Take a photo of a barcode or cover
2.5 AVERAGE
2.5 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I simply do not understand the polarizing reviews for this book. I really liked it, even though I have enjoyed some of Harris’s other work better. I’m better at lists than full-fledged reviews so here is a list of some of the things that I love about this book (as well as my few qualms):
1. This book is, on the surface, a crime/thriller novel, yet the true heart of this book is the city of Miami, richly detailed and described by Harris throughout. Much like the object of conflict, I could almost feel the golden rays of sunshine and the heat of the Miami sun. This is Harris’s love letter to the city he has resided in for many years now, and his love shows on every page.
2. The soul of the book, and a noticeable concern of the author, is the plight of illegal immigrants in the United States. Cari’s story, slowly revealed, is heartbreaking and the best part of the book, and made me sympathize for her even more.
3. The writing style. Harris’s recognizable short, yet incredibly atmospheric prose is on full display throughout the book. At times I felt his prose style was a bit clunky, with short simple sentences and repetition of certain words, but I think Harris was aiming to make the book move at a quick, almost cinematic pace. This book was written almost like an Ellroyvian crime novel, with short bursts of dialogue and action, and I think it works for the most part.
4. Character development was a bit of a mess. While the titular main character and the main antagonist are relatively well fleshed out, the development of many of the secondary characters is missing, making it difficult to relate or care for them.
5. Hans-Peter Schneider is a meh villain. Sex-traffickers are absolutely terrifying to me, but Hans-Peter sometimes comes off as a goofy character, a villain almost Disney-movie bad. He resembles Hannibal in some aspects, yet Hannibal is far more intriguing. I wish Hans-Peter was more interesting, and that Harris had approached the villain in this book differently than he has multiple villains before.
Did I love Cari Mora? Somewhat. The plot was interesting, and I couldn’t put the book down for many reasons, none of which I want to spoil here. There are problems with it, but I am so happy that it was published and would love to read more about Cari, just preferably not have to wait 13 years for a sequel.
3 golden stars.
(My original rating was 3.5 rounded to 4 but I believe it really deserves 3.)
EDIT:
I have now lowered my rating yet again. I cannot shake the feeling that this book could have been so much more than it ultimately was. The greatest disappointment I have felt towards a book in recent memory.
2 stars.
1. This book is, on the surface, a crime/thriller novel, yet the true heart of this book is the city of Miami, richly detailed and described by Harris throughout. Much like the object of conflict, I could almost feel the golden rays of sunshine and the heat of the Miami sun. This is Harris’s love letter to the city he has resided in for many years now, and his love shows on every page.
2. The soul of the book, and a noticeable concern of the author, is the plight of illegal immigrants in the United States. Cari’s story, slowly revealed, is heartbreaking and the best part of the book, and made me sympathize for her even more.
3. The writing style. Harris’s recognizable short, yet incredibly atmospheric prose is on full display throughout the book. At times I felt his prose style was a bit clunky, with short simple sentences and repetition of certain words, but I think Harris was aiming to make the book move at a quick, almost cinematic pace. This book was written almost like an Ellroyvian crime novel, with short bursts of dialogue and action, and I think it works for the most part.
4. Character development was a bit of a mess. While the titular main character and the main antagonist are relatively well fleshed out, the development of many of the secondary characters is missing, making it difficult to relate or care for them.
5. Hans-Peter Schneider is a meh villain. Sex-traffickers are absolutely terrifying to me, but Hans-Peter sometimes comes off as a goofy character, a villain almost Disney-movie bad. He resembles Hannibal in some aspects, yet Hannibal is far more intriguing. I wish Hans-Peter was more interesting, and that Harris had approached the villain in this book differently than he has multiple villains before.
Did I love Cari Mora? Somewhat. The plot was interesting, and I couldn’t put the book down for many reasons, none of which I want to spoil here. There are problems with it, but I am so happy that it was published and would love to read more about Cari, just preferably not have to wait 13 years for a sequel.
3 golden stars.
(My original rating was 3.5 rounded to 4 but I believe it really deserves 3.)
EDIT:
I have now lowered my rating yet again. I cannot shake the feeling that this book could have been so much more than it ultimately was. The greatest disappointment I have felt towards a book in recent memory.
2 stars.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It's badly written or just boring, i don't really know. Probably both.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
full disclosure: I just finished reading a copy of this book from my library, but I just got an email saying I won a copy in the giveaway! I think I would have eventually bought this when it came out in paperback, so I'm happy.
I'm a big fan of Harris' Hannibal books, having read and reread them several times. I think a lot of his successes in those books are also successes here - a capable female protagonist who fights real monsters, good research put into details of the story, and excellent pacing of a climactic action scene. The setting in this book feels really lived-in, which makes sense given that Miami has been Harris' home for many years. Reading one of his rare interviews, I thought it was interesting that he's volunteered at the same bird rescue Cari works at.
At first I struggled to keep up with the revolving-door cast of characters, but after finishing I do like the little flavor of each character we got throughout the book. While in the Hannibal books we deep dive into our main villains, I liked the contrast of just seeing hints of horror and everyday cruelties from the different players in the cast. I liked getting to know Cari and I genuinely cared about her fulfilling her dreams, but she's still a little more removed from us than Clarice Starling or Will Graham. This definitely is more of a standalone book than a series, and I like it for what it is. I enjoyed the familiarity of coming back to a Thomas Harris book after the years between this and the Hannibal series, and I'm glad I'll have a copy of my own now to put on my shelf next to his other works.
I'm a big fan of Harris' Hannibal books, having read and reread them several times. I think a lot of his successes in those books are also successes here - a capable female protagonist who fights real monsters, good research put into details of the story, and excellent pacing of a climactic action scene. The setting in this book feels really lived-in, which makes sense given that Miami has been Harris' home for many years. Reading one of his rare interviews, I thought it was interesting that he's volunteered at the same bird rescue Cari works at.
At first I struggled to keep up with the revolving-door cast of characters, but after finishing I do like the little flavor of each character we got throughout the book. While in the Hannibal books we deep dive into our main villains, I liked the contrast of just seeing hints of horror and everyday cruelties from the different players in the cast. I liked getting to know Cari and I genuinely cared about her fulfilling her dreams, but she's still a little more removed from us than Clarice Starling or Will Graham. This definitely is more of a standalone book than a series, and I like it for what it is. I enjoyed the familiarity of coming back to a Thomas Harris book after the years between this and the Hannibal series, and I'm glad I'll have a copy of my own now to put on my shelf next to his other works.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
It gives me no pleasure whatsoever to say that this is terrible. My two star rating is actually quite generous. I haven't enjoyed this book at all.
The plot was weak, disjointed and frankly uninteresting. None of the characters were really developed and as soon as I learnt someone's name they seemed to get killed. Other characters were clichéd stereotypes with no redeeming qualities.
There was an almost total absence of suspense which is a prerequisite for a thriller surely. Some of the scenes were distasteful and downright unpleasant. I'm not a stranger to this author's work and am not squeamish but in previous novels such scenes have added to the narrative or character development. Here they are just gratuitous and off putting.
Overall terribly disappointing as his first three novels were brilliant. In my opinion the next two were cash ins on his wonderful and infamous creation. This one utter crap.
It has been 13 years since Thomas Harris' last novel. On the back of this outing, another 13 years will still be too soon.
The plot was weak, disjointed and frankly uninteresting. None of the characters were really developed and as soon as I learnt someone's name they seemed to get killed. Other characters were clichéd stereotypes with no redeeming qualities.
There was an almost total absence of suspense which is a prerequisite for a thriller surely. Some of the scenes were distasteful and downright unpleasant. I'm not a stranger to this author's work and am not squeamish but in previous novels such scenes have added to the narrative or character development. Here they are just gratuitous and off putting.
Overall terribly disappointing as his first three novels were brilliant. In my opinion the next two were cash ins on his wonderful and infamous creation. This one utter crap.
It has been 13 years since Thomas Harris' last novel. On the back of this outing, another 13 years will still be too soon.
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Big turd-pile.