Customer Reviews

A Cold Dark Place

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This book is terrible. It is badly written and full of huge plot holes and mistakes that any decent editor should have caught. On one page a character pulls her blonde hair out of her face. Twenty pages later she is wearing her brown hair in a pony tail. The book is full of irritating little discrepancies like that. Olsen also seems to have an extremely negative, condescending view towards people who read books about serial killers. This book is about a serial killer, so it's mildly offensive for him to put down his audience. The characters are poorly developed and uninteresting. I would not recommend this book unless you enjoy utter stupidity.

Most of this book was fun in spite of an unlikeable protagonist and overblown prose. However, the book's ludicrous climax ruined the book for me. Since I live near the book's locale I was also irritated by how some locations retained their true identities, such as Mercer Island and Spokane, while others had their names changed. Why can't Bellingham be Bellingham? Over all, the book is a fun read if you don't mind corny writing, poor editing, and a ridiculous "solution" to some of the central mysteries of the book.

Gregg Olsen has made a name for himself as both an expert in the study of violent criminal behavior and as an author who gets into the psyche of an evildoer's motivation. A COLD DARK PLACE, his latest work, is thriller fiction but reads with an immediacy and vividness that makes it seem as if it was ripped off of a police report.

The story begins with a violent storm that at first hides an evil, unspeakable deed: the murder of three members of a model family. When Mark and Peg Martin and their son Donovan are found executed amidst the ruins of their home outside Cherrystone, Washington, suspicion turns almost immediately to the couple's teenage son, Nick, a loner who has gone missing. Police detective Emily Kenyon is assigned to the case; the more she investigates, the more convinced she becomes that Nicholas, at the very least, knows what occurred on that fateful night. Emily's stake in the case becomes personal when Jenna, her teenage daughter, disappears in Nick's company. Her pursuit of Nick leads her back to Seattle, Washington, where a host of bad memories await.

Emily's ex-husband and his (very pregnant) fiancée live in the area, and her history with the police department there ended with a tragedy that haunts her to this day. This is also the location, however, of a long-closed orphanage called Angel's Nest, which has a tie to Nick and perhaps an answer to what occurred in the middle of a tornado on the night that his family was extinguished. A deranged killer named Dylan Walker, convicted of multiple murders some two decades previously, holds at least one key to the mystery, and possibly to some others as well.

Jenna, meanwhile, is convinced of Nick's innocence and is willing to do anything she can to help him get the answers he needs regarding his past, in order to preserve his future. As Emily races to find her daughter and Nick, the answers they all seek will be found and a dramatic climax played out.

Olsen has a winning character with Emily Kenyon, a smart detective who is good at her job and with her child but is still paying for choices made in her personal life. She makes enough mistakes to stay credible and believable, and, if the excerpt from HEART OF ICE, contained in the back of A COLD DARK PLACE, is any indication, we will be seeing more of her. As with any good thriller, however, the villain of the piece defines the work, and Olsen has drawn a good one here. He also includes a variation on artificial insemination that has to be drawn from a real-world occurrence --- either that, or the man is too clever for words --- that will have readers talking for months.

If you want to be in on a new series that is a winner right out of the gate, jump on now.

It is generally accepted that fact is more compelling than fiction. But this book proves the exception to the rule. Gregg Olsen has the background of an experienced true crime author and the intimate knowledge of the criminal mind necessary to create characters that breathe on their own. The complex and interwoven plots, between crimes currently being committed and past crimes forgotten by everyone except the detectives that worked the cases, provide a tense and satisfying read that has all the hallmarks of a bestseller.

[...]

Gregg Olsen hit the bullseye with A Cold Dark Place. Suspense Magazine.com rated this an editors choice book and featured Gregg as the May Author of the Month. A Cold Dark Place is what suspense/thriller is all about. Gregg has a unique writing style that will keep you gasping for air. Gregg's extensive experience in True Crime has led him to be one of the best suspense/thriller writers out there right now. A Cold Dark Place is one of the top books of 2008.

When you open this book, be prepared for something like pushing your car to the limits on a winding road! Fast-paced twists and turns all the way to the last page! I can feel Gregg's familiarity with real people in real situations in his well developed, interesting characters; it's easy to keep track of them and the parts they play. And the true-crime, non-fiction, real-life, no-ending ending is exactly what I'd expect and what we'll probably find to be "classic Gregg Olsen" style. "Write on", Gregg!

This is the second fiction book I have read by this author within a thirty day period. It might not be worth mentioning this if not for the fact I don't like to read books by the same author back to back. But for some reason, I can't seem to get enough. If there was another fiction book by this author out there, I'd read that too. And the sad part is I can't you exactly why. I could say I love his writing style. I could explain how his words pull me in to the story. I could even say I feel the characters are telling their own story, not a single person. And all of those would be true, but there's so much more to it than that.

I was hoping after this book, I'd have more clarity to this mystery. I don't. Both books - A WICKED SNOW and A COLD DARK PLACE were serious page turners for me. The second book was way more climatic, but I had a problem with the ending. I just didn't believe it.

Another thing to sink in with this second book was Olsen's ability to write from a women's point of view and not just one, but several. This really didn't hit home until page 172 with Tina Wilson and Bonnie Jefferies. I was amazed at his ability to shift personalities with such clarity. Fantastic!

I normally read more than one book at a time. Olsen's books have caused me to drop the rest and focus on the one. I wanted to stay there until the book is done. Definitely a page turner!

I found this book to be a very interesting read. I loved the story line. I was hooked immediately! I couldn't wait to see what happened in the next chapters! I'm looking forward to reading more books by Gregg Olsen!

A tornado wreaks destruction in eastern Washington State. A killer wraps people around his little finger. A law enforcement officer, her daughter and their friends get caught up in a whirlwind of misrepresentations and lies. This book keeps the reader guessing to the end when it all wraps up in A Cold Dark Place. Don't miss Gregg Olsen's latest thriller.

This was my first Gregg Olsen book, and I was impressed, it was hard to put down. But having said that I did have some problems with it. The plot was overly complicated and there were a number of inconsistencies.
I had a big problem with the climax. SPOILER ALERT: In the bunker Emily was tied up and her gun taken from her (at least I think this was the case - it wasn't clearly explained), and suddenly out of nowhere she has her gun and is able to shoot the killer. Where did she get it from?
Also some of the loose ends were not explained particularly well.
But despite all this I think I will try another Olsen novel.