S. J. ROZAN – On the Line. St. Martin’s, hardcover, September 2010. Trade paperback: August 2011.

Genre:   Private Eye. Leading characters:  Bill Smith & Lydia Chin (10th in series). Setting:   New York City.

First Sentence: Crashing dark chords smothered the cell phone’s impertinent chirp, but the ringtone was “Ride of the Valkyries,” so it penetrated, and I stopped.

   PI Lydia Chin has been kidnapped. Her sometimes partner and friend who wishes he were more, has 12 hours before the kidnapper will kill Lydia. Bill Smith is led on a desperate chase through New York City following obscure clues and being chased by the police who set it up to appear Bill murdered a Chinese prostitute.

   He is also slowed down by the Chinese criminal who believes the same thing. Fortunately, Bill does have the help of Lydia’s techno-whiz cousin, Linus, his girlfriend Trella, and Lydia’s best friend, Detective Mary Kee.

   Let me start by declaring myself to normally being a huge fan of S.J. Rozan. However, I shall admit, this book let me down.

   Those of us who follow the series knew it was Bill’s turn to take the lead and there were some interesting supporting characters, particularly Linus and Trella. One of the most delightful characters of the series was completely missing from the story, however, except in reference.

   However, my biggest issue with the book overall had to do with characters. There was no character development. Once again, an author based the book on the assumption that readers had read previous books in the series, which I feel is such a mistake.

   The entire premise of the story is built on Bill’s search for Lydia yet there is little explanation, beyond the fact they are occasional partners, giving a new reader an understanding of the real depth of the relationships. This is true of all the relationships; what background is given is glancing at best.

   The story is fully plot driven. It starts off high energy and, with a 12-hour clock running, never takes a break. It is exciting and suspenseful but almost too much so. The technological information is fascinating but did seem a bit too easy.

   The very clever use of Twitter and Facebook demonstrates just how powerful and ubiquitous they have become and how hard it can be for those not technology-focused to be left behind the curve. However, the ease and speed at which much of the information Bill and his team were able to obtain did stretch credulity quite a bit.

   Having read all of Ms. Rozan’s books, I know how good her writing can be. I can understand an author wanting to try something new, but this almost had an action comic feel about it. If you’re looking for a non-stop, beat-the-clock, distracting airplane book to leave behind at the end of the trip, this would satisfy that need.

   For me, I shall hope Ms. Rozan returns to the quality of some of her previous books for her next one.

Rating:   Okay.