Review of Pressure Points by Larry Brooks

Larry Brooks first came upon the scene with his debut novel, DARKNESS BOUND, an erotic, suspense thriller that left me fearful of ladies dressed in black leather! His second novel, PRESSURE POINTS, does the same thing for self-help seminars that DARKNESS BOUND did for sensuously clad females.

Now, let me pre-warn the reader that this isn't a fast paced book, though it does move rather quickly. PRESSURE POINTS is a slow-burning fuse that delves into strong character development and moves forward as layer after layer of intense suspense is added, until it finally reaches an exploding climax. Also, I would ask the reader to think of the Michael Douglas movie, The Game, when reading this because nothing is as it seems. Neither the reader, nor the main characters in the book, will know what's real or simply a masterful illusion. The one thing the reader may be assured of, however, is that a lot of people are going to die before the end is reached!

The story deals predominantly with Brad Teeters, Pamela Wiley and Mark Johnson. All three are high-ranking employees of the Wright & Wong advertising and marketing agency in Seattle, Washington. Brad is the "people" person who's capable of selling any potential client on the agency's ability to meet their needs. Pamela is the creative source behind the agency's success, and Mark is the genius from the business end of it. Each of these people have their strong points and weak points, and each of them has now reached a point in their life where they want more than the agency is willing to give.

When they approach Ken Wong-the sole surviving founder of the agency-and inform him of their intent to instigate a hostile takeover, he reluctantly agrees to their demands, but only on one condition. Ken tells the trio that he'll willingly turn over the agency to them; but first, they must attend and complete a self-help seminar in northern California. The rationale behind this maneuver is that Ken Wong hopes the seminar (one he, himself, recently attended) will help them to see the error of their ways and the fact that they're not actually ready to run the agency.

All three team members, hungry for what they consider to be their justly rewards, finally agree to spend a week at the seminar, not knowing that their lives will, in fact, change rather drastically. What's not known is that they have been marked for death and the real challenge will be to simply stay alive!

PRESSURE POINTS reminded me a great deal of the novels that were published back in the fifties, sixties, and early seventies when strong character development and avid suspense were the most important ingredients of any well-written thriller...when the whole point was to keep the reader guessing right up till the last page. Mr. Brooks' newest novel succeeds tremendously on this level.

Strange as it may seem, however, the one character I was most drawn to was Brad Teeters' wife, Beth. She reminded me somewhat of the "Dark Lady" from DARKNESS BOUND in her ability to manipulate the people around her in order to achieve her goals. Not only is she smart, beautiful, and sensuous, Beth Teeters is also as dangerous as a Black Widow spider. She'll do whatever it takes to protect her and her husband even it means having a clandestine affair with Ken Wong, or seducing others in order to put her own game plan into motion. This is definitely a woman you don't want to cross!

All in all, PRESSURE POINTS is an excellent follow-up to Larry Brooks' first novel. It's definitely a page-turner of the best sort! This novel is now for sale on Amazon's Kindle store as The Seminar for $2.99.