Customer Reviews

Speaking in Tongues

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(24)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

With his series of Licoln Rhyme novels I have quickly become a Jeffery Deaver fan. I also really enjoyed The Devil's Teardrop which did not feature the Rhyme character. Speaking In Tongues falls into this latter category. As far as I can tell it is a reissue of a novel that was actually released a few years ago and is being reisssued to capitalize on Deaver's recent surge in popularity. The premise of the book is interesting, unfortunately some of the plot points require such a suspense of reality that it detracts from the enjoyment of the book. The characters lack the dimension that Deaver usually provides and many times seem too cartoonish. Any fan of the suspense genre will not be surprised by any of the action. In other words we have seen this type of thing before and the writing is not engaging enough to make us forget it. If you are a fan of Deaver's work you will probably get some enjoyment out of this book, however I would suggest waiting for the paperback. I got to read and advance copy, but if I had paid over twenty dollars for the hard cover I know I would feel cheated.

I am a huge fan and could hardly wait for Speaking in Tongues to be released. I work in a bookstore and my jaw nearly hit the floor when I saw an early reading copy sitting on a desk in our stock room, it must have been lying there amid other books for 2 months before I noticed it. Needless to say I devoured the book and enjoyed it so much! The killer this time around is really rather unique (no spoiler, don't worry), he's a psychiatrist gone bad, who does not use guns or knives or anything, but just uses his speaking skills to gain peoples trust and confidence. Imagine if Patterson's Alex Cross or Kellerman's Alex Delaware turned to the darkside, then you might have an idea of what this guy is like.

Seventeen-year-old Megan McCall is required to see a psychologist after becoming very drunk and climbing the town's water tower. When she arrives at her appointment, her usual shrink is not there. Instead subbing is Dr. Bill Peters. He maneuvers Megan into writing notes to her parents that pour out how she feels about them. He next injects her with a chemical that knocks her out. Bill places the unconscious teen in the trunk of his Mercedes before driving to an abandoned insane asylum. Dr. Bill Peters is actually Dr. Aaron Matthews, a brilliant psychiatrist seeking vengeance from Megan's father for destroying his life.

Megan's parents, Brett and Tate, do not know their daughter well enough to realize that she is not at her father's home. Tate has been indifferent towards his daughter and Brett is interested in her own social life. By the time they conclude that something is wrong, they cannot persuade the police that Megan has been abducted and not a runaway. Matthews discredits anyone who intervenes otherwise. Brett and Tate turn amateur sleuths in a risky effort to rescue their daughter.

Although SPEAKING IN TONGUES lacks the deep intensity of some of Jeffrey Deaver's previous novels, the story line remains an exciting thriller. The plot emphasizes why the antagonist loathes the hero to the point that he will go to extreme lengths to see his enemy suffer. The relationship between Megan's parents seems unreal and staged, but Megan's behavior provides credibility to the cast. Though not quite a Lincoln, fans will enjoy Mr. Deaver's latest work.

Harriet Klausner

As demonstrated in The Bone Collector and The Coffin Dancer, when he wants to Deaver can really pull out all the stops, delivering fast-paced, well-researched books. But Speaking In Tongues, while as fast-faced as ever, just doesn't have the cunning twists of plot or the techno-savvy that made the Lincoln Rhyme books so intriguing.

This tale of a nutbar shrink wreaking havoc on Tate Collier's life by the kidnapping of Tate's daughter Megan is merely interesting. We root for Megan to escape the reeking, abandoned mental institution where she's been stashed while Aaron Matthews goes about the business of covering his tracks. But I had a lot of trouble believing that so many otherwise intelligent people would buy into the snake oil Matthews sells in various guises/disguises all over Virginia. By the halfway point, I was fervently hoping one of these people would say, "Are you kidding?" and throw soup in this guy's face.

My minor quibble with this book is that the dialogue of everyone under twenty endlessly incorporates the word "like." It's, like, the way it is. So, having dashed through what is essentially a non-stop chase novel, I was, like, let down. Okay? I mean, like, almost bummed, even. You know? Like, really.

I count myself a big Deaver fan. I feel each of his books since the "Bone Collector" have shown increasing skill and maturity. "Speaking in Tongues" is not up to his present standards. The characters are implausible, the action is not cohesive and the pace is uneven. If this were a first novel, I'd say it showed promise, but was flawed.

The first scene where daughter Meagan visits the psychiatrist is an excellent beginning: very taut using dual voices (her own and "Crazy Megan") to great effect. Her substitute therapist at first sounds brilliant, and then the reader gets uncomfortable. Something is *wrong* with this man. The rest of the novel does not live up to the fine first scene.

Deaver's famous plot twists failed to surprise or were telegraphed. The really excessive gore reminded me of Harris' "Hannibal;" so over-the-top and unbelievable. A good writer, which Deaver and Harris most certainly are, does not need such crude tricks.

I would sit this one out and wait for the next one.

Megan Collier is a teenager trying to deal with her problems; her mother and father are divorced, and she is not very lucky in the romance department, but she thinks her luck has changed when she starts seeing "handsome" psychologist Aaron Mathews...he seems to really care about her, and he will help to put her life in order. What Megan doesn't realize is that Mathews has a wicked revenge plan in-store for the Collier family.

Tate Collier and ex-wife, Bett must put aside their difference's and race to save their daughter...before it's too late.

"Speaking In Tongues" has all the twists and turns of a typical Deaver novel, but the suspense does not hold up as it does in previous novels. Fans of the Lincoln Rhyme series will be seriously disappointed.

Jeffery Deaver is at his best when writing his Lincoln Rhyme thrillers but his new book is a departure from the popular character, and the page-turning suspense found in those thrillers.

Fans could pass on this and await the next entry in the Rhyme series.

Nick Gonnella

Deaver's skill at weaving a crafty and intriguing suspense story is sound. He has the bare bones of the work down to a science, and when it comes to most of his tales, the bones themselves are strong, hearty, and glistening white.

In this case, however, those bones have virtually no muscle.

This tale is about Tate Collier, his ex, Bett, and their kidnapped child, Megan. The villian for this tale, a slick-tongued psychiatrist named Aaron Matthews, is a man of such skill that he can talk virtually anyone into anything, a talent that rivals that of our protagonist, Tate, a lawyer who once wielded the same verbal weapons in the courtroom.

As I said, the story itself has some intriguing twists and turns, as all suspense tales should, and it offers up satisfying obstacles and the usual mysteries, but they fall flat for a number of reasons.

1. When the crux of your tale lies on creating characters of uncanny persuasive abilities, the heart of your novel must lie within the dialogue those characters utilize. In this case, neither Matthews or Collier ever speak convincingly enough, in my opinion, to warrant their being labelled as men who "speak in tongues." And although a lot of interpretation must be allowed for the written medium, it still doesn't seem like Matthews' talent for conniving others is as plausible as the novel would like it to be.

2. The book falls prey to a pretty major pitfall for literature of this type, and that is over-elaborate explanations for key motives and behavoirs. We even get treated to a cliched moment of having the bad guy reveal his whole plot to the good guys before actually going through with the plot.

3. Implausibility. There are some areas of the book that are downright laughable, aside from the already mentioned superhuman talent at persuasiveness some of the characters possess.

4. My biggest pet peeve: Deaver cannot write dialogue for teenagers. In an attempt at creating authenticity, Deaver peppers their dialogue with an abundance of "like"s and "way lame"s so that they sound like rejects from some B-grade rip-off of a Dazed and Confused remake. I understand that kids still occasionally talk like this, but Deaver's use of these trite bits of characterization is so liberal it becomes intrusive and annoying and ludicrous.

If you want to try Deaver, check out The Devil's Teardrop or the Bone Collector. This is not worth the effort.

I am a true Jeffery Deavers fan. I can hardly wait from one book to the next but this book was not one of his better books. I felt the characters and story lines were not up to his standards.

Tate Collier and his ex-wife Bett, are reunited to search for their missing daughter Megan, in this quite suspenseful psychological thriller. Aaron Matthews is a highly intelligent psychologist (and psycho) who can talk people into believing almost anything. The paths of Tate and Bett will soon cross with that of Matthews and we learn that something in Tate's past is the reason his daughter is missing.

Filled with a few surprises and emotional situations, Deaver has written a satisfying story with some good characters. Matthews' use of language instead of tools (although tools are sometimes used) to knock his victims down, is a good change of pace. Overall, it's a good, quick entertaining read.

Recommended

Megan is a 17 year old rebel who finds herself discussing her less than adequate parents while at court ordered therapy. But this shrink is substituting for her regular doctor. What she soon realizes, is that he needs therapy of his own since he proceeds to drug and kidnap her. Enter her self centered parents. They soon realize that something is amiss and begin their new careers as self appointed detectives as they follow up on clues that seem to magically fall from the sky. But somehow the bad guy is always one step ahead of the good guys, thwarting them from their attempts to reclaim the daughter that they now realize they have overlooked and taken for granted.

The sarcasm in my above description, I think, pretty much sums up my feelings on this book. Jeffery Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme books have always been page turners for me and I look forward to each one with great anticipation. But his non-Rhyme books are always a recipe for disaster. This plot is too contrived, the bad guy too capable of keeping the good guys off his trail, and the good parents completely unbelievable in the efforts they throw together to attempt to get their daughter back. Overall, the writing actually keeps the story going because it flows so well, but the story is sorely lacking.