Reviews

Deadlock by Catherine Coulter

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I have loved Sherlock and Savich for more than 15 years. Each installment brings their quirky lovable personalities along with at least one, usually two, mysteries. In Deadlock it all begins with a puzzle. As the story unfolds the pieces don't seem to fit. Meanwhile, Savich saves a woman from a kidnapping attempt and brings Agent Hammersmith in to guard her. For the puzzle case Savich brings in a new agent Pippa Cinelli to help solve the mystery and the story gets more intriguing. The story was fast paced with many twists and turns and unknown assailants. Overall this wasn't my favorite in the FBI series, I felt there were characters that could have been more developed and the storyline was a little less deep than previous books. Still, I would recommend this book as a satisfying novel that Coulter fans will enjoy.

ninjaterri's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

suvata's review

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3.0

This is the first Catherine Coulter book but I’ve read from her extensive catalog. It wasn’t bad but I can’t say I am tempted to read any other books from this author. On second they may make a perfect companion for a long airplane flight.

katkinney's review against another edition

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4.0

Every FBI thriller in this series contains two different cases to solve. In this one, we have the young wife of a US Representative (quite young—as in she’s the age of her husband’s children) who gets a message from a psychic about an old crime her grandfather may have committed, and the next day is nearly abducted. I was a little confused on this plot thread at first as it took a lot of explaining to get going, but eventually things fell into place and the FBI end of things picked up.

The other side of things, the puzzle piece one, started off with a bang, with an unbalanced person out to get FBI agent Savich and puzzle pieces in red unmarked boxes being sent to FBI headquarters. When they depict a grisly image and only one person on the FBI team recognizes the location, she’s dispatched back to her hometown to investigate. It’s also Halloween while all this is happening, which makes for some good ambiance (loved the description of the oatmeal ghost cookies and the spiked orange punch at the party.)

This one had a little bit of everything. Abductions and narrow escapes. Fires! Lots of crazy relationships, jealousies, May-December romances and crazy histories to sort out. I was intrigued to say the least, and enjoyed seeing how things played out.

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.

nutmeg1013's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

philomath_in_phila's review

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4.0

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review. The opinions are entirely my own, and any quotes are taken from the ARC and may be different in the final published copy.

Fans of Deadlock Catherine Coulter's FBI Thriller series will recognize Savich, Sherlock, and the rest of the recurring characters in the 24th book of the series, Deadlock. Joining them is a familiar foe from the 20th book of the series, Insidious. I am late to the game and started reading the series with book #23, Labyrinth. This book works as a stand-alone novel, but reading Insidious would help you understand the backstory more.

Husband and wife team, Savich and Sherlock, are used to their hectic schedules working as FBI agents. However, they are the focus of a cunning psychopath who is bent on revenge. While trying to find out who is responsible for who attacked them, Savich needs to work on a case in which he was in the right place at the right time, preventing a Congressman's wife, Rebecca, from being kidnapped. He is torn between keeping his family safe and keeping Rebecca safe.

Coulter presents a suspenseful thriller that keeps you guessing until the end. Much of what occurs is unsurprising, but it is those little nuggets of suspense that leaves you wanting more.

I am glad I found Savich and Sherlock and welcome them as old friends.

This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 7/28/20.

robinlovesreading's review

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5.0

This book was so good that I had to read it twice! I truly love this FBI series by Catherine Coulter and had been eagerly awaiting the 24th title as this is one of my favorite series. This thrilling book is one that seamlessly weaves together two storylines. I honestly don't know which one was more intriguing to me, and like I said, this book already got a reread from me.

The story begins with Rebekah Manvers finding herself in front of a medium called Zoltan. Rebekah was especially close to her grandfather, so when she is contacted and told that he is calling for her, Rebekah just has to see what she might learn. Of course, she was skeptical, but her curiosity won out. Then there is Marsia Gay. Currently awaiting trial and more angry with FBI agent Dillon Savich than she can bear. Savich is responsible for her incarceration and as far as Marsia is concerned, he is a dead man walking - even if it means his family gets caught in whatever crossfire Marsia lays out.

Savich is torn. Of course his most important objective is to keep his wife, fellow FBI agent Lacey Sherlock, and their son Sean safe. Not only must Savich dig deeper where it concerns Marsia, there is something going on with Rebekah, especially after she almost loses her life. So Savich must turn over every stone, especially considering the medium is someone new in Rebekah's life.

As always, Savich's intuition is right on target when he suspects the medium that contacted Rebekah is not all she is cracked up to be. Sherlock and another FBI agent Pippa Cinella become a part of the investigation, revealing rather confusing connections that no doubt will eventually tie together.

As a jigsaw puzzle enthusiast, I was drawn to the cover, as well as how puzzles were part of one of the cases Savich was working on. Having read all the previous books in this series, as well as Coulter's Brit in the FBI series, I love how she brought in the aspect of puzzles when it came to getting to the bottom of what was going on.

As always Savich and Sherlock are as tight as can be, although the romantic in me wouldn't have minded a few more scenes with just the two of them. However, missing that part certainly did not take away my enjoyment of this book. The first time I read the book it was in one sitting and the second time I downloaded the audiobook, and also listened to it in one sitting. The crafty talent of Coulter shone through from the very start to the arresting conclusion. Now, to wait another year for the 25th book in the series.

Many thanks to Gallery Books and NetGalley for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion.

bohogirl930's review

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4.0

This book grabbed my attention right from the beginning. And it had me guessing right until the end who was behind everything that happened. I don't know if it's because this is the first I've read in the series, but I didn't like how it switched back and forth so much with the different characters and added plots that made it confusing at times to remember what was happening. But other than that, I did enjoy it.