Customer Reviews

On Off

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

As a fan of McCullough's _Tim_ (one of my all-time favorite books), and also of _The Thorn Birds_ and _The Ladies of Missalonghi_, I was incredibly surprised to spot this book at the bookstore. That didn't stop me, of course, from buying it immediately.

Briefly, the book takes place in 1965 in Connecticut and follows a detective, Carmine, as he attempts to solve a "multiple murder" case that is closely tied to the heavily endowed neurological research center, the "Hug," in the earliest days of forensic science and criminal profiling. This is a difficult case with many details and characters, and the climax and resolution, along with a surprise twist, occur in the last few pages.

McCullough is expertly detailed and accurate (from what I could tell), from the intricacies of neurological research to the 1960s setting and chronology. She is an excellent writer, but I agree with another review that pointed out that the first part of the book was overwritten - I was surprised to find quite so many details about a woman's outfit coming from a male detective, even if it was explained by one sentence, that a detective had to be observant of everything. Also, in the beginning, some descriptions are overdone. McCullough does fall into stride, however, and the writing isn't an issue within a few chapters.

Like other reviewers, I found this book to be impossible to put down - I read it in a little more than a day, even with working full-time. The story never stumbles or bores, and the characters, even though there are a lot of them, are easy to know and keep track of.

My biggest criticism of the book is the same as that of other reviewers, that there are a few red herrings and details that are not explained or tied up by the end of the story. Although I understood the overall outcome and general motive by the end of the book, I was left with many unanswered questions, such as the Hug's specific involvement and why the crimes were committed in the exact way that they were.

Other than the niggling of those questions, I really enjoyed the thrill of this book, and am wondering if there will be a sequel.

Before Collen McCullough became Australia's most famous novellist, she was a neuroscientist who worked in many areas, including teaching at Yale before the release of her first novel "Tim" (which is just beautiful). From there she went on to many great books, and this her latest, is quite a departure from the norm. It concerns a serial killer in the 1960s who leads the local police a merry chase, leaving apparently no clues, and yet who appears to be associated with a neurological research centre named colloquially "the Hug". It is this latter connection that gives Ms McCullough the opportunity to revisit her past.

It is an easy read, and the characters are all well defined and quite interesting in themselves. However, there is a little something missing which is hard to define. For one thing, apart from a small twist which I must confess that I didn't see coming, I had figured out "who done it" about half way through, which can be frustrating as you are then waiting for the police to come to the same conclusions as you. And there are some small red herrings that are never quite resolved to my satisfaction, and an odd sub-plot relating to African Amercian rights which is a little distracting and strangely unsatisfying. But again, readers of murder mystery do like to try and figure out who the killer is - its just that I am rarely succesful in this area - usually figuring it out as the police do.

All in all it is an interesting read, but if you want something truly wonderful by Ms McCullough, go for her first and best "Tim" - you won't regret it.

As I was reading this book I was planning to rate it with 5 stars, describe it as one of the best ever, and check the library for her other books. Her writing talent is marvelous - there were many sentences and short passages that I re-read just to savor the language. McCullough's serial killer suspects, primarily the scientists and other staff at a research facility, all have their little secrets, hideaways, peculiarities, history, making this a book with quite a few "bad guy" possibilities. The problem for me came around the last 1/3 of the book. The killer(s) changed methods, which was never explained by McCullough. S/he/they started leaving the corpses around other suspects' property, which she never developed. The police zeroed in on the probable killer(s) too soon to maintain the suspense. The cover blurb, promised a "terrifying and unexpected twist" on the last page; the twist was neither terrifying nor particularly unexpected. However, I must admit given the knowledge that there would be a final twist I spent much of the book trying to predict it and came up with quite a few possibilities.
Nonetheless, this is a beautifully written book, and I look forward to more McCullough mysteries.

What a departure this is for Colleen McCullough. Best known for The Thorn Birds and her historical writings, this book journeys into the genre of the serial killer thriller and the brutality of this excursion is one that will leave the reader horrified and disgusted, but quickly turning the pages to discover the identity and motivation of the murderous monster capable of committing such appalling crimes against innocent teenage females.

The story begins in October 1965 with the gruesome discovery of the torso of a young girl found at a neurological research center in Connecticut. This is back in the days before we coined the term "serial killer" or utilized DNA testing as an aid in crime solving. The protagonist of the piece is one Lieutenant Carmine Delmonico, an old fashion sleuth, who continually seems to be a few steps behind the clever murderer. His suspects are a myriad of research center employees and directors, each with obsessions and varied quirks as well as a few camouflaged secrets.

The killer is devious, driven and bold and the outcry from the media and terrified parents of potential future victims makes the Lieutenant's job a real tightrope walk.

Readers who are turned off by scenes of torture and rape should steer clear of On/Off. If, however, you would like to use your wits to see if you can arrive at the complete solution to the puzzle and can "hang in there" until the last page you will be presented with an ending that will leave you agape.

Colleen McCullough is at her best when she writes sweeping epic novels that span generations. I found On, Off to be too much in a short period of time. I got lost with her introduction of the "suspects," one after the other, and as each suspect was revisited later in the book I had to flip back to refresh my memory as to who each one was. The ending was odd, and I didn't completely understand it. I felt it didn't tie up all the loose ends or answer all the questions, and in fact didn't quite make sense with a plot point that had been established before, namely, that an opthamologist had confirmed the "sister's" "blindness."

The subplot of a Black Panther-like group protesting the killings was unnecessary. I felt it was a contrivance to eliminate the murderer before he went to trial.

It was a good first effort, but Ms. McCullough needs more practice to perfect her forary into this new genre.

Colleen McCullough is an amazing author, I have liked everything of hers that I have read, however I am the first to admit that she is a difficult author. I have noticed that when I begin one of her novels, if I haven't read any of her writing for a while, I am put off by her prose style, and the admittedly very stilted way in which she writes dialogue. Much of it, though, seems to be a question of accepting and getting into the rhythm of her stylized way of writing. Once I get accustomed to it, I find her books to be very interesting. "On, Off" was no exception. It is an exciting mystery story about a serial killer who stalked teenaged girls in Connecticut in the 1960s. Unlike some other novels in the genre ("Silence of the Lambs" for example), this is less of a thriller and more an old-school whodunit, with a unique and distinctive cast of characters, any one of whom could be the murderer.

The mystery itself was full of twists and turns and red herrings and kept me guessing right up until the end. It actually kept me guessing past the end, really, because even after the killer has been revealed for all to see, almost none of mystery of the novel has been explained. In a rather contrived epilogue to the story, McCullough attempts to explain all the unexplained portions of the book. As this is all done in the space of three or four pages, it is rushed and not very satisfying. There were glaring jumps in logic which she attempted to explain away, gloss over, or just ignore. There is never even a really satisfactory explanation of the book's title "On, Off" anywhere.

Bottom-line: McCullough paints an incredibly elaborate word picture of a truly mysterious series of crimes. Her story had me rivetted with the hope that by the time I had finished it, I would understand what was going on. The ending fails to deliver. The mystery was too complex and not resolved well at all. So all in all, it is a beautiful book to read, but the ending is rushed and not satisfying.

In 1965 in Connecticut, body parts of a young, dark skinned female are discovered in the refrigerated section of a neurosciences research laboratory. A police team, lead by Lieutenant Carmine Delmonico, begins a thorough investigation of the laboratory and its staff. A month later, the decapitated body of another young, dark skinned girl, is discovered, followed by yet another the following month. Delmonico forms a relationship with one of the laboratory staff after initially finding her to be so much a "Brit" that her aloof attitude causes him to think her stiff and unbending. The story which follows is a very clever weaving of the backgrounds and home lives of all of the occupants of the laboratory, leading up to the final denouement. I'm not being a smarty pants when I say that I guessed the ending, as it didn't spoil the read, but, readers beware...there are some horrifically gruesome details included and this book is not for gentle readers!

When I first heard that Colleen McCullough was writing a mystery novel, I had my doubts that she could pull it off.

If found the first half chapter a little slow, but I soon found myself wrapped into the story and characters.

McCullough breathed some surprisingly fresh air into a genre that had become tired to me along time ago. All the other protagonists in this genre are brilliant detectives who are held back by everything in their lives. They are usually divorced, bitterly so, and hung up on that fact. Then, they have no help from their colleagues and superiors. Their superiors usually try to hold them back at every turn and their colleagues are usually inept at every turn.

McCullough brought us a character who is divorced, yet has grown from the situation and harbors no bitter feelings. Carmine actually has a supportive cast around him and is very likeable.

I would like to see McCullough revisit the genre after a strong first showing.

McCullough fans should be drooling now over the news that she is returning to the MASTERS OF ROME series now to write a 7th and final volume (ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA) in the series after she prematurely ended it.

After she leaves Rome for a final time, I am anxious to see what other genres she contributes to.

This novel has had mixed reviews. This is not surprising since it represents a major shift in topic, time, and voice for the author. Colleen McCullough has written many fine historical fictions which have both informed and educated. This novel suffers from comparison with the others.
This piece of crime fiction came as a shock to me. I believe that it is a better book than it has been given credit for being. This is probably mostly because her other books are so good.

On, Off is well worth reading, but not like other McCullough novels.

I found that as I read the story I had the impression that I was watching a film from the 1960s. The image of period-suited characters presented itself as if on a movie screen. This could have been a film by Hitchcock.

I gave On, Off 3 stars, but it's a strong 3 stars.

I'd read nine or ten of McCullough's books before and loved every one of them. So I was pleased to see this new novel. What a surprise! This is a far cry from 'Caesar's Women', 'The Ladies of Missalonghi', or 'The Touch'. This is a graphic, grizzly, gripping murder mystery. The story starts out slow; matter of fact, I almost gave up on it. There are too many characters introduced very quickly in the beginning. It gets confusing, but hang in there. Once the story gets rolling, it's hard to put the book down, unless you really don't want to read about the deeds of a rapist-murderer who preys on young women. I was fascinated and enjoyed the morbid read, although like many of the other reviewers, I was disappointed that the author did not tie up all the loose ends. I'm tempted to look to see if her website provides some answers!