bookshelves: currently-reading
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I was really looking forward to this book after reading The House on Tradd Street (Book #1); however, I feel unsure about whether I really liked this 2nd book. It took more than 100 pages to start getting into it and then I almost stopped reading it several times because the lead characters were made so unlikeable that I found myself really irritated by them. Perhaps that's good writing on Karen's part (who I love by the way), but I felt that without at least one likable character, there wasn't much keeping me attached. In addition, the story seemed a bit rushed or cut off in some areas especially at the climactic ending. Almost like the creative flow had been lost. I'm not sure if I would have any interest in reading any further books in this particular series. This one definitely lost my interest although it wasn't completely bad. There were several very strong sections in the book that kept me reading.
The above said, I love Karen's writing as you can see by my book list and I would highly recommend her other novels. ]]>
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bookshelves: first-reads
This was an incredibly intense crime/psychological thriller that grabbed me from the first paragraph of the Prologue where Castillo writes, "She hadn't believed in monsters since she was six years old, back when her mom would check the closet and look beneath her bed at night. But at the age of twenty-one, bound and brutalized and lying naked on a concrete floor that was as cold as lake ice, she believed."
This book was beautifully paced and even though I had guessed the killers identity half way through the book, I was on the edge of my seat until the very end. The only thing that stopped me from giving this book a higher rating was the unnecessarily prolific use of foul language. I realize Castillo was trying to portray "toughness" in the English cops against the back drop of Amish country but it wasn't needed. I found it to be a distraction and hope the next book in the series has a bit less of it. Either way, I will be keeping my eye out for the next books release.
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I did not like this book. The writing, in itself, as usual for Anne Rice was good. It was the subject matter, the distortions, the crudeness that I did not like and was disappointed in. It has been years since I read Anne Rice... the old Vampire Chronicles and Mayfair Witches Series. My tastes have certainly changed since those times. ]]>
One word, BRILLIANT!
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A wonderful, honest, life changing book. ]]>