74 of 84 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not Deaver's Best Work (to say the least)..., November 16, 2008
As an avid Jeffery Deaver fan (not just his Rhyme series), I was supremely disappointed in his latest effort. Yes, it was kind of a fast read, but there are too many "are you kidding me?" scenarios - I have to agree with Barry's review on this page. It did start out pretty well - he always has an engaging first chapter. But the majority of the story takes place in the forest of a state park and Deaver writes in the book that there are tens of thousands of acres of dense forest and yet the killers and their prey (three of whom have never even been in this particular state park) know exactly where to go and what traps to set and then one of them knows it's just a set-up (each and every time - no joke). This goes on and on and on ad nauseum. After this played out the fourth or fifth time, I was like "Come on!". Oh, and did I mention that it's the middle of the night without a full moon? Hart and Comp could tell from TWO TO THREE HUNDRED YARDS away in almost total darkness that Michelle was using a pool cue as a crutch?! Totally unbelievable! Anyone familiar with Deaver's previous books knows he has a tendency to set up a scene one way where you think you know what's happened and then a couple of pages later he neatly explains how it actually occurred. I'm okay with that, but in this particular book, it's just too over the top, too far-fetched. The dialogue is wooden and stilted and his usual keen sense of description is seriously lacking. If I didn't see Jeffery Deaver's name on the cover of this book, I don't know if I would have even believed that he wrote it because it doesn't quite sound like his "voice". Pressure from his publishing house to crank out material = subpar work? This book was not scary, suspenseful, or thrilling. Read his early novels if you're looking for that - you will not be disappointed. I've never written a review before, but I was truly excited when I heard this book was coming out and feel very unsatisfied after reading it. It's kind of like when Patricia Cornwell has veered off the Scarpetta books and into a ditch...a waste of time and money. I am a voracious reader and this is probably only the second time in my life where I have come close to not finishing a book. Read at your own risk!
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34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Too Gimmicky; A Fast Start That Quickly Fades, November 20, 2008
What starts out as another of Jeffrey Deaver's signature murder thrillers quickly transforms into something else entirely, and unfortunately, not very successfully. It appears that Deaver was attempting to perform a riff on the 1924 Richard Connell story "The Most Dangerous Game" or Household's classic "Rogue Male". Think David Morrell's "First Blood" (later transformed into the first "Rambo" movie, Morrell credited "Rogue Male" as his inspiration): one resourceful individual being hunted in the wild by a tenacious and implacable foe.
Problems abound. First and foremost, the setup was for a terrific murder mystery/thriller, and that fell completely by the wayside, almost incidental to what turned out to be the main point of the book: the hunt in the woods.
Unfortunately, that hunt was simply incredible beyond words, to the point that it became almost cartoonish. The heroin tries to trick the villains; the villains figure out it's a trick, and counter her trick with ANOTHER trick; but she anticipates this counter-trick, and counter-counter-tricks, and...... SHEESH!
This was like a Roadrunner cartoon. All that was missing was the "meep meep!" soundtrack.
These people are all tromping around in a wilderness forest in the depths of darkness, no artificial lighting anywhere, only some moonlight; and yet they can see details such as footprints, small lost articles, and even each other at distances of two to three hundred yards... including what types of weapons they're each carrying!
Let me tell you something. When I was in the Army, I participated in night combat operations in the jungle, and you can't see diddley-squat without some kind of night-vision equipment. At best, if the moonlight's strong enough, you can make out ridgeline silhouettes against the lighter sky, but certainly no details. Definitely not with your unaided eyes at those ranges. And what about all those trees? Did they become transparent?
Anyway, when all of this is finally resolved - about ¾ of the way through the book - and we return to the original murder mystery, it is dispatched in the most perfunctory manner imaginable. It was almost an afterthought, as if Deaver was simply fulfilling an obligation to tie up the loose ends.
Too bad; not anywhere near up to his usual par.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
superb cat and mouse thriller, November 11, 2008
April seventeenth is a day that will affect many lives in Kennnesha County, Wisconsin. It begins with Emma and Steven Feldman enjoying a drink in their mini-mansion vacation home on Lake Mondac. They hear noises outside followed by two gunmen barging into their home. Before they shoot Steven, he connects to the Sheriff's Office for a brief moment.
Sheriff Tom Dahl traces the 911 call and sends Deputy Brynn McKenzie to check it out. She finds the Feldman couple dead on their floor and the two killers Terry Hart and Compton Lewis eerily sitting casually nearby. She gets away running into the nearby woods where she meets Michelle, a friend of the Feldmans, who was visiting them. The two hit men chase after the women because they must have no witnesses to the murders. Brynn leads Michelle into a nearby state park while Hart and Lewis follow them. As they flee the thugs, they soon run into meth manufacturers in a place they thought they can call for help. Even if they somehow survive, Brynn's nightmare will not be over as the worst is yet to come.
This is a superb cat and mouse thriller made even more exciting once the reader concludes that Hart and McKenzie are similar personalities in spite of being on opposite sides of the law. With actions scenes that will translate easily into a movie thriller starring females who prefer to live but will do what it takes to Die Hard if at all as they refuse to break. Fans will enjoy this exciting outdoor wintry thriller with two born killers chasing two strong women.
Harriet Klausner
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