Review: Knock Out by Catherine Coulter

First line: “Everyone, shut up!”

From the inside cover: The first time she speaks to him is at midnight. Seven-year-old Autumn
Backman needs a hero. When she sees Special Agent Dillon Savich on TV
after he’s brought down bank robbers in a Georgetown bank, she knows
she’s found him. 

She called Savich, but she didn’t use the phone. 

They
were burying dead people in my daddy’s grave … they’re coming after
us. Please help me.

Who’s they?

Blessed, he’s coming.

Ethan
Merriweather, sheriff of Titusville, Virginia – a small mountain town
near the Titus Hitch Wilderness – goes looking for a missing little girl.
Soon after he finds her, Ethan realizes that Autumn has brought him a
huge problem: a relentless madman who has the ability to control others
simply by looking at them. And the madman is after her and her mom.

It’s Uncle Blessed, and he wants Autumn.

When Savich answers Autumn’s
call, she tells him Blessed is from Bricker’s Bowl, Georgia. Savich and
Agent Lacey Sherlock go to Blessed’s home, learn about his brother, Grace, and meet
their mother, Shepherd. Savich soon realizes the only way to stop
Blessed is to “cut off the snake’s head.” 

Savich already has his hands full in his case for teenager Lissy Smiley and her cousin, Victor Nesser, who is out to kill Savich for revenger. But Savich can’t turn his back on Autumn.

It’s a race to stop the madness…or the
madness will destroy them all.

My thoughts: This is the 13th book in Catherine Coulter’s FBI Thriller series and it had me on the edge of my seat the entire way through. I started reading this series back in 2003 where I was able to read quite a few right in a row. Since then, I’ve read them as I have had time and know that even if it’s been a while since reading the last book, the new one quickly catches me up.

This time around, Savich and Sherlock are working two cases at the same time.
The first involves a gang of vicious bank robbers who kill security
guards for no reason other than they think it’s fun. The second involves a little
girl named Autumn, who first speaks to Savich in his sleep. Autumn is
being hunted for her ‘talents’ by a paranormal cult group who have named
themselves after a devil-worshiping 1500s cult.

With both cases being well-developed, you as the reader can really feel the conflict that Savich and Sherlock face as they have to switch back and forth between the two. Sure, you want them to get the bank robbers before anyone else has to die, but you also feel for the little girl and hope she can be saved from her psycho uncle before it’s too late. 

While I am not a big fan of the whole paranormal plot, in this case, it does add to the suspense of the story. I really hope, though, that it doesn’t become the norm in this series. Yes, we all can see how Savich has that sixth sense, but if that is how he is going to be connected for all his cases, I’m not sure I will continue. 

What about you? Have you ever been reading a series when a new aspect is added that you don’t like? What do you do – stop reading the series or plug along in the hopes it’s just a one- or two-time thing?

(I received this book from a family member.)

Books in the series:

1. The Cove                            9.  Blowout
2. The Maze                         10.  Point Blank
3. The Target                       11.  Double Take
4. The Edge                          12.  Tailspin
5. Riptide                              13.  Knockout
6. Hemlock Bay                   14.  Whiplash
7. Eleventh Hour                15.  Split Second
8. Blindside                           16.  Back Fire – due out July 2012