Thursday, February 24, 2011

Book Review: Treacherous Tango

 Treacherous Tango by E. Ryan Hale starts off in the courtroom at a trial where you meet some of the key players, including Aidan Wolf and Jenna Jacobs. You’ll want to pay attention to the trial and everyone involved because nothing is frivolous in this fast moving thriller. Hale weaves a story that is indeed a tango with intricate moves and enough twirls to keep you guessing as to the killer.

Here is the cover blurb:
* Kimberly Larson doesn’t remember the assault that almost ended her life.
* Her sister Michelle identifies Kim’s ex-fiancé, Thomas Peyton, as her attacker.
* District Attorney Wilson Howell receives numerous threats against his family.
* Former prosecutor Aidan Wolf learns via e-mail that he’ll never see his son again.
* A series of insistent posts threaten the security of trail lawyer Jenna Jacobs.
* What do these attorneys have in common? They all played a part in the Peyton trial.
This tango is a fast-paced dance. Hale keeps this story moving by bringing in a compelling second thread. Emilio and Ana Ortiz and their children, including their newborn Jenna. Their lives and the family are being torn apart by a system that seems to work on stereotypes instead of finding out the truth.

But it is the strange and ominous threats that have everyone on edge. They start off as warnings, then get darker and more direct. Then they become dangerous and personal. And the heroes are not necessarily who you would have expected.

Hale is good at keeping the characters true to their personalities and not letting them off easy. At times I wanted to whack a character upside the head, but he was being himself rather than omniscient, like the reader. There are books where you can feel the author pushing a character to change or see the light, but E. Ryan Hale lets her characters show their true selves.

Treacherous Tango
Barnes and Noble
Amazon

Since E. Ryan Hale is a new-to-me author and I enjoyed the book, I give Treacherous Tango a rating of Hel-O!
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FTC Disclaimer: Treacherous Tango was sent to me by the author, but that in no way influenced my review. One thing that did influence me was that this book had two strong threads. While ominous threats were pulling apart one family, another family was being destroyed by an uncaring system. Unlike on TV where attorneys work on one case at a time, in Treacherous Tango, Hale paints a more realistic picture of people who are pulled in many directions and can come close to losing everything.

13 comments:

  1. Great review, Helen! Always interesting to see how different characters react to threats and the book sounds fast-paced.

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  2. I know what you mean about beat a character over the head, lol! That means his characterization was on point. Love the review!

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  3. There's been times I wanted to beat my own characters over the head!

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  4. As always, an excellent review, Helen. The books sounds intriguing.

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  5. Now y'all know I would never whack a character upside the head. They're liable to retaliate.

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  6. Looks to be one for the sun porch. Characters sound intriguing.
    Thanks for the review.

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  7. So much character abuse going on here... ;) Thanks for another great review!

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  8. Sounds like the author told it like real life, which is messy and busy.

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  9. Thanks for the review. Sounds like a good read.
    Ann

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  10. Thank goodness y'all are all friends and won't call the story police on me.

    With all the reading I got done on vacation, I'll be doing several reviews this and next week.

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  11. Thanks for the review. It's on my to-read list.

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  12. Sounds like a complex thriller, my favorite.

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  13. Great review. (I love the way you "use" the disclosure to add to the review!) Sounds like a really good book too.

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