A Knife Edge: A Thriller

by David Rollins

Book Overview

By the time Special Investigator Vin Cooper arrives at the murder scene-the shark-infested waters off the Japanese coast-there's little left of the victim to prove that his death wasn't an accident.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553590014
• ISBN13: 9780553590012
• Release Date: January 2010
• Publisher: Bantam
• Length: 544 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Couldn't put it down

I missed Rollin's first Vin Cooper book, The death Trust, but now have it on order. After reading A Knife Edge I want to read more of The Rollins books. His Vin Cooper character isn't bigger than life and has a sense of humor. His detective work in the story and the logic behind what he does is laid out in a nice, easy reading order. As a former military man and being familiar with firearms I could only find one technical error, when Vin relieved a couple of bad agents of their firearms, Colt .45s, then examined the clips and cartridges and identified them as .357 Magnum wadcutters, a completely different round than the .45 carridge that will not work in a .45. The plot was interesting enough to make me want to keep turning the pages and just keep reading. I was let down to see the story end as I wanted more. Definitely a story to read if you like military adventure.

An Entertaining Read

A deep-sea scientist is eaten by a shark and skydiving accident of a former Combat Controller buddy have to be solved by Vin Cooper. These two relatively independent events are found by Vin Cooper to have a connection with global implications. David Rollins has in this second book further developed the character of the sarcastic but effective Special Investigator Vin Cooper. This is an action packed tale mingled with the in your face personality of the protagonist. The story is fast paced with many twists and turns. Thoroughly enjoyed the book and did not want it to end. The high point of the story is the HALO jump. A little hard to believe but stranger actual events have happened in skydiving. I found it a good follow up to his first book "The Death Trust". Unlike some follow-ups the second is as good as the first and look forward to the further adventures of Investigator Cooper.

love this book

This is Rollins second book. The first was great and this is also good. If you enjoy action reads, get this book. I must say, though, that if I had to choose between the two books, the first book would be ranked above this one. Its action, sarcastic humor, and plot were better. At some points, the Knife Edge story simply becomes too much--too many action scenes and serendiptious moments that taken together became unbelievable.

Beware of last 90 pages

I had planned on giving this 5 stars, I WAS LOVING IT SO MUCH !, until page 312 when it started its descent, then totaly crashed and burned on page 363. Up until then tho the book was stellar. The sharpest and funniest military thriller I've read in many years, maybe ever. I was laughing and grinning the whole way, until 312 that is. I still highly recommend the book, *ONLY* be forwarded that you will be extrememly disappointed from pg. 312 on out to the end. When I read pg. 363 I almost cried. I was so pissed off I couldn't fall to sleep! How can an author, after putting all that effort into a book, turn right around and KILL it, I'll never know. But we've all seen it happen time and time again. What is it? Do they lose interest? Suddenly don't give a hoot? Before pg. 312 my only complaint was the front cover. And the title for my review was to be 'Don't judge this book by its cover'. What a god awful cover. In fact if I hadn't seen the Kirkus Review blurp on the back I would of returned it to the library self. I'll try another of his books. Maybe this one was a slip.

entertaining CID procedural

As the recovery ship Natusima waited, the Shinkai underwater research vessel is as deep any human had ever gone while exploring a Pacific trench off Japan. Dr. Hideo Tanaka and Professor Sean Boyle discover a frightening bacterium that each fear could devastate the planet. Soon afterward Tanaka is dead a victim of a shark attack. Air Force Special Investigations Vincent Cooper is now assigned to the Department of Defense on DC. His on and off relationship with Anna Masters is off again as she feels he takes nothing serious; even when they worked together on THE DEATH TRUST case. However, he quickly found solace with a terific heated tryst with his superior officer, Lieutenant Colonel Clare Selwyn. The brass sends Vin to Japan to investigate the "accidental" death of the scientist. Before he finishes his Tanaka inquiry, as only the military could do he is assigned to investigate the parachute jump death of Master Sergeant Ruben "Wrong Way" Wright who became road kill in Florida; they served together in Afghanistan. The frustrated Masters explains why the Vin Cooper CID procedurals are so much fun; he takes nothing serious as he quips and jokes even when facing deadly adversaries. In reality, Vin does believe his inquiries are usually important and tries to resolve them, but also feels strongly one can work diligently and hard, but have fun doing so. Fans will enjoy his antics in Japan, Florida and especially DC. Harriet Klausner