#1 in Miller series. Christopher Miller is an FBI agent demoted to a smaller post for cracking a case that made his boss jealous. What starts out as a missing persons case revolves into a murder, jewel theft, & Russian mobsters tying into the missing person. Chris investigates and finds that a case of mistaken identity just might get him killed. Short chapters and a little too much going on ( )

This isn't a part of the Ceepak mysteries, yet Grabenstein manages to pull his readers into this new world as effortlessly as he pulled them into the Jersey seashore. This book is darker with a little more "on screen" violence than any of the Ceepak stories but the strong storytelling and the excellent character development carry the reader through the darker passages and along to the end of the story.

Highly recommended ( )

One of celebrated FBI Agent Christopher Miller’s neighbours has lost her grandson to a killer terrorising the cab drivers of New York and Miller feels obliged to undertake his own investigation into the case though it is officially the responsibility of the NYPD. Meanwhile, advertising executive Scott Wilkinson gets a ride to Newark airport with the limousine driver from hell. Nearly 12 months later the two men’s lives intersect when Miller is suffering the consequences of carrying out an unauthorised investigation and Wilkinson has cause to regret the complaint he made to the limousine company at the conclusion of his limo ride. Payback’s a bitch.

The machinations that get this story rolling bordered on being too contrived but they were out of the way early on and I enjoyed the rest of the tale. It whips along at a fast pace and involves a very acceptable number of twists, turns and scary moments. Though the ultimate ending is never in much doubt, the good guys are going to prevail, there’s a tension-packed story involving international jewel thieves, stolen matryoshka dolls, a gruesome scene that’ll make you think twice about sliced meat and a Christmas concert full of 6-year olds to get through before the satisfying pay-off.

Grabenstein’s characters are always thoughtfully drawn and rarely as simple as they might appear at first glance. Both Miller and Wilkinson are quite well developed and interesting but in Slay Ride the author seems to have enjoyed exploring the darker elements of personality by creating particularly nasty bad guys. Nicolai Kyznetsoff, the crazy limo driver, is disturbing at its best and Jeff Woodman’s excellent voicing of him added a deliciously creepy element to my listening experience.

Sometimes I like to escape from the real world and visit a place where the bad guys are really bad and the good guys are extra good and it’s blindingly obvious who is in which category. This book fits that bill to a tee and is a fast, funny and entertaining listen to boot. ( )

The lives of Scott Wilkinson (business man), Christopher Miller (FBI agent specializing in kidnappings) and Nicolai Kyznetsoff (cab driver - formerly KGB agent) cross paths during the holiday season.

Families, stolen diamonds, revenge, murder, Russian Mob, kidnapping and fast-paced storytelling are other aspects of the book. I enjoyed it. It certainly makes one rethink about "complaining."

Originally posted on: Thoughts of Joy ( )

My first seasonal read of the year was quite the zinger. Slay Ride by Chris Grabenstein is a fast paced, action packed thriller that is wrapped up in a Christmas theme. Lots of mayhem and murder interspersed with Christmas cookies, music and school concerts.

Starting two weeks before Christmas, the story revolves around Christopher Miller, a F.B.I. agent who gets involved with the Russian mafia while trying to solve a kidnapping. With a psychotic villain as evil as they come, he has his work cut out for him. Eventually the evil is brought too close to home and Miller’s family is threatened.

This story takes off the minute you open the book, the plot is a little contrived, but fairly well-crafted. There is both graphic violence and language, but if you are looking for high powered thriller, this book will push all the right buttons. ( )