Swope's Ridge by Ace Collins

Lije Evans has taken on a case that involves a Middle Eastern American citizen being charged with murdering a family in their own home. He is also suspected to have connections to the terrorists who attacked the World Trade Center on September 11th. Lije and another lawyer are the only ones who believe the man is innocent. There are those who want him put in prison, however. On top of this, the intrigue around the mysterious estate of Swope's Ridge escalates when the possibility of a deadly secret being hidden on the property arises. There are many people after this secret, and they are all willing to kill to get to it. But when someone Lije loves in put in the hospital for this cause, his priorities shift and the stakes become much higher.

Why throw a ridiculous court case into the potentially interesting story of Swope's Ridge? The court case is a non-factor as it is and only serves to clutter up the read. The entire mentality of this book is wrong. The mentality is what the public calls "suspense." This book is supposed to be exciting and interesting, but to me, it was really quite a boring read.

The characters suffer from under-development. One cannot feel that Lije Evans is even a real person. He has no thoughts, dialogue, or actions that serve to create a personality. He is basically perfect, but he relates more to T Davis Bunn's non-character entities. His robotic feelings do not make the reader feel like he is even real. The rest of the characters are bad as well, but Lije is definitely the worst. It only goes downhill from here.

Ace Collins does not seem content to stick with one foundational idea for his books. Instead, he crams multiple predictable plots into one book, causing multiple crucial areas to suffer. In Swope's Ridge, he crams an impossible court case, an ongoing murder mystery, and a save-the-world situation all into one mediocre plot. This is why to plot is a mess. Ace also proceeds to fix every possible thing he can think of, including finding Kaitlyn's killer from Farraday Road. There are also amateurish and unnecessary scenes including driving through a tornado that serve to clutter up things. Convenient connections cause the garbage can to overflow. Ace may have been good at non-fiction, but the evidence shows that he has no business being a fiction author. He can't handle it.

Good characters would have been a huge bound for him to complete. Eliminating unnecessary subplots would be enormous. The best thing about this book is the lack of a replacement romance for Lije. Ace probably didn't have time because he had too much else going on.

I would not recommend that Ace write any more books. The market can't take it.

1 star

Swope's Ridge by Ace Collins

Coming October 1st, 2009...

Description:

September 12, 2001. Four members of the Klasser family are found dead outside Dallas, Texas. In the wake of 9/11, the Klassers’ neighbor, Omar Jones—an American citizen of Arab descent—is convicted of their murder.A month before Jones’ execution, attorney Lije Evans searches for evidence that will prove the man innocent. But Evans’ quest goes deeper than solving one crime. He is determined to find the secret behind the dark history of sleepy Swope’s Ridge—and how it ties into his wife’s murder.Interlocking mysteries lead Evans and his team to the battlegrounds of former Nazi Germany, the dirt roads of Kansas, and a rusty cargo ship in the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way, they discover a secret that offers the promise of great power—and the greatest temptation they’ve ever faced.In the second book of the Lije Evans Mysteries series, bestselling author Ace Collins immerses readers in an intricate and deadly international plot. Racism, betrayal, and death-defying escapes compound an adventure that knows no bounds in this harrowing novel for suspense lovers everywhere.

Preview:

A legal thriller?
I guess it makes sense, considering Lije's reckless decision at the end of Farraday Road to become a criminal defender. If this book is going to be called Swope's Ridge, than it should be about Swope's Ridge, not the defense of an Arab man accused of a kidnapping. That's a completely different subject entirely.
Legal seems to be a popular genre these days, and one that can be very predictable. I'm not sure if this is the direction Ace Collins needs to take.
I very much like the idea and history behind Swope's Ridge, but I don't understand by Ace can't just focus on that. Why does he have to jump all around from one meaningless subplot to another?
I hope this does not turn into a series, but ends with Swope's Ridge. Ace Collins is a good author, but he hasn't grown up yet.

Farraday Road by Ace Collins

Kaitlyn and Elijah "Lije" Evans were shot and left for dead in their SUV one day on Farraday Road. Police deputy Mikki Stuart, a childhood friend of Lije's, found them. Kaitlyn is dead; Lije is still alive.
Diana Curtis, ABI agent, begins working with Lije to see what he remembered about the shooting. All he remembers is his wife's screams. Eventually, they discover that the murder has something to do with Swopes Ridge, an estate Kaitlyn has recently purchased. The previous owner was also found dead.
Swopes Ridge is an estate shrouded with mystery and intrigue. Legend says a treasure is hidden in a cave that's on the property, but no one's ever found it.
Now someone is trying to protect the property with their lives.
This book would be really interesting were it not for two things-the fact that it's continued and the lack of purpose in the book.
First of all, the book is continued with a cheesy "to be continued" note at the bottom of the last page. This whole book is spent setting up the next one. And though this mystery is slow going and realistic, there is a lack of purpose in the book.
Which brings me to the second point.
The book spends about 200 pages on the mystery, and when Diana finds a major clue in the case, the author makes an 180 degree turn for the worst. Lije and Diana begin looking for the treasure of Swopes Ridge with a local doctor and stumble upon a locomotive inside a cave.
They proceed to recklessly try to start it, and end up facing a dangerous gunman who just disappears without shooting.
It seems like Ace Collins was trying to fill up the rest of the book so he didn't have to go into greater detail about the major clue. He tried desperately to make this book continued, and he succeeded.
There are other problems, such as bad characters and the potential for a replacement romance.
Also, there is a very brief subplot about a detective investigating a con artist who is making people pay him to research the "false" deaths of their military loved ones. This is very brief, as I said, and adds absolutely nothing to the plot.
Needless to say, I am not very excited about the sequel.
2 stars