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shipleyk's review against another edition
3.0
I would have rated this book higher if it hadn't used so much foul language. The F-bomb was used in such unnecessary instances, Almost as if to use it just to say it was used. Not my style at all. It totally took from the story for me.
kb_hg's review against another edition
3.0
Better than the last Patterson book I read, still not sure if he's the author for me
effohbree's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
tracy_lianne's review against another edition
5.0
A lot of bouncing around, but as always - I didn't see one of the big "who is it" coming when I found out the answer!! A great stand-alone read!!
avreereads's review against another edition
3.0
Perhaps not the best selection for my 1st JP read?
The main positives are:
It’s a quick paced telling and some of the chapters are only 1.5 pages long and often times leave you hanging encouraging you to read on.
It was definitely an exciting and entertaining read that kept me guessing for a good portion—though I did guess the twists and the whodunit part well before they were revealed.
Now for my criticisms:
Aside from the fact that I threatened to not finish the book numerous times—I will elaborate in a second…
I thought more of the story was going to surround the house itself and follow the stories of the people or activities that happened in the house. I feel like the house was always just hovering in the background while all the action happened elsewhere…but perhaps it’s just me. I feel like I didn’t get the tale I thought I was getting and it played out more like an episode of SVU—but I’m not entirely certain I disliked that fact or not…
I found the main character, Jenna Murphy, to be quite unlikeable, especially in the beginning, and downright annoying. I also found her love interest quite unbelievable but I eventually warmed up to both and just rode with it. But boy so many of the characters were just emphatically unlikeable—and even unbelievable to an extent. I also feel like you know most characters only at a very shallow level.
Overall, this book wasn’t for me, specifically, as I tend to not dabble too much in fiction as some author’s (especially male) thinks that the reader needs cheap entertainment to be engaged or interested and I just find those bits uncomfortable and unnecessary…I mean I’d seek out 50 Shades or something if I wanted a story filled with titillation. The “bits” involving suggestive material are page 11/12, 125 final paragraph, and page 134 is descriptive of the killer’s bodily reaction to thrill of impending murder(s). I nearly quit the book by chapter ONE, again in chapter 30, and then again by chapter 32...but having kept going to chapter 37 I officially got hooked and from there I was completely invested!
I suppose I found it good enough to read the one time but the overall disappointment of how excited I was to get my hands on it to then have read it and realized that I would have been just fine having never read it…
I’m not going to let this be the end of my foray into JP per se...BUT I’m very leery of the innuendos and cussing that author’s use and I’m perhaps a lil hesitant to select more of his works.
The main positives are:
It’s a quick paced telling and some of the chapters are only 1.5 pages long and often times leave you hanging encouraging you to read on.
It was definitely an exciting and entertaining read that kept me guessing for a good portion—though I did guess the twists and the whodunit part well before they were revealed.
Now for my criticisms:
Aside from the fact that I threatened to not finish the book numerous times—I will elaborate in a second…
I thought more of the story was going to surround the house itself and follow the stories of the people or activities that happened in the house. I feel like the house was always just hovering in the background while all the action happened elsewhere…but perhaps it’s just me. I feel like I didn’t get the tale I thought I was getting and it played out more like an episode of SVU—but I’m not entirely certain I disliked that fact or not…
I found the main character, Jenna Murphy, to be quite unlikeable, especially in the beginning, and downright annoying. I also found her love interest quite unbelievable but I eventually warmed up to both and just rode with it. But boy so many of the characters were just emphatically unlikeable—and even unbelievable to an extent. I also feel like you know most characters only at a very shallow level.
Overall, this book wasn’t for me, specifically, as I tend to not dabble too much in fiction as some author’s (especially male) thinks that the reader needs cheap entertainment to be engaged or interested and I just find those bits uncomfortable and unnecessary…I mean I’d seek out 50 Shades or something if I wanted a story filled with titillation. The “bits” involving suggestive material are page 11/12, 125 final paragraph, and page 134 is descriptive of the killer’s bodily reaction to thrill of impending murder(s). I nearly quit the book by chapter ONE, again in chapter 30, and then again by chapter 32...but having kept going to chapter 37 I officially got hooked and from there I was completely invested!
I suppose I found it good enough to read the one time but the overall disappointment of how excited I was to get my hands on it to then have read it and realized that I would have been just fine having never read it…
I’m not going to let this be the end of my foray into JP per se...BUT I’m very leery of the innuendos and cussing that author’s use and I’m perhaps a lil hesitant to select more of his works.
patwebb88's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
sarah_85's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
pizzamyheart's review against another edition
4.0
This was my first James Patterson novel. The audiobook showed up on my audiobook app and I thought "why not? This sounds interesting enough"
So how was it? Not bad. It was very fast paced with tons of twists and turns. Definitely fits that "guilty pleasure" line. Not exactly a "classic" or "groundbreaking" but a solid read for an afternoon when you want to play detective.
I did find out the killer semi early. That made a bit of the story drag. Still, it was entertaining. I may pick up another James Patterson novel in the future.
So how was it? Not bad. It was very fast paced with tons of twists and turns. Definitely fits that "guilty pleasure" line. Not exactly a "classic" or "groundbreaking" but a solid read for an afternoon when you want to play detective.
I did find out the killer semi early. That made a bit of the story drag. Still, it was entertaining. I may pick up another James Patterson novel in the future.