The Missing Element, A James Becker Mystery

by John L. Betcher

Overview

From a USA TODAY bestselling author. After decades of clandestine government operations, James "Beck" Becker and his wife Elizabeth return to Beck's childhood home town to enjoy a settled retirement in the small Mississippi river community of Red Wing, Minnesota. But "settled" is a relative term and no matter where Beck goes, intrigue follows. When Minneapolis computer genius, Katherine Whitson, disappears under peculiar circumstances, her husband exploits a sympathetic Red Wing acquaintance to enlist Beck's aid in finding her. As Beck searches for Katherine, the tangled trail leads from her luxury Minneapolis warehouse district condo, through her husband's extra-marital escapades, past the entrenched hierarchy of elite computer professionals, and into the mind-bending world inside computer microprocessors. Katherine's kidnapping is clearly more complicated than a typical abduction. As it turns out, the Beckers must use all of their considerable experience -- his as a military intelligence operative; hers as a CIA code-cracker -- to save Katherine and bring her abductors to justice.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940011802225
Publisher:	John L. Betcher
Publication date:	01/08/2012
Series:	The James Becker Suspense/Thriller Series , #2
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	NOOK Book
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	264,136
File size:	258 KB

About the Author

Bestselling Author, John L. Betcher, holds a Bachelor's Degree, cum laude, in English from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Minnesota Law School in Minneapolis. He has practiced law for more than twenty-five years in the Mississippi River community of Red Wing, Minnesota. Mr. Betcher has published an award-winning series of "Becker" suspense/thriller novels. The first four are THE 19TH ELEMENT, THE MISSING ELEMENT, THE COVERT ELEMENT, and THE EXILED ELEMENT. He has also authored the award-winning spiritual phenomenon, A HIGHER COURT.

Editorial Reviews

FIVE STARS. I just finished a great book! The Missing Element by John L. Betcher. It was refreshing to work directly with Mr. Betcher through Bostwick Communications.

This was one of those books that sucked me in and kept me interested from page one. . . .

I highly recommend The Missing Element. It was a great read. It was suspenseful, intriguing and fun. In my opinion this would be a good book for any age group from older teen to adult.

Amazon - Sherry Legan

FIVE STARS. After a myriad of long-winded and tedious novels I have been reading of late, this was a good respite. The author seems to be of the minimalist school of novel writing and this reader rather appreciates it. At a little under 300 pages, minimally filled, this book reads rather quickly. That is not say that its contents are lightweight at all. If anything the brevity of the prose lends itself to moving the plot along in a timely manner.

Blogcritics - Marty Dodge

FIVE STARS. This book was a lot of fun. It is the kind of book I love to read and it is the kind of book I try to write. John Betcher has written a real gem. Like a good port, you can enjoy it any time. It is an entertaining addition to the thriller/suspense class of books with just a dash of sci-fi--the style lies somewhere between Carl Hiaasen and Michael Connelly, although the author claims to emulate Robert B. Parker. A difficult task, but he comes close in entertainment value.

BlogCritics - Steve Moore

A MUST READ! FIVE STARS. This is such a good book. It is written at the perfect pace that keeps you turning page after page after page. . . . The characters are wonderfully developed, my favorite character of the book is Bull, an American Indian, with some very special skills and a very dry wit. The plot is one that may scare anyone who uses a computer, which today is everyone, when you realize this story can actually be true. Are machines running the world? Are humans THE MISSING ELEMENT?

DollyCas's Books - Lori Caswell

FIVE STARS. A CEREBRAL DETECTIVE STORY BASED ON A PLAUSIBLE, EVEN LIKELY, PREMISE

Unlike other thrillers based on an extremely implausible foundation scenario, this one uses a very real, even likely situation. The wisecracking dialog between Beck and his wife and the inclusion of the mysterious but very capable sidekick Bull reminded me of the "Spenser" series by Robert Parker. Which is high praise as there are none better in that genre.

Amazon Top 500 - Charles Ashbacher

FIVE STARS. This book was a lot of fun. It is the kind of book I love to read and it is the kind of book I try to write. John Betcher has written a real gem. Like a good port, you can enjoy it any time. It is an entertaining addition to the thriller/suspense class of books with just a dash of sci-fi—the style lies somewhere between Carl Hiaasen and Michael Connelly, although the author claims to emulate Robert B. Parker. A difficult task, but he comes close in entertainment value.

Steve Moore