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Simon Leonidovich is a bagman. He carries goods to places for large sums of money. What he normally does is not illegal; however, that does not mean illegal activities do not occasionally happen. Simon is hired by Big Jake Rynerson to find his kidnapped daughter. Kyra was in the Galapagos Islands doing fundraising for environmental causes and a good deed turns into a nightmare. Kyra has her pilot's license and uses it to help a man trying to be with his dying son. In turn, this man kidnaps her. Big Jake does not tolerate kidnapping and calls in Simon to either deliver the ransom or rescue his daughter. Simon is hesitant and feels something about the situation is fishy; yet, he does not want an innocent person to die. As Simon fears, the situation is more dangerous than he imagined. Simon must attempt to rescue Kyra, keep himself safe and find the true mastermind behind Kyra's kidnapping. BAGMAN -- the second book to feature Simon Leonidovich -- does start out slow. MacLarty takes at least 35 pages to set the situation up and provide the background of all of the characters. Once Simon makes it to Colombia, the book speeds up. Because the book is so obviously action-driven, the sections of the book without adventure seem to drag. The consequence of this is that the book does not feel cohesive or well polished. This is a typical flaw of action thrillers; hence, this will not discourage a diehard thriller fan. As this book is an action thriller, there is not much character development. Simon is mostly fleshed out, as he is the main character but he is the only one with any true depth. It is hard to get a grasp on characters' actions and justifications, as most of them are never explained. The true reason behind Kyra's kidnapping does not make much sense and does not seem fully developed. The relationships between the characters are something of a mystery as is Big Jake's appeal, since he is the driving force of all character relationships.
Reviewed by Sarah Dudley, July 2004
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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