Summary and Reviews of Aphrodite by Russell Andrews

Aphrodite by Russell Andrews

Aphrodite

by Russell Andrews
  • Critics' Consensus (4):
  • Readers' Rating (1):
  • First Published:
  • Jan 1, 2004, 352 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Jan 2005, 464 pages
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About This Book

Book Summary

A small-town cop must get to the bottom of one of the greatest conspiracies of our time. As he attempts to unravel the puzzle, he finds that everyone seems to be one step ahead of him, disposing of witnesses and setting him up for the fall.

Whenever this word is whispered someone dies...
APHRODITE

It looked for all the world like a terrible, tragic accident. Susanna Morgan had gotten up in the middle of the night, tripped, fallen, and broken her neck. Yet when detective Justin Westwood inspects the victim's apartment, he can't help noticing that the details don't quite add up. The glass on the bedside table is knocked over but there are no cuts on her body. The scrape on her knee looks suspiciously fresh. And then a terrified witness comes forward, confirming his worst fear. This is no accident. This is murder.

Why would anyone want Susanna dead? A reporter for a local newspaper, she worked on only one controversial article, an obituary for an elderly former film star. An irate fan had complained that she'd gotten her facts wrong--but that's not the sort of mistake that normally brings a pair of professional hit men to your door, or the FBI to town.

Justin Westwood moved to East End Harbor to escape a dark, disturbing past, and to lead a quiet life. He had retreated from reality by taking a menial post with a small-town Long Island police department, drowning his troubles in mindless traffic duty and lots of booze. Now his dormant professionalism is awakened after Susanna's brutal murder. Attempting to unravel the puzzle, wending his way through a maze that leads him toward a project run by a sinister, powerful cabal, Justin finds that everyone--the cops, the FBI, and one of the strangest professional killing teams ever seen--seems to be one step ahead of him, disposing of witnesses, and setting him up for the fall.

This is just the kind of reality check that Justin needs, and he will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of this madness--to find the meaning of the mysterious "Aphrodite"--and maybe save himself in the process.

By the bestselling author of Gideon and Icarus, Aphrodite is a thriller of terrifying plausibility--a story of one man's redemption and a tale of dizzying suspense and fantastic twists that will capture your imagination as it refuses to let you go.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

Booklist - David Pitt
Starred Review. From the author of Gideon (1999) and Icarus (2001) comes another thriller that's propelled as much by its characters as its plot.

Library Journal - Ronnie H. Terpening
Featuring great villains, an intriguing protagonist, and action as satisfying as a night with Aphrodite, Andrews's third thriller (after Gideon and Icarus) is a seductive read from start to finish. Highly recommended.

Kirkus Reviews
Once again, Andrews demonstrates his knack for making a sympathetic hero likable enough to redeem--well, almost redeem--an impossibly convoluted plot.

Publishers Weekly
Robert Ludlum meets Dashiell Hammett in this gripping, wildly plotted thriller....The suspense flags slightly at midpoint, but elsewhere the pace is fast, the dialogue sharp, the characters skillfully drawn and the familiar, heady whodunit action cleverly handled.

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Read-Alikes

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