7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
More like 3.5 Stars...Engaging and Fun, If Somewhat Shallow, February 20, 2004
This review is from: Touching Evil (Mass Market Paperback)
The basic premise of the book includes Maggie (main character), an artist that works independently with the police as a (surprise...he, he) a sketch artist. Her main "claim to fame" in this particular book is a seemingly uncanny knack for being able to wade into the misery and pain of the events and talk to a victim, she then walks each crime scene and invariably produces a drawing that is a perfect likeness of the criminal.
Enter the present story line...Seattle women, hunted by a serial rapist -- abducting women, blinding them, raping them and finally leaving them for dead in abandoned buildings.
The rub...Maggie is unable to get a "feel" for this particular animal and is unable to assist the police since all of the victims have been unable to give any details except that he smells like Ivory soap, has long hair and that has mint scented breath.
Enter John (main character also)...he is the brother of the second (?) victim of the "blindfold rapist." Christine presumed dead by her own hand according to the police...but John thinks otherwise and comes to Seattle to follow the investigation and eventually brings in a some old FBI friends (also with an "uncanny knack" for solving crimes) to help tract down the rapist before he starts killing as well.
With no clues as to who the rapist is, where he will strick next or who he will choose, the police find that their investigation takes them in all kinds of directions including the fact that these crimes bear a striking resemblance to several that are in old files and remain unsolved from 1934. Even more amazing is that the present day victims are dead ringers (;-) pun intended) of the victims of the 1934 rapist...the book takes on a a whirlwind adventure as Maggie, John, Andy (lead investigative cop), Quinton (FBI) and their respective team members...as they try to solve this mystery before more victims are maimed and brutally murdered!
I must say right off the bat that this book is FUN and ENGAGING! Despite some very serious reservations about the ultimate outcome of the story line...I did thoroughly enjoy reading 'Touching Evil' - though it might have been more aptly titled Feeling Evil or Sensing Evil (maybe that's another book though...lol). I read it in one sitting!
The plot if FULL of twists and IS suspenseful...as I said previously...I found it very, very hard to put down! Yet...at the end of the book, I felt a little let down. A book so full of fast paced, engaging plot twists manages to be simultaneously stimulating while lacking any true depth...both where the plot is concerned and with the characters as well!! I think this is in large part due to inferior scene descriptions and lack of very in-depth tantalizing plot descriptions...and the characters, while good, lack any real depth (they simply are not fleshed out enough). I found most of them only mildly interesting and would have liked to have "known them better" to enjoy this novel to its fullest possible potential!!!
At the very end...ugh...this is the part I was the least happy with when I was done reading it...it built up to an exciting climax...and fizzled...the ending was MUCH too abrupt. Mrs.. Hooper could have put a lot more into making this a hauntingly engaging conclusion rather than the abrupt end it came to!! I almost felt like she reached the end of the book and rather than taking her time with really engaging, descriptive plot revelations...just took a hurry get it done...tie up the loose ends...approach to the ending that we got stuck with!
Don't get me wrong...I got the ending...I understand what she was doing and how all the events tied together...but it's the WAY it was done that left me cold...I wanted MORE...I wanted an in depth explanation of the WHY of it, and that was just not there!!
The only other "annoying" things about 'Touching Evil,' are internally within the story line, there were a few instances where the events lacked "closure" and seemed pointless or totally unconnected to the story line (possibly from other books or lead in's for future characters in other books????)....that leaves these chapters feeling muddled and unfinished....i.e. most of the mid-read events regarding Maggie's brother...and who in the HECK is Galen??!!???!! Honestly...I could have done without that! And finally...TOO MANY psychics, potential psychics, and pseudo-psychics in the mix here...honestly....two or three TOPS was enough -- but the team member who might be, the assistant who's mildly...give it a rest...and I think there was FAR too much emphasis on "hiding" the fact that Maggie is an empath and the FBI team is comprised of psychics...especially AFTER most of the characters have accepted it and even embraced it!! John...and his all to practical, down-to-earth un-acceptance of it for most of the book is a bit too much...there were several places early in the story line to allow him to "get on board" with it, but the author choose to drag it out until WAY too late in the book!
BUT...even having said all that...I think this book is definitely worth a read!! This isn't quite a "B" movie book...but it's better than that...but it's not a blockbuster hit either!! This is a great book for a Saturday in bed read!! You might be a little annoyed at the end...but you'll truly enjoy reading it!!
I give it a B+ for readability and content!! It has substance...but there could be more meat on this bone!! I'm going to read the next in this series when I get the chance...and based on other reviews...I think the "shadows" series might be worthwhile reading as well!! Stay tuned for more reviews!! ;-)
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Who Knew There Were So Many Psychics in Seattle?, December 6, 2005
This review is from: Touching Evil (Mass Market Paperback)
Now I knew there were tons of psychos out there in general, but psychics in one town? This book started out very promising and gave me chills simply because the victims resembled those of Ted Bundy or the Manson Family. However, in all of Maggie Barnes and company's adventures with this case, I kept wondering who in this book WASN'T psychic. Hell, even one of the surviving victims became psychic after being brutalized by this creep. Okay, she wasn't psychic; she was guided by the killer's sister in a past life. Hey, I'm not making this stuff up!
I can accept clairvoyants because they have truly helped solve real crimes, such as the Gacey murder, and so I went along with the idea of Maggie Barnes' artistic ability combined with "seeing" to help solve crimes. Unfortunately, I couldn't keep track of who was who in the book very well, and then Kay Hooper threw in karma and reincarnation. It got to be too much, but I was still glued to the gruesome story of a serial rapist/killer who cut the eyes out of his victims. "Lovely" touch there with the pregnant victim having her baby chopped out of her womb a la Sharon Tate.
OKAY, SPOILER TIME:
The ending was what really made me angry. This guy (who is Maggie's boyfriend's supposedly deceased brother-in-law) does all these vulgar, gross, horrifying things, then when confronted by Maggie (who was conveniently this guy's wife in their past lives), one of his surviving victims with a successful eye transplant, and the ghost of his sister screams "NO, NOOOOOOOOO!" before being shot at the end? That's IT? Who knew an evil butcher could turn into such a whimp when told by his victims that they "see" him? The only thing I "saw" was that the killer was only mentioned once before earlier in the book so that he could have been anybody at all, because you would have missed him if you blinked.
To sum it all up, I guess you could say the premise was good, but the execution fell flat quickly. Like others here, I was left scratching my head, feeling dissatisfied and confused with a story that should have been more solid. In fact, the only thing I came away certain of with the gory nature of the crimes is that Kay Hooper must have a huge crush on Charlie Manson.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Psychic thriller .... too many psychics render unbelievable, June 5, 2004
This review is from: Touching Evil (Mass Market Paperback)
This is the story of Maggie, a psychic empath who listens to crime victims horrible experiences and creates an exact sketch of the criminal. She's very successful up until she begins to help the police with their hunt for a serial rapist who wears a plastic mask and blinds his victims by gouging their eyes out.
John, a wealthy business mogul, joins the cast of characters in this story after his sister is victimized by the killer. After healing from the attack she commits suicide - at least that's what the police think - Maggie and John know better.
Enter the plot points that spoiled the story: Maggie's brother is also psychic and talks to someone who isn't named during the course of the story at all. Then John brings in two friends from an FBI special unit to help with the investigation. They are also psychic.
So there I was reading a thoroughly engrossing story when suddenly the story contained FOUR psychics. That was a bit much. I almost abandoned the book at that point, but didn't. The other spoiler was that all the characters said "Yeah" when they agreed with something - wasn't there an editor involved in this book? Fortunately the story was entertaining enough to finish, but it's not a keeper.
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