Paradise Lost

by Taffy Cannon

Book Overview

Entertainment lawyers and a posh Santa Barbara health spa are skewered in this thriller about murder and a kidnapping with a bizarre ransom request. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1880284804
• ISBN13: 9781880284803
• Release Date: September 2005
• Publisher: Daniel & Daniel Publishers
• Length: 100 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A new slant on kidnapping

I have thoroughly enjoyed Taffy Cannons' earlier straight murder mysteries and her "cozies" [as Emily Toll]. She has surpassed herself with "Paradise Lost". She has given a fresh coat of paint to the complexity and possible motives of a kidnapping. The young female victim and her powerhouse mother are engrossing characters. The villains are 21st. Century technophiles with some age-old lowlife mixed in. We are taken on a journey through the minds of the principle characters giving us a panoramic view of the caper and it's effect on all the players. Ms. Cannon doesn't fail to provide her usual historical and other, just plain interesting, asides which blend right in and add seasoning to the story. I feel "Paradise Lost" ranks with any bestseller thriller I have read and I have read most of them. My only disappointment was that it wasn't a hardcover with a $26.50 price tag. I think it should have been. I look forward to Ms. Cannons' next venture into crime.

Gripping Kidnapping Drama

Returning to Paradise Plaza was not Holly Constantine's first choice for her Spring Break. But arguing with her mom, Hollywood lawyer Connie Constantine, was always a useless task, so the Stanford junior found herself once again at the "fat farm" in the hills above Santa Barbara. Holly's favorite activity at Paradise Plaza is the early morning hike. Looking forward to it her first morning there, Holly's not disappointed to find there will be only one other guest, actress Vanessa Wyatt. With their instructor promising a trip to the waterfall, the three women set out. Part way up the trail, the three women are attacked and Holly and Vanessa are kidnapped. A ransom demand has been left on Paradise Plaza's web site. The kidnappers are demanding eight million dollars but not for themselves. It's supposed to go into a trust, administered by Connie, and used to establish public parks in three California cities. While the FBI tries to track down any leads, money begins pouring in to the account. Connie struggles with newfound emotions while trying to keep her tough demeanor. Holly and Vanessa, meanwhile, are chained to the walls of a basement wondering what will happen to them. Will the FBI find them? Will their captors really release them when the ransom comes in? Taffy Cannon is a master of the multiple viewpoint crime novel, and this book is a prime example. The point of view shifts between Holly, Connie, the police, and even the captors, giving the reader the full view long before the characters get it. Naturally, this increases the suspense as we hope each misstep will be the villain's fatal flaw. Ms. Cannon is also a master of creating vivid characters, which only make her stories more gripping. Holly is an early favorite here, but Connie also becomes sympathetic before the story is over. This book is not as cozy as I normally read, or as cozy as the books Ms. Cannon writes under the pen name Emily Toll. Even so, I found the story gripping and the characters engaging. The book is well worth reading.