BLACKOUT

Author:
Betty Sullivan La Pierre

This reader/writer is a dedicated Bingo player, as well as a mystery fanatic, so when Betty Sullivan La Pierre's new thriller, BLACKOUT, appeared in my inbox, I knew from the first page that I'd hit the Jackpot.

My intention had been to browse the first chapter, and then put the book aside for my weekend reading pleasure, but a desperate old man, a delightful little girl and the zany antics of a bunch of bingo buddies, sent my intentions flying right out the window.

In BLACKOUT, Hawkman, master of mystery and former CIA agent, sets out to find a missing mom and stumbles onto a plot so depraved and dangerous it nearly costs him the love of his life. BLACKOUT is a chilling thriller that'll tug your heartstrings and chill your marrow.

Number Five is a fabulous addition to the Hawkman Series. I loved it!

~Jude Morris, Author

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Small town, missing women, bingo hall with large payouts, Indian casino a short drive away, all pieces of La Pierre's Blackout. Enter ex-agent Hawkman and his wife Jennifer, add an active agent and a bunch of helpful immigrants, but take away all the evidence: no bodies, no ransom notes, winning check not cashed, victims' cars missing.

In a small town everybody knows everybody else, so everybody knows the victims and their pasts, everybody knows everything about everybody -- or do they? And nobody admits to knowing where these girls are. Hawkman's methodical investigation, little by little, uncovers evidence no one else is aware of, but his irritating habit of keeping his plans and his hunches to himself until he's sure he's right, accelerate to a blur the page-turn-rate of this captivating novel.

Betty Sullivan La Pierre has done it again: Blackout is a 4 dagger mystery with characters that capture your heart and a plot that plays with your mind; you'll remember this book long after the story ends.

~ Evelyn Gale

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4 1/2 Daggers

Ms. La Pierre has given us another action filled adventure in this, the fifth of the Hawkman series. Ms. La Pierre continues to maintain her high quality of plotting and description of place. The characters are very fleshed out and alive. It's virtually impossible not to jump into the story and live it with the people involved. I even felt real creepy during the wild, dark-woodsy scenes.

And I love easygoing, restful old Rochester. My kind of dog.



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A grizzled old friend from the past hires Hawkman when his daughter, Destiny, fails to return home after a rare night out. Looking into the circumstances of that evening, Hawkman learns that she won a lot of money in a bingo game and had plans to try her luck at the casino a short drive down the highway. The trail ended there. At least, it did until Hawkman started poking around with his customary doggedness.

Initially, he suspects an old flame from Destiny's past may have had something to do with her vanishing. She had a child whom she kept secret from the father, leaving Hawkman to wonder whether he had somehow learned about it despite her efforts to hide it from him.

When Hawkman's next clue takes him to the Indian casino, he spots Max Pritchard, someone he knew from the Agency in his past life. At first, he's puzzled as to why Max is acting as security guard in a casino - and one so close to where Hawkman now lives. He orchestrates a reunion with Max and discovers his old friend is looking into a disappearance that sounds eerily similar to Destiny's. The security job at the casino is simply a convenient cover while Max discreetly investigates. He and Hawkman share the meager information they have.

They return to the bingo parlor, which figures prominently into the story. Much action takes place there -- with some brightly colorful figures and Hawkman's wife, Jennifer, helping with the investigation. During one evening, a scraggly blond-haired man piques Hawkman's interest when he flees the building after Hawkman mentions the missing woman. A search of some of the man's personal effects turns up some promising leads. As he delves deeper into the mystery, he stirs up unwanted interest, resulting in a flurry of activity meant to scare him off. Hawkman isn't the type to scare off easily - if at all. It just makes him all that much more determined.

A hunting trip, complete with a hound called Rochester, splashes even more excitement onto the pages. Once Max and Hawkman head out into the mountains of Southern Oregon, the story twists and turns as much as the back-country roads. The ride is thrilling, right down to the very last page.

A meticulous detailer, Ms. LaPierre unfolds the action and builds the tension steadily. Her sense of suspense gets better with each Hawkman novel.

~ Kate Ayers, Reviewer