Reviews

The Murder Artist: A Thriller by John Case

joannalogy's review against another edition

3.0

Tenía tiempo sin leer un thriller. Es interesante cómo incluyeron el ocultismo y la magia en la historia de un secuestro. También me reí mucho con la tecnología-internet que usaba el protagonista (es un libro de 2003,2005 algo así). A veces era un poco aburrido pues la historia se fijaba solo en Alex (el papá de los gemelos), así que ningún otro personaje (aparte del «malo», vamos a llamarlo así para no decir spoilers) tuvo tanta relevancia. Por otro lado, quedaron muchos puntos de la trama inconclusos (odio cuando los escritores hacen eso). Es un buen libro para matar horas de espera.

dutchtineke's review against another edition

4.0

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The book was long, but the descriptions, which were very interesting, and the easy reading made up for that. The ending was quite short, but that was not a problem at all for me.

lkmreads's review against another edition

4.0

Very nice, catching story. The title seems a bit of an odd choice- exaggerated perhaps, but I enjoyed the story and characters in it; I liked the writing style too, even if I'm not much of a fan of first person.
I would have liked a less "open" ending, one that told me more of what happened after, but I guess it was unnecessary.

boleary30's review

4.0

Very well written book, that keeps you on the edge of your seat and turning the pages.

katejones's review

4.0

I came across a book by this author on my bookshelf that I really liked and decided to read another one. Twins, origami, magic and voodoo sounds like a strange combination, but I liked this one as well and will likely read more. Solid detective/thriller. Although I did find it a bit strange that the police sort of vanished involvement wise after a relatively short while.

Edit: Huh. Didn't know John Case was a husband-wife team pseudonym. Thank you other Goodreads reviewer :)

anammshaikhh's review

4.0

Alex Callahan is a reporter, covering dangerous stuff like Afghan weddings, and is separated from his wife Liz, who is tired of him putting his work before his family. Alex and Liz’s six year old twins, Sean and Kevin are at Alex’s place for the summer. They decide[or rather, Alex is bullied] to visit the Renaissance Faire, in keeping with the twins’ sudden fascination for everything Arthurian. They are enjoying themselves at the fair, when at one of the performances, the twins go ahead near the stage while Alex is seated, and disappear. Into thin air. Last Alex saw them, they were petting a dog in costume. Police investigations reveal that the dog was with its master, also in costume, and the twins were seen walking out of the fair with them. Alex is highlighted as a suspect, but is soon ruled out. Meanwhile, there are strange things in the home: a row of dimes, a bowl of water, an origami rabbit made out of something suspiciously like skin, the t-shirt Sean was wearing stained with blood. Abduction for ransom money, retaliation, sexual purposes, kiddie porn and medical experiments is quickly ruled out. With no breakthroughs, the case is closed, and Alex and Liz become additions in relatives of millions of missing people in the world, and are told to accept the fact that their kids are dead. Which Alex is not willing to. He quits his job and spends all his town pursuing the case, looking into other missing person cases where twins were involved, which takes him on a chase from Washington to Florida to Las Vegas to Chicago and into the wide dangerous world of voodoo.

This book shows the love parents have for their children and how they will go to any lengths to protect them. A heartwarming read.

ashemoore's review

4.0

I found this was an enjoyable book. I liked how the father took it upon himself to find his sons and the length that he went to.

Spoiler

I did not like the mother of the children. I understand that she was upset, but she was more into punishing the father than trying to find her sons.

tharina's review

Following The Genesis Code and Trance State, I'm always interested in whatever John Case has on offer. The Murder Artist is a fairly enjoyable story, although it doesn't quite manage to deliver on the same level of suspense and intrigue.

jeanetterenee's review

2.0

I'm a big fan of John Case, and this is the only one of his books that has disappointed me. Not that it was terrible, but nothing like what I've come to expect.

baechus's review against another edition

3.0

3.5 en realidad, no lean la contraportada

Jim y Carolyn hacen un excelente trabajo en este libro, que es entretenido, está muy bien investigado y es retorcidamente atrapante.

Aunque en la portada sólo aparece como autor Jim Hougan, en las primeras hojas se aclara que es una colaboración, pues la investigación y varias de las ideas de la historia son de los dos, por eso creo importante resaltar esto, ya que es increíblemente atrapante.
Trata de un padre que va a una feria medieval con sus gemelos, y los pierde, no por un rato, sino al punto que se crea una investigación por la desaparición de los gemelos, la madre de estos, ex esposa de Alex, nuestro prota, lo culpa aunque no quiere, él también se culpa, los padres de ambos se ven involucrados, el caso se vuelve mediático y todo toma un giro increíblemente raro, en especial a partir de la segunda mitad del libro.

Es un viaje, no tanto del desarrollo del personaje, pues al final es la culpabilidad y la ira la que lo dirigen durante la mayoría de la novela, sino del punto A al punto B de la historia, el escenario cambia, todo se vuelve macabro, hay una secta elitista y ritualista, hay errores constantes de parte de Alex y la narración, como buena novela negra, lleva al personaje a caer en los huecos más profundos de sus ser para renacer simbólicamente con más determinación y casi como un fantasma vengador (cosa en la que hace mucho énfasis el autor).

Toda la idea de los rituales, la edad media, los asesinos seriales y demás, están tan bien colocados que dentro de todo lo extravagante que es claramente la historia, dentro del mundo construido y la realidad en la que se mueven, no cae pesado o fuera de lugar ningún elemento, siendo el final en sí, el único elemento que no termina de encajar por completo con la narrativa desarrollada, pero esto es simplemente mi percepción de este último detalle.