Customer Reviews

Final Breath

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I am a big fan of Kevin O'Brien's books - although I have not always been kind in reviewing his books.

I am thrilled to report that Final Breath is the perfect example of just how good an author O'Brien is.

Sydney is a newsreporter - focusing on doing 'feel good/good samaritan' stories for a news show. She has featured some wonderful people, who have done wonderful things. Although it no longer appears to be common knowledge, Sydney knows of what she speaks as she was also a hero when she was younger - having saved a young boy from a raging fire.

But now, it would appear that the people featured on Sydney's spots are being brutally murdered and as Sydney finally starts to put the pieces together, she comes to realize that she and her entire family are in danger of being killed by a madman.

As I read the first chapter of this book, I felt myself immediately enthralled. This is always a great sign for me - if I can get hooked into the first chapter, then I JUST KNOW that this book is going to be a good read.

As I progressed through the next few chapters, O'Brien brings in all kinds of twists and turns, including an intriguing sidestory about ghosts living in Sydney's house - this added a really nice touch of the supernatural (not so much that it turned the story into more of a horror book - but just enough to make it tingling).

I just could not figure out how all the pieces fit together and its only toward the very end of the book that it all makes sense.

I loved, loved this book. This is what a 'real' thriller should be - O'Brien is in fine form with this one and I can't believe I have to wait another year for the next one!!!

Sydney Jordan is a newswoman for a weekly television show called Movers & Shakers. It is a show about normal people who have done heroic acts of kindness for others. It seems that someone does not appreciate all these different people getting their fifteen minutes of fame. In fact this person knows just how everyone should be rewarded for their acts. You know how you make someone laugh so hard they can't stop. Some times that person will say "Stop it you are killing me", well that's exactly what the killer has in mind but this situation won't be no laughing matter.

Someone is killing off one by one everyone that has ever been interviewed by Sydney for Movers & Shakers. Each time someone dies, that just means the killer is one step closer to killing his ultimate victim Sydney and when the times comes for him to make Sydney a star, he will take great pleasure on acting out the final scene. Because the killer will make sure that the last words coming out of Sydney's mouth is her Final Breath.

One of my favorite genres to read is suspense thrillers and it will always be one of my favorites, thanks to outstanding, wonderful authors like Kevin O'Brien. Mr. O'Brien really knows how to keep his readers sitting on the edge of their seats filled with anticipation for what comes next. I first discovered this author when I read The Killing Spree and ever since then I have become hooked. Whenever I hear of a new book being released by Kevin I know without a doubt that I will be purchasing it. I know that picking up a Kevin O'Brien book is worth my while as well as a smart investment. I will leave you with just one final thought to ponder "Always watch your back, because you never know when you might draw your Final Breath"!

O'Brien has done it again. It is nice to be able to read new releases from my favorite authors and their work is still fresh. Final Breath kept me guessing and had a nice twist at the end. O'Brien remains one of my faves and I will be looking for his next release.

Kevin O'Brien delivers once again, producing yet another page turner guaranteed to keep you waiting for his next. If you're a fan of Harlan Coben, Greg Iles, Dan Brown (earlier work)--you'll love what Kevin produces. Would I buy his next book?? YOU BETCHA'!! CAN'T WAIT for the next one---truly an understated talent in the literary world.

Well, another great book by my fav author Kevin O'Brien. I always know that a book written by Kevin will be a winner and I was not disappointed. I was completely engrossed in Sydney's and Eli's life as if they were my own family.

I loved this book as I have all of Kevin's that I have read.I would recommend this read to anyone who wants a "can't put down" kind of book and one that keeps you on edge.

Keep up the supurb work Kevin and I will look forward to your next thriller later in the year.

A fan forever, Nancy

I have enjoyed every book I've read by Kevin O'Brien and 'FINAL BREATH' was no exception. It was an interesting read with an interesting heroine who was not completely helpless, a trait I like. I was somewhat disapointed about two thirds through the book as I saw a twist in the Sydney/Joe relationship coming that I thought was just going to be hokey, but the author, while sticking to the hokey idea I saw coming, did not resolve it the way I thought he might. Also, I guessed the killer and the motive early on. This however did not take away from my enjoyment of the book. Kevin O'Brien creates interesting characters and gives plenty of action to keep a story moving. This is another good read and one that I would happily recommend. I have to say that he delivers again and is one of the more dependable authors around, knowing that picking up a Kevin O'Brien book is a pretty safe choice for entertainment.

This was my first read from this author and I have to say it won't be the last. Excellent character detail - the twists and turns in the storyline, as well as the introduction of different situations throughout the book, kept my interest and made me want to keep reading to see what was going to happen next. This was not your standard serial-killer novel. The author wove a tale that was difficult to predict and it kept my attention throughout. Suspenseful from beginning to end, you'll have a hard time putting it down.

Kevin O'Brien and I both grew up watching a lot of the same classic television programs --- "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," "The Twilight Zone," "Thriller" --- designed from Minute One to scare the pants off of the viewer. There are moments some 40-plus years later that I still recall, and I'm sure O'Brien does as well. If those shows were a staple of network TV today, I can assure you that he would be writing for them. O'Brien has penned a number of thrillers that have in common a high body count secondary to horrific murders committed by seemingly omnipresent killers who appear capable of striking at will --- in other words, containing everything we love to see in a mystery, thriller or horror novel. With deceptive ease, he puts a new twist on a genre staple, so that the only place you know for sure he is going to take you is to the edge of your seat, and maybe off of it.

FINAL BREATH, O'Brien's latest work, combines complex plotting with strong, unique characterization to produce another unforgettable story. The novel proceeds primarily along two tracks, both of which center on Sydney Jordan, an A-List television reporter who finds she is involuntarily at the nexus of a series of brutal murders. Jordan is the host of a television feature called "Movers & Shakers," which spotlights everyday people who, when confronted with a dangerous or life-threatening situation, have stood up, taken a risk and saved a life, much as Jordan herself did several years previously when she rescued a young boy from a fire at great personal cost to herself.

Jordan is already reeling emotionally from her relocation with her son Eli from Chicago to Seattle, due to her sudden separation from her husband, Joe, a policeman she met when he was a guest on "Movers & Shakers." Worst of all, it appears that someone is targeting individuals who Sydney has featured on the program for murder, brutally killing them in ways consistent with the manner in which they saved others. Adding to Sydney's already significant troubles is Eli's increasingly distant behavior, which she blames on his sudden separation from his father. She is correct but only up to a point.

What she doesn't know is that Eli has been communicating at night with the spirit of a boy close to his own age who was murdered in the very room where Eli now sleeps and who will not rest until the killer is brought to justice. Eli, barely a teenager, has few resources to pursue an investigation, but utilizes what little he has in order to bring peace to the spirit that haunts his dreams, little guessing the danger that will result from his success --- even as Sydney slowly comes to realize that the shadowy killer who has been slaughtering her previous guests has targeted her for his final murder.

O'Brien keeps things moving throughout FINAL BREATH. The identity of the "Movers & Shakers" killer could be one of several people, and in all probability he will keep you guessing as to his or her identity until the very end of this energized tale. But even if you solve the mystery early on, the wild night ride that O'Brien will take you on will be worth every page you turn. Notwithstanding its generous length, you will want to read FINAL BREATH in one sitting, even if it keeps you up all night.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

2 AND 1/2 STARS

I've read all of Kevin O'Brien's books, but this one didn't really work for me. I never try and predict endings or major plot points, but I knew every swerve and twist before it happened. It didn't help, of course, that the back of the book gave away major story points for the first two-thirds of the book, but even still, Final Breath is one of the weaker titles by Kevin O'Brien, although you'd never know that reading the other reviews. I'm very confused about that, but to each his own, I suppose.

I didn't think this book was very suspenseful and the characters were not as likable or as three dimensional as in O'Brien's other books. I suppose my biggest problem was the central story concept of heroes profiled on a television show getting killed off one by one. It just seemed so dull and unimaginative. Some of the character's actions felt forced - like Eli crawling out on the ledge of a four-story building at night for no apparent reason. Also, Sydney's overly suspicious investigations into her husband's police activity also seemed out of character for a couple that has been married for fourteen years. It just didn't feel natural. To cause such a big stink over a few thousand dollars from a bunch of crooks seemed very melodramatic. I also thought the whole supernatural angle didn't fit into the story organically and only served as a distraction. It was as if the author didn't feel he had enough material or ideas by just having only the serial killer storyline.

O'Brien's writing here, as always, is smooth and quick, but I felt one could be just as satisfied reading the first 50 pages and then the last 75 and get just as much out of reading it as if they invested themselves in the entire 436 pages. New readers of Kevin O'Brien should skip this and go to his better work such as Make Them Cry, Left For Dead, or One Last Scream.

I have been a fan of Kevin O'Brien's books since "The Actors" and "Only Son" where he has provided non-stop suspense and entertainment.

With "Final Breath" Mr. O'Brien should no longer be considered a good author but now an excellent author. While I enjoyed all his other novels, this is his best work to date. He has written a thriller that will keep your interest throughout while trying to guess who and what's next. Much like his other books, you won't want to put it down until is's finished. It's a keeper