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heatherberm's review
3.0
I'd go with 3.5 stars if I could. The characterization and setting were both really strong and the writing is beautiful in places, but I wish I hadn't seen this described as a thriller. There is a mystery involved, but it's slow and methodical - which is not bad, but not what I was prepared for.
madlain's review
5.0
This book made me so emotional and loved all the twists and turns it took me on.
My favourite scene is when Beth was painting.
I didn't particularly enjoy learning about Gavril's backstory but there wasn't much of it so overall, I absolutely loved this book!
My favourite scene is when Beth was painting.
I didn't particularly enjoy learning about Gavril's backstory but there wasn't much of it so overall, I absolutely loved this book!
patrick_'s review
2.0
A bloated and unfulfilling “literary” mystery with a cast of card stock characters. The prose often gets in the way of the story and the dialogue comes across as stiff and preachy, especially when the themes of the book are being espoused. In the end, who cares?
clambook's review
3.0
Bollen is a good writer, but the book is at least a hundred pages too long, with a plot that's convoluted and beyond improbable. An interesting view of Orient and the New York art world, where I suspect Bollen feels more at home. Don't know that I would have stuck with it if I didn't have a North Fork connection. It's certainly not the Orient I know.
pgchuis's review
5.0
Mills Chevern hitchhikes to New York, gets into trouble, and is rescued by his neighbour, Paul, who asks him to go to Orient with him and help him clear out his family/weekend home. Orient is near Plum Island, a secure government animal research facility and a strange hybrid animal corpse is washed ashore. Then people start dying and Mills is made the scapegoat.
This book is perhaps overlong, and either I need to think about it more, or the plot is a bit dodgy in places, but it is beautifully written and characterized. No one is particularly happy or particularly nice to their friends/neighbours, but Bollen manages to describe many many characters in a way that makes them seem real and clearly differentiated from one another. (A special mention of Eleanor here!) My knowledge of the geography of the state of NY has also increased enormously.
This book is perhaps overlong, and either I need to think about it more, or the plot is a bit dodgy in places, but it is beautifully written and characterized. No one is particularly happy or particularly nice to their friends/neighbours, but Bollen manages to describe many many characters in a way that makes them seem real and clearly differentiated from one another. (A special mention of Eleanor here!) My knowledge of the geography of the state of NY has also increased enormously.
tonstantweader's review
4.0
Well-written, fair mystery that is more literary fiction than anything. My only quibble is that at times you can see the effort behind his excellent prose. He uses new and interesting metaphors, great imagery and many sentences surprise with their excellence so I feel bad for finding fault for it, but sometimes I just know he is trying too hard.
abercrombie1986's review
4.0
What a different book. A literary book with lots of character development wrapped up in a mystery. I can say I suspected the actual killer, but only because at one point I suspected EVERYONE since the book is long and took a while to unravel.
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