Customer Reviews

Summer of Fear (Bookcassette(r) Edition)

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

 

 

I have read almost of all of T. Jefferson Parkers book, and he is
one of the best authors around.
THIS book was my favorite however, because there are two stories going on at once and they are both fascinating.
The first is a crime writer who's wife if dying, literally wasting away in front of him, and the touching realistic way he is trying to deal with it.
Then, there is a serial killer on the loose in So. CA (Orange County) which is a laid back beach community, and the serial killer begins communicating with the crime writer. Some serial killer books can be too grueling to read, and although I was glad I wasn't alone while reading this book, it was a good psychological thriller, and with the skill of a writer like T. Jefferson, this book was just hard to put down.
Scary one minute, and then heart breaking in the next chapter.
I'm hoping that this book will have some sort of sequel, at least with the crime writer coming back so we can see how his life is now, and his job is so interesting that there are many more story line possibilities.
I'm an avid read, and mystery is my favorite genre, and T. Jefferson Parker just gets better and better the more he writes.
I recommend you read any of his books, especially this one. The latest books with Merci Rayborne are great as is Silent Joe.
I love the California beach background and all of his main characters; you feel as if you've met them and care about their life. He is a truly gifted writer, and if I recommend a writer to read it is definetly T. Jefferson Parker!
Summer of Fear is for the truly hard core mystery fans, which I am, and the mixture of fear, pathos and also love, loss and closure, makes for a book that I didn't want to end.
Thank you T. Jefferson Parker.

One of the best book I've ever read. In this mix of gut renching bloody edge of your seat terror, and a man on the edge of insanity facing the murders of the Midnight Eye, and his wife having cancer. Russell and Martin are blaming each other for the death of Alice Fultz, because whoever killed her framed it to look like another one of the gorey murders of the midnight eye. But if you read this book you will find out that they get a very big suprise. I would not recommend this book to children under 11, because of its explicit language.

I became a T. Jefferson Parker fan with Silent Joe, but I have to say this one is my favorite. A deep, complex, emotional mystery/thriller, with a real sense of danger. You will care deeply about the characters and will never guess the ending. I wish all writers who put so much into their plots would take a lesson from Parker--the more you care about the characters, the more you will care about what is happening!

I read Parker's Silent Joe, and am now working my way back through his books. I would not recommend this book to someone looking for tight plotting and suspense in the unfolding of the looming threat of a serial killer, but for the myriad of conflicting emotions that surround adult relationships, this book gets all stars. Parker consistantly pedestals his female characters, even as he draws their more reprehensible characteristics, a predisposition I cannot understand. I find most provocative his protrayals of men, how they relate to one another, their views of family and their place in their worlds. Several intriguing characters were introduced in this book, and while I am content to let the story of Russ and Izzy rest, I would wish for follow ups on some of the secondary characters, Chet, Marty, Karen.

Summer of Fear may not be the most carefully plotted suspense tale I've ever read, but I was riveted by the unblinking focus he placed on raw, difficult emotions. I've never before experienced a writer who more accurately portrayed the inner life of someone watching a loved one suffer a debilitating illness. When people rank a piece of fiction as "for adults only," we usually mean it contains sex and/or violence. This novel has both, but I would keep it away from children because the strong, ambivalent feelings of a tortured spouse are for grown-ups only. I'm a mystery and suspense fan, and I recognize the plot weaknesses in Summer of Fear, but I would recommend this novel to anyone who appreciates well-drawn characters. But be prepared to look at real life in all its conflicted, ugly, transcendent, messy glory.

The is an excellent character study. The family dynamics (something that usually bores me) had me glued, and helped bring new layers to the story. I've enjoyed all the Parker books I've read, and this one had the most interesting characters -- deep, involving and meaningful.

This is my 4th T. Jefferson Parker book. I am reading them in the order they were published.
Parker is good at characters, developing them, and throwing in the real thoughts and lack of confidence real people would have if they were in situations where crime has occured near them.
What Parker has trouble with is the absolutely preposterous scenerios he puts his characters in. I know it sounds strange, but I believe his characters would say and feel they way they do in his books. I just can't believe anyone could end up in the situations he sticks them in.
I'll keep chugging along and finish the rest of his books. I think as at miminum, he has a great vocabulary and uses it well.

T Jefferson Parker has a unique ability to draw the reader into the mystery presented by the story. The hero is a crime writer, but was once a cop. He is tormented in life by his wife's illness, but he must cope. Parker's story telling ability is supreme; try this book; you will like it. --Henry Stuart

Loved it. Ran out of reading for Xmas so bought all the back copies of this author who I had only stumbled across by accident when I bought one of his titles in a remainder book store. If you're a fan of Harlan Corban, Richard North Paterson and others in this genre then his books are for you. Now I'm now stumped for new reading as I've just finished all his books - couldn't put down "Where Serpents Lie".

I bought this book because I've enjoyed other Parker books, but not this one. I guess I just don't like mysteries about serial killers -- some psychotic stranger kills a bunch of people for some bizarre reason and has no other relationship with any of the other characters in the book -- this is just not interesting to me. Plus, the murders in serial killer books tend to be more gruesome than most -- ick! The writing was plodding too. We'd get one sentence about something happening and then 3 pages of boring background material. And I did not find one likable character in this book, even the "hero." The book was tedious and depressing and after about 100 pages I skipped to the back to find out whodunnit and was glad I hadn't spent any more time on it.