A Deadly Influence: Abby Mullen Thrillers, Book 1

Spoiler free review!Having never read this author before I wasn't sure what to expect. What I found was an extremely well written procedural. Hostage negotiator Abby Mullen is probably one of the best characters I've read all year, and a refreshing change from the usual street smart, angst filled detectives or FBI agents that dominate this genre. Her background in growing up and eventually escaping from a sinister cult was fascinating reading, and brought a lot to her character. There's a great supporting cast here to back her up as well, including a villain who I couldn't predict or identify - always the sign of a great book. The story hooks you immediately and doesn't let up. Superb writing all the way through.As I approached the end, I fully intended to give this five stars - a rare thing for me. Then I hit the ending and it felt like I got kicked in the teeth. I get that it's the first in a new series, and so the main story of Abby's past - and most likely future - dealings with her childhood trauma can't be told in one book. That said, the author chooses a horrible time to end this one, literally immediately after a huge revelation. I HATE when authors do this. It undoes all the previous good work, and takes away my choice as to whether to buy the next one - now I feel like I have to, as opposed to wanting to.I feel obligated to warn other readers about this. This is absolutely a great read but be prepared to be stuck waiting who knows how long for the next one to get your questions answered. I felt cheated on this one

This book caught my attention right away: Abby is in a dangerous situation on scaffolding high above the city trying to negotiate with a jumper. Not really gripping, because it is temporary, but still catching. The writer uses a variety of techniques to bring us into her world.The characters are great. I like thrillers that have complex and interesting characters. It can’t just be about the chase. Abby has curious flaws. But then she has a work partner, an ex, children,Evil also has a name and bad habits.Then it turns out that Abby has a past and it all gets more complicated. Her connections are suddenly more important.I like a thriller to have a good story, good writing, and interesting characters. This has all three.

It's a rare treat to find an established author's book in First Reads. Mike Omer is an Israeli novelist whose book A Killer's Mind (2018) climbed to #1 on Amazon's bestseller list. He is also the author of the Glenmore Park Mystery series. His books have received thousands of reviews and are consistently well rated. This book promises to be another winner.

The book starts out right away with a super tense situation as Abby must talk a suicidal man off of a ledge in NYC. This dramatic scene really pulls you into the story, while starting to give you glimpses into Abby's personality.As the book progresses, chapters begin to tell the story from different perspectives, and we get an early glimpse into the mind of a clearly obsessed and disturbed individual. The chapters are short (there are 84 of them), and the frequent perspective changes give you a background to the characters while building the suspense. I thought the author did a great job of telling the story from all of these different perspectives; the characters all seem very realistic, with their own quirks and unique details.This story really draws you in, as new details are revealed and the tension ramps up. Descriptions of social media posts make the story seem current and realistic; while at the same time frightening. Even when certain mysteries are solved, there are still high stakes, perilous situations that made it hard for me to put the book down until the end. I also appreciated how Abby's well-established character details and background contributed to a logical and satisfying conclusion. There is even a new mystery introduced at the end, which I assume will be addressed in future books in this series.This thriller was so good, that I will have to go back and read other books by this author. If a 430 page book is so full of suspense and action that I have to read it in one sitting, then I have to give it a 5/5

Protagonist Abby Fletcher—an NYPD lieutenant, hostage negotiator, and a single mom of two—is contacted by a stranger, Edie Fletcher, who wants Abby to find her missing son. Eight-yr. old Nathan’s kidnappers demand an impossible $5 million ransom. Later, Abby learns that Edie is a childhood friend—from a horrific past Abby can’t/doesn’t want to remember. This trope has Abby flashing back to her terrible, almost-forgotten childhood in a male-dominated cult. Yes, that’s another trope. Cult leaders require money and power, so their guile, grift & greed lead to much worse.The complex kidnap storyline morphs to murder, then to a police procedural with excellent red herrings, hidden motives, and several twists. A unique subplot involves Nathan’s teen-influencer sister, a minor social media star with 70,000 followers. A domestic subplot involves Abby’s family: her ex-husband who’s a math professor-author; her son Ben, who has a pet snake and a tarantula; and Samantha, her teenaged, violinist daughter, who hates spiders and snakes. Another subplot, which happily gets less air, is Abby’s budding romance with a cop—another cliche.I liked the multiple, third person POVs, including that of young Nathan and his almost-too-well-prepared kidnapper. There are looooong internal monologues; teen and adult tantrums; plus intermittent flashbacks. Whilst reading I couldn’t find info on a character who seemed important. I found out why NOT in the final chapter—more of an epilogue—that ends with a cliffhanger. For that, I docked 1/2 star.

This was my Kindle First choice this month. I struggled to make a selection this time out as none really stood out for me. However, I got to 31% and I'd read enough. It just isn't for me. I never bother with stories based around cults and I did know this one had the ladies' pasts based in living in one but then it started heading to present-day ones as well and I glazed over. It just doesn't interest me in the least. I also wasn't a fan on the role-playing stuff she did with Will. I just found it all a little too daft for my liking. I reached a mention of something called cult-hopping and my interest sadly waned altogether.The story also had shades of the Grant Amato case, I thought. Some weirdo obsessed with a tart on the internet. I did like the way Abby memorised people's names, as I do it in a similar way myself.The only mistake I spotted was writing german and not German so I upped my "score" to 2* because of that. Nice to pick up a properly presented book these days in the digital form. It has a great cover as well but the content just isn't "my bag."

Well, it looks as though I'm in the minority with regards to the review on this book.I found it extremely hard to relate to the characters. In fact I struggled to finish the book, I was close to giving up on several occasions. As for more Abby Mullen Thrillers - I think I will most definitely pass!

I had planned to read this over two or three evenings but how could I turn the light out and sleep knowing young Nathan didn't have much time? I am a rather cynical old boy but I was totally drawn in by the characters, except for the young influencer who I found self centered in the extreme. Having finally finished the read at 5am I had one further job to do. Pre-order book 2.

Abby Mullen is contacted by an old friend when her son is kidnapped. Abby and Eden share a past and that soon comes spilling into the present as Abby races to find Eden's son alive.This is an absolutely gripping thriller by Mike Omer. The characters are in my opinion perfect and the story gripping and full of twists.Highly recommended.

Oh good grief. I know I'm socially awkward, and don't pick up on social cues, but this book left me wondering a whole bunch of things about why I read books with this sort of structure.So this book sees 2 parents discover something about their son, after he starts dating his first girlfriend. He's just turned 18, and is off to Brown in the fall. His parents are the sort of white suburban upper classed parents that it's okay to villainise these days. The wife is from the wrong side of the tracks (her father is a college caretaker), but has "married well". Her husband has a trust fund. Her sons have trust funds. Her father-in-law has a trust fund. In short, they're the sort of family that gets together with other rich families to run their little area of the state (in this case the outer outer suburbs of Pittsburgh).The book itself watches what happens when these rich parents defend their son against something he might have done to his girlfriend (we'll find out by the end of the book if he did it). We find out how money has a way of being used to "manage" evidence. There isn't much discussion of the child's innocence or guilt, it's more... "How do we use our money to buy our way out of this or that?" And yet... we're supposed to root for these people? Really?The main protagonist is the mom. At least I think she is. She's presented in a way that makes her more likeable that her stuffed shirt family members, which is okay because she's "from the wrong side of the tracks originally" I guess? This would be fine if she wasn't either the most naïve, or dumbest, clever person I've ever read (she went to Carnegie-Mellon).I say the protagonist is either dumb, or naïve, because she is presented as being given unending opportunities to say "What, wait, stop now, explain this to me slowly, because I don't do nuance", and doesn't. At all. To anyone. Not to her father. Not to her roommate. Not to friends. No one. I wouldn't mind, but as someone who has difficulty reading social situations, I do this a lot, and it seems to work for me. The only reason she doesn't is story, I guess, because, by the end, so many people are trying to tell her head out of her hindquarters, and hear what they have to say, that I'm left thinking of the "You're a special kind of stupid, aren't you?" meme, and it takes a lot to get me feeling that about a main character.In addition, the mother has no agency. Her husband sends her off to buy someone off with a cheque book. I mean, who pays people off with a cheque? The book is set in 2019 for God's sake. And even if the person takes the cheque, who's to stop her from saying "Remind me again why you paid me off, oh, and by the way, here's a copy of the cheque, as proof you did it." It's not like they don't have previous here either. They paid other people off in cash, so why the cheques here? As the sage Ron White says, "You can't fix stupid."So, all in all, I didn't enjoy the book. I spent nearly the entire time thinking "Really, Really... You're going there? Really?"