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4.0 out of 5 stars
Good introduction to the writing of Campbell Armstrong, March 21, 2001
This is the first novel of Campbell Armstrong's that I have read & it will not be the last. It truly was a mystery that did not reveal itself until the last couple of chapters. Part of the intrigue is feeling the frustration of Harry Tennant (the main character of the story) as he tries desprately to claw away the cobwebs that envelop his memory. What appears to be a drug induced amnesia from Harry's alternative lifestyle in 60's San Francisco, gradually reveals itself to be more sinister. It should be mentioned that Harry had been living a recluse's lifestyle in upstate New York until his world collapses and a journalist, Alison Seagrove enters (following a human interest story), thrusting a photo containing him and four fellow hippies that he has no recollection of. What follows is a trek accross the USA that has significant ports of call throughout for Harry & Alison,with the former slowly but surely putting the puzzle of the photograph's relevance together. Reading passages a second time at the completion of the novel, I picked up hints that led to Harry's condition which were very well disguised. All in all a tremendous read.
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1.0 out of 5 stars
A response to a genre mystery, September 28, 2005
I'm not a big "genre" reader--I picked this up for a dollar in Queenstown, Md. because of the hippie/CIA type blurb on the back. I tore through it with relish, but I won't be repeating this genre experience any time soon. I just wanted to quote a line from Ice-T that encapsulates a better path for today's writers:
Now I'm known and respected as creator of the crime rhyme
But my lyrics are deeper, because I'm
The one that makes you think before you make a move
I wrote "Pusher," "High-Rollers," and "Colors" just to prove
That I could kick game, and drop knowledge at the same time...
Armstrong, as far as I can tell, certainly kicks "mystery genre game," but he does not drop deeper knowledge about this very interesting subject.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
LUMINOUS SETTING, MURKY PLOT, March 16, 2002
Concert Of Ghosts is a well written psychologically complex, stunningly atmospheric page turner which starts with an absurd premise and gets even nuttier; a tense, tingling puzzler.
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