Dangerous Games - Dark Publications

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Product Description
A killer is using labyrinthine storm drains to dispose of his victims, who are found handcuffed and drowned, washed out of the rain-filled drainage lines like garbage. The crimes compel FBI Agent Tess McCallum to crack the case, but they're touching a nerve in Personal Security Consultant Abby Sinclair. She fears it's the same madman who invaded her nightmares once before. As the two women work with each other to solve the case, tensions rise and tempers flare. And as sure as the rain, a new killing season begins.

Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Prescott Rules March 31, 2005
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

I read this book in only two sittings because I could not put it down. Prescott brings back two of his more interesting characters, Tess McCallum, FBI agent and Abby Sinclair, "The Shadow Hunter." As expected, the two women do not get along very well when hunting down a serial killer but they must learn to work together in accomplishing this feat.

The book had a good combination of action, humor and sadness. The exchanges between Tess McCallum and her boss, "The Nose" are classics. They had me rolling on the floor.

Prescott is slowly becoming one of the my favorite mystery writers.

4 out of 5 stars

If this one is considered boring.... December 9, 2005
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

This is the first book by Michael Prescott I have read and if the other reviews are correct and this story is boring, I can't wait to get my hands on his other books. I really enjoyed this book. There was a wonderful blending of mystery, suspense, humor and excitement. It is true that the killer is identified almost immediately, but I didn't feel as though that took anything away from the story. It was actually helpful to know who it was. It allowed the reader to watch how those involved interacted with the very people hunting them down.

Tess McCallum is an FBI agent who is something of a celebrity but who, like most of us, has some skeletons in her closet. Abby Sinclair, a private investigator is a gung-ho go getter with a wicked sense of humor. The killer(s) is(are) someone who could quite possibly live next door to any of us, which makes this story so believeable.

The story comes out of the shute on a dead run and doesn't stop till the finish line. I can't wait to find other books by Prescott, hope they are as good as this one was.

4 out of 5 stars

Deeper Than It Looks May 23, 2006
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Dangerous Games by Michael Prescott takes an interesting premise, a serial killer who kidnaps women and chains them in the vast storm drains that run underneath the City of Los Angeles, refusing to disclose their location unless the City of LA pays multi-million dollar ransoms to an offshore bank account. The kidnappings always occur on a day when rain is expected, making it even more imperative that the ransom be paid quickly, because if it isn't, the waters in the storm drain will rise and the victim will die-- as has happened to the first two victims.

Leaving aside the question of whether or not a city would actually pay up on such a ransom demand (I find it very unlikely.) This is really not so much of a thriller as it is a psychological examination of two women who form an unlikely partnership in investigating the kidnapper. The first is maverick FBI agent, Tess McCallum, who is brought in from the Denver Field Office as a media ploy because of her previous success in solving a major case in LA. The second woman is Abby Sinclair, a maverick sort of private investigator who specializes in putting stalkers behind bars by whatever means necessary- even if it means breaking the law.

Throughout the book, Abby insists to Tess that the two of them are actually the same-- they are both mavericks and they both play outside the rules; but Tess is reluctant to see the resemblance and finds ways to rationalize matters when she plays fast and loose with the rules.

The identity of the kidnapper is not a big secret as Prescott identifies him fairly early in the book as a disgruntled ex LA Police Officer who was sent to prison for stalking one of Abby's clients.

What is interesting about this book is the way Tess refuses to play the bureaucratic games of the FBI, while at the same time espousing her loyalty to the organization and to the law. She disdains Abby's tactics, and considers herself better than Abby because she is, after all, on the side of law and order. The book makes a statement that the higher people go in the bureaucracy of the organization, the more they lose touch with the way things really are out in the streets-- a common lament of front line law enforcement officers everywhere.

However, for those who think that the message of the book is to forget the rules, think again. Prescott at the end makes very clear that when investigators step outside the law, there are ripple effects and repercussions.

Abby and Tess are interesting characters, as is the kidnapper, William Kolb. The remaining characters are pretty one-dimensional-- the AD of the LA FBI Office is the stereotypical character of a stuffed shirt bureaucrat who cares more about image and publicity than anything else. But that's okay, because they are incidental to the main theme of the book, which is an exploration of what happens when people don't play by the rules.

For a book that is, on the surface, a pretty good thriller, the underlying message of the book packs a punch. Tess and Abby make an interesting team. It would be terrific to see them come together again in the future with Tess's newfound insight into her own character.

5 out of 5 stars

fabulous psychological suspense thriller November 14, 2004
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

While most people take shelter from torrential rain, the assailant rejoices when storms hit Los Angeles. This unknown culprit has used the heavy rains as a tool in dangerous ransom plots. He abducts a victim, incarcerates them in the vast sewage system beneath the city, and if not paid leaves them to die. The media dubs this vicious murderer the Rain Man as the city is gripped by the gloomy storm clouds he has caused.

As the forecast calls for new storms, the FBI assigns Agent Tess McCallum (see NEXT VICTIM) to stop the killer before he kills again. Madeline Grant reaches Tess by calling the hot line set up to get tips on Rain Man. She insists that he is an obsessed stalker named William Kolb. Madeline sends private investigator Abby Sinclair (see THE SHADOW HUNTER) whose job is to stalk stalkers to meet Tess. Though both are lone rangers, Tess and Abby reluctantly team up as the forecast calls for stormy weather and the Rain Man has his next victim kidnapped.

DANGEROUS GAMES is a fabulous psychological suspense thriller that starts at a high frenzy of excitement and action, turns even more tense, and climaxes with a fantastic confrontation. The pairing of two stars from Michael Prescott books is fun to follow as both females have so much alpha testosterone it is amazing that they don't kill each other before they take on the Rain Man, a cunning deadly killer playing cat and mouse with his opponents under city inside his favorite local, the drainage system. Readers will appreciate this powerful tale that will send the audience seeking previous solo appearances from this dynamic distaff duet.

Harriet Klausner

5 out of 5 stars

A Top-Notch Mystery ! January 9, 2005
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

I began reading this novel on a Friday afternoon, and finished it by the wee hours of Saturday morning, that's how intriguing this tale is! This is the second book I've read by Michael Prescott, and I absolutely loved this one. The first story I read was "In Dark Places", and I didn't really care too much for that book.

Special Agent Tess McCallum is pulled from her Denver office into the LA branch of the FBI to help solve a series of kidnapping/murders by a perpetrator dubbed the "Rain Man", who abducts women for ransom, and then abandons them to die in the LA storm drain system. As she investigates information left on the "tip line", she is led to the home of a wealthy Bel Air woman by the name of Madeleine Grant. Ms. Grant is convinced that the "Rain Man" is none other than a former police officer who had stalked , and threatened her life a little over a year ago. However, Madeleine had difficulty persuading the police to believe that her life was in danger, and they nearly ignore her current fears of becoming a target once again. Abby Sinclair, a free-lance security consultant is called upon by Madeleine to protect her, and to help apprehend the perpetrator.
As Tess and Abby team up in solving the murders of Angela Morris and Paula Weissman, their trust for each other is tested. Especially when Tess discovers the reason that the police refuse to take Madeleine Grant's pleas for help seriously.
I found the characters of Abby and Tess interesting and delightful. Each character in this tale is well developed and believable. The story line pulled me in and held me until the very last page. This story left me hungry for another Prescott tale!

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