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bernfarr's review against another edition
5.0
Compelling read for me
What a twisted tale of a teen caught up in a life of breaking open locks because of circumstances outside his control. Can’t help thinking there might be a follow-up book down the road.
What a twisted tale of a teen caught up in a life of breaking open locks because of circumstances outside his control. Can’t help thinking there might be a follow-up book down the road.
hijinx_abound's review against another edition
2.0
Parts of this book were so interesting. The way the author discusses locks and the picking of them was sensual and different. Some of the characters were interesting but it felt very much like a B movie.
fredicia's review
4.0
Okay, there's really nothing outstandingly wrong with this book, but it just wasn't five star material.
Firstly, the romance was wishy-washy, and it would have been better without it. I felt like it was an unnecessary story line.
Otherwise, it was fine. Michael was an engaging character, a bit too predictable at times, but that can be overlooked. All the minor characters had unique personalities and stood out.
So yeah, four stars
Firstly, the romance was wishy-washy, and it would have been better without it. I felt like it was an unnecessary story line.
Otherwise, it was fine. Michael was an engaging character, a bit too predictable at times, but that can be overlooked. All the minor characters had unique personalities and stood out.
So yeah, four stars
barkylee15's review against another edition
4.0
3.5. This one read pretty slowly and took awhile to get into. The reasoning for this is because the main character is mute and therefore there is very little dialogue. But overall, I did enjoy it and was completely different from what I usually read. Not quite a thriller, yet deals with criminals in a unique way and perspective. Felt a bit like YA, yet it's shelved in the adult section. All around pretty interesting though.
tbsims's review against another edition
4.0
Unless categorizing this as mystery makes it more popular, I don't agree. It is fiction. Great characters and writing.
Although note to editor, at one point he 'road his motorcycle'. Which sent me into a fit, trying to think how a road and a motorcycle can interact in that way.
Although note to editor, at one point he 'road his motorcycle'. Which sent me into a fit, trying to think how a road and a motorcycle can interact in that way.
katyjoturner's review against another edition
4.0
The number one thing I took away from this book is that you don’t risk saying the wrong thing when you don’t talk.
kaitlinmaef's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
sisteray's review against another edition
3.0
There's nothing wrong with this book. It does all the stuff that it's supposed to do. It takes you through the story so that you get a clean complete picture of this character's life, and it's broken into two different timelines in the main character's life so that you can get rising tension from both stories simultaneously.
But, I don't know, it's played really straight. For me it felt like it all follows this prescriptive plot on rails to guide the reader through all the plot points. A boy gets sucked into a life of crime because of his lock picking skills. There aren't any twists. And there wasn't a lot of real mystery. When I say real mystery, the main character has a secret, but really it's mostly a secret from the reader. The public in the book knows the bulk of the details to an event, so the author could reveal it at any time, but the "mystery" is just that the author is saving it to build and craft a moment to hit the reader as an impetus to take a relationship through to a climax. It all feels very intentional.
That said, the descriptive detail of how the character builds and executes his skill as a boxman, and his technique in the zone, rivals some of the better moments of how the main character in Perfume is overtaken by scents. But there's a lot of description of resetting dials and pins, that while novel at first, do start to feel a little worn thin by the end.
Nothing about the book didn't make me want to quit, but if I didn't know how it ended, I'm not sure how much I would have cared. It pretty much just does the stuff you expect it to do. It was worth finishing once I started, but I did read a couple of books in the middle of reading this, just because I was more excited by them.
But, I don't know, it's played really straight. For me it felt like it all follows this prescriptive plot on rails to guide the reader through all the plot points. A boy gets sucked into a life of crime because of his lock picking skills. There aren't any twists. And there wasn't a lot of real mystery. When I say real mystery, the main character has a secret, but really it's mostly a secret from the reader. The public in the book knows the bulk of the details to an event, so the author could reveal it at any time, but the "mystery" is just that the author is saving it to build and craft a moment to hit the reader as an impetus to take a relationship through to a climax. It all feels very intentional.
That said, the descriptive detail of how the character builds and executes his skill as a boxman, and his technique in the zone, rivals some of the better moments of how the main character in Perfume is overtaken by scents. But there's a lot of description of resetting dials and pins, that while novel at first, do start to feel a little worn thin by the end.
Nothing about the book didn't make me want to quit, but if I didn't know how it ended, I'm not sure how much I would have cared. It pretty much just does the stuff you expect it to do. It was worth finishing once I started, but I did read a couple of books in the middle of reading this, just because I was more excited by them.
eslismyjam's review against another edition
5.0
This book was great! Five stars for sure. It was such an intriguing story line and main character. The main character can't speak and we don't find out why until the very end, which all adds to the intrigue. The protagonist's traumatic past really had me googling to find out if there are really people that are mute due to trauma. I also loved the love story interwoven slow descendent into the life of crime. You can't help routing for him even though he is breaking the law and generally making bad decisions. The writing was great, the pacing and characterizations were great and when it ended I wanted more.