Overall, not a great read.
935370
This book grabbed my attention in the beginning, however that quickly went away. I was expecting more, but that never really happened and it became predictable. I never really enjoyed any of the characters as they were all pretty unlikable. There was a lot of potential here, but it fell short.
2409940
Meh. It lacked subtlety and the bland descriptive terms used do not allow for an immersive reading experience. Could use a robust editing.
4147390
The plot wasn't bad, nor the main character. The story flowed, but was lackluster towards the end. The plot and feel of the book just takes a dive 2/3 of the way through. Although the very end wasn't bad, the conclusion of the 'situation' was terrible. Hard to follow at the end, and understand what was going on.

I'd give this book 2 1/2 stars instead of 3.
4105813
I was really expecting a good read inasmuch as it has been on the New York Times Bestseller list for some time.  Frankly, it was somewhat disappointing.  I think women may enjoy it better.  Rather slow going, not great intrigue.  Character development OK, but not great.  The lives of the characters was really quite mundane.  I would not recommend.
3732932
Not a very good read.  Family was likable enough.  Police and detectives were dedicated and real.  But the story was kind of demented.  Maybe the dullest book I have ever read.  I just felt like I wasted several hours on this book.  Definitely not recommending this author to reader friends.
1634892
2 stars because it's not the worst book I've read.
4237042
This book was just OK for me. There were some parts that were pretty engaging, but much of it was blah. The writing was not particularly good. I don't recall any memorable passages or lines worth quoting. The villains were pretty flat and predictable with the exception of Walleran who was potentially complex and interesting, but his character was never fully fleshed out. The end got kind of strange with the sudden shift of focus to Thomas Beckett.

Throughout I felt like the author was padding the story to add pages. I know this goes on in publishing all the time. Regardless that the author -- an artist -- was done with his work, the publisher knows another hundred pages would sell better, so back it goes to the author with a request for filler.

As for the historical detail about life in medieval times generally, and cathedral building specifically, I thought it was pretty thin. (Follett is no Irving Stone.) I didn't learn much history here at all other than a few names. Historical events portrayed were modified to make for a better story. But seeing as this is "historical fiction" I guess it's allowed. Just don't quote anything from the book as being accurate.
4607478
I liked the storyline. The characters were OK. I was surprised to find out who the bad guy was. But the whole book had a stilted feel to it as of the author was trying too hard. Sentences were choppy and sometimes even boring. This is not one of the author best books.
2737718
Not a bad read but not a "good" read.  Takes a long time to get interested and I found myself wishing I could hurry and finish so I could read something else.
883239
Not much in the way of stories. Sure there are better reads elsewhere.
782124
I felt it was much too long and dragged on...it would have been much easier to read.  I really did not like it overall.
2235154
Not much flow to this book,with only very limited highlights of Irish history.  The motivations of the kid and other adults are rather one dimensional, often acting without logic.  It is painfully slow to read, though it does pick up somewhat in the last 100 pages.  This was a read for our book and this feeling was universal.  Several could not even get through to the end.
2010576
I bought this book for my Kindle, based on the reviews.  It was an interesting enough read (though I 'fast-forwarded' through the boring parts) but I would not necessarily recommend it to my friends.  I gave it three stars because it held my interest long enough to finish reading the book, though I almost gave up at the 2/3 point.  I kept reading, hoping it would get more interesting.

The title makes no sense to me, though. The daughter wasn't a particularly crucial character, nor a main character.  They might as well have titled it "The Hangman and the Doctor."
3515643
When I read a book i really like, I am into the plot and not very aware of the writing style.  In this book, I was aware that I was reading.  There was a stilted feel to the flow, and the plot.  Starting the book with the wreck was an interesting ploy, but a bit heavy handed foreshadowing.  The set up chapters were a bit choppy, and I never really felt there was sufficient despiration in John to justify his descent into criminal activity.  The characters were stereotypical, and the life insurance ending a bit too tidy.  The author would have been better served getting his message out by publishing a poster of a cute (of course) white child holding hands with a cute (of course) black child with the banner, "can't we all just get along?"
4344960
Poorly written, difficult to read.
Hard to believe most of it, still a boring read.
2552753
While this book brought together several different elements found in thrillers and horror novels (like haunted houses, serial killers, and ghosts), it managed to be neither scary nor exciting. It felt disorganized, despite its simple writing, and the plot felt rather unresolved by the book's end. There were simply too many gaps in the storyline for this to be truly an enjoyable read. It was very "different," and while the characters were not detestable, they weren't very dynamic or particularly sympathetic, either. I have heard Straub compared to Stephen King, and based on this book alone, I don't really see a basis for the comparison.
3221124
Not impressed.....it wasn't a great read - very first person and not much meat.  Made for an older guy to read.