First Evidence

ISBN: 0553108646

Author: Goddard, Ken

Condition: New

Product DescriptionFrom the New York Times bestselling author of Balefire comes a chilling tale of murder, forensic detection, and vivid speculation, pitting a unique crime scene investigator against a culprit who may be unlike any this world ever spawned....As an experienced crime scene investigator, Colin Cellars has had to contend with missing evidence before. But never has he encountered such a chaotic crime scene as the one at a remote cabin nestled in the deep woods of the Pacific Northwest--site of a reported shoot-out. Cellars cannot find a trace of perpetrator or victim. He can't even confirm there has been a murder, much less that the cabin's owner--and the presumed victim--could be his long-estranged former best friend. But something violent and inexplicable has happened, and each time he approaches the scene seeking clearer evidence, eerie occurrences confound the case further.Cellars is determined to unravel the contradictions, enlisting his closest friends to aid him. As attempts to block his investigation become increasingly vicious, Cellars realizes his life--and those of his friends--are at risk. There's far more at stake here, he's certain, than murder. Someone--something?--will stop at nothing to prevent him from discovering the truth. For the truth is not "out there"--it is locked away in Cellars's own evidence file. But it will do him no good unless he has the vision to see what it really means...before it's too late.Ken Goddard infuses his high-voltage narrative with the depth and authentic detail that only a crime scene expert can. In this riveting thriller, he takes the reader step-by-step through a forensic investigation--and straight into the terrifying heart of the unknown.Amazon.com ReviewKen Goddard is a forensic scientist and criminologist, and so it comes as no surprise that his high-tech thrillers take place in a world of chemicals, formulas, and scientific evidence. Yet First Evidence goes beyond science.Colin Cellars is a senior crime-scene investigator for the Oregon State Patrol. After the apparent murder of his longtime friend Bob Dawson, Cellars uses the latest cutting-edge equipment to collect the bullets, blood, and other physical evidence. But this is no ordinary murder case--a series of weird, unexplainable events take over. Shadowy shapes lurk in the woods around Dawson's cabin; a lovely woman who looks exactly like the girl he used to know many years before reappears; an envelope full of pebbles moves on its own across a desk; corpses and cop cars disappear from one place and reappear elsewhere. All too soon we realize that we're out of the real world and into The X-Files. The truth may be out there, but most of Goddard's scientific sense is long gone. Still, readers who enjoy their thrillers served up with a good helping of the supernatural will enjoy First Evidence.From Library JournalCrime scene investigator Colin Cellars thinks that murder has been committed. But there's no culpritAand no body. From the author of best sellers like Double Blind.Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.From BooklistCrime-scene investigator Colin Cellars gets more than he bargained for when he responds to a call at the scene of a violent gun battle that seems to have taken the life of Robert Dawson, an old but lately estranged friend. When Dawson's body disappears from the morgue, when evidence seems to produce bizarrely contradictory results, when the only suspects in his friend's murder seem to be the shadows themselves, Cellars finds himself faced with a puzzle more baffling than any he's encountered before. Fans of The X-Files will enjoy this smart, well-plotted thriller. Cellars comes into the story as a skeptic and winds up believing that the explanation for the strange, inexplicable circumstances surrounding his friend's death may not be entirely normal. Readers who prefer their thrillers to be firmly grounded in reality may have a few problems with this novel, but