Customer Reviews

Derailed

5 star:		(95)
4 star:		(41)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

Phenomenal is the first word that comes to mind to describe this roller coaster. I once read that to write a great novel novel, you have to keep the protagonist in trouble, trouble, trouble! It couldn't have been done any more effectively. The beginning development was very believable, and a sympathetic character emerged. I liked the author's writing style immediately--he is FUNNY! Even as the book turned into a deadly serious game of suspense, I found myself laughing out loud at some of the clever turns of phrase. The plot itself has been detailed ad nauseum in these reviews, so I'll not repeat what you could read on the "book flap" but will say that it TRULY is impossible to put down. I read it in one sitting because I couldn't tear myself away. Now, if you're expecting a man's moral awakening as he learns his lesson...sorry, that is not the direction you're going in this book. And if you're expecting the totally plausible beginning to continue in the same way, forget about it, because this tale becomes so unbelievable you'll have to snicker at how ridiculous it is...but you'll keep reading. This is one to get under your belt for the sheer enjoyment of the ride. Derailed is great fun. Make a big pot of coffee before you begin, get comfortable, and start the book that will keep you wide-eyed all night! I only wish I still had it ahead of me to enjoy.

Charles Schine lives a normal life; he gets up, gets dressed, eats breakfast, kisses his wife and daughter goodbye and then he catches the 8:40 train to his job at a New York advertising agency. One day his entire life will be torn apart when he misses his train and catches the 9:00.

On the 9:00 train Charles meets Lucinda. Lucinda is mysterious and beautiful, sexy and smart, but she too is also married so Charles doesn't see anything wrong with a little harmless flirting...

Charles begins taking the 9:00 train, and each day he and Lucinda get closer and closer, until meeting on the train turns to lunch, and then dinner, and eventually a romantic encounter at a hotel, but in the blink of an eye the romantic encounter turns into a nightmare as the two suffer a sudden act of brutal violence.

Lucinda refuses to go to the police in fear of their affair being discovered, but within a short period of time their lives will dramatically changed. (...)

`Derailed' is a STUNNER! This is a well written, intense novel that will grab you and not let go. The gripping plot is packed with twists and turns galore, and that ending??? What an ending, you will be surprised. `Derailed' has it all ; complex plot, well-drawn characters, relentless suspense and a shocking climax. This is a thriller of the highest order.

James Siegel has written an amazing thriller, one that will rocket up the best-seller lists and place him alongside other heavy hitting authors in the thriller genre.

Do yourself a favor and read this novel!

Nick Gonnella

James Siegel has created a novel with shock value as its vantage point -- and I mean that in a good way. This fast-paced, engrossing and gripping thriller will have you turning the pages onto the late hours of the night.

Charles Schine lives quite an ordinary, if perfunctory, life. However, things haven't been going so well as of late. His white-collar position as creative director at an advertising agency never fails to stress him out, his daughter's childhood illness has him in a state of turmoil, and his marriage has fizzled out. But in a twist of fate he meets a beautiful stranger on a late morning train ride to Manhattan. Little had he known that meeting said woman would change the course of his life in ways he'd never envisaged...

There are some rather gruesome scenes in this novel. At first I thought some of the scenes were an attempt to shock the reader, but as the story progressed I realized that those scenes were essential, for they emphasize the ongoing terror the protagonist encounters throughout the novel. The narrative is excellent and the characterization is precise. I take one point off because the dialogue is resonant to that of a suspenseful film at times. Sometimes I got the impression that Mr. Siegel leaned the novel toward notable film script material. Other than that, Derailed is one of the most entertaining and gripping thrillers I've read in quite a while. Highly recommended...

Wow, what a book! It was a REAL thriller! Just when I thought I had it all figured out - whammo - another twist in the story. I Highly recommend this book to anyone interested in a suspensful, well-written novel. I had to force myself not to skip paragraphs because I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next! There aren't too many books around like that.

Oh, the heavy price of a dalliance. A single misstep. After experiencing DERAILED, I'll wager the temptation cannot be nearly attractive enough to stray from the straight and narrow. For me, it certainly isn't. The cost is simply too high. If you don't believe me, read this book.

Charles Schine's life isn't going too well. After 12 years on a prime advertising account, he's yanked off and given a schlock assignment, a real slap in the face --- and that's just at work. At home, he lives with the strain of his daughter's diabetes and keeping her alive, wondering how many more days she will be with them. Her illness makes her cranky and irritable, leaving him with bittersweet memories of his little girl back when she was a normal child.

To top it off, his wife doesn't turn him on anymore. They go through the motions of everyday life without a shred of joy. The outlook seems bleak. So when Charles meets Lucinda --- sexy, shapely Lucinda with legs up to there --- he dreams of escape into Lucinda's beautiful arms and not-unsubstantial charms. All of a sudden, he feels very lucky. It looks like life has seen fit to give him another turn at happiness.

As you read along, lulled into Charles's sense of blissful contentment, a nagging doubt grows all the while that it can't last. Let me tell you now, it doesn't. Things turn ugly --- utterly and extraordinarily ugly. Close on the heels of the new lovers' frenzied trysts come scenes so gruesome they slap you back to reality and beyond --- into the depths of what I imagine as Hell --- with seemingly no way out. Charles is catapulted from the height of heady infatuation into a dire situation, then into a desperate situation, then farther into a totally hopeless situation.

He experiences some small victories and hopeful recoveries, but the hole he's dug for himself threatens to bury him alive with every turn of the page. Every scheme he cooks up to free himself just digs him in deeper. To be fair, Charles is an advertising executive, not a world-wise street thug. While we may imagine the streets of New York as tough and dangerous for the unsuspecting, we probably don't imagine them this dangerous. Faced with an unthinkable solution, we wonder just how far we would go to save ourselves. The author presents one man's answer. How can Charles ever get himself out? Just watch him.

DERAILED is a book that scares, angers, repulses and leaves you hoping for a happy ending. Don't get me wrong; it's not all unpleasantness. It's a page-turner if ever there was one. Sometimes I wanted to leave the room and the book with it, but the mystery always drew me back. While I can't picture myself falling into such circumstances, the plot as it unfolds could really happen. It is an entirely plausible story --- and that's what really frightened me.

--- Reviewed by Kate Ayers

This is the best thriller I've read in years. I was captivated from the very first chapter. It's got enough twists and turns to keep you on the edge throughout the entire story, which ended up being surprisingly short given the fact that I could not seem to put the book down.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a suspenseful thriller. It's going to be to be at the top of my gift list for a while!

I was extremely fortunate to get my hands on an advance copy of DERAILED from a friend who runs a bookstore. She gave it to me saying, "this is the best thriller I've read in years," which is high praise indeed, as she is acknowledged as our city's most discriminating and knowledgeable reader of suspense fiction. Her recommendations are gospel around here. Fortunately, DERAILED is as good as her word. From the first chapter, when we are hurled into the main character's dilemma, the book produces a powerful magnetic force that kept me riveted to its pages for the day that it took me to read it. Siegel's storytelling is masterful and his writing style is mesmerizing. This is the thriller that I will be recommending to *everyone* for months to come.

or at least she becomes so to Charles Schine, after an encounter on the train. Charles' marriage and job have him off-center, and he's worried about his daughter, who has a severe and risky case of juvenile diabetes (an interesting and informative portrait of how devastating it can be!). The attraction with Lucinda is mutual, but during their first assignation, they are the victims of an unspeakable crime.

You'll be dazed by how quickly Charles' life starts to go down the drain, and, while he's sometimes hard to like, you'll find yourself rooting for him to try and get out from under the devastation that has overtaken his life.

Siegel's a great new voice! Big 5 stars- a page turner!

Life is quite predictable for Charles Schine. Every weekday he catches the 8:43 train leaving Babylon, Long Island for Manhattan where he works as an advertiser. At home and at work Charles bored as he feels choked by the needs of his wife and his diabetic daughter, and the demands of his job. With his wife off to her job, the impossible occurs as Charles misses his commute due to his daughter's last second needs. He catches the 9:05, but that twenty-two minutes changes his life as he meets the also married Lucinda.

Charles now rides the 9:05 as he harmlessly flirts with Lucinda. This leads to a hotel rendezvous, but his first affair goes astray when an armed man breaks into his room, beats up Charles, and rapes Lucinda. His spiral into hell spins further out of control when someone tries to blackmail Charles, but instead of paying the fee, he hires a thug. His effort to return to suburban normalcy only sends Charles deeper into the quagmire with his life rapidly falling apart.

DERAILED is an exhilarating thriller, as the numerous woes (much self-inflicted) that pile on Charles would exacerbate Job and maybe some readers. Charles starts out as a sympathetic character, but his irresponsible actions to cover the hole he dug will change the reactions of the audience towards him, the accomplishment of the novel. James Siegel paints quite a picture of a person making one judgment error out of the need of having something joyous in his life that leads to a series of calamities and a powerful action packed character study for fans.

Harriet Klausner

Advertising attempts to create a phony moment and make it appear real. But it is only a moment: a print ad, a billboard, a thirty or sixty second slice of a life we are supposed to wish we had. They do not attempt to sustain the illusion. This book, written by an advertising executive, starts out with a intriguing, if not particularly well-written, bang. But it promptly spirals deliriously out of illusion into plain old stupidity.

I never felt anything other than grotesquely manipulated while reading this. Then, when the saving plot twist comes (no spoiler here, as the book is written in the first person, so I knew he wasn't going to die) I thought of the old National Lampoon response to writing yourself into a corner "Suddenly, everyone was run over by a truck." That's what happened here, as the prestidigitator tried to pull a hippo out of his hat and flopped. "Oh, come on....." was my response, and I don't think you're supposed to feel that when reading a suspense novel.

Numerous technical problems, such as how do two authors writing separate versions of the same tale have such a uniform style, as well as cliches, stereotypes and cardboard characters all combine to leave one not just unfulfilled, but irritated. Less than nothing here, as the illusionist could not maintain his promising deception.