Title: Hunter’s World
Author: Fred Lichtenberg
Publisher: Five Star/Cengage
E-reader Price: $25.95
Website: www.FredLichtenberg.com
Order: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Borders
- 4 of 5 Lipsticks
Hunter's World by Fred Lichtenberg
Synopsis: The village of Eastpoint, a close-knit Long Island community, has never been tested with a serious crime. At least, not until syndicated romance columnist John Hunter is found dead in his home, an apparent suicide. Even then, the townspeople accept the auslander’s demise in stride. But when Police Chief Hank Reed discovers a secret room filled with lewd paintings of Hunter and local married women, he wonders whether the collection was someone’s sick imagination or part of a duplicitous life.
It isn’t until the medical examiner’s official report declares that Hunter was murdered, followed by a leak of Hunter’s shocking exploits, that panic engulfs Eastpoint’s residents.
Reed is torn between his allegiance to protect his beloved town and the honor of his shield. As that balance bends toward justice, the townspeople rise against him, including his wife, who Reed suspects might be Hunter’s killer. As the investigation expands, Reed finds himself alone, in the thicket of another murder and suicide. Even as the emotional walls begin to crumble, Reed forges ahead without compromise, risking his job, his marriage, and the townspeople he so desperately wants to save from the outside world. But saving the town requires time, and Reed is quickly running out of that. Someone behind the scenes is pulling the strings for a petition to remove the police chief. If Reed doesn’t find the killers, and soon, who will?
Hunter’s World will draw you in to the complexities of small-town living, building suspicion and doubt with every scene, until its boiling conclusion. Written with the intrigue of a John Grisham novel, Hunter’s World compels you to keep turning the pages. (Courtesy www.FredLichtenberg.com)
Review: Fred Lichtenberg’s debut novel, Hunter’s World, offers its readers the promise of an entertaining read. Sex, murder, intrigue, and betrayal are the cornerstones for this interesting novel that combines the epic search for the truth with an individual’s inability to cope. The mystery surrounding the town celebrity’s death will keep readers glued to Lichtenberg’s writing style as readers discover that not everything or everyone is as straightforward as it would appear.
The novel focuses on police chief, Hank Reed, who stumbles across an illicit murder plot in his small Long Island community. Hank is shocked that his friend has led a secret life that has been separate from their weekly sojourns to the local bar and in the next instant he discovers the vulgar paintings of the local woman. As the voice of authority, Hank attempts to discover the secrets the members of the community seek to hide. Yet, the most captivating aspect of the novel is Hank’s humanity. He is flawed and is forced to come to terms with his own personal moral code. The lies begin to unravel as Reed learns from the uninhibited mistakes that he makes. Reed clings to his self-respect when it would be tempting to take the path of least resistance and dares to ask readers what do you do when it seems as if everyone is living a lie.
As a character, Reed is daring, charismatic, courageous, selfish, loyal, and at times unlikeable. This does not detract from the novel but rather enhance the authenticity the author is trying to create. The character is organic and questions how ethical people make dishonorable choices. Lichtenberg introduces a character that you can see recurring in a series as he valiantly leads his team to discover the tough answers that plague relationships.
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