Customer Reviews

The Strand

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I found this book to be riveting. The setting and the historical information about the holcaust was used beautifully to show how a person who has been through a tragedy can learn, grow, and change. I felt there was more wisdom and real human interest than in many other murder mysteries I have read. I expecially liked the descriptions of the Holocaust Museum in DC and the use of the holocaust survivors to help the main character come to terms with her own tragedy. A very good read.

I really enjoyed reading this book! I'm not a big reader, but one day I got ambitious and bought this book... hoping it would be interesting. It was! Not only was it full of surprises, it also had some history in it. I recommend this to anyone! My Aunt is reading it now!

I enjoyed reading this book. The murder in the beginning caught your attention right away. The heroine searches for her identity through the entire book. Since she relied on her husband for everything, she did not know how to take care of herself anymore. I thought it was a very good book and would recommend it to anyone. It reads quickly and is fairly short.

Most of the time, when I see a christian novel, it is about one of two things. Either it is a romance, or about the end times. I am a fan of both these types of books, but after a while it gets a bit old. "The Strand" bucked the system and completely grabbed my attention. The plot of a woman's road to recovery after her husband's murder was unlike any christian novel I have seen. As the plot thickened with unsuspected news about her deceased husband, it grew harder and harder to put this novel down. I was also impressed with the subtlety Vaughn used in sharing her Christian views. The book had good morals and characters that were Christians, but it wasn't shoved down the readers throat so much that they felt they were being witnessed to. This book could be enjoyed by Christians and Non Christians alike. I applaud Vaughn for this successful attempt. I cannot wait for her to create more novels that intrigue me as much as "The Strand". Bravo!

This book was one of the weaker christian books I have read recently. My major complaint was that the plot was extremely predictable from the very beginning of the book.

The only one good thing about the book were the author's descriptions of the Holocaust. The use of these characters who experienced the Holocaust was successful and the description of the museum in DC was phenomenal. But because this wasn't the major part of the plot, it didn't make the book an excellent one. It also didn't seem to be woven in very well with the plot.

The book also lacks content in spirituality. One review called her use of christianity "subtle." But I found it almost non-existant.

I find that my review differs from most of the others'. But I hope it will be helpful to someone.

I thought that this book was excellent. At first when my sister gave it to me to read it didn't seem interesting. I then decided to read it and I couldn't put it down. It is really realistic and worthwhile to have in your library.

This book has a little bit of everything from a murder mystery to so much more, and when you've finished reading the book, if you are the kind of person who likes to look deeper than the surface of a story this book will give you that incentive.

Anne Lorelli is a woman who has what many woman would like, a comfortable wealthy life with a successful husband. She has everything on the surface materialistically, but underneath the facade of her marriage, the love and companionship she desires is not there anymore. It is ironic that on the eve of their wedding anniversary, while they took a stroll along the river, they are accosted by a couple of muggers. When her husband tries to stop them from taking her necklace, he is killed. It seems to be a simple robbery/homicide case at first but evidence comes to light that reveals it is much more than just that.

Tom Hogan, the detective, was suspicious about Anne's reaction to the death of her husband-she was too cold, and yet he is drawn to her.

Anne finds solace from new acquaintances, a couple of holocaust victims and a group she has agreed to help as a volunteer in a neighborhood that is in a seedy area.

The story kept me involved throughout the story. It contained stories within the main story-like surviving the holocaust, surviving in a drug and gang related neighborhood and the dark secrets of the successful, family revelations of sorrow-no one was immune, no class of people left out. It also is a story that gives one the feeling of hope and faith. I highly recommend it.

As always seems to be the case, this Christian novel starts out with great potential--A murder near a fashionable Washington DC restaurant. Before the you get half way through the book, the action and interest fade to nothing. The heroine has no character. She is not even curious about her husband's murder, content to let the police do the investigating. When they report back to her, she is more interested in getting back to her volunteer job at a nursery school in a black neighborhood (where not much is going on either, except reading children's stories). There is some possible love interest between heroine and police detective, but the characters are so flat that it is hard to care....S