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Michael Cadnum

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Jul 18, 2010 Bethany Miller rated it did not like it

Brothers Bruce and Milton attempt to rob a bank, but they aren’t more than three blocks from the bank when the bag of cash explodes filling the car with green smoke and covering them both with green dye. Later as they attempt to bury the evidence in the woods behind their house, Terrence, a young man whose eyesight is so bad that he is considered legally blind, wanders by and senses that something isn’t right. Even though the brothers know that he will not be a reliable witness, they decide that Brothers Bruce and Milton attempt to rob a bank, but they aren’t more than three blocks from the bank when the bag of cash explodes filling the car with green smoke and covering them both with green dye. Later as they attempt to bury the evidence in the woods behind their house, Terrence, a young man whose eyesight is so bad that he is considered legally blind, wanders by and senses that something isn’t right. Even though the brothers know that he will not be a reliable witness, they decide that they will have to do something to silence him. Terrence’s passion is recording bird songs, and the brothers know that he will be out late at night attempting to record an owl. They think that might be their chance to eliminate him as a possible witness. Meanwhile, Terrence’s girlfriend Nina is dealing with another set of problems. Her father’s business may be going under and her brother has just returned from Iraq and doesn’t seem like himself. He was wounded in the line of duty but seems reluctant to tell her how exactly it happened. When a “friend” from the army shows up looking for him, Nina suspects something is very wrong. More twists and turns occur as the various character take steps to solve their problems, and they all come together in an explosive conclusion.

To say that this book has some major flaws is an understatement. The novel shifts between the points of view of five characters, all of whom are two-dimensional and difficult to relate to. Though the book includes events that should be exciting - a bank robbery, a police chase, a shooting, a wild fire - the author never succeeds in building suspense. The author spends a lot of time describing meaningless details, such as an entire chapter devoted to Terrence listening to birds, but rushes through the more important scenes such as the bank robbery in the beginning and the climax at the end. Many of the minor conflicts are never resolved such as Terrence’s chance to have eye surgery and Nina’s quest to get her photography shown in a gallery. The resolutions to the two major conflicts felt rushed and unsatisfying. Though this book seems to be intended for reluctant readers with its short chapters and simplistic style of writing, most will be turned off by the long passages spent describing minor characters and other details that do not advance the plot. The cover and the book jacket give the impression that novel will be filled with action and suspense, but the book does not fulfill the promise of its cover.
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Jun 22, 2012 Abigail rated it it was ok

Ehh... not feeling it. I'm sorry, but there was something too odd about this book to me. Everyone felt creepy and entirely hatable. I'm supposed to feel bad for the semi-blind kid because he brags about the fact that he's becoming blind? I'm supposed to feel badly for the murder-inclined brother because he was at war?

In a good book, yes, I should have felt badly for those characters anyway. But this book entirely - and when I say entirely, I mean entirely - failed at delivering any compassion. I ...more

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Jul 22, 2010 Shauna Yusko rated it it was ok

Jan 08, 2011 Emily marked it as to-read

May 18, 2011 Taliah marked it as to-read

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