China Lake - Meg Gardiner

...Naval Air Warfare Centre in China Lake and his mum's whereabouts unknown. Unfortunately, events turn sour when a funeral of a family friend gathers some unwanted attention from a religious cult called the Remnant. Sassy Evan, definately no shrinking violet, has a few choice words for the groups leader, Wyoming and from here, her adventures begin. Why does she get involved? Well, here comes the crunch (and I promise you this does not give away too ...
...as much as I enjoyed China Lake, I also think it is the worst out of the five. Meg Gardiner has quite a quick but detailed writing style and when there is a lot of action I found myself going over the text a few times to get it straight in my head. However, by the time I had finished the third book I was hooked and I even paid full price for the last one! (which I very rarely do!) What I really enjoy is the honesty of the characters. The danger and ... more

The story unfolds in Santa Barbara, home of our heroine, Evan Delaney. Evan's six year old nephew currently lives with her, his Dad being posted to the Naval Air Warfare Centre in China Lake and his mum's whereabouts unknown. Unfortunately, events turn sour when a funeral of a family friend gathers some unwanted attention from a religious cult called the Remnant. Sassy Evan, definately no shrinking violet, has a few choice words for the groups leader, Wyoming and from here, her adventures begin. Why does she get involved? Well, here comes the crunch (and I promise you this does not give away too much of the book!) - guess who has joined the Remnants? - Luke's Mum Tabitha! Guess what else? - They want Luke back! Now, who would trust an evil, gunweilding religious cult with a six year old? Not Evan! Unfortunatley, the Remnant are as devious as they are evil, they have Tabitha on side and when one of their group ends up dead, they have the perfect scapegoat in Evans brother.

Evans personal life isn't without its ups and downs either. Her boyfriend, Jesse, is still dealing with the aftermath of being mowed down, left for dead and losing his friend in the same event. He is trying to adapt to life in a wheelchair, which as you can imagine isn't easy physically or mentally, especially for an energetic, superfit young lawyer.

Evan is hot headed, fiercely loyal and at times, a bit daft! She runs into situations without thinking, but her honesty, bravery and never ending supply of sarcastic comments and funny quips help you to forgive her for them. Jesse is also amazingly sharp and strong willed and the fierce love they have for each other shines through without turning the whole book into a slushy romance novel.

This is the first of five Evan Delaney novels, the others being: Mission Canyon, Jericho Point, Crosscut and Kill chain. I had never heard of Meg Gardiner before, but the first three books were selling in my local Co-op for only £1.99 each - bargain! To be honest, as much as I enjoyed China Lake, I also think it is the worst out of the five. Meg Gardiner has quite a quick but detailed writing style and when there is a lot of action I found myself going over the text a few times to get it straight in my head. However, by the time I had finished the third book I was hooked and I even paid full price for the last one! (which I very rarely do!) What I really enjoy is the honesty of the characters. The danger and action may not be completely believable, I haven't read many books where it is, but the emotions and personalities are.

You do not necessarily need to read China Lake first, they are all great to read as stand alone novels, but reading them in sequence will give you better understanding of the characters in the later books.

Meg Gardiner lgrew up in Santa Barbara , graduated from Stanford Law and then lived in Los Angeles, where she practised law. She moved to the UK and lives in Surrey with her husband and children. She wrote China Lake in 2002. To get a better feel for her other novels you might find her website useful. Reading her witty Bio instantly makes me think of Evan! She also has a blog on the site which she updates often and she will always answer your posts (in my experience anyway!).

Although being not very well known, she definately has a growing fan club and most of the reviews I have read give her top marks. More recently she has received a glowing recommendation from Stephen King, although their books are very different. I would liken her more to Sue Grafton and Harlan Coben.

The books are published by Hodder & Stoughton and the RRP is £6.99. If you can't get hold of copies of the books from the Co-op, I have seen them on Amazon and Ebay, where obviously the price can vary. 

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