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natashaalyxandrya's review
3.0
I found this book to be a simple and fast read. The action was expected, although I was a bit surprised by the ending. Excellent if you're bored and want something to kill time.
weweresotired's review
2.0
Here are just a few things that happened in this book, in case you're wondering why you probably don't need to spend time reading it:
- constant comments about characters weight gain
- weird vibes about any non-white characters
- the MC's ex husband is Middle Eastern and there's lots of weird racist comments about his culture ~not respecting women~ as to explain why he cheated on her
- a late book reveal of a potential bad guy that made me go WHO because I'd entirely forgotten who the character was
- the MC switching wildly between competent and a complete mess
- a completely out of nowhere scene where the MC starts thinking about her 19-year old nephew in a sexual way, which seems to exist only to set up her hook-up with a (non-related lol) character later on in the book (she'd been adamantly against getting involved with anyone but apparently seeing her hot buff nephew made her horny???)
- weird opinions on suicide, mental illness, etc., including some completely made-up or inaccurate stuff (see this review for more specifics)
The book did a good job of representing rural Illinois and the whole vibe of a run down farming town but everything else made this really not worth my time.
- constant comments about characters weight gain
- weird vibes about any non-white characters
- the MC's ex husband is Middle Eastern and there's lots of weird racist comments about his culture ~not respecting women~ as to explain why he cheated on her
- a late book reveal of a potential bad guy that made me go WHO because I'd entirely forgotten who the character was
- the MC switching wildly between competent and a complete mess
- a completely out of nowhere scene where the MC starts thinking about her 19-year old nephew in a sexual way, which seems to exist only to set up her hook-up with a (non-related lol) character later on in the book (she'd been adamantly against getting involved with anyone but apparently seeing her hot buff nephew made her horny???)
- weird opinions on suicide, mental illness, etc., including some completely made-up or inaccurate stuff (see this review for more specifics)
The book did a good job of representing rural Illinois and the whole vibe of a run down farming town but everything else made this really not worth my time.
alyscriv17's review
5.0
Felt like I was there
Loved the setting, was thoroughly creeped out...felt extremely midwestern, which I haven't seen a lot of accurate descriptions in books.
Loved the setting, was thoroughly creeped out...felt extremely midwestern, which I haven't seen a lot of accurate descriptions in books.
wildgurl's review
3.0
Cold Black Earth
By Sam Reaves
2015
Amazon Prime
Rachel Lindstrom left her hometown in rural Western Illinois 8 years ago to pursue her dreams. After 3 years in Iraq and a failed marriage, Rachel returns home in late November to consider her options moving forward. She needed a rest. Her timing for a homecoming could not have been worse. An oddball assortment of old High School friends and old suitors are fun....until Otis Ryle escapes from a psych unit at a nearby correctional center. Otis has a past in this rural town and is returning to heal, as well.....
Suspenseful, sinister, with an ending you won't see coming.Recommended.
By Sam Reaves
2015
Amazon Prime
Rachel Lindstrom left her hometown in rural Western Illinois 8 years ago to pursue her dreams. After 3 years in Iraq and a failed marriage, Rachel returns home in late November to consider her options moving forward. She needed a rest. Her timing for a homecoming could not have been worse. An oddball assortment of old High School friends and old suitors are fun....until Otis Ryle escapes from a psych unit at a nearby correctional center. Otis has a past in this rural town and is returning to heal, as well.....
Suspenseful, sinister, with an ending you won't see coming.Recommended.
mossiegirl55's review against another edition
4.0
A very entertaining thriller. The author does a very good job of translating the character's fear across to the reader. I felt like I was on the edge of my seat, which is a rare thing for me with these types of books.
jesssicawho's review against another edition
2.0
Things I liked: small rural town setting, enough suspense to keep me turning pages, heroine over the age of 40, easily digestible for a weekend read
Things I didn't like: haphazard plot with an ending that doesn't make much sense/seem believable yet is somehow still predictable, male author who struggles with writing an authentic female character, heroine who makes some truly dumb choices
It was OK, especially for a free Kindle First book.
Things I didn't like: haphazard plot with an ending that doesn't make much sense/seem believable yet is somehow still predictable, male author who struggles with writing an authentic female character, heroine who makes some truly dumb choices
It was OK, especially for a free Kindle First book.
penalew's review against another edition
2.0
Very predictable and very difficult to suspend my disbelief. Look elsewhere for quality suspense.
tchrcyd's review against another edition
4.0
I was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked this book!! Another of my Amazon First Reads (I'm slowing plowing through these) and it was better than some. It kept me guessing until the end on just who was committing these murders, and I enjoyed how the main character dealt with her fears about the situation. Returning home after 20 years, hoping for a return to her childhood, just didn't work out quite the way she planned. I will have to check out other books by this author!!
aliciagw's review
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
This book was just ok for me.
I received it free a long time ago as one of those free monthly Kindle books. I finally got around to reading it, and was left disappointed, mostly because of the ending.
The story is about a woman who comes back home to her small hometown in the Midwest after some time abroad. Her life is a bit of a mess, but not too bad compared to the lives of those that stayed at home. Her hometown isn’t the same. It is economically depressed, large agribusiness is moving in, and it’s a fairly depressing place. Then a killer escapes from a local prison, and murders ensue.
I actually rather enjoyed the first part of the book, which was somewhat slow paced and was more about her dealing with her homecoming and the relationships she had left behind. It was a sad but seemingly accurate depiction of a small town where business was no longer good and the lives of the people living there had become stagnant. The people still love their home, and remember better days, but are in a current state of depression.
The latter part of the book gets a little more exciting when dealing with the killings, but I personally didn’t like the ending. It seemed quite contrived and convoluted to me, wrapping up several characters into a surprise plot line that just came out of nowhere. An ending that is overly contrived almost always ruins a book for me.
I received it free a long time ago as one of those free monthly Kindle books. I finally got around to reading it, and was left disappointed, mostly because of the ending.
The story is about a woman who comes back home to her small hometown in the Midwest after some time abroad. Her life is a bit of a mess, but not too bad compared to the lives of those that stayed at home. Her hometown isn’t the same. It is economically depressed, large agribusiness is moving in, and it’s a fairly depressing place. Then a killer escapes from a local prison, and murders ensue.
I actually rather enjoyed the first part of the book, which was somewhat slow paced and was more about her dealing with her homecoming and the relationships she had left behind. It was a sad but seemingly accurate depiction of a small town where business was no longer good and the lives of the people living there had become stagnant. The people still love their home, and remember better days, but are in a current state of depression.
The latter part of the book gets a little more exciting when dealing with the killings, but I personally didn’t like the ending. It seemed quite contrived and convoluted to me, wrapping up several characters into a surprise plot line that just came out of nowhere. An ending that is overly contrived almost always ruins a book for me.
tctimlin's review against another edition
3.0
Quick read. I'm still not sure how I ended up buying this book. I know it was a Kindle $.99 deal, but I don't usually buy those - so someone must have recommended it. It was scarier and creepier than what I usually read, but I liked the setting, and the heroine. I was feeling a bit smug about halfway through because I thought I'd identified the killer - and I didn't find out until the last few pages that I'd been wrong.