Blackbird Singing

I love a good detective thriller and this one certainly fills the bill. Likeable, hard-working Commander Tom "Hoop" Hopkins faces seemingly unsurmountable odds in trying to catch the cyber-kidnapper of Tanya Walker, 9-year-old budding-gymnast daughter of the Chicago Bulls' superstar player, Sky Walker, and his glamourous anchor-woman wife. Lots of characters get involved in this fast-paced story and I'm still having trouble figuring out what to do with Pit Bull, the sleazy t.v. reporter...but that's okay. The story twists and turns and kept me on the edge of my chair. I had started to bed and finally gave up and just got a cup of tea and finsihed the book! I hope there are more books forthcoming about this group of dedicated law enforcers...Hoop, Carl Henderson of the FBI and others. We gotta catch that brutal Saville. Surely he can't get away to Europe never to be heard from again. This book is truly a "thriller" in every sense of the word. A really good read!

I agree with the reviewer below who compared this book with John Sandford's "Prey" series. Blackbird Singing's hero, Tom Hopkins, is very similar to the Lucas Davenport hero of the Prey series. The only reason I gave this book 4 instead of 5 stars is because you need a scorecard to keep track of who's who and who does what for whom. Otherwise I really enjoyed this book and hope to see more stories involving Tom "Hoop" Hopkins.

Jay Amberg's "Blackbird Singing" is a sensational thriller, that one only hopes is the first of many. Tom Hopkins, the lead detective in a much publicized kidnapping, is very likeable and believable. As a reader you will want to become better acquainted with him. What we do learn is that he is able to match wits with the cunning, delusional, computer-genius kidnapper who has captured the daughter of the famous Chicagoland basketball hero, Robert "Sky" Walker. We also learn that he is as vunerable as the rest of us. If you are a fan of John Sandford's "Prey" books or Robert Tannenbaum's many thrillers, you will enjoy Jay Amberg's "Blackbird Singing".

Everyone believes that Robert and Monique-Jones Walker have it all. He is the NBA's finest player and she is an internationally renowned news-anchor. They both love and adore their-nine year old daughter Tonya. However, the perfect world abruptly collapses when Tonya is abducted by an insane hacker. It becomes apparent that this is no ordinary celebrity kidnapping. No ransom appears. Instead, E-mail notes, ugly faxes, and nasty pictures are sent to the media. Revenge for some apparent slight seems to be the motive. As the Walkers become more desperate by the minute, others see this as the international case that will bring them fame and fortune even if it costs the victim her life. BLACKBIRD SINGING is a taut thriller that will either elate readers with its unending excitement or leave them feeling extremely nauseous. The story line is fast-paced and graphic, and genre rules are smashed in not so pleasant ways. This will definitely leave some of the audience (not just purists) upset, but actually adds to the overall demeanor of the tale. The characters are intriguing, but extremely sad, anxious, and tragic. Jay Amberg scribes a brilliant kidnapping who-done-it, but some individuals will have problems with the lack of relief from the unending madness of the culprit and the melancholy of the Walkers. A bit of comic or other relief from the constant downward spiral would have left everyone singing the praising of Mr. Amberg. Harriet Klausner