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kathydavie's review
4.0
Eleven short stories in a MatchUp of fiction and thriller writers — a man and a woman pairing — revolving around a blend of the main characters in each pair of authors’ series.
The Series
”Honor &…” (Lee Coburn is a character from Lethal and Joe Pickett)
“Footloose” (Tony Hill & Carol Jordan and Roy Grace)
“Faking a Murderer” (Temperance Brennan and Jack Reacher)
“Past Prologue” (Jamie Fraser from Outlander and Cotton Malone)
“Rambo on Their Minds” (Liz Sansborough and Rambo)
“Short Story” (Jeffrey Tolliver from Grant County and Joe Pritchard from Lincoln Perry)
“Dig Here” (Harper Connelly and Ty Hauck)
“Deserves to be Dead” (Regan Pescoli from To Die and Virgil Flowers)
“Midnight Flame” (Lucan Thorne from Midnight Breed and Lilliane from Desire Exchange)
“Getaway” (Bennie Rosato from Rosato and Associates and John Corey)
“Taking the Veil” (Ali Reynolds and Bravo Shaw)
The Stories
Sandra Brown and C.J. Box teamed up to write “Honor &…” in which park ranger, Joe Pickett, comes up against Lee Coburn in a case of mistaken identity and an undercover op with both men seeing the negative of the other…and that ending is a doozie with Coburn having to adjust his thinking. I’ve added these two to my TBR pile.
Val McDermid and Peter James teamed up to write “Footloose”, a gruesome collaboration between characters to solve a horrible crime in this British thriller. I’ve not read either of these authors, so it was confusing as to which were whose “primary characters”. And who the primary characters were!
Kathy Reichs and Lee Child teamed up to write “Faking a Murderer”, and whew…this was a pip, as a very quiet Reacher uses that deducing mind of his to clear Temperance Brennan of suspicion. It’s a nice blend of the two characters, although the situation made me think of Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta. Naturally, Reacher’s charms entice Tempe where his women usually end up *grin*.
Diana Gabaldon and Steve Berry teamed up to write “Past Prologue” which blends a bookseller at an auction who ends up in the past and is rescued and sent back by Jamie. Fascinating enough that I must add Berry’s Cotton Mather to my TBR.
Gayle Lynds and David Morrell teamed up to write “Rambo on Their Minds” a clever incorporation of the Rambo character into this kidnapping scheme. And the bad guys do indeed have Rambo on Their Minds, which gives Liz some ideas. This was funny in a morbid way, and I definitely want to read more about Liz.
Karin Slaughter and Michael Koryta teamed up to write “Short Story” which jumps back in time to when Jeffrey Tolliver first became a detective. Boy, has this guy got women on his mind! And Joe Pritchard has just acquired a new partner: Lincoln Perry. Tolliver ends up in the middle if only because of the scam that was run on him while Pritchard and Perry are looking to take down a drug dealer. It’s an interesting blend of the two characters and another funny one that makes you shake your head at Tolliver’s idiocy and the Helen PD’s ineptitude.
Charlaine Harris and Andrew Gross teamed up to write “Dig Here”, a tale of archeology and credit set in Alexandria, Egypt. It’s an intriguing push-pull between those who don’t believe in what Harper can do and Harper’s attitude, and there’s the usual disbelief that gets dispelled. I always enjoy that aspect of a story, and yet there was a rushed sense about this story. As if the two authors didn’t put a lot into meshing their characters and the story. Sad, because I really like the Harper Connelly series. And I know I want to read more about Ty Hauck.
Lisa Jackson and John Sandford teamed up to write “Deserves to be Dead” which finds Virgil sucked into an investigation with a suspicious Detective Regan Pescoli.
Lara Adrian and Christopher Rice teamed up to write “Midnight Flame” involving a vampire warrior from Boston and an immortal “superheroine” from New Orleans who reveals how she became what she is and her lack of trust in herself even as Lucan is grateful for his new mate. It was okay, and I doubt I’ll be adding these to my TBR.
Lisa Scottoline and Nelson DeMille teamed up to write “Getaway” which is what John Corey hoped for now that he’s on “leave” and Bennie Rosato didn’t want. It’s a fun encounter with the snarky Corey and the suspicious Bennie.
J.A. Jance and Eric Van Lustbader teamed up to write “Taking the Veil”, an odd short story with two militant religious groups battling for artifacts and getting some outside help from a sister and a cybersecurity company. I wasn’t impressed.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a bright red background with a back-to-back silhouette of a woman and a man, both holding guns. The title is in a large white font with the author pairings in a much smaller yellow font below it and the editor’s name in a bigger white at the bottom.
The title is all about the male/female author pairings, the MatchUp of bestselling thriller writers to see how their primary characters mesh in a short story.
The Series
”Honor &…” (Lee Coburn is a character from Lethal and Joe Pickett)
“Footloose” (Tony Hill & Carol Jordan and Roy Grace)
“Faking a Murderer” (Temperance Brennan and Jack Reacher)
“Past Prologue” (Jamie Fraser from Outlander and Cotton Malone)
“Rambo on Their Minds” (Liz Sansborough and Rambo)
“Short Story” (Jeffrey Tolliver from Grant County and Joe Pritchard from Lincoln Perry)
“Dig Here” (Harper Connelly and Ty Hauck)
“Deserves to be Dead” (Regan Pescoli from To Die and Virgil Flowers)
“Midnight Flame” (Lucan Thorne from Midnight Breed and Lilliane from Desire Exchange)
“Getaway” (Bennie Rosato from Rosato and Associates and John Corey)
“Taking the Veil” (Ali Reynolds and Bravo Shaw)
The Stories
Sandra Brown and C.J. Box teamed up to write “Honor &…” in which park ranger, Joe Pickett, comes up against Lee Coburn in a case of mistaken identity and an undercover op with both men seeing the negative of the other…and that ending is a doozie with Coburn having to adjust his thinking. I’ve added these two to my TBR pile.
Val McDermid and Peter James teamed up to write “Footloose”, a gruesome collaboration between characters to solve a horrible crime in this British thriller. I’ve not read either of these authors, so it was confusing as to which were whose “primary characters”. And who the primary characters were!
Kathy Reichs and Lee Child teamed up to write “Faking a Murderer”, and whew…this was a pip, as a very quiet Reacher uses that deducing mind of his to clear Temperance Brennan of suspicion. It’s a nice blend of the two characters, although the situation made me think of Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta. Naturally, Reacher’s charms entice Tempe where his women usually end up *grin*.
Diana Gabaldon and Steve Berry teamed up to write “Past Prologue” which blends a bookseller at an auction who ends up in the past and is rescued and sent back by Jamie. Fascinating enough that I must add Berry’s Cotton Mather to my TBR.
Gayle Lynds and David Morrell teamed up to write “Rambo on Their Minds” a clever incorporation of the Rambo character into this kidnapping scheme. And the bad guys do indeed have Rambo on Their Minds, which gives Liz some ideas. This was funny in a morbid way, and I definitely want to read more about Liz.
Karin Slaughter and Michael Koryta teamed up to write “Short Story” which jumps back in time to when Jeffrey Tolliver first became a detective. Boy, has this guy got women on his mind! And Joe Pritchard has just acquired a new partner: Lincoln Perry. Tolliver ends up in the middle if only because of the scam that was run on him while Pritchard and Perry are looking to take down a drug dealer. It’s an interesting blend of the two characters and another funny one that makes you shake your head at Tolliver’s idiocy and the Helen PD’s ineptitude.
Charlaine Harris and Andrew Gross teamed up to write “Dig Here”, a tale of archeology and credit set in Alexandria, Egypt. It’s an intriguing push-pull between those who don’t believe in what Harper can do and Harper’s attitude, and there’s the usual disbelief that gets dispelled. I always enjoy that aspect of a story, and yet there was a rushed sense about this story. As if the two authors didn’t put a lot into meshing their characters and the story. Sad, because I really like the Harper Connelly series. And I know I want to read more about Ty Hauck.
Lisa Jackson and John Sandford teamed up to write “Deserves to be Dead” which finds Virgil sucked into an investigation with a suspicious Detective Regan Pescoli.
Lara Adrian and Christopher Rice teamed up to write “Midnight Flame” involving a vampire warrior from Boston and an immortal “superheroine” from New Orleans who reveals how she became what she is and her lack of trust in herself even as Lucan is grateful for his new mate. It was okay, and I doubt I’ll be adding these to my TBR.
Lisa Scottoline and Nelson DeMille teamed up to write “Getaway” which is what John Corey hoped for now that he’s on “leave” and Bennie Rosato didn’t want. It’s a fun encounter with the snarky Corey and the suspicious Bennie.
J.A. Jance and Eric Van Lustbader teamed up to write “Taking the Veil”, an odd short story with two militant religious groups battling for artifacts and getting some outside help from a sister and a cybersecurity company. I wasn’t impressed.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a bright red background with a back-to-back silhouette of a woman and a man, both holding guns. The title is in a large white font with the author pairings in a much smaller yellow font below it and the editor’s name in a bigger white at the bottom.
The title is all about the male/female author pairings, the MatchUp of bestselling thriller writers to see how their primary characters mesh in a short story.
gaylebn's review
4.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of short stories written by pairs of popular authors. I’be read most of the authors and was familiar with their characters and was introduced to more characters/authors that are now in my Audible and Kindle wish lists. I did read the Kindle version - the audio version might be fun. I will read the other book of this kind.
papidoc's review
4.0
Matchup is an appealing collection of short stories that are each the product of two well-known mystery/thriller authors partnering. The authors not only worked together to combine their writing skills and styles, but each story also features the characters for which each has become celebrated. The result is, for the most part, and in a more than average way, engaging and entertaining stories. I discovered a few authors who's books I have not who I will probably track down now and read. All in all, it was a fun way to spend a few warm summer evenings.
lisawreading's review
3.0
It's a bit of a cheat to mark this book as read, because to be perfectly honest, I only read one story from the collection. I picked up MatchUp specifically to read the new Diana Gabaldon piece, co-written with Steve Berry, called Past Prologue. In it, Berry's recurring character Cotton Malone stumbles through a circle of standing stones in the Scottish Highlands and is transported back in time to 1755, where he meets a certain tall, well-built red-headed Scotsman. Okay, it's Jamie Fraser. For Outlander fans, this is a fun little read, and Jamie gets a bit of dialogue that's as heartbreaking and powerful as most Jamie Fraser speeches. Other than that, it's an amusing adventure story, but not exactly earth-shattering.
I'm sure thriller fans may find more to read in this anthology, but I really only intended to read the one story, and none of the others caught my eye enough to spend time on.
I'm sure thriller fans may find more to read in this anthology, but I really only intended to read the one story, and none of the others caught my eye enough to spend time on.
holl3640's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
4.0
carlg88's review against another edition
3.0
It took me a ridiculous amount of time to finish this book purely because I was flitting in and out of it at the same time as reading others. I think that is the beauty of reading short stories that you are easily able to do this.
I really enjoyed the majority of the stories especially the one by Lee Child and Kathy Reichs. The one by Karin Slaughter and Michael Koryta was also very good. Glad that I stuck with this one.
The majority of the stories in here provide a good few hours of entertainment.
I really enjoyed the majority of the stories especially the one by Lee Child and Kathy Reichs. The one by Karin Slaughter and Michael Koryta was also very good. Glad that I stuck with this one.
The majority of the stories in here provide a good few hours of entertainment.
lolo007's review against another edition
2.0
I'm a massive Kathy Reichs fan, but I haven't read much of any of the other authors, and the male/female author team-up was an interesting concept so I was excited to give this a go. There were a couple of decent stories. I thought the Lisa Jackson/John Sandford story was particularly good, but overall this anthology was disappointing. I appreciate that writing short stories is a difficult endeavour, as is writing with someone else, especially if it's not something you're used to, but some of these were just bad.
jakennedy's review
3.0
While each short story is accompanied by an introduction of the author(s), their characters and approach to collaboration, it is not always enough to draw readers in. Still, there are a few standout stories included in the mix.
rzd21's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
kimberly_b's review
I read just the Steve Berry & Diana Gabaldon short story. 5 stars