Review of The Face of Fear

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[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, The Face of Fear.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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The Face of Fear

I give this book a rating of 4 out of 5.

R.J. Torbert has written a great detective story in the The Face of Fear. Using the iconic Ghost Face Mask was a very clever device to engage the reader.

The story is set in Port Jefferson, on Long Island, NY. Deborah Lance, daughter of a wealthy former Suffolk county executive, is kidnapped for ransom. The kidnappers demand three million dollars, an amount that Mr. Lance just happens to have in his house, in cash. This casts suspicion on him as well as his live-in assistant, Robert Simpson, who is Deborah’s lover. Detectives Paul Powers and Bud Johnson are assigned to the case. Powers develops a scenario of how he believes the kidnapping was done. After he announces plans for a reenactment of the event, two people involved in the reenactment are murdered, one being a female police officer. Then a third killing takes place, in a hospital, where a wounded suspect was under police guard. All the killers wear the famous Ghost Face Mask, made famous in the horror movie Scream, during the commission of their crimes. Now the kidnapping case turns into a murder mystery.

Since it appears the kidnappers may have crossed state lines, New York into Connecticut, The FBI is called into the case. There is immediate turf conflict between the detectives and the FBI agent, Jack O’Connor.

There is also a love interest between Paul Powers and Rachelle, a part-time writer for the Port Jeff Now newspaper. In fact, it is her article that sets off some of the murders, and gets her wounded as well.

I had to do a Google search for Port Jefferson on Long Island in New York to see if it was a real place. Torbert’s description of the many establishments, including the Z Pita restaurant where several meetings take place, in the town made me want to visit the place to see all the sights. It is indeed a real place with a rich history going all the way back to 1655 and it provided a great backdrop for this exciting kidnap/murder mystery.

Without giving away any of the interesting twists and turns of the story, I’ll just say that the characterization of detectives Powers and Johnson, as well as the other major players, is well done. The scenery is vivid and easy to see. The police work has an authentic feel to it and the dialogue is realistic. The idea of the kidnapping of Deborah Lance involving three cars taking the Cross Island Ferry on a trip from Orient Point on Long Island, across Long Island Sound to New London Connecticut, seems too simple to actually work without someone noticing. But apparently that’s how they pulled it off.

I enjoy solving puzzles and mysteries, but just when I thought I had everything figured out in this book, I run into new twist with a different killer, having, maybe, a new agenda.

It’s a good read from the smooth beginning to the unexpected ending. I hope there’s a sequel in the works featuring Powers and Johnson, and maybe Rachelle too, because I’m looking forward to more books from Mr. Torbert.

I highly recommend The Face of Fear to all my reading friends.

I give this book a rating of 4 out of 5. I only reason I didn’t give it a rating of 5 is because of occasional nonstandard sentence structures and the inconsistent use of contractions, which slowed my reading by causing me to back up at times to reread a line or phrase.

Charley Brindley