Customer Reviews

Cul-de-Sac

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

David Martin strikes again. I am completely in awe of his creation of Growler, a maniacal serial killer with an interesting twist. I was so caught up in this story that there was no way I could put it down and ended up finishing it in one afternoon. Martin's writing is clear, and he drew me in with all the twists and turns to this story.
Donald Growler knows he has been wronged. He has just spent several years of his life in prison for a crime he says he never committed. Now he's out, and he's in search of all the people who caused him to be locked up. I was squirming in my chair with the descriptions of some of the more creative murders in this novel. The plot twists are amazing, and there were quite a few surprises. I love that Teddy Camel makes another appearance; he was a great character in Martin's LIE TO ME (another incredible serial killer novel).
Martin is not for the squeamish! He is very detailed, and his bad guys are downright brutal. But he is a master of plot and character development. This is well worth the time to read!

The dialogue is right out of NYPD Blue (a compliment, of course). The discussion by a couple of the characters on whether Growler's name is pronounded Grow-ler or Growl-er is hilarious. Also appreciated by this reader is that Martin gives a plausible rationalization for Annie returning to Cul De Sac, knowing that a killer is probably waiting for her. So instead of saying to myself, "Lady, don't go in there!", I'm saying, "Yeah, I can see why she'd do that." I liked that he cared enough about the reader to realize that we'd need a reason for her risky behavior.

I wasn't riveted, fascinated or spell bound by this tawdry little book. I gave it two stars instead of one because I love characters that are just a little out of sync with the rest of the world. Annie and Teddy were interesting as lead characters alebit you never understood why their brief summer affair couldn't have ended with something close to reality. Teddy didn't want to marry Annie so they broke up.... how trite given the nature of their summer together. Annie finds out she's pregnant and doesn't tell Teddy at the time but years later he's apologizing for not being there for her when she was pregnant. So when do you think the author might let it slip in that Annie had told him she got pregnant that summer. The whole stupid book is full of this sort of crap. Starting things and then forgetting how to end them and what they relate to. It's so ridiculous especially the 'bad guy'. So abused and taken advantage of by everyone you start hoping he gets to kill everyone. If you want me to feel sorry for the rat finks that lied at his trial then you gotta do better than this. I hated to see the way he died given he never did a thing to deserve the horrible things done to him while in prison for a murder he didn't commitOh yeah, just to let you know, there is no big mystery here. You know who's doing what from the first chapter. What you can't possibly know is that the author doesn't have anything else to really say.

From the moment that Martin hits the unsuspecting reader with the "head" gag in the first chapter, Cul-De-Sac had me well and truely hooked. An absolutely spiffing thriller that never loses momentum, punctuated with the occasional exceedingly nasty scene, and all wrapped up with a huge dose of hilarious gallows humour, makes for an absolutely unputdownable page-turner. I can't wait for Tarantino (or possibly Cronenberg?) to make the movie!

The majority of my favorite books have me well-hooked by the end of the first chapter. David Martin's latest nailed me by the end of the first page. And kept me thoroughly riveted right through the end.

Cul-De-Sac involves a very burned-out ex-cop, whose life is turned inside-out by the sudden appearance of his sensuous ex-girlfriend, the fairly freckled Annie. There's also the ex-girlfriend's husband (an ex-Jesuit). Most notably, there is Growler -- an ex-con who, after serving time for a murder he didn't commit, goes on a bloody rampage of vengence against all those who put him away. Growler's prison experiences have left him with a serious grudge as well as a new set of teeth; he's a man on a mission and in addition to wreaking some extremely violent havoc, is in desperate search of...yup, you guessed it; an elephant. Really.

This book made me laugh out loud. It also made me avert my eyes from the page occasionally; while some scenes are very funny, be warned that the violence is not for the faint of heart.

I've bought four more copies for friends thus far, because I won't let mine out of my sight. I've also scrambled to get my hands on all of Martin's previous books (only partially successful); Cul-De-Sac takes gets my vote as Martin's best for its sheer audicity, outrageousness, and great, great writing.

If you're a fan of Pulp Fiction or Twin Peaks, Cul-De-Sac will thrill you

To say that this book is following the same formula as Martin's previous Detective Teddy Camel thriller is an understatement. Both Lie to Me and Cul-De-Sac deal with a killer who is recently out of prison where horrible things happened to them, both deal with an extremely gruesome crime right off the bat, and both have layered mysteries and characters that are more than meets the eye. I suppose it's a case where the old line "If something ain't broke don't fix it" applies, because it didn't bother me one bit.

Cul-De-Sac is even more graphic and disturbing than Lie to Me, and we really get to know Teddy Camel more as a character. Annie Milton, was a wonderful counter to Teddy and their history is tumultuous and what was touching is that despite the years and circumstances, when reunited you get the sense that they feel as if no time has passed between them. The entire dynamics of their relationship was well thought and believable. In fact, the characters in general were better written and more thoughtful in this book. Even the villain (Growler) who did awful and positively sick things through out the story had moments where I could sympathize with him.

Though Cul-De-Sac is not a perfect book, several things are overlooked because it was a page turning thriller that kept me thoroughly engrossed with gory acts, legitimate mystery, dark humor, a Bogart style hero and a satisfying ending. I found myself wanting to read more about Teddy Camel and his crime solving mysteries and would automatically order another if I should happen to come across it in the future.

Once you start reading this book, you cannot put it down. It is start to finish suspension and action. I highly reccomend this book!

David Lozell Martin has created some memorable characters and vividly realistic scenes in his gruesome and gory novel, "Cul-De-Sac". Washed-up cop Teddy Camel (first introduced in Martin's "Lie To Me") comes to the aid of his former lover as she tries to save her husband from the evil clutches of the mysterious house known as Cul-De-Sac and one of it's former residents, convicted murderer Donald Growler.

Growler, you see, has revenge on his mind. Revenge in the form of grisly murders of the former residents of Cul-De-Sac who helped to frame him for the death of his cousin. But was Growler really framed or is this just the warped perception of a psychotic mind? As Camel and Annie Milton try to save Annie's husband, they end up finding out more about the original Cul-De-Sac murder then they bargained for.

Without giving away too much of the plot, let me just say that this book has a number of plot twists that will keep the reader guessing. And, while the finale follows a somewhat expected path, even it has an interesting final twist. As long as the reader is not easily disturbed by florid scenes of violence, then this will be a satisfying and extremely quick "read". Fans of Richard Laymon and Rex Miller will no doubt flock to other novels by David Martin.

Highly recommended is the aforementioned, "Lie To Me", plus "Tap, Tap" and "Bring Me Children" all written by Martin.

David Lozell Martin has created some memorable characters and vividly realistic scenes in his gruesome and gory novel, "Cul-De-Sac". Washed-up cop Teddy Camel (first introduced in Martin's "Lie To Me") comes to the aid of his former lover as she tries to save her husband from the evil clutches of the mysterious house known as Cul-De-Sac and one of it's former residents, convicted murderer Donald Growler.

Growler, you see, has revenge on his mind. Revenge in the form of grisly murders of the former residents of Cul-De-Sac who helped to frame him for the death of his cousin. But was Growler really framed or is this just the warped perception of a pychotic mind? As Camel and Annie Milton try to save Annie's husband, they end up finding out more about the original Cul-De-Sac murder then they bargained for.

Without giving away too much of the plot, let me just say that this book has a number of plot twists that will keep the reader guessing. And, while the finale follows a somewhat expected path, even it has an interesting final twist. As long as the reader is not easily disturbed by florid scenes of violence, then this will be a satisfying and extremely quick "read". Fans of Richard Laymon and Rex Miller will no doubt flock to other novels by David Martin.

Highly recommended is the aforementioned, "Lie To Me", plus "Tap, Tap" and "Bring Me Children" all written by Martin.

David Martin does it again, another homerun. Is is possible that jail can change a person? Take someone who's innocent of murder then spent several years in jail, and when he comes out, he's a changed man. This is the story of Doland Growler. Grolwer (you have to love that name) had to spend years in jail, and he was changed froever. Now that he's out, he wants to find the ones who set him up for murder and was forced to do unspeakable things in jail. But now Growler is out, and it's times to make the giulty pay.
Don't think that that the above spoils anything. What I said is mention in the back of the book. I left out a lot, trust me.
Martin gives the reader many chills with the unique murders that Growler commits. Martin also has the ability to keep the reader glued to the page, and actually forced the reader to put the book down. This book has a lot of plot twiwts and excellent characters that will heep the reader hooked to the very last page.
If you know of Martin's works, then you need to get this book, and other book Mratin wrote. Now, if you haven't read any books my Martin, then you must start it. You may want to read a book called "Lie to Me", before you read this book. One character in Lie to me, shows up here. Start this book, you won't be sorry.