DENIAL!

2 REVIEWS = DENIAL! -- HARLAN COBEN - HOLD TIGHT

I would not describe myself as a great fan of NEW YORK BESTSELLERS -- so for this challenge, I thought I should try a few.

I had vaguely heard of Harlan Coben and so, after wikiing him, I have since learned that he has written many many mystery novels and thrillers. Contrary to my agonizing experience with James Patterson, I actually found this novel to be interesting. I must also confess, I feel somewhat guilty being entertained by the worst imaginable, horrible rapes and murders.

The opening chapter, which you can read online at the Official Harlan Coben website, begins on a bar stool with a discussion concerning the Bible and Darwinism. So begins the hunt, the drugging, the kidnapping and the systematic torture of Marianne. "The man peeled off his mustache and smiled at her...She couldn't move, couldn't breathe. He sat next to her, pulled his fist back, and punched her hard in the stomach. If the pain had been bad before, it went to another dimension now...And then he began to hurt her for real." (p. 9)

The second chapter jumps to a discussion between a couple of parents who are preparing to spy on their eldest child, who since the suicide of his friend, has become withdrawn and depressed.

The subsequent chapters introduce a group of seemingly unconnected characters carrying on with the often tragic events of their daily lives. Intertwined with these chapters is another capture and torture of a second victim. The discovery of this body leads to a determined investigation and eventual discovery of the mustached man and his connection to all the other characters in the novel.

Here is a plot teaser from the cover of the novel (from the Official Harlan Coben website):

Tia and Mike Baye never imagined they’d spy on their kids. But their sixteen-year-old son Adam has been unusually distant lately, and after the suicide of his best friend Spencer Hill, they can’t help but worry. Within days of installing a sophisticated spy program on Adam’s computer they are jolted by a cryptic message from an unknown correspondent that shakes them to their core: “Just stay quiet and all safe.”
As if Mike Baye isn’t dealing with enough, he also learns that Lucas Loriman, the sweet kid who grew up next door, is in urgent need of a kidney transplant. As the boy’s doctor, Mike suddenly finds himself in possession of an explosive secret that threatens to rip the Loriman family apart at the seams.
Nearby, while browsing through an online memorial for Spencer, Betsy Hill discovers a surprising detail about the night of her son’s death. Before she can find out more, Adam disappears, taking the truth with him and sending shockwaves through the neighborhood.
As the lives of these families collide in tragic, unexpected, and violent ways, long-hidden connections in their small suburb begin to work their way to the surface. And when an unidentified Jane Doe is beaten to death not far away, those connections threaten to turn this quiet community upside down—and force these desperate parents to decide whether there is any line they won’t cross to protect those they love most in the world.



In literary terms, the characters were well-rounded, realistic and sympathetic. The settings very realistic. The multiple plots of the murders and the parents and the other families, sufficiently detailed and intriguing. As the parent of a teenager who often accuses me of being overprotective, I found the dilemma of the parents thought provoking and relevant.


As a result, I will give this a rating of THREE Critical Monkeys out of FIVE.

SHOCK!

Sometimes I do stupid things -- really stupid things.

One of those stupid things involves joining Corey Redecop's CRITICAL MONKEY challenge. Don't get me wrong -- the challenge itself is great. It involves reading books that I wouldn't normally read -- sounds like a way to expand one's horizons and grow as a person. Mr. Redecop even states, "By the end, those who have finished this grueling course will find themselves spiritually cleaner, and emotionally more well-rounded. And you'll be able to proudly hold your head up and say, "Yes, I have read Dan Brown, thank you, and this is why he sucks!"

That is what I thought. That is why I joined.

I should have paid more attention to his descriptor, "grueling".

I should have wondered more about his decision to use the stages of grief to enumerate the number of reviews submitted.

Shoulda -- Coulda -- Woulda -- Didn't.

Unfortunately, I am not a quitter and plan to see this thing through to its painful end. And I do mean painful!!!


1 REVIEW = SHOCK! -- JAMES PATTERSON - DOUBLE CROSS

Having visited many Chapter's stores and been visually assaulted by innumerable James Patterson novels, I figured it was about time that I actually read one -- how painful could it be? "Millions of copies sold" must mean that a least a million people have read Mr. Patterson's words.

A million people must have found something of value -- and perhaps they did.

Here is the plot outline from the Fantastic Fiction site:
"Just when Alex thought his life was calming down into a routine of patients and therapy sessions, he finds himself back in the game--this time to catch a criminal mastermind like no other. A spate of elaborate murders in Washington D.C. have the whole East Coast on edge. They are like nothing Alex Cross and his new girlfriend, Detective Brianna Stone, have ever seen. With each murder, the case becomes increasingly complex. There's only one thing Alex knows: the killer adores an audience. As victims are made into gruesome spectacles citywide, inducing a media hysteria, it becomes clear to Alex that the man he's after is a genius of terror--and he's after fame. The killer has the whole city by its strings--and he'll stop at nothing to become the most terrifying star that Washington D.C. has ever seen."

Sounds like it has potential to be suspenseful.

To say that I hated this book does not even begin to describe the agony inflicted by each and every syllable.

To say that I resented every microsecond invested in reading to its end is an understatement.

I don't even want to write this review...so it will be very short! (Sorry, Mr. Redecop.)

Why do I feel this revulsion?

Evidently, DOUBLE CROSS is one book in a long series of Alex Cross novels. Although any novel should be able to stand on its own, I found that this was not the case here. While reading, I couldn't help but wonder why I felt very little sympathy for the protagonist, Cross and actually, truth be told, all of the characters. I found them to be unrealistic and flat; their relationships predictable and boring. The plot was gratuitously violent, contrived and failed to capture enough of my interest for me to want to try to solve the case along with Cross. Further, descriptions of settings were nonexistent.

While bemoaning the colossal waste of time that this novel sucked from my existence, I have since learned from one of those millions of readers of this series that the murderer always targets Cross, his family and/or his loved ones.

This is one novel that will not be remembered for anything other than the literary violence inflicted on its audience.

RATING: This novel is getting absolutely NO CRITICAL MONKEYS out of FIVE