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Title: The First 48 by Tim Green ISBN: 0-446-53144-8 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: February, 2004 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.46 (13 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Not perfect, but very entertaining...
Comment: Since I recently picked up a Tim Green novel and really liked it, I got a copy of his latest book and finished it this morning. The book is called The First 48, and it's a very good crime thriller. Jane Redmon is a newspaper writer, and she's been fed some information from a secret source that could destroy a senator's career. The editors at the paper let her write the story, but before she can hit the deadline she disappears. Her father, Tom Redmon, had his career as a prosecutor ruined by the same senator, and he's now an alcoholic lawyer and just scraping by. But when he learns of his daughter's disappearance, he starts the manhunt himself. The title comes from the adage that kidnappings that go more than 48 hours without being solved generally don't get solved or a body turns up. He has 48 hours to find his daughter, and will do just about anything to get it done.
As a story, I liked the writing and pace. The 48 hour countdown did lend a certain urgency to the search, but it was a little too convenient at the end. Some nice plot twists along the way, and you're not quite sure who is good or bad. The alcoholism slant doesn't really come into play much, and it could have been dropped with no effect on the story. Regardless, not perfect, but it is entertaining.
Rating: 4
Summary: (4-) A Book with an Excellent Plot but Unrealized Potential
Comment: In many ways, this is a typical TIm Green thriller, a fast moving story relatively light on character development but held together by a tight timeline, non-stop action, and at least one unexpected plot twist. The story begins with a brief prologue whose relevance is only established later but which provides sufficient context to allow the reader to guess the motivations of some of the important protagonists as the story unfolds. Unfortunately, therefore, this somewhat reduces the suspense regarding one element of the story. In Chapter One we meet Tom Redmon, an almost fifty year old former prosecutor now barely making ends meet as a low-rent defense attorney who drinks too much in order to keep in touch with his dead wife Ellen and to ease the pain that remains from the long ago incident that ruined his career. Soon thereafter, we meet Tom's only friend and part time investigator, Mike Tubbs - a thirty year old, three hundred pound reformed motorcycle gang member and computer genius who feels that Tom's legal skills and persistence were responsible for keeping him out of prison and that he thus owes Tom a debt that can never be adequately repaid.
We have only just been introduced to Tom long enough to learn a little of his eccentric nature when the scene shifts from Ithaca, NY to the newsroom of THE WASHINGTON POST. There a shadowy source is feeding Tom's daughter Jane, a young reporter, very damaging information about none other than Michael Gleason, the cause of her father's downfall many years ago and now a senior and very powerful U.S. Senator. As Jane becomes convinced that she may have a story of Pulitzer Prize potential if her source is trustworthy, she decides that she has to visit her father and confront him in order to finally learn the secret of how Gleason destroyed Tom's career as background for her understanding of the Senator and in order to decide if he is as corrupt as her source has indicated. Under a morning deadline from her editor, Jane returns to DC later the same night to prepare the story for the editor's approval, but she fails to appear at work the next day. When Tom contacts her editor the next afternoon after becoming concerned about her, he learns that the police are investigating her disappearance and that her apartment has been ransacked.
Tom was a policeman before attending law school, so he immediately recognizes that THE FIRST 48 hours after a subject's disappearance are crucial to successfully locating the person alive. Since the countdown has effectively begun several hours earlier, he and MIke immediately pack up Tom's old diesel pickup truck and head for DC. Tom finds that his sense of urgency is not shared by either the POST management or the DC police, both of whom are treating Senator Gleason with the deference that the powerful in Washington so often command. Tom's reputation as an oddball and his aggressive behavior quickly end all chances for their cooperation, so he and Mike decide to independently investigate Jane's disappearance. Of course, Tom is totally convinced that Gleason is undoubtedly the key to the puzzle, and makes the Senator the initial target of his inquiry. He and Mike also pursue the parallel track of determining the identity of her shadowy source.
The plot has several threads that are ingeniously woven together, and the depiction of the intrigue surrounding the Washington lobbying scene is accurately drawn. The book is an easy read and a real page turner; I started it during an afternoon and had finished it by bedtime without speedreading. Also, in some ways, the central charcters are much better developed than in Green's earlier books. During explanatory flashbacks, we learn a lot about Tom and a fair amount about Mike, and we are treated to a wonderful tradition which has evolved which involves the exchange between them at appropriate moments of relevant philosophical insights drawn from recognizable historical figures . So, why not a five star rating? The story suffers from the two interrelated flaws which plague the author's other books which I have read. First, there are a few too many tricks played on the reader in regard to certain events. (I cannot be more specific without creating a spoiler.) While this makes the story more exciting and unpredictable, it does so in a way that is basically a shortcut for the author at the reader's expense. Second and much more importantly, Green does a great job of providing many accurate and interesting details in order to create a realistic backdrop, but then in an apparent effort to increase the "thrill quotient" and keep the reader's adrenaline pumping he makes some elements of the story so farfetched as to cause it to lose all credibilty. It undoubtedly is a great story for a speed reader, who would probably primarily care about the plot and love the action; in some ways it is a better movie outline than a book.
If you are a Tim Green fan or are just looking for an action thriller that has an interesting plot and which is a fast read, this book should provide a few hours of enjoyment. This is the fourth book by Tim Green that I have read, and it is much superior to his last effort, THE FIFTH ANGEL (review 3/21/03). It is about on a par with THE LETTER OF THE LAW, but not nearly as good as THE FIFTH PERIMETER, so if you haven't read that one I recommend it highly.
Tucker Andersen
Rating: 4
Summary: GOOD PLOT. PLENTY OF ACTION.
Comment: Green's latest thriller begins with Tom Redmond, a poor lawyer, promising to sue some large conglomerates for a poor family with an ill child. His secretary wants him to take a case that pays. Later, Tom and his friend, Mike, meet up. Mike is a special kind of friend, one willing to go the extra, unusual yard. He is also one to set up Tom in a humorous situation, just because he can. Even under stress, Tom can forgive Mike for his tricks, which signifies their special friendship. This is the kind of friendship Tom needs when life gets dangerous. The camaraderie of these two keeps the story moving once the action begins.
The other person in Tom's life is his daughter, Jane. Jane is a Washington, DC, journalist. She uncovers a story about a corrupt senator, the very senator who destroyed her father's career years ago. Jane's investigative skills put her in harm's way, and lucky for her -- though not for others -- her Dad is willing to do what's necessary to find and save his daughter's life. Jane is one tough lady and adds a lot to the storyline.
Who else is in Tom's life? His late wife. Tom still sees her and heeds her advice.
_The First 48_ doesn't have the intensity of Green's earlier novel, _The Fifth Angel_, but it does have a suspenseful plot, blow-by-blow scenes and interesting twists. Green gives his readers a world of reality with some added embellishments -- perfect for the reader looking for an engaging thriller.
Actor Stephen Lang reads _The First 48_. Lang's uses his voice well in portraying the typical emotional range, and when Lang's tone drops an octave, he invokes shades of the more sinister, from ornery to bone chilling.
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