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Seventeen years ago, four year old Betsy Blake disappeared. She was never found. Now, her father Gordon is in hospital awaiting surgery. His odds of surviving aren’t exactly great. Gordon’s biggest fear is dying on the operating table, not knowing what happened to his daughter. So he hires a private investigator, Lenny Moon, who has exactly five hours to find out whatever happened to Betsy Blake. Can Lenny achieve what police have failed to do?
He certainly knows how to nail a crime thriller and get readers on the edge of their seats. I swallow his books in one sitting" - author Sharon Thompson When he is informed he must undergo major heart surgery that he only has a fifty percent chance of surviving, Gordon Blake hires a local PI to give the investigation one last try. If your daughter went missing, how many years would it take for you to admit she's never coming home? Lyons is an outstanding craftsman in the thriller genre. A gifted storyteller with a natural ability to thrill" – No. 1 Bestselling author Andrew Barrett
As the story opens, Betsy Blakes’ father, Gordon, is about to undergo dangerous heart surgery in five hours, a surgery he might not survive. Gordon never stopped believing his daughter is still alive, so from his hospital bed he desperately hires a local private investigator named Lenny Moon to find her in what may be the last five hours of his life.
Well worth the time invested in reading it. I'd be curious to hear other seasoned crime-mystery-thriller readers' reactions, to see if they caught what I missed. Overall, quite a clever book (or an ordinary book with a stupid reader), a fast read, never less than interesting, a few irritating/annoying characters - the sort of people I deal with every day at work, so nothing I couldn't handle - or more accurately ok characters who irritated at times. Former freelance journalist David grew up in Dublin - the city his novels are set - but currently spends his time between Birmingham in the UK and the Irish capital. David is married to a Brummie, Kerry, and they have one daughter, Lola. The chapters come in alternating heartbreak of a guilt-ridden father that took his eye from his 4-year-old child playing in the street just for a second, then she was gone, to a terrified Betsy telling how she had been playing when a man put his hand over her mouth and whisked her away in his car and into his cellar. Some 17 years had passed and Gordan Blake is now in hospital waiting for an operation where he only has a 50% survival rate and he was no nearer to finding out who had taken her. As far as everyone else is concerned the case is closed.
The clock is ticking.
If your daughter went missing, how many years would it take for you to admit she’s never coming home? I really enjoyed the fact that apart from the child in the story none of the characters were likeable people especially our protagonist Gordon. This I think is a truer reflection of real life, people are complex and not necessarily likeable and you see this really reflected in the story.
It’s fast paced and easy to follow. Other than Betsy and Gordon, the characters aren’t particularly likable. In fact, a lot of the side story felt kind of like a suspension from reality: the premise of his surgery being wholly dependent on him keeping his heart rate below a certain number seemed unfeasible - anyone with a heart problem in need of that type of surgery wouldn’t have a heart rate under 100 BPM. Never mind that the stress of facing surgery and death would have raised it astronomically. Then there’s the PI who acted more like a bumbling teenager than a seasoned investigator/former police officer. Or the major mob boss who runs around smoking weed and happy to talk about his money laundering with any and everyone? All this to say that the details of the story were pretty far fetched. Nor did it seem realistic that these people would be able to find out what really happened to Betsy Blake in a few hours. The story increases in speed and intensity as Gordon Blake’s operation approaches and time for Lenny and Betsy is running out, then it becomes completely unbearable. OMG, these words just sizzled. I so wanted Gordan to pull through as I had grown so very fond of this man and yet the house would be life-changing for Lenny Moon and his complicated family. But most of all what of Betsy? This is one mind-blowing story where you need to read to find out ………………………. Whatever Happened to Betsy Blake? After 17 years of looking for his missing daughter, Gordon Blake is faced with certain death or a low survival rate surgery. He hires PI Lenny Moon as a last ditch effort to look into three men he thought may have had something to do with her disappearance before he goes under the knife. The book switches between their perspectives and that of Betsy, the missing girl. Best book of the year" - The Book Magnet If your daughter went missing, how many years would it take for you to admit she’s never coming home? David B. Lyons novels are for those who are fans of KL Slater, Gillian Flynn, Paula Hawkins and Mark Edwards.
READING CHALLENGE 2022 - THE NUMBERS GAME
I was tormented and sweaty thinking what and how Gordon and Lenny will find the answers. And the supporting characters did their best to keep me worried throughout. I took to Lenny. He had a simplicity about him that was endearing. Ok he was after the reward but he also had Gordon’s best interest at heart. Gordon you felt for being in such a predicament but he had had seventeen years to do this. The Nurse Elaine doing her utmost to try and keep Gordon’s heart suitable for surgery whilst all the time the search is ongoing. I won’t give anything away other than to say prepare for the unexpected. I should have seen that coming!! Clever, brilliant, gripping. 5* all the way. David B. Lyon’s previous book, Midday, was one of the most surprising books I read last year. So when I was approached to read his next book, I didn’t hesitate, fully expecting another clever and tense plot and that is exactly what I got! But surely rookie PI Lenny Moon – who has little or no experience in such high-profile investigating – doesn't have what it takes to make a breakthrough in this case before Gordon is put to sleep. Characters - Gordon, our hospital patient and bereft parent; Lenny, our PI; a kindly nurse; Gordon's ex-wife, ex-business partner and a couple of dodgy former business associates; Lenny's wife, a couple of taxi drivers, Gordon's doctor, an investigative journalist, a retired police officer involved in the original investigation into Betsy's disappearance, a man named Dod and a significant other.
I couldn’t fathom the fact that David just wrote another mind blowing book! I was on the edge the whole time, reading and thinking and trying to piece it together but I failed so miserably and I AM HAPPY ABOUT IT! Every chapter is charged with tension, and the last sentences of each of them are such great read-on prompts. I was glued to my kindle for two complete days. I couldn’t help myself but continue reading it.
2019/2020/2021/2022 EUROPEAN READING CHALLENGE
But surely rookie PI Lenny Moon – who has little or no experience in such high-profile investigating – doesn’t have what it takes to make a breakthrough in this case before Gordon is put to sleep Irish author David B. Lyons was raised in Dublin where his 2019 mystery, Whatever Happened to Betsy Blake, takes place. A little girl named Betsy had been kidnapped 17 years before at age 4 and has been missing ever since. When he is informed he must undergo major heart surgery that he only has a fifty percent chance of surviving, Gordon Blake hires a local PI to give the investigation one last try. But surely rookie PI Lenny Moon – who has little or no experience in such high-profile investigating – doesn’t have what it takes to make a breakthrough in this case before Gordon is put to sleep. …or does he? Before becoming a novelist David was a football writer, a celebrity columnist and a music reviewer. He has lectured in Journalism and in Creative Writing in colleges and universities in both Ireland and in the UK.
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