7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
None Are Unchanged, February 10, 2002
This review is from: Some Survive (Paperback)
In Los Angeles Celeste Munro, who makes her living as a high priced sexual partner and part time thief, decides it was time to leave California and maintain a low profile. And in Wichita, Kansas, a police detective on temporary leave is asked to see if he can track her down. Out of this material James Girard builds a complex and chilling suspense story. One full of haunting characters whose interactions reflect the confused and often heartless state of the human mind.
Floyd Lassiter is a police detective who is becoming increasingly subject to temporal lobe seizures. Because of a recent episode involving an assistant district attorney, he has been temporarily relieved of duty. While he has kept his problem a secret, Floyd knows that it is only a matter of time before he will no longer be able to operate as a police officer, no longer be able to do what he loves. Thus, he is relieved when Loomis, his chief, calls him in to talk about Celeste. She is believed to have returned to the Wichita area and the police have been asked to help with the case. With no on duty investigator available, Lassiter is recruited for the task.
Lassiter's investigation uncovers layer after layer of subterfuge. Thin clues lead him back though records and memories to a young prostitute, one who changes identities as needed. But Celeste and Lassiter are not the only actors in this drama. Jes Wellington, a professional writer, Zach Vincent, a computer consultant, and Jerry Majors, Floyd's partner all play major parts in this tale along with many others. Even as bits of the truth are gradually surface, other mysteries are uncovered. Gradually the book evolves from pure detection to thriller.
This is a noir tale, where all of the characters are exposed to events that will either change or destroy them. Lassiter's worst enemy is his own mind. His mental state unravels and fragments as the story progresses. Girard reflects this not just in his portrayal of the detective, but in the very style of the novel itself. The book is a continuous flow of points of view, as narration switches from one character to another, almost at random. The author is capable of gemlike moments of narrative and characterization, but never allows a sense of continuity to develop. As such, the reader often feels imprisoned in Lassiter's mental state - suffering from the same syndrome.
To be honest, I found this wearing. As the book moves along, it becomes clear that there is no central character. This device kept me from becoming as involved as I would like to have been, and left me trying to juggle too many facts and subplots. If one does not have the time and energy to remain focused on the story it is very easy to lose the thread from reading to reading. This is a matter of personal taste and won't bother everyone equally. Girard deserves credit for writing a story in exactly the style I like least and still managing to keep my attention as well as he did. While I found it slow going, others will enjoy the many polished facets of the telling.<
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Some Minds Are Blown, October 23, 2003
This review is from: Some Survive (Paperback)
Prolog: Young Lady with father in room chatting. Soon it becomes apparant that there is a sexual relationship there, as he forces her to please him. Wait a minute young lady is an actress going by the name of Celeste Mundy and moonlighting as an actress/escort/thief. Celeste Mundy runs home to Kansas where her name is revealed as Jo Wellington shortly before she's murdered.
If you're looking for a high octane thriller that races along throughout read something else. If your tastes run a little more cerebly though this thriller is definitely for you.
Each character is so completely rendered there were times reading this book I had an almost voyeuristic feeling and had to remind myself that it was fiction. Is the plot good? Yes though if you're an action junkie in your fiction again it's not for you rather this plot is more a simmering pot of intrique and deception making one wonder if anyone is who they appear to be.
This book will, as long as you are open minded in your reading choices reach in grab your gut twist it around ohhhhh so slowly yet the author mixes the pain to the reader who anxiously awaits the outcome with the pleasure of his language and grasp of humanity.
This is one of the best thriller's I have read in a while, and I guarantee that if you stick with it past the first few chapter's will reward the patient readers' with a plot that launches from the runway of the story with the speed of a concorde as the denouement approaches.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
