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jimbowen0306's review against another edition
3.0
I've read a number of Jeffrey Deaver books. They typically focus on a lone investigator (or department head) as he (or she in this case) investigates a crime. They usually don't have too much proceedure in them, focussing more on the interactions. This book is much the same.
The book sees a skilled interogator hunt down a killer after he escapes from a holding cell after she has interviewed him.
I found the book a little disappointing. I usually find Deaver's books rattle along at a good old pace, but that doesn't really happen here as much (with the exception of the twist in the tail), which meant I found it a less than satisfying read. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of books that are a lot worse, but there are books that are better too.
The book sees a skilled interogator hunt down a killer after he escapes from a holding cell after she has interviewed him.
I found the book a little disappointing. I usually find Deaver's books rattle along at a good old pace, but that doesn't really happen here as much (with the exception of the twist in the tail), which meant I found it a less than satisfying read. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of books that are a lot worse, but there are books that are better too.
caryambler's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-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? No
3.5
jns2024's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Couldn’t put down. Really good
sjrissolo's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
felixthesmexyfox's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This is interesting. This is exactly how i would picture someone like Pell. I did think the book was a bit too long but it was good nontheless. This book is getting 4.5 stars. The only reason it noy getting 5 stars is because i didnt vibe with it as much as i was hoping i would, in a sense the book was not what i was expecting and was kinda a let down. But that is all on me not the author
gabmc's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book - a new (to me) series from Jeffrey Deaver featuring CBI Agent Kathryn Dance as the hero. Whereas Lincoln Rhyme in Deaver's other main series focuses on the study of evidence and crime scenes to catch the killer, Kathryn Dance's area of expertise is kinesics (the study of body language). She is called in to question Daniel Pell, convicted of Manson like murders more than 7 years in the past - based on new evidence from a new crime. Pell is moved from the high security prison to a courthouse for the interrogation - and he manages to escape. Dance and her team have to try to be one step ahead of Pell before more people are killed. Very cleverly written book.
labunnywtf's review against another edition
4.0
I'm damn impressed.
I watched The Bone Collector because Angelina Jolie. Then read the book because I'm me. But that's as far as I got into Jeffery Deaver's work. I literally only picked this book up because I liked the association with Charles Manson. It's left over from my misspent youth, stop judging me.
Anyway. I didn't have a lot of expectations, because a) adult books make me tired, and b) men writing strong female characters is such a 1/100 shot.
Seriously, I am really impressed.
The story is fascinating, and original. Kathryn Dance is an extremely strong character, level headed, smart, with a good background. There was no wilting flower bullshit, no romantic love interest that I had to skip past. Her family life is explained with no "Oh noes I'm neglecting my kids I'm neglecting my work I'm so torn" idiocy.
Daniel Pell is a fascinating character, as are his current and former followers. Sick and twisted, manipulative and cruel. My kind of villain, the kind I loathe to love and want to know more about. Backstory built upon backstory, and the actual origin story is so boring. It kind of works out perfectly.
I didn't see the twists coming. Every time I saw where something was going, it took a sharp left and I was happily proven wrong. And Kathryn was always one step ahead of his quite brilliant twists, and in a way that made sense, and wasn't, "Crazed axe man walking calmly while teen coed runs and he still catches her and hacks her up" illogical.
I want to read more in this series. I worry all of them won't be as good, though. And I love that we got a small crossover with the Bone Collector series. Well done.
I watched The Bone Collector because Angelina Jolie. Then read the book because I'm me. But that's as far as I got into Jeffery Deaver's work. I literally only picked this book up because I liked the association with Charles Manson. It's left over from my misspent youth, stop judging me.
Anyway. I didn't have a lot of expectations, because a) adult books make me tired, and b) men writing strong female characters is such a 1/100 shot.
Seriously, I am really impressed.
The story is fascinating, and original. Kathryn Dance is an extremely strong character, level headed, smart, with a good background. There was no wilting flower bullshit, no romantic love interest that I had to skip past. Her family life is explained with no "Oh noes I'm neglecting my kids I'm neglecting my work I'm so torn" idiocy.
Daniel Pell is a fascinating character, as are his current and former followers. Sick and twisted, manipulative and cruel. My kind of villain, the kind I loathe to love and want to know more about. Backstory built upon backstory, and the actual origin story is so boring. It kind of works out perfectly.
I didn't see the twists coming. Every time I saw where something was going, it took a sharp left and I was happily proven wrong. And Kathryn was always one step ahead of his quite brilliant twists, and in a way that made sense, and wasn't, "Crazed axe man walking calmly while teen coed runs and he still catches her and hacks her up" illogical.
I want to read more in this series. I worry all of them won't be as good, though. And I love that we got a small crossover with the Bone Collector series. Well done.
jgintrovertedreader's review against another edition
4.0
Kathryn Dance is an investigator working for the California Bureau of Investigation. Her specialty is kinesics, a fancy word for body language. She's one of the top in her field, so when new evidence emerges in a cold case suggesting that imprisoned cult leader and murderer Daniel Pell may have one more homicide to his name, she's called in to interrogate. But Pell escapes and she's left leading a manhunt, trying to catch the "Son of Manson," as he was called, before he can either kill again or persuade someone else to kill for him.
Let's get the cliche out of the way first: I couldn't put it down. My eyes felt like sandpaper and I had a headache, but I just had to find out what happened next. The action just kept coming. The plot was full of surprises for me, right up until practically the last page. The book was well-written and seemed to be well-researched. Kathryn was a great female protagonist, strong, quirky, funny, likeable, but not too perfect. The other characters were maybe not quite so well-drawn, but I still liked them or hated them.
There were two things keeping me from giving this five stars. First, the ending dragged out too long for me. I always use the comparision, "You know, it's like that movie 'Speed.'" The story was over for me but more surprises kept popping up. I get frustrated when that happens. The big thing that kept this from being a five star book was the constant explanation of kinesics. There's a pretty extensive explanation of what Kathryn looks for when she's interrogating in the first chapter of the book. I'm a smart girl--assume I got it. Instead, we get quite a bit of repetition like how "I swear" inevitably signals that someone is lying or at least holding something back, or that when someone taps their foot or jingles their change, they're experiencing stress. It wasn't constant repetition, but by halfway through, I was thinking, "Oh no, here we go again. I hope this explanation isn't too long."
Overall though, the strengths of the book far outweigh the weaknesses and I would recommend it for a fast, edge-of-your-seat read.
Let's get the cliche out of the way first: I couldn't put it down. My eyes felt like sandpaper and I had a headache, but I just had to find out what happened next. The action just kept coming. The plot was full of surprises for me, right up until practically the last page. The book was well-written and seemed to be well-researched. Kathryn was a great female protagonist, strong, quirky, funny, likeable, but not too perfect. The other characters were maybe not quite so well-drawn, but I still liked them or hated them.
There were two things keeping me from giving this five stars. First, the ending dragged out too long for me. I always use the comparision, "You know, it's like that movie 'Speed.'" The story was over for me but more surprises kept popping up. I get frustrated when that happens. The big thing that kept this from being a five star book was the constant explanation of kinesics. There's a pretty extensive explanation of what Kathryn looks for when she's interrogating in the first chapter of the book. I'm a smart girl--assume I got it. Instead, we get quite a bit of repetition like how "I swear" inevitably signals that someone is lying or at least holding something back, or that when someone taps their foot or jingles their change, they're experiencing stress. It wasn't constant repetition, but by halfway through, I was thinking, "Oh no, here we go again. I hope this explanation isn't too long."
Overall though, the strengths of the book far outweigh the weaknesses and I would recommend it for a fast, edge-of-your-seat read.
arnoldotoho's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5