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bob_muller 's review for:
Ripper
by Isabel Allende
I found this an engaging book in many ways. I think it's really a satire on the genre, or really on multiple "thriller"/"mystery" genres. Allende can't help herself when it comes to character writing, they do sort of run off the page and take over your life while you're reading the book, but it all comes to more or less nothing by the end, just peters out. Her use of multiple, omniscient points of view is standard in the slasher/serial killer genres, but it's so wildly inconsistent as to lead me to the satire conclusion. She does it deliberately to show how absurd it all is. The ultimate hero who saves the day, no spoilers here, is another case in point. Very San Francisco, I must say! Bay Area people will get a definite and slightly hysterical kick out of the scenery and events. She should have brought in Bay to Breakers somehow just for the sheer craziness. I do wish the online gaming component had been better resolved or more useful to the plot, missed a bet there. Overall, as I said, engaging but crazy.