** spoiler alert ** I didn't enjoy this book. I continued reading it because I am one of those stubborn types who feel compelled to finish what I start. I don't think Dekker did a very good job with character development. The plot was interesting enough, but I just didn't connnect with any of the characters enough to really care about them.

I read somewhere this book can be viewed as a religious allegory. If Dekker intended it as such, the allegory didn't come through very clearly or very convincingly. I'm assuming Ryan is supposed to represent Jesus, Bethany is supposed to represent God's children, and Boneman is supposed to represent Satan. Accepting this as an allegory is the only way to pedal this novel as having anything approaching a Christian message. And sadly, I can't accept it. Ryan proves along the way that he will stop at nothing to get his daughter back. This includes engaging in morally reprehensible behavior throughout the novel. Ryan is a very poor representation of Jesus- the only Christ like trait he seems to possess is his love for his daughter. Ryan's characters is simply too flawed to accept as a representation of Christ. Without this, the rest of the allegory falls apart.

****SPOILER ALERT******


I didn't agree with Ryan's actions at the end of the book (killing Boneman). Rather than acting within the law and turning Boneman over to the police, he incapacitates him, then sets the building he is in on fire. It comes off like a bad Hollywood movie ending to me: The "hero" lights a match, flicks it into the building holding the bad guy, and walks away leaving the bad guy to burn to death. According to his website, Dekker was trying to make a father's love the major theme of this novel. I think revenge and situational ethics make a strong showing as well, and that made this a much less enjoyable read for me.