Customer Reviews

State of Mind

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

After reading the book I can understand the disparity in the customer reviews. "State of Mind" was a disappointment to me as I found Mr. Katzenbach's "Hart's War" & "Shadowman" among the best books I have ever read. Parts of "State of Mind" just flew by and I became quite engrossed...then periods of dull nonaction. Perhaps it was just too long. Were it not for my faith in Mr. Katzenbach's writing there were many times I would have quit this one. Kept figuring it would pick up in the next chapter. Ending is a pretty good payoff, but takes too long to get there and it's a plodding journey. Set in a Blade Runner world the overall plot made sense and the characters were well drawn. Mr. Katzenbach has entertained me before and will again.

John Katzenbach has created an America of the future where anarchy reigns. It is a violent, dangerous place where employees have to be escorted from the office in groups to ensure their safety, and no-one walks the streets at night for fear of losing their life. Within this grim picture comes a proposed 51st state. A haven where crime will be unheard of. Entry into the state will be closely controlled and stable families will be welcomed with open arms.

But it's here, in the budding crime-free zone that an alarming number of young girls have gone missing with a few of them being found dead. Officially they were reported to have met with an unfortunate accident, but those in the know can see that they are dealing with the work of a serial killer. This is something thought impossible in a crime-free state and is potentially devastating to the chances of the state being accepted into the Union.

The concept of a new state raised a very interesting point. It was created to give people a place to live in safety, when really, all it achieved was the creation of a false sense of security in the minds of the residents. By instilling the thought that the state was crime-free, the residents did not take any precautions against crime. No one locked their doors or took the proper care when walking at night and the police didn't know how to properly process a crime scene. Basically, an environment was created where a criminal could work with virtual impunity.

Although the book starts out with a very clever idea that made me pause for thought about where the world is heading, Katzenbach tended to take the long road to get to the final showdown, which then seemed to pass by with an air of inevitability. Once the concept of the new state was established along with all the differences it would bring, the rest of the book just read as a standard serial killer story, granted, with a couple of twists thrown in for good measure.

This is the third Katzenbach book I have read after reading "The Analyst" and "Shadowman", whilst I consider the former his best work yet, "State of Mind" was not far behind. I read the book inside of 5 days and found myself consistently pulled through the book by the twists and turns the story took. To me the whole 51st state thing wasn't really needed being a non US citizen, as the characters and the plot really hit a chord with the unique situation the children of the suspected murderer find themselves. The whole story I thought was excellent and the ending was extremely clever and unexpected. I would definitely recommend reading this book.

This is the one of the most boring book that I've read in a very, VERY long time. Now, I don't know what book some of these other people were reading that gave in a 7-10 rate, but it couldn't have been this one. Let me put it like this, I skipped several pages at a time and didn't miss a thing. I was constantly begging, "Where's the ACTION!!" Faulkner, Morrison the author is NOT. I never thought it possible that for so many words or so much time devoted into staying into a character's head, and I still had the sense of not KNOWING the characters. The plot sounded promising, the problem is I didn't see much of it. You find out what Susan thought while driving home from work on the highway. You find out where the mother sat on her way home from the library. The author tries to construct this vision of the future US, but I couldn't picture it. I didn't know whether he was more concerned with the USA of the future or the serial killer. What does this have to do with this serial killing father and husband? When you find out let me know! I don't mind, and some time look forward to working through a book. A book with stylish prose, lyrical in manner is what this book isn't. If you want to read mystery or suspense novel like that, Faulkner's Intruder In The Dust is a good place to start. I do not recommend this book...AT ALL!

In the last ten years, I've read over 500 novels. Out of all those, I've only started then stopped reading three books. John Katzenbach's STATE OF MIND should have been the fourth. I almost didn't bother writing a review because the book is old, being published in 1997. But, as I continued reading, I felt like I should warn others not to waste their time on this incredibly long, silly novel.

Jeffrey Clayton is a professor and an expert on serial killers and other types of evil. Sister Susan lives with their dying mother in Florida and writes cryptic word puzzles for magazines. One day, Susan starts getting mysterious and threatening messages sent to her home. Jeffrey is asked to aid in the search of a killer. Twenty five years ago, their mom took Jeffrey and Susan and fled their father. They all thought he was dead. But now they've discovered he may be alive, and a ruthless serial killer to boot.

I admit the plot is somewhat interesting. Serial killer novels are usually pretty good. But this one fails for several reasons. First, it is way too long and wordy. It took forever to read, and I skimmed long sections of needless description. Second, there is no one for Jeffrey or Susan to care about. No love life, no indication of a passion outside their narrow lives.

But the biggest problem is that this book is set in the future, and for no reason. Katzenbach creates an entire world several decades in the future where everyone is armed and no one is safe when they go outside. Amidst this chaos, a 51st State is being created in the west full of rules and restrictions that are supposed to prevent the violence prevalent in the rest of the country. While his portrayal of the future was interesting at times, it was not necessary at all to tell the story. And, reading this book now just showed how wrong Katzenbach was in predicting the future. The book did not age well.

Katzenbach is an author I can't recommend. This is the third book of his I've read, and they all seem too long and void of passion and heart.

My first Katzenbach book and based upon what other reviewers wrote, I see I should get hold of some of his others.

I found the ideas presented here intriguing - what can become of the States giving the increasing violence, one possible solution and the thinking behind it, the mind of the serial killer, fears in the killer's offspring regarding their own character traits, the games people play with each other and themselves.

I liked how the author wove in aspects of serial-killer-history and sent me to google these and find out more.

This is one of the few detective/thriller novels where I didn't skip over the descriptive paragraphs just to get to the "action", because I found that the action was partly in the scenery and the characterizations.

Totally enjoyable read.

Katzenbach is a good writer. His "The Analyst" is one of the best thrillers I've read. And Hart's war and The Madmans Tale are well written gripping stories. However with State of Mind I found my own mind wandering as I read it. Somehow it is too long and not particularly compelling. The future America he devises where everyone is armed and guards escort office workers to their cars is not perhaps far fetched but felt superficial. It merely existed as a counterpoint for a new 51st State where everyone was safe.

Don't bother with this book, especially when Katzenbach has written so much better.

I think it must be considered one of the most riveting novel of our time.It is a really page turner and i couldn't put it down!!!J.K.creates real characters,a wonderful plot and a story that is full of suspense with a good ending. Now, i'm reding Just Cause and i consider J.K.a genius of thriller. Buy this book.AND READ IT!!!!!FANTASTIC

This book was very chilling to me. What I couldn't stop thinking about is will we ever reach a state of paranoia that we are willing to actually give up some of our civil rights in trade for a perceived safety? I usually hate books that take place in the future but I love J.K.'s writing and took a chance. I thought it clipped right along and made me think...what if????

Given that we all are to some extent a product of our parentage, consider your reaction if you became aware that YOUR father was a game playing serial killer. Could or would you go after him? How best to protect your dying mother? These are just a few of the questions that face the main characters of Katzenbach's page turner.