A mystery after my own heart. There are so many things I loved about this book I seriously don't know wh...moreOriginally published on my blog Ruby's Books.
A mystery after my own heart. There are so many things I loved about this book I seriously don't know where to start. First, I had no idea who the killer was. I was thinking of a different person so I was so happy and pleasantly surprised that I was wrong. Second of all, I liked that there was always a phrase or a small scene or a detail that changed my opinion of certain characters. Then there's the fact that I couldn't figure out the motive for the murders. For me, that was one of the things that kept me reading the book. I really wanted to know why.
Jillian is a wonderful character. She's smart, strong willed, funny, stubborn, friendly. Also (and this is one thing that made me love her more) she's a coffee addict. She's also still friends with her ex husband and I liked that. That might be a strange friendship, but I'm fond of those. And the romance addict in me hopes that maybe they'll get back together and stay that way :P
I loved the pacing. The book didn't stall when it didn't need to and it didn't rush when it wasn't necessary. Another thing I loved were the smaller chapters with POVs from other characters. I loved that. Besides having the previous chapter end with a cliffhanger, you would also get a view inside some other character's head and that made the entire book feel multidimensional. Sort of like one of those "meanwhile" moments in movies. I loved that.
Oh, I also loved Cynthia Anderson, Jillian's neighbor. Reminded me of one of my older neighbors back home and how much I loved her. I do believe everyone needs a neighbor like Mrs. Anderson.
I don't know if it's good or bad (if you ask me, it's a very good thing), but I can't think of a single thing I didn't like or that I wished was different. I think it's one of those mystery books that any mystery fan should read, so it's definitely on my Recommended list. I also can't wait for the next installment, Open Meetings, sometimes this year I think.
Do read this wonderful book, you won't be disappointed!(less)
Picture a small town, where everyone knows everyone. You know when your neighbor is having a fight with his wife, when the...moreReview to comeAbout the book
Picture a small town, where everyone knows everyone. You know when your neighbor is having a fight with his wife, when the old lady living next door is cooking, when somebody new is into town or when your neighbor is physically abusing his wife. Every day is the same and news travel really fast. So when a body is found chopped into hundreds of pieces after an accident, everyone knows about it. The victim is a school teacher with a lot of secrets.
The characters in this book are amazing. You have the grumpy old guy in love with his neighbor, the nice old lady next door, the couple that fights every single day, the depressed guy who doesn't have the will to "not die". In the middle of this town full of colorful characters Canner Connelly and his daughter, Chloe, try to find peace, to escape from the suffering that has been haunting them for the past 10 years.
What I liked
I loved how the author managed to get inside every character's mind, the way Mr. Christensen leaves the reader to get to know all of them better. And I think he does it wonderfully. It didn't leave me with a sense of exhaustion or with the feeling that I didn't need to know a certain detail. And he did so, while keeping the mystery and the suspense up to date and it didn't feel like the action wasn't moving. You have many subplots that develop or are revealed while the main plot is moving forward. Even if at times a subplot forces you to turn back in time, you actually understand the reasons for that.
Every character has a voice and I think it's what gives this book a complex feeling.
What I didn't like
It's not exactly a thing that I didn't like, it's more of a question of how I viewed Chloe. She didn't seem like a ten year old girl to me. I felt her more like a twelve, even thirteen year old girl. And it's not because she's more mature than the other girls her age. Maybe it's because of her story and the story of her parents, that may have forced her to act like she's older.
I think this is a good book and for being a debut novel, I think it's even more amazing. I definitely enjoyed reading this book and I can't wait for the next book by Mr. Christensen.(less)
The second installment of the Chronicles of Nick series is just as good as the first one, Infinity. Invincible continues the story of Nick Gautier's t...moreThe second installment of the Chronicles of Nick series is just as good as the first one, Infinity. Invincible continues the story of Nick Gautier's teenage years with a little glimpse in the future. You get to spend one more day with fun, sarcastic Nick and his new friends. I love this Nick, the Nick we got to meet in the beginning of the Dark Hunter series, right before his death, before his anger and his need to punish the one person he trusted most changed him. Nick isn't the type of teenager that fits in or the one who could be invisible. You can't pretend he's not there. I think he's the perfect mixture between the fun, easygoing guy and the smartest kid in the class. Because, let's face it, Nick is very smart, even though he doesn't always use his head. I also love the relationship he has with his mother and how even though he's not very proud of her job, he's proud that he's her son and she defends her every chance he gets. And you can see it's genuine, he's not doing it for show or to get something out of it. Like in the first book, he'd rather wear a weird-looking T-shirt at school and take all the mockery his classmates throw at him, than see her mother suffer because he refuses to wear it.
I think this book helped me understand the first book better. For those of you who've read the Dark Hunter series, you know that in Infinity Nick meets a character he's not supposed to meet yet. That was very confusing for me at first, but then the little glimpse in the future we get in this book helped me understand that this series is not only a story of how Nick became a Squire, but it's more a series about redeeming yourself and about the changes you would make if you could turn back and how that would affect you. I just wished I'd caught on earlier :P
I also love the fact that we get to meet some of the characters and how they were before the Dark Hunter series. We get to see more of their backgrounds and how they got to be what they are in the Dark Hunter world . We get to see Kyrian again, which is always a pleasure. We also see Ash in his "mysterious" days, back when his story wasn't yet told and when the mystery surrounding him was getting bigger and bigger with every book. And we get inside the Sanctuary and meet the Peltiers. I do hope we get to see more of them in the following books.
And the new characters are awesome. I loved Bubba! He sounds like a computer tech I could probably have a real conversation with about why my computer is damaged and not look at him with a blank look on my face while he's explaining me technical stuff.
There is one thing that I'm hoping to change about Nick's life, a character's future. I can't say much, because it would be a major spoiler for those who haven't read the Dark Hunter books. But I'm hoping that Ambrose will help change that certain character's course.
I don't think I can say a bad thing about this book. There's nothing I didn't like. Maybe just the fact that I had to wait that long to read it, but in the end I think it was worth it.(less)
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