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eoremovich's review against another edition
4.0
The Man from Primrose Lane had me guessing (always incorrectly!) about what was going to happen, and how things were going to work out. I thought the twist was pretty spectacular, and really mind bending. Time travel always fascinates me, so long as it is done well, and this book was pretty successful. I think I may revisit the book sometime and read it again to watch it come together from a different perspective.
dantastic's review against another edition
5.0
Widowed writer David Neff is at rock bottom when his agent drops the tale of The Man From Primrose Lane into his lap. Will a new book to work on bring him out of the funk he's been in since his wife's death or will his obsession kill him?
Before I get down to business, let's all be honest with one another. Most of the books we read are of average or less quality and are just an entertaining way to pass the time. This book is not one of those. This one grabs you by the genitals and infects your thoughts while you aren't reading it.
The Man From Primrose Lane is one hell of a crazy read. The titular character is a local eccentric who was known as The Man with a Thousand Mittens to the cop who found his corpse, complete with fingers in a blender. In life, he was always seen wearing mittens and had a closet full of them when he died? Interested yet? What if I told you the MFPL had a painting of David's dead wife in his basement? Or that he has a notebook about another woman's daily habits that just happens to resemble David's wife?
This is one of those books that I cannot divulge the plot of without ruining it. Suffice to say, it is a cleverly written mind bender. Part detective story, part bat shit crazy. Your brain might fold in on itself like a black hole before it's finished.
What the hell else can I say without spoiling things? I like how Renner uses David going through the withdrawals for his depression meds as a good way to reveal his back story using flashbacks. I had a feeling who The Man From Primrose Lane was about 30% into the story but I had no idea how complex things really were.
That's about all I'm prepared to reveal at this time. If you like genre-bending, thought provoking reads, you could do a lot worse than this. This is in the top two or three books I've read so far in 2016. Perfect score.
Before I get down to business, let's all be honest with one another. Most of the books we read are of average or less quality and are just an entertaining way to pass the time. This book is not one of those. This one grabs you by the genitals and infects your thoughts while you aren't reading it.
The Man From Primrose Lane is one hell of a crazy read. The titular character is a local eccentric who was known as The Man with a Thousand Mittens to the cop who found his corpse, complete with fingers in a blender. In life, he was always seen wearing mittens and had a closet full of them when he died? Interested yet? What if I told you the MFPL had a painting of David's dead wife in his basement? Or that he has a notebook about another woman's daily habits that just happens to resemble David's wife?
This is one of those books that I cannot divulge the plot of without ruining it. Suffice to say, it is a cleverly written mind bender. Part detective story, part bat shit crazy. Your brain might fold in on itself like a black hole before it's finished.
What the hell else can I say without spoiling things? I like how Renner uses David going through the withdrawals for his depression meds as a good way to reveal his back story using flashbacks. I had a feeling who The Man From Primrose Lane was about 30% into the story but I had no idea how complex things really were.
That's about all I'm prepared to reveal at this time. If you like genre-bending, thought provoking reads, you could do a lot worse than this. This is in the top two or three books I've read so far in 2016. Perfect score.
ohgirlvstheworld's review against another edition
4.0
This book is about a man's obsession with a crime. This review is about a woman's obsession of this book - I simply couldn't put it down. It was even in my dreams. Wonderfully bewitching.
retiredbookaholic's review against another edition
3.0
I picked this book up because it is by a local author, set in my home state and area(s). The book started off a little slow, which is ok, and kept my interest. Parts of the story were told in flashback, part in present and the author did an ok job of weaving the two together. About 2/3 of the way through, the book got weird. It became a sci-fi book. It started off as a mystery/thriller book and then wham! it's science fiction. I was like what!??. By this time I had read 2/3 of the book and the mystery still wasn't solved. So I kept reading. Again, we have a slow part setting up the sci-fi until the two halves meet. And then the end. I gave it 3 stars because of the books setting :). It was nice to read of familiar places. The storyline is a good idea and isn't written badly. It just feels, IMO, that the author had 2 ideas for a book, or books, and decided to combine them into one because he couldn't get enough story to fill two novels. I think if he had started the mix of sci-fi and mystery right from the beginning it would have made a better read. For me anyway. But I'm not a writer and I'm not an editor, just a book addict with an opinion. Would I recommend this book? Not sure. (Definitely to support the local author). This is one of those books where I would say read the reviews, skim it and decide for yourself.
mwgerard's review against another edition
3.0
Ok, but allows itself to get too complicated. My full review: http://mwgerard.com/review-the-man-from-primrose-lane-by-james-renner/
vonotar's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of those "The less you know going in, the better it will be" kind of books.
Where to begin? Murder, a sleuthing writer and an odd old man form the core to this book, but that is by no means the whole of it.
I'd say that if you are a fan of stories that play with your expectations and offer truly awesome "Whoa!" moments (Kind of like how I feel the first few times I watch a Christopher Nolan film), this is a book you should read.
I eagerly await more from Mr. Renner.
Where to begin? Murder, a sleuthing writer and an odd old man form the core to this book, but that is by no means the whole of it.
I'd say that if you are a fan of stories that play with your expectations and offer truly awesome "Whoa!" moments (Kind of like how I feel the first few times I watch a Christopher Nolan film), this is a book you should read.
I eagerly await more from Mr. Renner.
apasc's review against another edition
3.0
3.5. Easily would have been a 4 or 5, but I hated the last 1/3. He should have stuck with the mystery and not gone sci-fi. So sad.
i_b_anoud's review against another edition
4.0
3.85 ★
This book was abusive, it abused me mentally, it abused my nerves, my thought process and triggered me to no end, it was mind fu¢k€ry at its finest.
This book was abusive, it abused me mentally, it abused my nerves, my thought process and triggered me to no end, it was mind fu¢k€ry at its finest.
bunnieslikediamonds's review against another edition
3.0
Halfway through, this crime story unexpectedly morphs into something entirely different. As far as twists go, this one was certainly daring. Unfortunately it also becomes confusing and overly complicated. I simply lost interest. Too many murder victims, too many bad guys, too many vile crimes. Maybe it was due to my absentminded reading, but I didn't get the ending. What was up with the cat?