Sci-fi author Evan Delaney's very first book has been released, and she's kicking back to reap the honors. Her brother's away in the Navy, but he'll soon be home, ready to resume the care of his 6 year old son Luke, who has been in Evan's loving custody. Everything seems bright and sunny, when who should pop up but a) Luke's mother, who deserted him, and B) a militant religious cult that's more demonic than Christian. And they want Luke.
China Lake is an adventure from start to finish. Normally, books with female protagonists are delegated to women readers, but this has enough action to satisfy anyone. The plot's over the top, but the ride's a rollicking, suspenseful one, and CL is a fun, quickly paced thriller with a number of surprises built right in. It's great to read something with strong, resourceful female characters. My only complaint is that the witty wisecracks fly around no matter what the danger, and that becomes a bit annoying. Nevertheless, I recommend China Lake as an entertaining diversion. Fasten your seat belts!
Rated by buyers 
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This mystery is a real summer beach book. It is meant to be taken to the beach and left on the sand. Maybe some surfer will use to light a fire.
Actually, it is a bit of a hoot at times. The author liberally uses adjectives to the point of gluttony. Women have "masses of toffee-colored hair" Men sport "tousled ebony curls."All the women are cooly professional meddlers except for the fat, sweaty, brain-dead females of the congregation, while the men are either defense lawyers with noble goals, strong in their disabilities or heroic fighter pilots with piercing blue eyes and sea-burnished skin. Unless, of course, they are the evil fundamentalist groupies who have pustulent skin, greasy hair and braying voices.
Maybe the author should stick with "bodice-rippers" and leave serious thriller writing to the professionals who can actually draw characters.
Rated by buyers 
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China Lake is the debut novel in Meg Gardiner's Evan Delaney series. Meg is a Californian transplanted to England where she is a success. This book is fascinating to me in that Evan is an "every woman" figure. A woman who is coping with life's everyday challenges in a quiet and understated manner. She is looking after her nephew, Luke, for her brother on active military duty when her former sister-in-law, Tabitha, arrives demanding the return of her son. It doesn't take long before we learn there is a sinister reason behind the sudden maternal instinct of of Tabitha in the form of two violent deaths. It seems a small religous cult calling itself The Remnant has a vicious plot in mind and Luke is at the center of it. I have read all the Evan Delaney novels and highly recommend them all. Ms. Gardiner's prose is welcome addition to the crime genre. She is no ordinary writer and we should consider ourselves blessed with her long overdue introduction to readers in the USA.
Rated by buyers 
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This reads like the very first of a new series, featuring (female) amateur detective Evan Delaney. Evan is a lawyer, doing legal research and journalism, which evidently allows her to take a lot of time off to detect.
One way of allowing an amateur to get involved in an investigation is to involve her family members, and this book does that very well. It is completely believable that Evan would want to protect her young nephew, who she's had custody of while his father (her brother) is on sea duty in the Navy, as well as her brother and his wife (or ex-wife).
At very first I was a bit annoyed at the flag-waving, duty-first, military-is-wonderful attitude, but it is a valid cultural choice as a setting and I think the author worked herself past it.
Don't let blurb from Stephen King fool you; this is not that kind of thriller. There are no rabid dogs, ghosts, demon cars, or teenaged witchery. Other than a few possibly shaky scientific details which can be overlooked, there is nothing here but ordinary human evil, manipulation, and greed. Much of the evil is on the surface, obvious from the very first paragraph, but there is also underlying evil in several forms and a few plot-twists I hadn't imagined. I was very happy with the denouement.
I would recommend this book for cozy readers who don't mind a bit of "heroine in peril" and for those who don't mind their thrillers being a bit soft-boiled. I'll be watching out for more from this author and this detective.
Rated by buyers -
Not only did I quit after the very first couple chapters, I didn't even care enough to peak at the ending.
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