Customer Reviews

Desert Places

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I have to admit that I saw this book jacket and it alone scared me, so after reading the reviews here I decided to spend the money on the hardcover and try it. I was some of the best money that I ever spent. I was blown away by the stoyline and really began to feel for Andy. His characters were believable, scary as that may be, and the plot was think with suspense. I found myself reading huge chunks of the book at a time and it was a very fast read. Was it gory - yes - is it for everyone - no - BUT this is a well written book that has the potential to capture a huge following of fan waiting for the sequel. This book did not contain anything new in terms of violence or blood. The violence was second to a plot that was explosive. Give it a try - I think you will be a fan of this debut as well.

Robert Frost's poem provides a title and an epigram to this engrossing first novel, the pulse pounding tale of an outwardly civilized man forced into acting in an uncivilized (to say the least) manner. That man is Andrew Thomas, best selling author of suspense novels with titles like Blue Murder and The Scorcher. Thomas lives the good life until the day he receives a letter in the mail, telling him that a woman's body has been buried on his property, a body soaked in the author';s blood. Confirming this sad fact, Thomas is forced to play his tormentor's twisted game, one which requires him to make a journey to Wyoming, where he ultimately must confront his own mortality, and question his morality and sanity. Thomas confronts a question most never have to face: just how far is he willing to go to survive? The answer is as disturbing to him as it will be to readers.

Desert Places is one of those books that you don't discuss in detail with those you recommend it to for fear of diminishing the impact the book will have on them. It's also the kind of book which induces those who have already read it to stand over the shoulder of current readers, asking, ""Did you get to the part where...?" Because of that, it is almost criminal to reveal further plot points. Suffice it to say that Crouch successfully manipulates plot elements previously explored in such classic thrillers as James Dickey's Deliverance and David Morrell's Long Lost, producing a novel whose intensity is sometimes almost too hard to take. Fast paced, surprising, at turns tragic and graphic, Desert Places will take readers to places that, given a choice, they'd probably avoid. Finding themselves in those places via Crouch's surprisingly accomplished prose, however, they can't help but linger a bit, looking over the grim landscape in morbid fascination.

I hated it, but I couldn't quit reading it! This book was one of the scariest things I've read since Kiss the Girls. I can't wait to get it out of my house so I don't have to look at the creepy guy on the cover anymore. It's a book you're even afraid to put next to your bedside table. It has a life of its own. Darn scary book. If you like terror and fright, this is the book for you!

If you like your thrillers crammed full of constant tension, wicked violence, and hair-pin twists and turns, pick up a copy of DESERT PLACES.

Crouch doesn't wade into the serial killer genre; he jumps in with both feet. The antagonist of this novel, the brilliant but psychotic Orson, is one of the creepiest maniacs in recent memory.

Fans of early John Sandford and James Patterson will find a lot to like here, as will afficionados of Koontz and Richard Laymon. There have been some great serial killer novels this year, like Jack Kerley's The Hundredth Man and Jeff Lindsay's Darkly Dreaming Dexter. I'd put this in the same league.

My only complaint is it went by too fast. I eagerly await the follow-up.

Blake Crouch, Desert Places (St. Martin's, 2003)

Is it me, or does the name "Blake Crouch" just scream nom de plume to you? One almost wonders if Mr. Crouch hasn't cooked up a little semi-autobiographical tale here. But that aside...

Desert Places, Blake Crouch's debut novel, shows us an author with a great grasp of character, pacing, and plot, and perhaps not enough of an editing team. The novel roars to a start when successful thriller novelist Andrew Thomas gets an anonymous piece of mail telling him a body's buried on his property, his blood is on the victim, his fingerprints are on the murder weapon, and he has twenty-four hours to verify all this and call the real killer. This done, said real killer leads him into a rather ingenious trap, from which Mr. Thomas must escape in the most interesting of ways.

And so far, so good. We've covered about half the novel. There's also another really strong section at the end. But, just like Saving Private Ryan, you get stuck with this middle portion that drags. It's the shortest part of the novel, but it's also the most interminable. To Crouch's credit, he does wait for long, tedious setup until after the reader is already hooked, but it's still there, and could probably have been compressed into fewer pages than it actually took.

That said, the stronger parts of this novel are well worth reading, and they go by extremely quickly. That it dips in quality halfway through can be gotten past, if you're expecting it. Definitely one to check out, and an author to keep an eye on. *** ½

This book grabbed me in the first few pages and took me on a roller-coaster ride clear to the end. It's not often a book starts with such a bang and is able to maintain the momemtum to the last page. Desert Places is such a book.

Andrew, a famous horror author gets a letter in the mail instructing him to call the phone number included in the letter by a certain time period. If he fails to comply, the police will find a dead body,buried on his property, murdered with a knife from Andrew kitchen and Andrews blood on the body. Thus starts the ride of Andrews life. Will Andrew survive events that are about to take place, will he trade places with the killer, or will he lose his life in an attempt to stop the madness?

This book was exciting, suspenseful, and frightening. Without giving all the fun away, let's just say that Andrew soon discovers exactly what a human being is capable of under the right circumstances.

Blake Crouch has created two characters who you find yourself cheering for and hating. He keeps you on the edge of your seat by keeping the action moving and fresh. The story never bogs down. Crouch avoids the trap of becoming repetitive and boring. He gets right to the meat of the story.

This is a book that is well worth your time. Dare to enter the desert with Andrew and be prepared for the ride of your life.

Relaxing on the deck of his secluded, wood-bounded home after a long day at the keyboard, successful author Andrew Thomas goes through his mail--a phone bill and a stampless envelope which he suspects may be fan mail, delivered by hand. It isn't. The envelope contains a typewritten letter, only one paragraph long: "There is a body buried on your property," he reads, "covered in your blood." Thomas is directed to dig up the mouldering corpse and retrieve something from the dead woman's pocket. If he doesn't, whoever wrote the letter will feed information to the police that incriminates Thomas. A bad end to a productive day, but things get much worse for our hero from here.

Desert Places starts with a bang and doesn't let up for the next hundred-odd pages, at which point there is a section break and the reader can start breathing again, check his or her pulse, and assess the likelihood that the closet door is ajar because a psychopath is hiding behind it with a serated knife. (Probably not, but you never know.) The book is gruesome in parts. If you don't like the occasional brain-splattered windshield in your reading, as well as cruelty toward men, women, children, and animals, you may not want to pick this one up. But if you do open the book--if only to get that scary-looking guy on the cover to stop staring at you--you won't be able to put it down.

Reviewed by Debra Hamel, author of Trying Neaira: The True Story of a Courtesan's Scandalous Life in Ancient Greece

I have read many many serial killer thrillers, and this one was told in such a unique and complex but uncomplicated way to be a true original. I have never felt compelled to review a book here before, but I had to with this one. I wouldn't recommend reading before bedtime though.

I've never been into the slasher/thriller genre, but when I read the synopsis of this debut novel by Blake Crouch, I had to try it...and I'm glad I did!

Andrew Thomas is a successful writer of, what else, thrillers who has just completed his latest novel and is living his dream life. All that changes when he receives an anonymous note that directs him to the body of a missing teacher - who is buried on his property and covered in his blood. What follows is a descent into desperation and murder that will surely chill you. There is also an interesting subtext about the difference between the desire to kill that is in people's hearts and the people who actually commit the murder that's in their hearts.

While there were some horrifying scenes of carnage in the story, it is the randomness of the victims and emotions of the captors that will make you want to make sure you're locks are bolted. The only complaint I have is that the ending was a little too pat...while reading the conclusion, I could definitely envision the story as a typical Hollywood slasher movie.

Other than that, if you are looking for a book to raise your hackles, then look no further. The scariest part is that this is a book of potential reality - and the fact that there really are sick people capable of committing these crimes out in the world is what chilled me the most.

Thriller Writer Andrew Thomas goes out to his mailbox and finds a note that had not been delivered by the postman. The note tells him that there is a woman's body buried on his property and that there is enough evidence to convict him of her murder. He also learns from the note that in there is a phone number in the pocket of the woman's jeans. Andrew, of course, is supposed to dig up the body, get the note and call the number, or else life as he knows it will be over. He does dig up the body and even so, life as he knew it, was over.

For sure this is a dark and disturbing, oftentimes gross out to the max novel. That said, it's a good and teriffic story. There is plenty here for both fans of Stephen King and Michael Connelly to sink their teeth into. Yes, if you are squeemish, you might want to read with the lights on, but it's worth it. Mr. Blake Crouch builds a solid foundation, strong characters, then blows up the foundation, leaving the characters to flounder in a sea of violence. There is suspense here, plenty of that. Terror too. There are plot twists galore in this fast-paced ride that will leave you aching for more. Well, if the ride doesn't scare you to death first.