From Publishers Weekly
The newest installment in historical romance author Coulter's FBI series (Eleventh Hour, etc.) delivers some of the things her fans have come to expect-a fast-moving investigation, a mind-bending mystery-but readers will have difficulties getting past the book's wooden dialogue, pointless plot digressions and superficial characterizations. Married FBI agents Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock are on the trail of a serial killer who targets math teachers, but when Sam Kettering, the son of their widower friend Miles, is kidnapped, they turn their attention to getting the boy back. Six-year-old Sam and Sheriff Katie Benedict, of Jessborough, Tenn., already have the situation in hand, however. After escaping from his kidnappers, Sam runs into single mother Katie, and now all they have to do is wait for the cavalry to arrive. To everyone's surprise, the kidnappers resurface, leaving Katie and the FBI wondering who's really behind the attempts. While Savich and Sherlock return to Washington, D.C., to all-too-easily wrap up their serial killer investigation, Miles and Katie pursue their primary suspects and decide whether to marry for the sake of their kids, who bonded instantly. The relationship between Miles and Katie is hasty and underdeveloped, and their brash investigative methods will raise eyebrows. Still, the mystery at the heart of this talky tale is intriguing and the pacing is brisk, which makes this a capable, if not thrilling, summer diversion.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From AudioFile
When 6-year-old Sam Kettering manages to escape after beingkidnapped, FBI Agents Lacey Sherlock and Dillon Savich pursue hiskidnapper, a creepy Southern evangelist who's into sadomasochism. Atthe same time, a series of teacher slayings in Washington, D.C.,demand their attention. Coulter's popular FBI series, featuringmarried agents Sherlock and Savich, suffers from predictability andclichés. Still, she has legions of fans. Reader Sandra Burr laborsgamely to impersonate vaguely Southern men and women as well as oily"perps." She's fine, if you can stand the writing. D.J.B. ©AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
From Booklist
The sheriff of Jessborough, Tennessee, Katie Benedict, meets up with best-seller queen Coulter's ever popular FBI agents, Sherlock and Savich, when she and her five-year-old daughter, Keely, rescue a six-year-old boy fleeing kidnappers. He is the son of Miles Kettering, a former FBI agent. Sam is so traumatized that a local psychiatrist thinks he should remain in Katie and Keely's house, along with his father. But after another kidnapping attempt, Katie realizes that the motive behind the attacks is an unusual one, and that the relentless kidnappers will never give up. Along the way to solving the mystery, Katie runs into a sadomasochistic couple: the pastor of the Sinful Children of God Church and his bizarre wife, who just happens to be the sister of one of the kidnappers. Meanwhile, Savich is working on the case of a serial killer who is targeting math teachers. Even though Coulter's eighth FBI thriller (the last was Eleventh Hour [BKL Jl 02]) is marred by some continuity and consistency problems, it still delivers an entertainingly romantic mystery with endearing new characters as well as beloved recurring ones. Diana Tixier Herald
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Blindside (FBI Thriller Series) FROM OUR EDITORS
The Barnes & Noble Review
New York Times–bestselling author Catherine Coulter's FBI series never fails to deliver sensual sizzle along with the suspense. In Blindside, husband-and-wife FBI agents Lacey Sherlock and Dillon Savich team up again on two vital cases: a killer who targets Washington, D.C., teachers and the kidnapping of an old friend's son. Though six-year-old Sam manages to escape and take refuge with Tennessee sheriff Katie Benedict and her daughter, Keely, his kidnappers quickly strike again...and pay a deadly price for the rematch when reinforcements arrive in the form of Sam's dad (a former FBI agent) and his buddy Savich. But the terror isn't over: It soon becomes clear that whoever is behind the kidnapping has only changed strategies, not abandoned the plan. The investigation leads in unexpected directions, particularly among the followers of a powerful local evangelist. As the story unfolds in a beautiful town nestled amid the Smoky Mountains, the quick-thinking sheriff uncovers unforeseen hazards, surprising secrets...and an extraordinary opportunity for love. Sue Stone
FROM THE PUBLISHER
When six-year-old Sam Kettering is kidnapped and then manages to save himself, Savich and Sherlock join his father - former FBI agent Miles Kettering - to determine why Sam would be abducted and brought to eastern Tennessee. Though the local sheriff, Katie Benedict, catches up with Sam before the kidnappers do, the case isn't over - not by a long shot.
The unanswered question is: Why do the kidnappers want this little boy so badly? The investigation leads Savich and Sherlock to a charismatic, intense evangelist, Reverend Sooner McCamy, and his enigmatic wife. As if the kidnapping case weren't enough, Savich and Sherlock are at the same time desperate to locate the killer of five teachers in Washington, D.C.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
The newest installment in historical romance author Coulter's FBI series (Eleventh Hour, etc.) delivers some of the things her fans have come to expect-a fast-moving investigation, a mind-bending mystery-but readers will have difficulties getting past the book's wooden dialogue, pointless plot digressions and superficial characterizations. Married FBI agents Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock are on the trail of a serial killer who targets math teachers, but when Sam Kettering, the son of their widower friend Miles, is kidnapped, they turn their attention to getting the boy back. Six-year-old Sam and Sheriff Katie Benedict, of Jessborough, Tenn., already have the situation in hand, however. After escaping from his kidnappers, Sam runs into single mother Katie, and now all they have to do is wait for the cavalry to arrive. To everyone's surprise, the kidnappers resurface, leaving Katie and the FBI wondering who's really behind the attempts. While Savich and Sherlock return to Washington, D.C., to all-too-easily wrap up their serial killer investigation, Miles and Katie pursue their primary suspects and decide whether to marry for the sake of their kids, who bonded instantly. The relationship between Miles and Katie is hasty and underdeveloped, and their brash investigative methods will raise eyebrows. Still, the mystery at the heart of this talky tale is intriguing and the pacing is brisk, which makes this a capable, if not thrilling, summer diversion. Major ad/promo; main selection of the Doubleday Book Club, Rhapsody Book Club; featured selection of the Literary Guild, Mystery Guild; author tour. (July 28) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
Best-selling FBI agents Lacey Sherlock and Dillon Savitch-also husband and wife-follow the trail of a child's kidnapping to a fiery evangelist in the Tennessee hills. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Everybody's favorite fantasy: dead math teachers. But why are they being killed? Rage over failing grades? Beatings or abuse by a geeky substitute? Well, the behavioral science guys in Quantico will just have to figure it out. FBI investigator Dillon Savich, though, is sure the perp is a man. Meanwhile, his buddy Miles Kettering's six-year-old son Sam has just been kidnapped and taken all the way from Virginia to Tennessee, though the intrepid youngster gives bad guys Fatso and Beau the slip when he climbs out a window. He's quickly rescued by spunky Sheriff Katie Benedict, who tries to shoot the kidnappers. But one of them, undaunted, is still after Sam. Why? Segue to another creepy house in the Tennessee woods, and meet the Reverend Sooner McCamy, brooding founder of the Sinful Children of God church. His much younger, gorgeous blond wife Elsbeth seems to be very much under his thumb. Agent Sherlock and Katie take a quick peek around the premises when this strange couple isn't home and find a secret room rigged out for sadomasochistic fun and games. Gee, what do you suppose the marble slab with handcuffs at each corner is for? How about that wooden block with a padded fur top? And check out these whips . . . . Oh, never mind: Is that Fatso or Beau making noise outside? Looks like one of the bad guys is the reverend's brother. And it's revealed, none too adroitly, that McCamy is obsessed with the stigmata of Christ, and hopes to find a child whose little hands show the miraculous evidence of Our Redeemer's wounds. Wow, how did this video get here? It shows a much younger Sam with a rash on his hands that looks like stigmata! Time to torch the McCamys' house . . . heck, they're dead. Butsomeone is still taking potshots at Katie. Who? And did everyone forget about the lunatic who was killing the math teachers? And so it goes in Coulter land (Eleventh Hour, 2002, etc.). Doubleday Book Club main selection/Literary Guild/Mystery Guild featured selection
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