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A review by skyring
Eleven Hours by Paullina Simons
2.0
This is a book that was hard to put down. The tension rose. Poor Didi! From shopping the mall, munching on almond pretzels, her day just went steadily downhill. The pain, the thirst, the worry, the heat, the dirt and the blood all mounted up, and the poor reader is trapped there with her. It's an uncomfortable and unpleasant ride, but there's no escape. Not until the end. The suspense was killing.
I read it as quickly as I possibly could. Within the span of a day, which is pretty good for me now.
Didi and the kidnapper were entirely credible. Well, mostly. The kidnapper was crazed enough to make his odd behaviour understandable. He had a plan to follow and he was following it, even if Didi was making things difficult.
Didi. Geez. Don't get in the car! You're nine months pregnant, a few minutes away from having lunch with your husband, there is nothing good coming out of a car ride with a strange man who spooks you out. And I don't care how strong he is, he's not going to be able to carry or drag a nine-month pregnant screaming woman through a car park without interference.
After that, well, the violence keeps her in line.
What jarred was the police/FBI side of things. The police sounded realistic enough, but the FBI end of it was way out of whack. As Megan notes, the husband isn't going to be that closely involved. Questioned closely, sure, but his place then is at home, looking after the kids and keeping the relatives calm. He's not going to go flying around in helicopters, dressing up in combat vests and fiddling around in crime scenes, destroying evidence.
Sure, it gives the reader a lot of dialogue with him and the cocky FBI agent - and why just one? Wouldn't there be a team of a dozen or so, manning an office full of ringing phones and buzzing computers? Sure, it keeps the reader in he action seat, looking at the developing crisis from both sides. But it's so terribly unrealistic.
My feeling is that this is a movie script in book form. It's got Hollywood all over it, with the simplistic setups and the talky philosophical debates. and the violence.
Right. I read it quick, but I didn't like it much. I'm not inspired to go out and read more of this author. Not unless she does a whole heap more research.
I read it as quickly as I possibly could. Within the span of a day, which is pretty good for me now.
Didi and the kidnapper were entirely credible. Well, mostly. The kidnapper was crazed enough to make his odd behaviour understandable. He had a plan to follow and he was following it, even if Didi was making things difficult.
Didi. Geez. Don't get in the car! You're nine months pregnant, a few minutes away from having lunch with your husband, there is nothing good coming out of a car ride with a strange man who spooks you out. And I don't care how strong he is, he's not going to be able to carry or drag a nine-month pregnant screaming woman through a car park without interference.
After that, well, the violence keeps her in line.
What jarred was the police/FBI side of things. The police sounded realistic enough, but the FBI end of it was way out of whack. As Megan notes, the husband isn't going to be that closely involved. Questioned closely, sure, but his place then is at home, looking after the kids and keeping the relatives calm. He's not going to go flying around in helicopters, dressing up in combat vests and fiddling around in crime scenes, destroying evidence.
Sure, it gives the reader a lot of dialogue with him and the cocky FBI agent - and why just one? Wouldn't there be a team of a dozen or so, manning an office full of ringing phones and buzzing computers? Sure, it keeps the reader in he action seat, looking at the developing crisis from both sides. But it's so terribly unrealistic.
My feeling is that this is a movie script in book form. It's got Hollywood all over it, with the simplistic setups and the talky philosophical debates. and the violence.
Right. I read it quick, but I didn't like it much. I'm not inspired to go out and read more of this author. Not unless she does a whole heap more research.