Cold Fear

Rick Mofina is a great story teller knows how to get his reader's interest and keep it. This was my second reading, I rarely read a book twice but his well woven tale of mystery and suspense demand it. Another great book by Rick Mofina.

I gave it 4 stars cause it's a book you don't want to put down until the last page to find out if Paige survives her ordeal. The author knows how to use the "HOOK" (grab readers attention/interest). I took away 1 star cause the ending "stretched" a reader's sense from reality to fantasyland (too much unbelievable stuff); also, too many characters in the novel, many not adding any meat and potato's to the plot, and making for boring chapters. I just skimmed over them. Take out the unwanted page adders for a reader, and you get a good 300 page paperback, not 465! Noticed that too many established best selling authors are doing this page adder noncents. Maybe they need more moola from their publisher to buy another BMW, but may find they will end up losing readers in the long run. I especially dislike when an author has a character walk into a room for example, then spend 2 or more pages describing everything about it (color of carpet/furniture, etc.). If I want Interior Decorating 101, I can buy it at the student bookstore.

I had the pleasure of meeting Rick Mofina when he autographed a copy of "If Angels Fall" for me, a book I found both gripping and suspenseful. When I heard of another Mofina book on its way, I waited with impatience, and snapped it up as soon as I could. The setup is tense: a husband, wife, and daughter go on a camping trip where the wife, suffering from some "monster" in her past, needs to face her fear and challenge it in the place where it began. With such emotional baggage hurting and hampering their marriage, the husband and wife fight, and when the daughter comes across her father alone, angrily chopping wood, and tries to speak to him, angry words and a misplaced swipe of the axe send the daughter racing off into the woods - and she is lost. While starting as a "Will the child survive?" story, "Cold Fear" quickly moves into full thriller status when the "monster" in the wife's past reclaims centre stage, and the police place blame in the wrong direction. The return of characters from "If Angels Fall" is also a big thumbs-up, and leaves one quite satisfied with the continuity. The book is a nail-biter in places, keeping you guessing and worried for the characters, and as the pace continues to speed up, you'll find yourself making excuses to go find a quiet spot to read. Give this one a read, you won't regret it! 'Nathan

Cold Fear is a book which will grab your interest from the first sentence and will not let you go until you have solved the mystery along with the author. Considering this is only his second book to be published in the mystery line, it is absolutely wonderful and most gripping. You will not want to put the book down once you have started reading it. The plot is relativelyeasy to follow despite the suspense it creates as the writer weaves the plots.Don't miss this one

The Baker family are San Francisco residents who go camping in an isolated part of Montana's Glacier National Park. However, Emily and Doug have a fight so she walks away to calm down. When their ten-year-old daughter Paige tries to talk to her father while he is cutting wood, he hurts his hand because of the distraction. He yells at Paige to go to her mother. A frightened Paige leaves accompanied by her dog Kobee, but never finds her mom.Several hours pass before Emily and Doug realize that Paige is lost. A search proves futile and the next morning he races for help. The National parks Service, the FBI, and surprisingly the San Francisco police join forces. The latter is invited because the national law enforcement officials think foul play is involved with the missing girl. As the window of safety ticks a way, a "monster" from Emily's past when she grew up near here is also hunting Paige.COLD FEAR is a frightening tale that will chill the audience as the clock to save Paige's life seems much faster than normal to her parents and to the reader. The prime story line is superb though the addition of Emily's "monster" and a domestic incident back home detracts from a powerful gut wrenching thriller that seems very real because the key players feel genuine. The audience will care what happens to Paige because Rick Mofina makes her feel like everyone's precious child. This is a strong story that hooks the reader from the start.Harriet Klausner