TailSpin (An FBI Thriller Book 12)

Downloaded my first book for the Kindle. The book was take from my "ebook wish list". I am enjoying the "Tailspin" by Coulter, but I am writing this review to comment on the fact that this book is not automatically removed from the wish list upon downloading. It would be convenient for this process to occur so that one would not need to continue to manually update the wish list.

By the way, this is my first Coulter read. If one likes FBI, CIA, etc., one will certainly enjoy this fast-paced, easy to read fiction.

I was really impressed with the fast and friendly service I received. I ordered a book on a Friday around noon and they shipped my book that same day. I was able to sit down and read it on Tuesday! The book is in great condition and cost me less then if I had gone into town to a big chain retailer. I would order from here again for sure!

A plane crashes. Rachel escapes a murder attempt. The two incidents collide creating a turbulence.

What a ride! The characters were interesting, the plot wild, and the read was exciting. I felt like I was on a roller coaster, that went up, up and up, then rolled down twisting corners.

This book was filled with murder attempts, politics, and escalating terror.

The ending took me by surprise. I look forward to more "FBI Thrillers."

I have recently become a huge fan of Catherine Coulter's books. I read several of her random offerings and then came across the FBI series so started reading them from the beginning: 1. The Cove, 2. The Maze, 3. The Target, 4. The Edge, 5. Riptide, 6. Hemlock Bay, 7. Eleventh Hour, 8. Blindside, 9. Blowout, 10. Point Blank, 11. Double Take, 12. Tail Spin, 13. Knock Out, 14. Whiplash, 15. Split Second, 16. Backfire.

I loved the story of Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock and their life and story continue on through the series as they are both FBI special agents. What I have found unnerving is the other love interests that pop up in each book. NONE of them seem to ever get resolved by the end of the book. You will find Dillon's sister Lilly and Simon pop up several books after you meet them in Hemlock Bay but you don't really get to know them or their story, there is just a brief mention of them.

I enjoy a good romance novel and if it is included in an excellent suspence drama, all the better. What I hate is getting to the end of the book and slamming it down angry because we were left completely hanging regarding the new primary characters in that book. This was especially true with Tail Spin. There was obvious chemistry between FBI special agent Jackson Crowne and the heroine Rachael Abbott but at the end of the book in the final pages they aren't even mentioned! I was left feeling robbed!

If you are looking for a good suspence drama then Catherine Coulter's FBI series will fit the bill. If you want that little extra in the romance section, you will most likely find yourself frustrated and feeling a bit jipped.

Ok, so all of the information in this paragraph is within the first few paragraphs or the dust jacket so I don't consider them spoilers. This is the story of Rachael, who is on the run from unknown persons who are trying to kill her for unknown reasons. She is drugged, tied up, attached to a concrete block, and threw her in a lake. But because she is a heroine, of course she pulled a Houdini and escaped. She decides to hid until she can figures things out but before she makes it to her hiding place she sees a plane crash land. She runs over to help and finds an FBI agent (Jack Crowne) and another passenger. She helps them out and then to repay her for all her help, instead of letting her go when she wants they decide to keep her around.

I have to say that as much as I wanted to like this book, it was just ok. I am afraid that CC writing has gotten repetitive, as have her characters. To be honest, I am starting to find her style of writing very distracting and annoying - it is very stream of consciousness type writing and can be very distracting in this type of suspense story. Some facts get bogged down and others come too late. Also, as some of the other reviewers have pointed out, the editor for this book (and other recent books in this series) isn't very good. There are lots of continuity issues between the books. Also, the bad guys were obvious right from the start, something I found I didn't like. Also, the constant flaunting of any and all rules of police behavior really annoyed me - they questioned a person have he asked for a lawyer, they slapped a suspect, etc. Stuff like this annoys me - it would have gotten their case thrown out.

So now that I have made it sound like I hate the book, let me tell you why I didn't. I like the interactions between Savich and Sherlock. I also think that the author tells a good story, I just wish she would use a more concise and straightforward manner rather than the stream of consciousness stuff.

If you like the series, you should read this book. If you are interested in suspense, thrillers, etc - start with some of her earlier books because I like them better. Also, even though this is a series, you don't have to read the books in order. It may help a little bit, but is not necessary by any means. Some of her earlier books in the FBI series are The Cove, The Maze, and The Target. She also wrote Impulse, False Pretenses, and Beyond Eden which are more of a romantic suspense type book and not part of the FBI series. I like her writing style more in those books, although they are from the late 80s early 90s and still have a bit of the passive female, dominant male thing going on, but not as bad as it could be. Anyway, give Coulter a try, even if you check a book out from the library, but try one of her earlier FBI series or one of the other three I mentioned above.

This review is for the Jove Books (imprint of The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin) paperback edition, July 2009, 346 pages of story. TAILSPIN was on the USA Today's Top 150 Best-Selling books list for 11 weeks between July 2008 and August 2009, reaching the peak position of eight. Catherine Coulter has 52 novels on the USA Today best-seller list.

TAILSPIN is a FBI thriller in Coulter's series on the exploits of agents Savich and Sherlock who are husband and wife. On Monday morning, they are sent to investigate a mayday signal near Parlow Kentucky from another agent, Jackson Crowne, who is flying one Dr. MacLean in a signal engine plane. The doctor suffers from frontal lobe dementia, which weakens his restraint to blabber about the misdeeds of his famous patients, one of whom is trying to kill him. The FBI fears someone sabotaged the plane.

The previous Friday night, unknown persons drugged Rachael Abbott and tossed her into a lake with a cement block tied to her feet. Rachael managed to escape unnoticed by her assailants. With her attackers believing her dead, Rachael sneaks away to hide with her reclusive uncle who lives near Parlow. By Monday morning she is almost there when her car breaks down on a lonely road. Rachel sees a small plane crash nearby and runs to assist. Agent Crowne and Dr. MacLean are injured but survive.

When Savich and Sherlock arrive, Rachael attempts to hide her true identity and intended destination from them until someone shoots at her and she reveals her troubles. Thereafter, agents Savich, Sherlock and Crowne struggle to keep Dr. MacLean and Rachel alive.

As both Rachael and Crowne are single, attractive and heterosexual, TAILSPIN is a romance thriller with few surprises and not much mystery or suspense. The author's tendency not to separate points of view robs the narrative of character focus and much of the dialogue is speech-like, improbable and dull. I was disappointed, but with 52 best selling novels, Catherine Coulter has satisfied millions of readers.

I am a long time Catherine Coulter fan although I've found her books of late to be disappointing. Perhaps it's time for her to move to stand alone's as her primary characters have become tired. The dialog is very like, book to book, though not as continually cutsey as some in the recent past, "hey and but hey" over and over for instance. This story was, overall, boring and predictable, way too long, too many characters, and while I don't expect characters in a novel to necessarily be life like, it is basically a romance after all, those in this plot weren't even slightly interesting. It seems as if she's just riding on the coattails of her long years of success and her editors as well. This plot had potential, but quickly bogged down. Along the way she took a couple of swipes at NPR which I find kind of strange because I listen to it a great deal and have always found them to bend over backward to be even handed, in direct opposition to most radio stations, or perhaps she's simply pushing her own political agenda.

"Tailspin" correctly describes the action in Catherine Coulter's latest romantic suspense novel. FBI Special Agents Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock, a married team, dive headfirst into an investigation full of question marks.

Following an attempt on his life, Dr. Timothy MacLean is put into FBI custody after having been diagnosed with frontal lobe dementia, a devastating illness that has no cure. Outward symptoms consist of the victim babbling uncontrollable scenarios --- some true, others not. MacLean has leaked private information from his patients' case files, and his stories could strike untold damage in their lives. He confides in his best friend and tennis partner, Arthur Dolan, who drives off a cliff shortly after their conversation. FBI Special Agent Jack Crowne, a family friend, pilots a small plane over the Kentucky mountains to bring MacLean back to Washington, D.C. where he can be monitored and protected. But the flight plan does not include a fiery crash in rough mountain terrain, cause unknown.

Nearby, in a clearing outside Parlow, Kentucky, Rachael Abbott witnesses the incident and rushes to aid possible survivors. She seeks sanctuary in the back country where she can sort out the elements that have put her life into a spin; she must guard her secret and hide her true identity. But her sense of duty prevails when she lifts the wounded pilot to his feet and navigates him to the nearest clinic.

TAILSPIN transfers action back and forth among the four leading characters. Although the primary plot line follows MacLean's story, Rachael's cannot be ignored. She too has been targeted for murder and is traversing the countryside headed for Slipper Hollow, to safe haven with her uncle Gillette. She is terrified that the FBI team will learn that she is the recently discovered bastard daughter of powerful U.S. Senator James Abbott.

Barely six weeks after welcoming her into his family without question, the Senator dies in a one-car accident. Alcohol findings at the crash site indicate he was driving while drunk, wrecking the car and killing himself. Shortly afterwards, Rachael is drugged, hogtied to a block of cement and thrown into a lake, but escapes due to her tremendous strength and will to live. On the run from the killers, she comes upon the plane crash scene.

Sherlock and Savich investigate MacLean's case and discover a bomb as a possible cause. MacLean is taken to the hospital in D.C.; he is hurt but will recover physically. While there, two additional murder attempts keep the FBI hopping. One of the team's members suffers a syringe attack but keeps the murderer at bay with help from a nurse. Meanwhile, Rachael is convinced that her father's sister Laurel, his brother Quincy and Laurel's sleazy husband Kostas are out to eliminate her. Before his death, the Senator had divulged a secret that haunted his last days. If it became public, the family would suffer humiliation --- a motive for his murder and that of his daughter. Jack Crowne became her guardian and discovered an emotional attachment to the girl with the unusual blond braid. Sexual attraction is tastefully worded, both in the lives of the married FBI agents and the young woman with her protector. Coulter writes these interludes with intensity yet discretion.

A klutzy local sheriff adds flair to the story. He's an actual retiree from a big city police force, much more intelligent than he first appears. Additional small-town flavor comes forth in the personalities of a diner waitress, Uncle Gillette, the local doctor and, of course, the would-be abductors who try to kill Rachael.

The reader wanders toward an attempt to interlace the two plots, making the doctor's patients wind toward the Senator's death. Dr. MacLean's predicament is powerful, and Coulter touches but briefly on the devastation that wrecks his life. She brings both stories to their logical end, with a twist that will leave the audience in a TAILSPIN.

--- Reviewed by Judy Gigstad

As usual Catherine Coulter's books are very good. This was definitely a page turner, and you could not determine who the killers were until the very end. Unlike Catherine Coulter, however this one had a good bit of profanity that I could have done without!

I enjoyed this book. However, by the 12th book FBI book, they all start to merge together in my brain. Something bad happens to a 28 year old woman. She needs or finds a 34 year old male FBI agent to babysit and protect her. Said FBI agent calls in Savich and Sherlock (who have become stale characters, by now). Damsel in distress and FBI agent go through a great traumatic experience together and then get married. There you go, that sums up all the Catherine Coulter FBI thriller novels.

Plus, Catherine Coulter needs a new editor. Her books lack a great deal of continuity and the editing is terrible. Sherlock's real name is spelled differently in about every other book. At one time, Sherlock was a tall woman. Now, she's very petite. I guess CC never expected the first books to lead anywhere, so why bother continuing with what she had written in the first place.

Dr. Timothy MacLean is a psychologist to all the movers and shakers in Washington, but when he is diagnosed with frontal lobe dementia and starts leaking confidential information about his patients someone tries to run him and keep him quiet permanently. After the second attempt on his life, FBI Special Agent Jack Crowne steps in and attempts to fly Dr. MacLean to safety. During the flight, a bomb goes off and sends Agent Crowne and Dr. MacLean to a fiery crash in Parlow, Kentucky. Luckily for both men, Rachael Abbott is there to witness the crash and assist both men in the rescue. Rachael has just discovered that she is the illegitimate daughter of a Senator, who she believes was murdered. Agent Crowe soon learns that Rachael is running away from people who are attempting to murder her as well. With Dr. McLean in a coma from the crash and Agent Crowe determined to protect Rachael from ferocious murderers he enlists the help of Agents Savich and Sherlock. With conspiracy theories, political secrets, dysfunctional families and assassins on the lose Catherine Coulter provides an excellent plot weaved with suspense, mystery and romance. Tailspin is a great addition to Coulter's FBI series. Written with superb attention to detail and excellent character dialogue Coulter returns after a long absence at the top of her game. The return of our favorite Agents Savich and Sherlock coupled with new highly likeable characters and villains, readers with definitely get their monies worth. High praises for Tailspin. Valerie Jones [...]

I don't expect Coulter to compete with Ludlum, Baldacci, etc., but for goodness' sake....
I could have tolerated the shallow characters and the plot with huge holes in it - because it was fundamentally a good story and moved along fairly quickly, but I believe the author mentioned Rachel's 'charming braid' at least twice in every chapter..... Seriously!! We got it - she's pretty and has a unique braid in her hair...but the constant mention of it was so distracting.
I finished the book, so it gets two stars; buy it only if you are desperate for something in this genre to read.

Enjoyable story that was well written by Coulter. Those that give this book low ratings, have to wonder about these reviews Sometimes. Final Cut was one of my favorite books by Coulter, this book a lot less complicated --still easy weekend read.

Coulter's style is easy to read conversation, yet remains intelligent with fascinating and clever character development.
The FBI Thriller, comes together at the end, nicely. Although a rather short wrap up of all the characters.

#12 is a very will written mystery. The characters are interesting and well developed. The story line is fast moving with lots of twist and turns. The conclusion too the two mysteries is at the very end. I would recommend this series too anyone who enjoys will written mysteries. Enjoy reading

With each new offering from Ms. Coulter I would hope her work would become more interesting and fun reading. However, since her first three or four books the reading has been getting more mundane. In this piece there are bits and pieces of action and even a bit of mystery which the reader can quickly figure out will be the end of the book punch line when a supposed dead son is found alive and in Jamaica. The story line is decent, but drags as well. The reader will have to fight through the book to try and understand why the FBI agents just keep investigating and never seem to find any hard evidence only suspicion after suspicion. Even the great MAX super computer makes a cameo appearance now and then in the writing. Somehow the sparkle of a good mystery is just not here in this book. There's a lot of the romance stuff in this one too, particularly with Savich and Sherlock getting in and out of bed a number of times as well as the main characters doing some things that normal FBI and protectee's would not engage in. All in all it is a fair read, but it's certainly not a hit, and definitely not the quality that this author is capable of achieving.

Now, realistically, Rachael Abbott would have been the main suspect, given how & when she came into her father's life.

There was little romance between Rachael & Jack, which was fine, but if this was their story, it didn't seem like it. Dillon Savich was more the lead, along with his wife, Sherlock.

I did like the ending.

The most gripping scene was with Greg.

Worth reading!

If you can get past Rachael's rude attitude, then there are the cover ups (plural) for the wealthy to deal with. It bothered me that a drunk driving/talking on the cell phone/hit and run vehicular manslaughter of a child kept being referred to as an accident. The only time the family of the victim was mentioned came when the family was sent a large sum of money with an anonymous apology note. Touching for them I'm sure! Never were their feelings or need for closure mentioned. Lots of talk of protecting the reputation of the rich. Think I might be done with Coulter's FBI series.