Cover Image: Labyrinth

Labyrinth

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

Labryinth is the action packed 23rd installment of the well known FBI series. I have admired Agent Lacey Sherlock since I first met her character in the Maze over 20 years ago and my admiration grew even more in this book. The book opens with an accident that catches Sherlock unaware and leaves the team with a mystery to solve, even as they wonder if Sherlock will ever be the same. As is common with the FBI series, there a parallel story with Agent Hammersmith, who is supposed to be on vacation, but accidentally stumbles on a case. Full of hold your breath suspense, this story is everything you would expect from an FBI- Sherlock/Savich story and more.
Thankful for the opportunity to read this ARC of Labryinth through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

OMG …. another gem in the ongoing FBI thriller series featuring the husband and wife team of Agents Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock. Sherlock suffers memory loss and amnesia after being broadsided in her "safe" Volvo in a downtown Washington DC intersection.. As her vehicle is spinning a man is thrown across her windshield …. he appears to be darting out of an alleyway trying to avoid apprehension. Luckily he is able to continue his flight and disappears. Only later is this mysterious man identified by his blood on the windshield as missing CIA analyst Justin Cummings.. This proves to a major link in Savich & Sherlock's subsequent convoluted investigation … uncovering possible espionage by multiple nefarious factions.
Another FBI agent Griffin Hammersmith is on vacation and visiting friends in the sleepy and touristy Gaffer's Ridge in Virginia … while on a relaxing stroll he is suddenly struck by a psychic call for help.. Drop dead gorgeous journalist, Carson DeSilva is held prisoner by mad man kidnapper, Rafer Bodine. He most likely is responsible for the kidnapping and possible murder of three sixteen year old girls from the small neighboring towns.. Griffin rescues her and takes down Rafer … but, the local Sheriff feels that her story is ridiculous and refuses to accept Griffin's FBI credentials as bonified. Rafer apparently is the nephew of the sheriff. In desperation Griffin puts in a call for aid to Savich,, as he sits at the bedside of his amnestic wife and partner.
Coulter is truly a masterful storyteller and spins a twisted and intriguing narrative intertwining the two storylines … that culminates in an exciting and unexpected denouement. This novel was gobbled up like a tasty desert …. however, leaving one craving for more! Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for providing an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Catherine Coulter never disappoints. I am always eager to get my hands on the next novel. Labyrinth is a twisty thrill ride.of emotions caused by greed and envy. I’m in love with Sherlock, Savitch (and Sean and Marty), I hope for many more. Thanks to NetGalley and Catherine Coulter and her publisher for letting me read an advanced copy of the new novel Labyrinth!

Was this review helpful?

This starts off with quite a bit of action, plenty of mystery and then a twist with Sherlock that had me instantly drawn into this book. I loved the initial scenes with Dillon and her as well as the problem they are facing, primarily Sherlock. And I settled down for a thrilling thriller.

Suddenly, the scene changes and we are with Griffin and Carson. These two share a common gift that leads them into quite a mystery as well as some paranormal kind of activity. While the writing became stilted at this point, I was invested enough to ignore it.

Unfortunately, I had to wade through a lot of characters who had nothing to do with the story, as well as unnecessary information and repetition. Everything began to lag. I set it aside hoping I’d feel it more the next time I picked it up. Nope. Didn’t happen. I began to skim. I skimmed some more. I eventually managed to dig out the nuggets of the story and enjoyed it despite the work I had to put in to do so.

To say I was disappointed is an understatement. I read Enigma by this same author and absolutely loved everything about it. I was expecting the same type of writing as well as a wicked twisty plot. There are definitely some twists, but I was exhausted by the time I reached them.

I understand that this author is a fan favorite and I’m hundred percent sure my response to this book is entirely a “me” thing. I’m sure her diehard fans are going to love this one. I’m just sorry to say it didn’t work for me.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided by NetGalley and Galley Books. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Was this review helpful?

While the sis a long running series and I have read most, I do think you can jump into this one and not be too lost on the background of the characters. You may not have the same connection to them as other people, but you'll be able to follow the story.

I adore Sherlock and her accident was a blow to Savich but he handled it well, while still trying to help out a fellow agent! Things got dicy with the multiple cases that needed investigating, but a great addition to the series

Was this review helpful?

If I could give this 10 stars I would. We really get to see Savich’s love for Sherlock. This was such a thrilling roller coaster of a read. As usual there were two different crimes going on. Usually one is secondary but this book they were both pivotal crimes. The writing was superb as usual. I can never get enough of Savich and Sherlock. An excellent read indeed!

Was this review helpful?

Well you have made a slam dunk with this book! I couldn’t put it down. I was so mesmerized by everything that was happening. I love reading Catherine’s books and this one is right there at the top! I would love to be able to “shine“ a few people. I can’t wait until the next book to come out! Thanks Catherine!

Was this review helpful?

Ahhhhhhh this was just such a wonderful book and I just thoroughly enjoyed myself. I didn’t want to put this book down. I just fell in love with this wonderful story and it’s wonderful characters. I will most definitely be reading more stories from this wonderful author.

Was this review helpful?

Labyrinth
Catherine Coulter
July 30, 2019

Fans of Catherine Coulter’s FBI series should be happy to know that #23 - Labyrinth will be published on July 30th. I have read the entire series and each time I am thrilled with the results. Once again she gives us quite an opener. Sherlock is on her way to the store when her life gets put on hold in a hurry. She is sideswiped in heavy traffic. Her Volvo begins to spin. Throughout the accident Lacey is bounced around until the airbag explodes almost simultaneously with a body being thrown over the hood of her car. Blood spreads all over the windshield. She could not imagine who it was. His blood was on the window, hers was now dripping down her face. She lost consciousness.
Part two, (as all of her scripts have duo plots), finds us in Gaffer’s Ridge, Virginia. Agent Griffin Hammersmith is there to visit his friends Jennie and Aimee Rose. His college friends had opened a restaurant there. He planned to stay at their house for awhile after solving a tough case. The beautiful mountain air is a great place to hike and relax. After lunch he left his car at their house and started to tour the town with the hope of a short walk instead of relenting to the nap his body would prefer. Not long into his walk he heard someone shouting. It seemed the voice wasn’t loud. No one else appeared to notice. As he approached the country home, he heard the voice again, it was urgent this time. He had to see if he could help. When no one answered the door, he used his foot to break in the door. There was a man holding a shotgun at a young woman. She was so grateful he heard her. Griffin did not hesitate and used his talents as an agent to knock the gun away. His response fractured the man’s wrist. The gun dropped to the floor. The woman, Dr. Carson DeSilva, is a journalist in town to interview a famous physicist who was taking solace in a local cabin.
Each of the two paths follow different journeys within the book. Both are exciting and typically strange. I will not discuss spoilers, I can only recommend this amazing journey for Savich and Sherlock. It is definitely a great summer read. Head to the beach or on your front porch to enjoy this typically intense Catherine Coulter mystery. If you are new to her work, don’t let that stop you.
Labyrinth will be on the shelves July 30, 2019. It is another 5 Star hit.
I must thank Simon and Schuster eGalley for allowing me to read this via NetGalley. I very much enjoyed the ride!

Was this review helpful?

Catherine Coulter is a fantastic author who never disappoints. Labyrinth is a great book that hooked me from the first chapter. Well written and well developed characters.

Was this review helpful?

How could you not love a book that describes an FBI Agent’s hair color as “Titian”?! Catherine Coulter never disappoints, even when she is throwing you a curveball and running several plots and storylines within the pages of Labyrinth. To appropriate the author’s words, there are too many pieces to the puzzle, too many possible turns and Agents Savich, Sherlock, Hammersmith, and all those other characters I have come to love have a tough time finding the key to unlock it.

This is another strong installment in the “FBI Thriller” series. Every time I started to put it down I figured I had enough time for one more chapter. So lunch became a piece of fruit and those errands that required my attention, well, nothing that couldn’t be put off. Ms. Coulter’s writing is as strong as her characters and as Agent Savich writes in his report; “There will be further developments, there always are.” Can’t wait.

Thank you NetGalley and Gallery, Pocket Books for a copy

Was this review helpful?

Another good read by Catherine Coulter! enjoyed it, will get many copies for family and friends. Look forward for more books by Catherine Coulter.

Was this review helpful?

Labyrinth by Catherine Coulter is the 23rd book in her FBI Thriller series. I have read a few books in this series, but this reads very well as a standalone. Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock, both FBI agents, return as our heroes in Labyrinth. Almost at the start, we are caught by surprise, as Sherlock is in a terrible car accident, having be hit by another car, as well as someone bouncing off her windshield. Savich runs to the hospital worrying about his wife’s condition, and though she was lucky, she now has amnesia from her concussion. She recognizes some familiar things, but she does not remember her husband, Dillon. While many of the FBI agents close to Dillon and Sherlock are concerned about her, another mystery is happening in Virginia.

Agent Griffin Hammersmith is on vacation with friends in Gaffer’s Ridge, when he hears a woman screaming. He manages to help her escape, and between himself and the rescued woman, Carson DeSilva, they manage to stop the kidnapper and call for help from the local police. Unfortunately, the police turn things around and put both Griffin and Carson in jail for harming the local resident. Griffin manages to call Dillion for help, and the FBI will come in full force to help Griffin, and try to solve the disappearance of three 16 year old missing girls.
When Sherlock is released from the hospital, even if she cant remember a lot, she insists to work with Dillon to help Griffin, and eventually dig deep to find out the missing man (who bounced off her car, and is a CIA Analyst) as well as discover why the CIA is involved in some kind of behind the scenes mystery.

With Sherlock at his side, they go first to Virginia to help Griffin, and discover a family that controls the town and police. There is a slight element of psychic attacks, that someone is leashing out at first to Sherlock, but Dillion will rescue her. However, this is an important part of the Virginia story, which has some twists and surprises. Griffin and Carson work together to get to the bottom of the missing girls.

Dillon and Sherlock return back home to slowly piece together who is the villain at the CIA, and why. What follows is a non-stop exciting and intense adventure with two different cases. I was great to see how despite her amnesia, Sherlock as an agent was masterful, something she did not forget. She worked so well with Dillion and other members of the FBI Team. It was tough for Dillion as she didn’t know him, but slowly their love for each other will be instrumental in her recovery process. Griffin and Carson had their lives on the brink, but the wild ending was so very well done. This is a difficult review to write, as so much happens, especially with two different cases, and to tell too much more would be spoilers.


Catherine Coulter once again gives us a fabulous story, with so many different surprises and excitement all the way to the climax. Labyrinth was fast-paced, exciting, with marvelous heroes, who have to delve deep within the CIA resolve the crimes. If you like suspense, mysteries, espionage, especially in the world of CIA/FBI, I wholly suggest you read Labyrinth.

Was this review helpful?

WOW! Once again Catherine Coulter did not disappoint at all. Great FBI thriller from beginning to end.
This book carefully weaves two different FBI cases happening consecutively. While the two cases are not related, the characters involved are.
FBI agent Lacey Sherlock is driving when her car is suddenly hit, she spins out of control, hits a pedestrian, and wakes up in the hospital with amnesia. While the accident truly was a case of Sherlock being in the wrong place at the wrong time, it leads FBI Agent Dillon Savich (Sherlock's husband) and Sherlock on a path leading to corruption in the CIA. Can they unravel the mystery and keep anyone else from losing their lives?
Meanwhile, another agent, Agent Hammersmith, is on vacation when he hears someone yelling for help. Running into a house he discovers a kidnapping victim trying to escape. When they are faced with the local law enforcement, it appears that all the major players in the town of Gaffer's Ridge are related to Rafer, the suspected kidnapper. With the help of the local branch of the FBI, Hammersmith and DeSilva (the victim) embark on a mission to find out what exactly is going on in this town, where there are also 4 teenage girls missing.
Can Sherlock recover her memory and still be valuable to not only her family but the agency that needs her help to solve these crimes?
Highly recommend this book, and the whole series. I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Appropriately titled! Two stories arch through and there are plenty of twists and turns. I love this series, some more than others she knocked this one out of the park. Small town redneck - go ahead, fall for that. Some creepy happenings and some powerful women. Rafter telling the FBI agent Griffin, "go ahead, mom will shine you " Sherlock and Savich cross into both story lines, The CIA analyst who Sherlock hits and the Gaffers Ridge.
The plot with the CIA analyst is a scary scenario. There is plenty of action, I read this in one sitting, I did not want to be disturbed. I felt for Savich as he struggled with Sherlocks amnesia. I thought it was handled extremely well, Loved when Sherlock asks "are we expected to solve everything" I enjoyed Carson and Griffin interaction (how about her history is there a story there or what?). All that evil in Gaffers Ridge...…… Thank you Gallery Books, Catherine Coulter and NetGalley. I am thrilled to have received this arc, all thoughts and opinions are my own and were unsolicited.

Was this review helpful?

Labyrinth
(FBI Thriller #23)
by Catherine Coulter 

Hardcover, 512 pages
Expected publication: July 30th 2019 by Gallery Books (first published July 23rd 2019)



Goodreads synopsis:
The #1 New York Times bestselling FBI Thriller series returns with another tour de force in which Agent Sherlock risks losing her career—and her sanity—over a case that is more complicated and twisted than any she’s ever encountered. 

On a dark night, Agent Sherlock is driving along circuitous mountain roads in West Virginia when her car is suddenly T-boned at an intersection. As her car spins out of control, a man’s body slams against her windshield and then—blackness. When she finally comes to, Sherlock has no memory of the accident, nor of the moments that led right up to it. But what she does know is that the man she hit is a local CIA analyst…and now he’s missing.

Meanwhile, in the small town of Gaffer’s Ridge, Virginia, Special Agent Griffin Hammersmith has just rescued a kidnapped woman who claims her captor admitted to the murder of three teenage girls. However, the man she accuses is related to the local sheriff and a member of a very powerful family. Special Agent Hammersmith reaches out to Sherlock for help, and they soon realize that the disappearance of the CIA analyst is actually connected to the string of murders. But how?

***

5 Stars

This is the 23rd book in the Agents Sherlock and Savich FBI thriller series.

It has been a long time since I have read a S/S FBI book. I have to say that this book re-hooked me into the series. I am so impressed this series has lasted the test of time. I remember when book one: THE COVE came out. Wow, what a journey this has been for the author!

Basic premises: Sherlock is involved in a pretty nasty car accident which wipes her memory. As her car spins and she is out of control of the wheel, the vehicle hits a man who is running from two people. He is a CIA analyst and the accident messes him up pretty good. But he runs off and escapes his captors.

In the meantime while Sherlock is in the hospital, Savich receives a call from Agent Hammersmith who had rescued a journalist Carson DeSilva from being held captive by a mad man. Strangely enough the sheriff thinks her accusation is ridiculous and refuses to bring in the mad man who is strangely enough his nephew. No charges are filed and instead the sheriff puts Hammersmith and DeSilva in jail and all the evidence of Carson’s capture have disappeared. Carson has a psychic gift as does Hammersmith and Savich. Carson overhears the sheriff’s nephew as he is thinking about the three missing girls in the area. This psychic gift comes in more prominently later in the book.

There is a lot going on in this story. Sherlock has amnesia and there is a great dynamic between her and Savich as she not only learns to trust him again but get back her memories in little flashes. Savich and Sherlock assist Hammersmith and there is a great scene where the FBI area chief come in with a bunch of agents in tow all wearing battle gear and storming the sheriff’s office in Gaffer’s Ridge. Classic!

The book is segmented in two over-arching storylines: The kidnappings from Gaffer’s Ridge with Hammersmith and DeSilva and the story featuring the CIA analyst and Sherlock’s car accident. It definitely keeps you guessing and entertained until the end.

Highly recommended.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

Was this review helpful?

This was an okay addition to the series. I am not fond of the use of amnesia as a plot line. The action kept this moving at a nice pace. I hope for more originality in the next book.

Was this review helpful?

Labyrinth by Catherine Coulter 5 stars

The is FBI Thriller #23 and it is non stop action. It is always a treat to visit with Savich and Sherlock and the dual plots in this book was exciting. On one hand you have possible espionage and national security on the line and on the other hand you have multiple kidnappings of teenage girls. The book start out with a car accident which gives Sherlock a concussion and amnesia. A car crashes into her car and in her spin out a man running from pursuit get hit by Sherlock's car. What could be a simple accident turns into a mystery when the running man works for the CIA. The secondary plot is no less compelling with psychic overtones and Special Agent Griffin Hammersmith rescueing a woman in peril. I don't want to give away anymore of the story, except to say that it is a wild ride.. I couldn't put this book down and finished it in one sitting.

Thank you Netgalley and Gallery Pocket Books for this ARC.

Was this review helpful?

The dynamic between Savich and Sherlock is at times heartbreaking this go around. There are a couple of mysteries that are happening simultaneously and they keep the reader engaged. There is so much tension and action that my pulse was racing and my gut clenching. I cannot remember the last time I got an adrenaline rush reading a book but I did this time. A gripping thriller that puts the reader through a gamut of emotions!

Was this review helpful?

This is a satisfying entry in Coulter’s Savich and Sherlock series. This time we are presented with two complex sets of mysteries and lots of action. However, I am not so much a fan of the psychic aspects of this series. Here they provide some easy answers to mysteries that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to solve. Despite this aspect of the novel that doesn’t appeal to me personally, Labyrinth is an excellent and fast read that will appeal to a wide range of readers.

Was this review helpful?