Review: Perfect Bait by Michael Fowlkes

Title: Perfect Bait Author: Michael Fowlkes Publication Date: May 18, 2012
Synopsis:

The Richly-Textured Settings of Seattle’s commercial waterfront, San Diego’s topless beaches, and the breathtaking waters off Cabo San Lucas create the backdrop for a riveting story of kidnapping, rape, and murder.

Born and raised in Seattle, Corey Phillips is new to Southern California, but with his devoted and beautiful girlfriend Jennifer by his side, their boat “Vintage” has become one of the top charter operations in the area.

However, not all those seeking trips offshore are looking for fish. Young girls are disappearing. Local authorities hope the FBI can put the pieces together, but nothing fits—until Corey and Jennifer become the perfect bait and find themselves in a fight for their lives.

My Thoughts:

The Story: Corey Phillips has everything he ever wanted. He is married to his childhood sweetheart and works for his grandfather. When he discovers his wife cheating on him, Corey takes off and drives for days, ending up in California. There, he takes a job as a cook at a small restaurant and is immediately drawn to Jennifer, the beautiful waitress. Eventually they start a relationship and buy an old dilapidated boat, rebuilding it from scratch. The start a charter business and are loving life. Then girls start disappearing and Corey and Jennifer get involved way deeper than they ever could have imagined.
To be honest, I struggled to make it through the first half of this book. It starts out with Corey as a young boy and follows him through adulthood. I enjoyed this part of the story and liked learning about Corey's life up until he and Jennifer buy the boat. From there, it was chapter after chapter about rebuilding the boat and not much else. I don't know much about boats and to be honest I don't really find them interesting. I had a hard time figuring out what was going on because I just didn't know what half the stuff they were talking about was. This part of the story really dragged for me and I considered putting the book down  more than once. 
But to be fair, I kept reading. Eventually, things took a very interesting turn. We finally get to the place where girls start disappearing and murders start happening. This part of the story held my interest without a doubt. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough, I just wish it didn't take so long to get there.
The Characters: I liked Corey a lot. He was strong willed yet sensitive. He was also pretty funny at times. I liked watching him mature from a young boy into a good man. The women in the book, however, I didn't really care much for. Karyn, Corey's wife, bothered me from the beginning. I couldn't put my finger on why, but I think it was because she knew how to use herself to get what she wanted. Jennifer, Corey's girlfriend, seemed the opposite. She didn't seem to have much of a backbone when it came to Corey, she just let him do whatever he wanted and she was fine with it. I don't know many women who would agree to pay $25,000 out of their own pocket for a giant broken boat just because their boyfriend wants to buy it on a whim. I had a hard time believing in her character.
The Setting: Although Corey's story begins in Seattle, most of the book takes place on a boat off the coast of California. I've never been to California, and honestly, my geography is not that great. I have a hard time finding my way around in my tiny state of New Hampshire and I've lived in the same small city my entire life. So it was very confusing for me when Corey and Travis start looking for Jennifer. They were talking about a bunch of different islands that I just could not place. However, if you know your way around the west coast or are just  much brighter than me when it comes to geography, I think you will truly appreciate the setting in this story. 
The Writing: Most of this story is told from Corey's point of view, although at times we get third person accounts from Jennifer and even some FBI agents. Sometimes we are hearing about what is going on with Jennifer as if Corey is telling us, even though he isn't there to witness it. This threw me off a little bit, but it didn't hurt the story. It was interesting to get different accounts of what was happening depending on the situation. 
Fowlkes writing is straight to the point. He tells it like it is and there isn't much fluff to it. I always appreciate this. Nothing drives me crazy like a bunch of filler in a story. I want to know what is happening and how and then to move on. Even though the rebuilding of the boat too long, I think any boat lover would quite enjoy this bit. 
My only concern when it comes to the writing was the way Corey spoke and how he acted. He seemed very emotional and sensitive at times, and some of the things he said I just didn't find believable coming from a man. For example: 
"A tear formed and slid down my cheek as I become overwhelmed by her grace, her beauty, her complete surrender and unbridled giving. My soul wept beyond words in gratitude for her gifts." page 143
Maybe I'm just cynical, I don't know, but I had a hard time believing Corey would talk or think like this. There are also some very descriptive sex scenes in this book that I could have done without. I do not like sex in my books, especially as descriptive as it was here. If you want to tell me that they had sex, that's fine. But I don't want to read through it and I certainly don't want to be told who put what where and how and all that jazz. Again, these are just my personal opinions and anyone who likes a little bit more romance and description would probably quite enjoy these scenes. 

Overall, I have to say I was a little disappointed in Perfect Bait. I was expecting more of a mystery and action, when it took nearly half of the almost 400 page book to even get going with it. The synopsis on the cover is a little misleading. However, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves a little more romance with their action and boat lovers. 

For more about Michael Fowlkes and Perfect Bait, you can visit his website here.


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*I received this book for free in exchange of my honest opinion. This did not influence my opinion in any way and all views and opinions expressed are 100% my own.