The Night Monster: A Novel of Suspense

by: James Swain

Published by: Ballantine Books

Reviewed by Bob Pike CSP, CPAE-Speakers Hall of Fame

Jack Carpenter is back and is still fighting both the bad guys and the good guys. As head of the Broward County Missing Persons Unit (MPU), Jack always did what he personally believed was right – regardless of the consequences. So now he’s former head of MPU and a private investigator, specializing in recovering abducted children.

I love the way Swain weaves bits of Jack’s past into the present as he builds a three-dimensional character. Jack still has nightmares about an abduction he failed to stop as a new beat cop more than 25 years ago when he ran into a giant of a man. And now his daughter Jessie, a starter on the Florida State basketball team, wants him to check out a man who she believes has been stalking her team with a video camera at practices and games. As Jack watches the “maybe” stalker, the man takes off leaving his camera behind. But before Jack can investigate further, one of the team’s star players is abducted.

What follows is a fast-paced ride across Florida as Jack visits an Indian Casino looking for clues to the stalker’s identity (and runs into Tony Valentine, another of Swain’s popular characters), asks for help from an old FBI contact, takes the abducted girl’s obscenely rich father on, and challenges the local authorities, including a detective he previously mentored. He also runs into the stalker and the giant of a man who mysteriously disappeared 25 years ago.

You’ll love the hero, hate the villains, and gain a new appreciation for the importance of family as you see the impact abduction has on people. Don’t plan on setting this book down once you pick it up – I didn’t.

Armchair Interviews says: Swain just keeps getting better and better. It’s 5-star all the way

Author’s Web site: http://www.JimSwain.com