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willriker's review against another edition
4.0
I was first attracted to this book by the inclusion of Lee Child and a new story featuring Jack Reacher to tide me over until later in the year....then as I read more about the concept of the book I was really intrigued to read it and see just how these "mash-ups" had worked.
I'm happy to say that they worked incredibly well. I suppose you would expect no less from 22, (23 if you include the editor David Baldacci), of the top thrillers writers around.
Every story in this anthology was really well crafted, written and put together...but on a personal note there were some I preferred more than others, but none that I hated or found boring. What this book has done is make me aware of some authors that I otherwise might not have read and I will now actively seek out their other books.
When you factor in that the proceeds from this book go to help fund the ITW and will ultimately help and nurture future writers it's even more worthwhile checking it out.
I'm happy to say that they worked incredibly well. I suppose you would expect no less from 22, (23 if you include the editor David Baldacci), of the top thrillers writers around.
Every story in this anthology was really well crafted, written and put together...but on a personal note there were some I preferred more than others, but none that I hated or found boring. What this book has done is make me aware of some authors that I otherwise might not have read and I will now actively seek out their other books.
When you factor in that the proceeds from this book go to help fund the ITW and will ultimately help and nurture future writers it's even more worthwhile checking it out.
writes_and_wrongs's review against another edition
5.0
Loved it! What a great concept - putting two characters from different series' and different authors in the same story. This anthology really helped the time pass both on a long road trip and during my daily commute. I wish I could find more audio books like this!
twainy88's review
4.0
Matchup was edited by Lee Child … FaceOff was edited by David Baldacci. I would read another one of these.
11 short stories pitting 22 characters against each other with 22 of the best thriller/suspense writers of our day! I enjoyed most of these stories! BOSCH!! Pendergast! So many great & fun stories. At the very least the stories were comforting, like having a chip of a new story!!
I lowered my rating because all of the original narrators weren’t used, understandable but a little disappointing.
Easily digestible in small bites!!
11 short stories pitting 22 characters against each other with 22 of the best thriller/suspense writers of our day! I enjoyed most of these stories! BOSCH!! Pendergast! So many great & fun stories. At the very least the stories were comforting, like having a chip of a new story!!
I lowered my rating because all of the original narrators weren’t used, understandable but a little disappointing.
Easily digestible in small bites!!
mylhibug's review against another edition
4.0
This collection is, simply put, pretty freaking good! I love the interaction between different heroes and anti-heroes from all these different authors. Nick Heller and Jack Reacher together was fun! I also found that I am more interested in reading about more of these characters like I've been a huge fan of John Sandford's Virgil Flowers but had yet to try out his Prey series and Lucas Davenport, so guess what I'll be checking out soon, well, eventually. All-in-all I found the short stories with all these various characters to be very entertaining and a great source for some new reads.
tinman1979's review against another edition
4.75
I have added so many new to authors to my to be read list from this book. Enjoyed all the stories
graff_fuller's review against another edition
4.0
39 Stars divided by 11 stories = 3.54 Stars
This was fairly good anthology. Some stories hit, others didn't. This shouldn't solely fall on the authors and their characters, but to my personal tastes and what I'm into at the moment. Thanks.
• Patrick Kenzie vs. Harry Bosch in “Red Eye,” by Dennis Lehane and Michael Connelly
- #1 - 4 Stars - This was a lot of fun. I really got onboard with both these characters right away. It takes a special author to make their characters interesting enough...in such a short period of time. I will be looking into both of these authors and these two gumshoes.
• John Rebus vs. Roy Grace in “In the Nick of Time,” by Ian Rankin and Peter James
- #2 - 3 Stars - Really not enough to get a sense of the two characters. I would be up for more, but this was just too small a bite for me to see the type of detectives that each of them were and whether I enjoyed it. I'm glad they got their guy, though.
• Slappy the Ventriloquist Dummy vs. Aloysius Pendergast in “Gaslighted,” by R.L. Stine, Douglas Preston, and Lincoln Child
#3 - 3.5 Stars - This is an interesting story. Scary as hell. Not really horror, but very close....because it could really happen.
• Malachai Samuels vs. D.D. Warren in “The Laughing Buddha,” by M.J. Rose and Lisa Gardner
#4 - 4 Stars - A very interesting story. Well written. I have not read either author, but now I'm intrigued.
• Paul Madriani vs. Alexandra Cooper in “Surfing the Panther,” by Steve Martini and Linda Fairstein
#5 - 3.5 Stars - The story finally caught my attention, near the end (way to late in a short story...I'd say). These types of bate and switches are good, but if used too much become tedious.
• Lincoln Rhyme vs. Lucas Davenport in “Rhymes With Prey,” by Jeffery Deaver and John Sandford
#6 - 2.5 Stars - This just didn't get to me, for some reason. I'm not if it was the characters or the story. Hard to tell. The story was long enough, just not my taste.
• Michael Quinn vs. Repairman Jack in “Infernal Night,” by Heather Graham and F. Paul Wilson
#7 - 3 Stars - A very weird story. Something like that would drive you nuts. Interesting banter between the two of them. New Orleans verses New York style.
• Sean Reilly vs. Glen Garber in “Pit Stop,” by Raymond Khoury and Linwood Barclay
#8 - 4 Stars - This story had some great tension level beats, it may have been because of the way they wrote it. Smart kid. I think that the author could make the kid a detetive in the future. Love way things worked out. The stakes were escalated perfectly.
• Wyatt Hunt vs. Joe Trona in “Silent Hunt,” by John Lescroart and T. Jefferson Parker
#9 - 3 Stars - I really liked the premise and how they built this story. The story itself was good, but the way it ended seemed a little less of what I thought it was going to be. Oh, well.
• Cotton Malone vs. Gray Pierce in “The Devil’s Bones,” by Steve Berry and James Rollins
#10 - 4.5 Stars - I have put on hold a few of these author's books. This was a good taste of what both can do. I'm in. BTW, I really liked the story.
• Jack Reacher vs. Nick Heller in “Good and Valuable Consideration,” by Lee Child and Joseph Finder
#11 - 4 Stars - This is the one that I wanted to read from the very beginning. I've read all of Lee Child's books, so...this should be interesting. A fairly good story. I miss Jack Reacher.
.
This was fairly good anthology. Some stories hit, others didn't. This shouldn't solely fall on the authors and their characters, but to my personal tastes and what I'm into at the moment. Thanks.
• Patrick Kenzie vs. Harry Bosch in “Red Eye,” by Dennis Lehane and Michael Connelly
- #1 - 4 Stars - This was a lot of fun. I really got onboard with both these characters right away. It takes a special author to make their characters interesting enough...in such a short period of time. I will be looking into both of these authors and these two gumshoes.
• John Rebus vs. Roy Grace in “In the Nick of Time,” by Ian Rankin and Peter James
- #2 - 3 Stars - Really not enough to get a sense of the two characters. I would be up for more, but this was just too small a bite for me to see the type of detectives that each of them were and whether I enjoyed it. I'm glad they got their guy, though.
• Slappy the Ventriloquist Dummy vs. Aloysius Pendergast in “Gaslighted,” by R.L. Stine, Douglas Preston, and Lincoln Child
#3 - 3.5 Stars - This is an interesting story. Scary as hell. Not really horror, but very close....because it could really happen.
• Malachai Samuels vs. D.D. Warren in “The Laughing Buddha,” by M.J. Rose and Lisa Gardner
#4 - 4 Stars - A very interesting story. Well written. I have not read either author, but now I'm intrigued.
• Paul Madriani vs. Alexandra Cooper in “Surfing the Panther,” by Steve Martini and Linda Fairstein
#5 - 3.5 Stars - The story finally caught my attention, near the end (way to late in a short story...I'd say). These types of bate and switches are good, but if used too much become tedious.
• Lincoln Rhyme vs. Lucas Davenport in “Rhymes With Prey,” by Jeffery Deaver and John Sandford
#6 - 2.5 Stars - This just didn't get to me, for some reason. I'm not if it was the characters or the story. Hard to tell. The story was long enough, just not my taste.
• Michael Quinn vs. Repairman Jack in “Infernal Night,” by Heather Graham and F. Paul Wilson
#7 - 3 Stars - A very weird story. Something like that would drive you nuts. Interesting banter between the two of them. New Orleans verses New York style.
• Sean Reilly vs. Glen Garber in “Pit Stop,” by Raymond Khoury and Linwood Barclay
#8 - 4 Stars - This story had some great tension level beats, it may have been because of the way they wrote it. Smart kid. I think that the author could make the kid a detetive in the future. Love way things worked out. The stakes were escalated perfectly.
• Wyatt Hunt vs. Joe Trona in “Silent Hunt,” by John Lescroart and T. Jefferson Parker
#9 - 3 Stars - I really liked the premise and how they built this story. The story itself was good, but the way it ended seemed a little less of what I thought it was going to be. Oh, well.
• Cotton Malone vs. Gray Pierce in “The Devil’s Bones,” by Steve Berry and James Rollins
#10 - 4.5 Stars - I have put on hold a few of these author's books. This was a good taste of what both can do. I'm in. BTW, I really liked the story.
• Jack Reacher vs. Nick Heller in “Good and Valuable Consideration,” by Lee Child and Joseph Finder
#11 - 4 Stars - This is the one that I wanted to read from the very beginning. I've read all of Lee Child's books, so...this should be interesting. A fairly good story. I miss Jack Reacher.
.
jmcguoirk's review against another edition
4.0
Some were better than others... and others were already done, ala Total Recall.
deppfest's review against another edition
2.0
Ugh. This was a major miss. I wanted to like it (although to be honest I’m not familiar with the characters from the various series featured). Some stories were decent but I was never left feeling satisfied. The stories were basic and the plot lines weren’t that interesting. When a plot line proved interesting the story felt rushed and I was left feeling disappointed at the ending. Maybe if you are a major thriller fan and familiar with the characters it would hold more appeal. For a reader unfamiliar with the characters this just fell flat.
kaz_loves_books's review against another edition
5.0
This was an interesting set of short stories. Two authors writing together and bringing together their characters from their books and it worked so well. I loved it. I liked the fact the stories were well written and there was a bit before each story explaining what was to come. A very good effort.
psalmcat's review against another edition
4.0
Fun concept: two authors with series characters are paired up and write a short story in which the two characters meet. While a few were a little loose on why/how they met up, the majority of the stories where good fun. They all made me want to go find out more about the authors I haven't read