The Short Drop by Matthew FitzSimmons Series: Gibson Vaughn #1
Published by Thomas & Mercer on December 1st 2015
Genres: Thriller, Mystery
Pages: 388
Format: eBook, Kindle Book
Source: Kindle Unlimitted
A decade ago, fourteen-year-old Suzanne Lombard, the daughter of Benjamin Lombard—then a senator, now a powerful vice president running for the presidency—disappeared in the most sensational missing-person case in the nation’s history. Still unsolved, the mystery remains a national obsession.
For legendary hacker and marine Gibson Vaughn, the case is personal—Suzanne Lombard had been like a sister to him. On the tenth anniversary of her disappearance, the former head of Benjamin Lombard’s security asks for Gibson’s help in a covert investigation of the case, with new evidence in hand.
Haunted by tragic memories, he jumps at the chance to uncover what happened all those years ago. Using his military and technical prowess, he soon discovers multiple conspiracies surrounding the Lombard family—and he encounters powerful, ruthless political players who will do anything to silence him and his team. With new information surfacing that could threaten Lombard’s bid for the presidency, Gibson must stay one step ahead as he navigates a dangerous web to get to the truth.
OMG .. If I could I would give The Short Drop 6 stars out of 5. It is an excellent debut. This is what I call a real gripping thriller. I am sure I will read every book Mathew Fitzsimmons writes from now on.
Gibson Vaughn is an ex marine hacker well known for his outstanding skills. He is asked to help in the reopened investigation in the case of disappearance Suzanne Lombard. Suzanne Lombard is the daughter of Benjamin Lombard, the powerful vice president of the United States who is now running for presidency. Suzanne disappeared 10 years ago. She was 14 then. That has been an unsolved mystery. Now Gibson jumps at this chance. Suzanne is his childhood friend and he feels responsible for finding her. The case is reopened because new evidence is found. Gibson goes with a team on this mission to find a hacker who is presumed involved in Suzanne’s disappearance. However, as Gibson steps into this case nothing is as it first seemed. His alleys might be his enemies. The people who are supposed to find Suzanne might have been assigned different orders. Too many powerful people are involved in this case. The game is becoming tougher the more the case unfolds. Politics is involved too. Gibson is haunted by guilt. He feels he was responsible to protect Suzanne in the first place. He is willing to do anything to find her, and as he does too many old secrets unfold. Some personal secrets about his own family unfold. Now the puzzle is about to be solved, but at what cost?
This is a smart fast paced page turner. No matter how much you think you are smart enough to expect the next move, Mathew just takes you by surprise. You can never expect what comes next. It was really smart with a well played off set of characters so smartly connected. Well I keep saying smart .. yes .. because this is the word that kept popping into my head while reading.
What I most liked is that Mathew really respected the readers’ intelligence with his very smart plot. Everything comes naturally. There is no overdoing or imposing of actions. The narration was also excellent. I reached the last word breathless like “are there still any more surprises” .. I really LOVED it.
I’m now having his next upcoming book Poisonfeather (The Gibson Vaughn Series Book 2) in my to read list.
About Matthew FitzSimmons
Matthew FitzSimmons was born in Illinois and grew up in London, England. He now lives in Washington, DC, where he taught English literature and theater at a private high school for over a decade. The Short Drop is his first novel.