Down for the Count

by Maxine O'Callaghan

Book Overview

Delilah West didn't want any credit for ending a shooting spree in a mall; a dead security guard could take it. She had other problems--like her boyfriend's hostile daughter. A "let's talk" lunch is already going badly when the two are kidnapped. Then Delilah realizes that young Nicki's refusal to open up is nothing compared to a killer's determination that Delilah never do so either--on pain of death. Martin's Press.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0373262949
• ISBN13: 9780373262946
• Release Date: November 1998
• Publisher: Worldwide Library
• Length: 252 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 4.2" x 6.6"

Customer Reviews

A good read

Delilah West is a PI in Santa Ana, California. She's single but involved with Erik Lundstrom, a rich, sexy man who wants her to get to know Nicky, his teenage daughter better. They take an instant dislike to each other but are forced into a lunch date.On the way to the restaurant, Nicky and Delilah are kidnapped and they have to learn how to trust each other and work together to survive. Delilah is eventually let free but Nicky is held for ransom. Delilah knows that Nicky was left with neough food for only a few more days.The second part of the book is about her struggle to figure out who has kidnapped Nicky and why so she can be rescued.Delilah is a very likable character. She is honest about her shortcomings and has a sense of humor. But she is also able to be tough when she has to be and to accept the consequences.There is very good character development between Delilah, Nicky and Erik. It has a twist at the end which makes you wish there was at least one more chapter.This is the 6th in the series and there definitely will be a 7th.

Don't Start This Late At Night, You'll Never Put It Down

This book is one of the best. A real page turner. Impossible to put down. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I don't usually read P.I. mysteries. Plot driver, centered in Orange County, California, it is superb! Don't miss this one!

Another winner from Maxine O'Callaghan!

"Down for the Count" is fast-paced and exciting, the kind of book that you literally won't want to put down. Delilah seems so real that you will feel as though you are experiencing her misadventures right along with her.The book is wonderfully plotted and filled with interesting (and, in some cases,menacing)supporting characters. Men and women will enjoy this book!I encourage readers to look for the other books in the Delilah West series, as well as the two books about Anne Menlo.

One of the best P.I. series on the market

Southern California private investigator Delilah West would rather confront a serial killer holding a weapon to her head than the emotional problems caused by her falling in love with developer Erik Lundstrom. Even the attack at the mall by a maniac shooting people does not affect Delilah (who anonymously took out the crazed killer) as much as her heart beating for the wealthy Orange County businessman. Erik desperately wants to get closer to Delilah, but realizes that before that can happen two barriers must be torn down. First, his teenage daughter Nikki must accept the new woman in his life. Second, his beloved must listen to her heart. To that end, Nikki and Delilah go out together, but soon are embroiled in a kidnapping in which they are the abductees. It is up to the hard boiled detective to find a way to save not only her life, but the life of the daughter of her beloved. Though this reviewer has not had the opportunity to read all six Delilah West mysteries (having read four of them), the series remaisn one of the better female private investigative collections on the market today. In her latest entry, DOWN FOR THE COUNT, Delilah is a beautiful conflicting mix of emotions that makes her seem so poignantly human and thereby, stir readers' interest. The story line is at time humorous and at other times very hard-boiled. The dichotomy not only works well, it adds to the humanization of all the characters. Maxine O'Callaghan continues to provide strong detective fiction that feel so real. Harriet Klausner