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Delicate Chaos
Approval for a questionable business transaction must come from Leona Hewitt, vice-president of a bank in Washington, D.C., but when her conscience threatens the deal between the bank and a major corporation, she finds her life in danger.
318 pages, Paperback
First published January 29, 2008
1 person is currently reading
23 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Buick
15 books269 followersWant some authentic crime fiction novels – look no further.
Jeff Buick writes fast paced fiction filled with twists you won’t see coming. Lethal people (the bad guys of course) lurk in Jeff’s Boston crime series, but Curtis Westcott and his team of detectives are ready for any murder mystery that comes at them. The Westcott series is action packed suspense, perfect for readers who love Michael Connelly books, especially the Bosch series. 'A Killing Game', the first in the series, won the 2021 International Thriller Writers “Best original ebook”, and is a can’t-put-it-down suspense thriller. 'The Vulture Fund', the 3rd book in the Westcott series, was an ITW finalist.
The Bobby Greco series features a disgraced Orlando Homicide cop who tackles a very twisted bad guy in the series opener, 'One is Evil'. More to come on this series soon, with Bobby matching wits with some devious criminal minds.
Jeff's stand-alone novel, 'The Krubera Conspiracy', was released in 2023 and is a globe-trotting mix of thriller and suspense.
Keep an eye out for 'The Reluctant Truth', a multi-generational novel that touches on the close ties between fathers and sons. Set in current day with flashbacks to WWII, this one might make you laugh on one page and cry on the next.
Jeff Buick writes fast paced fiction filled with twists you won’t see coming. Lethal people (the bad guys of course) lurk in Jeff’s Boston crime series, but Curtis Westcott and his team of detectives are ready for any murder mystery that comes at them. The Westcott series is action packed suspense, perfect for readers who love Michael Connelly books, especially the Bosch series. 'A Killing Game', the first in the series, won the 2021 International Thriller Writers “Best original ebook”, and is a can’t-put-it-down suspense thriller. 'The Vulture Fund', the 3rd book in the Westcott series, was an ITW finalist.
The Bobby Greco series features a disgraced Orlando Homicide cop who tackles a very twisted bad guy in the series opener, 'One is Evil'. More to come on this series soon, with Bobby matching wits with some devious criminal minds.
Jeff's stand-alone novel, 'The Krubera Conspiracy', was released in 2023 and is a globe-trotting mix of thriller and suspense.
Keep an eye out for 'The Reluctant Truth', a multi-generational novel that touches on the close ties between fathers and sons. Set in current day with flashbacks to WWII, this one might make you laugh on one page and cry on the next.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
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October 30, 2016Enjoyed this book and wanted to read more.
June 9, 2024
Interesting fast paced book that kept my attention
May 22, 2010
PROTAGONIST: Leona Hewitt, bank VP
RATING: 2.5
If you ever read the business news, you know that people in the corporate world don't always play by the rules. Reginald Morgan is a person who has tried all his life to do the right thing. As the CEO of Coal-Balt, he's had to make some difficult choices along the way; but his guiding principle has always been to follow ethical business practices and make choices based on the greater good. Unfortunately, the president of his company, Derek Swanson, is not a man of similar integrity. When he sees an opportunity to walk away with 50 million dollars, he's going to take it, even if it means significant environmental damage and hurting other people.
What's involved is getting a certain bill to be passed that will provide lots of immediate opportunity for Coal-Balt and delay some very expensive but necessary reforms to their equipment. Morgan is completely opposed to the bill, and working with a senator to ensure that it is not passed. Swanson has no choice but to eliminate Morgan and calls upon a hit man named Darvin who he used in the past to remove the threat. At the same time, he is working with a local banking institution to approve the deal. A woman named Leona Hewitt is named Vice President and assigned to the project. It's assumed she'll back Coal-Balt and expedite getting everything Swanson needs in order. The bank president may have underestimated Leona; she has a mind of her own and a strong sense of integrity that may cause problems.
What Swanson doesn't count on is that the hit man becomes a rogue killer who decides that he wants a cut of Derek's money. He begins to act on his own and eliminate people without Swanson's approval. Derek is appalled to find that Darvin has taken control of the situation and ultimately endangering the outcome. That leads to a showdown that is as horrifyingly gruesome as it is unbelievable.
Delicate Chaos would have been an excellent book for me if Buick had not succumbed to building characters who represented extreme good or extreme bad. The worst was the nefarious hit man, Darvin. He was a psychopath who had issues with his parents, most especially his mother. In a situation reminiscent of Psycho, he keeps her mummified body in a wheelchair in his home and talks to her. Every time he appears on the page, it's as if a cloud with the words "Exceptionally Evil Villain" appear above his head. A standard issue hit man would have the served the purpose of the book just fine. In fact, that would have been an interesting premise, to have a hit man swayed from the job and turning the tables on his employer but without being a completely loony nut case.
On the extremely good side was the protagonist, Leona Hewitt. She is a real paragon of virtue. She uses her financial gains to save elephants at a wildlife preserve in Kenya and dedicates a large sum of money to improving the lives of the local villagers. She is totally ethical in her business dealings. The restaurant that she owns uses only organic, locally grown food. She proactively offers a share of the business to the head chef; she treats the rest of the staff with consummate care, providing them excellent facilities and food. Fortunately, Buick got away from this Perfect Person as the book progressed, and Leona became more human and more interesting as a result.
Delicate Chaos was fast-paced and suspenseful. One of the more interesting sub-plots had to do with the situation in Kenya and the politics of trying to do a good deed in an unlawful place. Unfortunately, the Devious Deeds of Darvin ruined whatever worked in the book for me.
RATING: 2.5
If you ever read the business news, you know that people in the corporate world don't always play by the rules. Reginald Morgan is a person who has tried all his life to do the right thing. As the CEO of Coal-Balt, he's had to make some difficult choices along the way; but his guiding principle has always been to follow ethical business practices and make choices based on the greater good. Unfortunately, the president of his company, Derek Swanson, is not a man of similar integrity. When he sees an opportunity to walk away with 50 million dollars, he's going to take it, even if it means significant environmental damage and hurting other people.
What's involved is getting a certain bill to be passed that will provide lots of immediate opportunity for Coal-Balt and delay some very expensive but necessary reforms to their equipment. Morgan is completely opposed to the bill, and working with a senator to ensure that it is not passed. Swanson has no choice but to eliminate Morgan and calls upon a hit man named Darvin who he used in the past to remove the threat. At the same time, he is working with a local banking institution to approve the deal. A woman named Leona Hewitt is named Vice President and assigned to the project. It's assumed she'll back Coal-Balt and expedite getting everything Swanson needs in order. The bank president may have underestimated Leona; she has a mind of her own and a strong sense of integrity that may cause problems.
What Swanson doesn't count on is that the hit man becomes a rogue killer who decides that he wants a cut of Derek's money. He begins to act on his own and eliminate people without Swanson's approval. Derek is appalled to find that Darvin has taken control of the situation and ultimately endangering the outcome. That leads to a showdown that is as horrifyingly gruesome as it is unbelievable.
Delicate Chaos would have been an excellent book for me if Buick had not succumbed to building characters who represented extreme good or extreme bad. The worst was the nefarious hit man, Darvin. He was a psychopath who had issues with his parents, most especially his mother. In a situation reminiscent of Psycho, he keeps her mummified body in a wheelchair in his home and talks to her. Every time he appears on the page, it's as if a cloud with the words "Exceptionally Evil Villain" appear above his head. A standard issue hit man would have the served the purpose of the book just fine. In fact, that would have been an interesting premise, to have a hit man swayed from the job and turning the tables on his employer but without being a completely loony nut case.
On the extremely good side was the protagonist, Leona Hewitt. She is a real paragon of virtue. She uses her financial gains to save elephants at a wildlife preserve in Kenya and dedicates a large sum of money to improving the lives of the local villagers. She is totally ethical in her business dealings. The restaurant that she owns uses only organic, locally grown food. She proactively offers a share of the business to the head chef; she treats the rest of the staff with consummate care, providing them excellent facilities and food. Fortunately, Buick got away from this Perfect Person as the book progressed, and Leona became more human and more interesting as a result.
Delicate Chaos was fast-paced and suspenseful. One of the more interesting sub-plots had to do with the situation in Kenya and the politics of trying to do a good deed in an unlawful place. Unfortunately, the Devious Deeds of Darvin ruined whatever worked in the book for me.
March 5, 2011
Met Jeff in a coffee shop in Medicine Hat - and he invited me to a reading. I bought a couple of books as a courtesy, but really didn't think I'd find them that good. Boy was I wrong! Great read, great writer!
October 7, 2012
Every now and then I pick up a book that looks interesting, but I've never heard of the author. Jeff Buick has assembled a strange group of believable characters and just when you think you have it all figured out the action turns in another direction.
October 26, 2015
A very under rated writer. Good characters, plot, big money greed, pollution,and an exotic setting in corrupt Kenya and tied in well together to give this novel a pretty fair read in the genre.
November 20, 2025
Action packed, credibility was stretched a bit more than usual. Overall, it was OK but not great.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews