Swopes Ridge by Ace Collins Published by: Zondervan (2009) 361 pages Rating: 8/10 Buy it Now:    Also by Ace Collins: Farraday Road

I loved Farraday Road, the first book in the Lije Evans Mysteries, but was very annoyed by the abrupt ending with "To be continued" on the last page. Until that last page, there was no indication that the story would not be resolved in a single book. This second book picks right up at the very moment of the cliffhanger, but has another somewhat controversial ending.

There's no "to be continued" cliffhanger this time; in fact, the primary mysteries that have been around seem to have been completely wrapped up. But the key mystery, the central focus of the entire two volumes so far, is abruptly resolved in a very few pages at the very end. When I first read it, my first response was shock and disbelief. My second response was suspicion - was the author forced to wrap up a storyline abruptly because he was told to finish it up in two books instead of more? But then I received more promotional material in the mail and discovered that this is the second book of three - a simple fact that should be announced somewhere where readers can see it and know what they're getting into. (That's my opinion, anyway...)

At any rate, I'm very pleased to hear that there is going to be a third book. I, for one, am not done with the character of Lije Evans and the mysteries surrounding him, his wife, and their unusual property on Swope's Ridge.

In Farraday Road, Lije was almost killed, his wife was murdered, and his life was in turmoil. His investigations led him into all sorts of dangerous situations, corruption at high levels, and mysteries that dated back to World War II and earlier. As Swope's Ridge begins, Lije and his friends are being shot at by a mysterious assailant.

One innocent man on Death Row in the first book wasn't enough; now there's a second, but in a different state, at least. This man, an American of Arab descent, was convicted of murdering his neighbors on September 11, 2001. Lije is drawn into his case through an odd connection... and yet somehow everything is connected. If Omar Jones is innocent of the murders, who set him up? How high does the corruption go?

Other than a couple of really unnecessary politically-tinged comments, the mystery is just as intriguing and deeply-developed as the first book. There are twists and turns, globetrotting here and there, and yet still room for character development.

The ending, as I said, feels really rushed, but now that I know there's a third book, I suspect there may be a reason for that. At least, I hope so. Recommended.