E-audiobook
Lost Lake [electronic resource] / Phillip Margolin.
Vanessa Kohler is a tabloid reporter in Washington, D.C. She writes fantastic stories about a vast government conspiracy to cover up a secret military unit headed by General Wingate, a popular presidential candidate. Most dismiss her as a crackpot paranoid. But a few powerful men know better, and they've gone to great lengths to discredit her. By chance Vanessa discovers that a key player in this story-long assumed dead-may be living under a new identity: Vietnam vet Carl Rice, who was involved in a secret military operation that resulted in the murder of a congressman. Vanessa knows Rice holds the key to proving her theories-and demonstrating General Wingate may not be the man he appears to be.
Record details
- ISBN: 0792744284 (sound recording : OverDrive Audio Book)
- ISBN: 9780792744283 (sound recording : OverDrive Audio Book)
- Publisher: [North Kingstown, R.I.] : Sound Library, 2005.
Content descriptions
- General Note:
- Downloadable audio file.Title from: Title details screen.Unabridged.Duration: 10:04:02.
- Participant or Performer Note:
- Read by Deborah Hazlett.
- System Details Note:
- Requires OverDrive Media ConsoleRequires OverDrive Media Console (file size: 144739 KB).Mode of access: World Wide Web.
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Electronic resources
- AudioFile Reviews : AudioFile Reviews 2005 August/September
Vanessa Kohler, a reporter for a sleazy tabloid, is a paranoid conspiracy theorist. Or is she? She's also the daughter of General Wingate, who is now running for the presidency and who would do anything to keep secret the illegal murderous unit he led while on active duty. This combination results in murder and a cover-up reminiscent of THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE. Deborah Hazlett is a polished performer. Using inflection and never overemphasizing a subtle clue, she breathes life into the characters and keeps in the foreground the murderous intent of this frighteningly plausible plot. K.A.T. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine - Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2005 February #2
It's a mystery why Margolin, the criminal-defense lawyer turned novelist, isn't at least as big as, say, John Grisham. Overall he's a more polished writer, and his stories have an intellectual depth that Grisham's more formulaic potboilers frequently lack. This time the central character, Vanessa Kohler, is a reporter working for Exposed, a tabloid newspaper. She has a troubled psychological history, stemming from her relationship with her father, a high-level military man who's now running for president. Vanessa has written more than a few stories (and one unpublished book) about an alleged government conspiracy masterminded by her father. When Vanessa discovers that a presumed-dead man is very much alive, she sees her opportunity to take down her father and prove that she is not just a conspiracy nut. As usual, Margolin touches on some heavy issues: mental instability, perception versus reality, paranoia. But this is a crime novel, not a treatise, and it delivers the goods, with plenty of action, suspense, and danger. Readers familiar with Margolin's work, especially such fine early novels as Gone but Not Forgotten (1993), will know what to expect here. Newcomers will immediately want to round up all his previous books. ((Reviewed February 15, 2005)) Copyright 2005 Booklist Reviews. - Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews - Audio And Video Online Reviews 1991-2018
In this somewhat convoluted novel that requires continuous suspension of disbelief, General Wingate, the commander of a secret military unit involved with assassinations, is running for U.S. president. His daughter, a reporter, discovers some dirty dealings that could take down her father, who may be covering up his unlawful behavior. Hazlett's impressive reading combines the right amount of tension, conveys the desperation of the heroes, and, without turning Wingate into a stage villain, creates a plausible evil antagonist. Listeners who don't question events too closely will experience a first-class nail-biter. Copyright 2019 Booklist Reviews. - Kirkus Reviews : Kirkus Reviews 2005 February #2
Beneath a brawl at a kids' baseball game lies "the biggest scandal in the history of American politics," in this wildly implausible legal thriller from Margolin (Sleeping Beauty, 2004, etc.).Portland lawyer Ami Vergano offers carpenter Dan Morelli the apartment over her garage because she likes his looks and she can use the rent money. But when Dan is attacked by a bullying Little League father, his violent reaction horrifies her, him and the two police officers who subdue him. A preliminary investigation reveals that Dan doesn't exist; everything he's told Ami about himself is a lie, and there's no trace of his identity older than two months. He's really Carl Rice, a U.S. Army captain neck-deep in murderous intrigue. At least that's what tabloid reporter Vanessa Kohler tells Ami when she flies in to demand that Ami represent him. Twenty years ago, according to Vanessa, Carl, her former lover, murdered Congressman Eric Glass on orders from her father, General Morris Wingate, the commander of a top-secret unit specializing in wet work. In the aftermath of the high-profile killing, the general had his daughter committed to an asylum, and Carl disappeared. Now the general, who may have been the second assassin on the grassy knoll (!), is running for president, and Vanessa is as determined to discredit him as he is to liquidate Carl, the key witness against him. Ami, who has no experience in criminal defense, wants off the case, but she ends up defending Carl-and eventually Vanessa, who's soon facing felony charges of her own. Who's telling the truth, the powerful, charismatic candidate or the vengeful daughter discredited by her years in that asylum?As if you had to ask. Except for the overlong flashbacks, Margolin's tenth may be his best, with everything a thriller should have, except thrills.Literary Guild/Doubleday Book Club/Mystery Guild selection; author tour Copyright Kirkus 2005 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved. - Library Journal Reviews : LJ Reviews 2004 November #2
A tabloid reporter's crazy stories about a military cover-up involving presidential hopeful General Wingate turn out to be true. A one-day laydown and a five-city author tour. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information. - Library Journal Reviews : LJ Reviews 2006 January #1
Vanessa Kohler hates her father. Years ago, in a vacation home in Lost Lake, CA, she witnessed a particularly brutal murder, but instead of hospitalization, her father placed her in a mental institution. Today, she is a reporter for a supermarket tabloid and cannot get anyone to pay attention to her accusations about her father, a retired general and the current front-runner to become President of the United States. In Oregon, a man goes into a murderous rage on a Little League field, and Vanessa recognizes him as the man who committed the Lost Lake murder. Together with the Oregon lawyer who has personal feelings for the killer, Vanessa makes one last attempt to unmask her father. Margolin is a master of the courtroom drama, and Deborah Hazlett skillfully brings his characters to life. She keeps the action moving at a brisk pace, but really shines in the well-written courtroom scenes. The author's books are consistently at the top of the best sellers lists; most libraries will find this a popular item.--Joseph L. Carlson, Allan Hancock Coll., Lompoc, CA
[Page 171]. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information. - Publishers Weekly Reviews : PW Reviews 2005 February #3
Like the lake of its title, Margolin's latest suspense novel (a hybrid with traces of legal thriller and whodunit and a big debt to The Manchurian Candidate) is smooth on the surface with tumultuous secrets lurking beneath. In Portland, Ore., lawyer and single mom Ami Vergano is pleased to take in handsome handyman Dan Morelli as a tenant, since he provides a positive male role model for her 10-year-old son, Ryan. Meanwhile, across the country in Washington, tightly wound tabloid reporter Vanessa Kohler spins elaborate paranoid fantasies (or are they?) involving personal danger and government conspiracy. These two women-and their respective plot threads-come together when Dan's volatility turns a Little League game into a crime scene, and Vanessa steps forward to support him, at considerable risk. But this is only the beginning of a labyrinthine plot built on twists and surprises. Hint: Vanessa's father is an influential general and political power broker. Margolin isn't the most original writer, but what he lacks in style he makes up for in clarity. Plotting is his strong suit. The artful arrangement of the story's episodes keeps the suspense high, and the author fills in the puzzle shrewdly, with small pieces from all over the chronology. The surprises keep coming, even after the story settles mostly into a courtroom drama, with Ami defending Dan on a high-stakes charge. Agent, Jean Naggar. 5-city author tour. (Mar. 1) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.