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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A psychological thriller oozing in gossip and paranoia,
By
This review is from: Boy in the Water (Mass Market Paperback)
This book caught hold of me from the beginning. The hero kept sinking deeper and deeper and I wanted to shout at him, "Get out of the school" as this main character failed to see the true nature of the danger building around him. It was frustrating, yet gripping. The reader was shown the danger and the some of the evil schemes swirling around the New Hampshire campus. Gossip was never true or innocent and the paranoia was always well-place. A spooky combination. The usual entrenchmant of bureacracy against any change was presented and it felt real for anyone who has worked in an institution of any kind and then this was nudged forward just a little until it became deadly.The number of interesting characters, good and bad, was a nice change from some suspense novel that spend their written energy on usually simply the hero or the villain. It felt nice to settle down with a killer and a New Hampshire snowstorm on a hut, muggy New York day.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
ENTERTAINING, BUT A LETDOWN AFTER "THE CHURCH OF DEAD GIRLS",
By
This review is from: Boy in the Water (Hardcover)
I read "The Church of Dead Girls" when it was first released in the summer of '97, and I absolutely loved it. When I heard, then, that Dobyns had a new book out, I knew that I had to have it. When I finished "The Boy in the Water," I felt a little...I guess let down is the best way to put it. It isn't that the book was at all bad; in fact, I enjoyed it. There seemed to be something missing. The plot was a little more transparent than that of "Church." In his previous novel, I didn't know for sure whodunit until Dobyns chose to reveal the murderer to the reader; in "Boy," I had a pretty clear idea of what was going on, and I was right.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well-written, excellent characters, a bit predictable,
By A Customer
This review is from: Boy in the Water (Hardcover)
Stephen Dobyns has once again proved his versatility with his new book, "Boy in the Water". Fans of his Saratoga series are familiar with his wonderful sense of humor, great characters, and spectacular mishaps, all surrounded by a great deal of local color. This novel, like his "Church of the Dead Girls", is serious, haunting, and mysterious, set in winter in New Hampshire, with predictable villains and a great deal of foreshadowing. This book reminds me a bit of a PD James novel,(the snowy mountains instead of the foggy moors) not quite as thick, and certainly with a New England twist. I enjoyed every minute of it, found the characters likeable, believable, and interesting. I loved the subtle changes in the boarding school which Jim Hawthorne was able to implement during his troubled first semester there, as evidenced by the scenes with the students; Dobyns has an excellent eye and understanding for the behavior patterns of abused kids. This was a great read, and highly recommended. My only criticism is that the foreshadowing is a bit heavy, the "bad guys" are pretty obvious even though our hero seems to be oblivious, and the ending is a bit strange - we see the aftermath of the climax of the novel through the eyes of a very minor and peripheral character and there is no alternative wrap up. An interesting literary device, but I felt a little cheated. Maybe foreshadowing of a sequel, Mr. Dobyns?
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