Underwhelming & Repetitive With A Thin Plot
353925
After reading Sarah's Key, I couldn't wait to read another of de Rosnay's books.  Now I'm successfully cured of following a particular author.  The beginning (first half of book) is repetitive and boring.  I was quite sick of Antoine's wallowing over the loss of his wife to another man after the first five times the author described his miserable, dejected and melancholy state.  After the fifteenth time, I wanted to throw the book against a wall and tell him to "man up".  Eventually the story picked up speed, but sadly, only briefly.  The book depends on a series of contrived plot devices to attempt to interest the reader, but they are thrown in haphazardly, frequently, and serve no real purpose in my mind.  There was no real suspense.  The big secret is not so shocking (at least no one acts like it is).  The family dynamics are somewhat interesting, but then, at the end they too come into question, as Antoine's sister, Melanie, seems to have some monumental personality shift which her father's terminal illness doesn't even come close to  explaining.  The end should have come several chapters before it did.  The suicide, as an attempt at metaphoric significance, on the railroad tracks in the last chapters was completely lost on me.  If anyone out there can explain it, I would certainly appreciate hearing from you.  This book was messy.
3228853
shallow characterization, predictable plot, one third of the way into it and just can't read anymore... wish I had not bought it
3436373
The premise could be interesting and fully developed but the author fails to do that.  This book was a waste of time; thankfully it's a short read and can be read in one extended period.  The author attempts to use the "less is more" adage but fails at connecting the reader to the characters.

A suspenseful drama doesn't need to include such detail that nothing is left unexplained, and I do think the author made good choices in not revealing too much detail.

The chapters were so sparse, and the book is already so thin it didn't allow for a more fully developed storyline.  The end of the book left me feeling very unsatisfied, somehow cheated by the cheap ended.  It was as if the author had no vision how to bring closure, watched some Hollywood movie and came up with the ending after that.

To me, it was a waste of time; spend more time reading books like Under a Thousand Splendid Suns or other similar books if you are interested in a suspenseful drama where the characters are more developed and it begs the reader for a reaction.
1764753
In the past I'd really enjoyed this series, but after picking up books 9-11 and reading them all one right after the other in less than two weeks, I found this book especially to be too repetitious to thoroughly enjoy. The same descriptive phrases are used over, and over, and over again. Harry snarls, Molly whimpers, and Mouse pads. Murphy takes every opportunity to point out she's a cop. I felt like I knew every description of every character and their behavior before it even happened. Even the new twists at this point feel old and familiar, and not in a good way.

I'm disappointed there was no real follow up on Michael. I'm tired of hearing about the black counsel, when several books into the idea, it's still just a theory. Eventually I think I'll pick up book 12, but I think this is a series that you definitely need to have breaks between books.
1897605
Did I read the same book as some of the other reviewers who gave this a glowing review??

I am a fan of mysteries, and have read more than I can count. I expect at least one of two things from a mystery, especially a series: either an exciting plot or great character development. This series used to have decent plots, but the characters have always been lacking. This book falls flat on both counts.

I find myself actually disliking Alex, which I'm pretty sure is not supposed to be the case with the main protagonist. Her conversations with her girlfriends do not ring true for any woman who has ever had a close friend. Alex comes across as brittle and prissy. Fairstein hardly even lets the poor girl eat! Alex is forever losing her appetite and "picking at" food rather than consuming it. I suppose that's necessary for her to maintain the body that in an earlier book was described, as I recall, as being 5'10" and 120 lbs. *snort* Yeah, that's a woman we can relate to. The poor thing seems to survive on nothing but Dewar's.

Doesn't Mercer have a wife and child now? And yet, he spends most evening with Mike and Alex. Huh?

Mike is slightly less annoying here, having cut back a bit on the "Blondie" references. But dull? Okay, so he's mourning, but does he have to be so *boringly* in mourning?

Mercifully, there is less discussion of the intrepid trio watching Final Jeopardy, a twee little game that quickly grew old in earlier books. There is, of course, the requisite Martha's Vineyard interlude. Again we hear about the transcendent beauty of the island, the ludicrously pampered life of Alex whose wealth enables her to keep a spare hotrod there and have someone to maintain the house, shop for her, etc. Yawn. We got it, Fairstein, you love Martha's Vineyard. Fine, but it's getting to be a snoozefest.

Oh, and in this story we're also treated to what in the real world is called a stalker, but in Fairstein world is apparently supposed to be a man romantically smitten with Alex. Mind you, he fell for Alex during a half-hour plane ride during which she hardly spoke except to weave lies about herself. Behavior that her would-be suitor apparently found charming. But such apparently is the beauty of Alex that she has the power to drive men wile even by being rude and dishonest.

And the motivation for the murder of the dancer--HUH? What?? This is the best she could come up with? Good lord, but that was a letdown.

The one mildly interesting aspect of this book was the description and history of the theater venues. But this alone does not make a book worthy of being published.

Fairstein jumped the shark a couple of books ago. It reminds me of Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta series, which started out strong but eventually disintegrated into silly nonsense. I'm sad to say that I'm done with this series now.
2768471
Nothing new in this mystery story, very predictable. The novel is a bit of a clich&eacute; and a tad unbelievable -- we are asked to believe that a young woman would dismiss a cab and walk into a dark park late at night right off the bat.

The hero, Jack Gannon, is supposed to be a veteran newspaper reporter and past Pulitzer nominee.  He is chasing a story about a psycho serial ritual killer who seems to be punishing sinners and those he deems "guilty" -- all women, and usually current or ex-prostitutes, drug users, etc. The sadistic, mentally deranged killer kidnaps these women, holds them prisoner, and then kills them. The story is convoluted with too many time shifts back and forth and the character development is quite shallowly done. The story does move fast, just not a lot of content. It's hard to care that much about the hero nor the victims -- too shallow character development.

It's a mindless read for those who can't get enough suspense serial killer stories.
4405774
Only a good investigator could find the plot here.  It is buried under tons of ridiculously minute, nearly endless descriptions of clothes, faces, driveways, mailboxes, front doors, and on and on and on.  I know the series gets better, but this one is a smothered dud.
493454
I picked this book up because the blurb sounded good, it was free, and I'm always looking for somebody new to read. I wanted to like this book but it's was to repetitive, the plot was way to thin and the characters weren't really developed.
2648631
I purchased the Kindle edition for $1, a poor value.  This book is full of cliche and the plot is very predictable.  I immediately guessed who the killer was, and it seemed so obvious that I wondered if I would be surprised in the end.  I wasn't.  The paragraphs about the attraction between the main characters were so tedious that I found myself skimming over them.  The big reveal about the evil politician husband was ho hum, and none of the characters seemed to have any dimension -- just cardboard cutouts being moved through a weak storyline.

I am amazed by all the five star reviews.  I have to wonder if those readers have ever read anything of quality.  Different strokes, I guess.
3621671
Any series that has run for ten years can expect to have a weak entry once in a while.  For the 43 Light Street series, that weak entry is "Amanda's Child."  After such recent stunners as "Nowhere Man," "Midnight Caller," and "Never Too Late," this is a big disappointment. When Amanda Barnwell made the decision to get pregnant through artificial insemination, she didn't know it would put her in danger.  A powerful man who believes his dead son was the sperm donor would do anything to get his hands on her baby.  He doesn't count on Matthew Forester overhearing his plan.  Matthew has been attracted to Amanda from the first time he saw her.  Can he keep her and her baby safe?
"Amanda's Child" begins very well with a fast opening (everything explained about happens in the first ten pages) and taut suspense.  A couple chapters into it I was thinking, "This is why I read Intrigues."  It was that good.  But starting with Chapter Four or Five, the story falls apart.  By the end, I was very unsatisfied.  A story that began with great promise fell into a muddled mess.
The weakest part of the story was the heroine.  Amanda is constantly described as a strong person who took over her father's ranch after his illness.  With one exception early on, we never see this part of her.  Matthew completely takes over, telling her what she's going to do now, planning every part of their escape, not allowing her any input in her own fate.  As a result, Amanda becomes a supporting character in her own story.  Especially galling was one scene where she apologized to him for demanding to know what was going on.  It's her life and her baby in danger.  She shouldn't have to ask the "hero" not to keep things from her.  For those who like men who take over women's lives, for their own good or otherwise, here's a hero for you.  I was unimpressed by his high-handedness.  It's a good thing the book wasn't called "Matthew's Child."  We would have had no idea if it referred to the baby or Amanda.
There are also problems with the story.  What seems like a clear plot with a tight focus eventually becomes unwieldy and all over the map.  Glick has trouble maintaining the suspense for the entire book.  Too often her characters seem to forget they're even in any danger.  I was baffled more than once, wondering why Matthew and Amanda were doing things that could have waited until after they were out of danger.  The romance is forced, happening too fast to be believed.  The appearance by a character from another book in this series is welcome, although it only demonstrates how far this book is from that one, one of the best Light Street Books ever.
The beginning of this book is so good that I can't completely condemn it.  Or it could be that my reaction wouldn't be as harsh if it wasn't as strong.  I'm willing to allow the series one weak entry, since it's been years since I've had such a negative reaction to a Light Street book.  Let's hope the next book finds the series back in good form.
3753162
Poor action, unnecessary details, no suspense, nothing new
2690917
This book has 2 plots that runs in parallel:

1) disappearance of a girl
2) corporate conspiracy

Both plots unravel in a single chapter in the most mundane and predictable way.  This is what gets the book a 1 star.  If this was made into a movie, it would be the type of movie that you see on the Lifetime channel with B actors and requires very little budget (you won't find any bombs or car chases in this movie).

The book doesn't pick up until halfway through.  For the most part, the main character is researching the disappearance of a girl, and the narrative pretty much repeats itself over and over with slight variations:  Bloomkivst  woke up at 8:00, had lunch at 1:00 (gee it's cold outside), went through photos until 5:00, ate dinner at 7:00, had sex at 10, slept late until 2:00 looking at more photos.  Imagine 100+ pages of that narrative, which most of this book is about.

There's nothing about the "girl with the dragon tatoo" that makes her special -- nothing she does in this book is overtly clever.  She's simply a girl who knows the all parts inside a laptop, that's all.

The details in this book is also amazing, and I don't mean that in a good way.  Before the plot even goes anywhere, you're presented with an entire ancestry tree with dozens and dozens of names which later on have NO bearing or relevance in the book.  There are no more than 6-8 main characters in the book, but you'll encounter over 30 names from cousins to aunts to great grandfathers.  I mean, seriously???

Finally, maybe this is how most europeans behave, but the characters in this book have sex with each other like hamsters in a box.  They have sex as if they were shaking hands.  All of the characters in this book need to see a psychiatrist about love, sex, and relationships in general.
2266639
After reading this book's predecessor, 'Cade's Cove: The Curse of Allie Mae", which was a tight and engrossing thriller with interesting and well formed characters, I was excited to read this follow-up; however, I was increasingly disappointed as I read through it. The premise had promise, but the execution was not what it could have been. It seemed like the author had too many ideas floating around in his head and rather than winnowing them down to a small subset that could have resulted in a tight and coherent narrative, he tried to cram them all willy-nilly, linking them together in whatever tenuous way they could fit. Secondary and tertiary characters were brought in, developed, and killed off, sometimes in the space of a single chapter to form plot elements that could have just as easily been taken care of in a sentence or two to leave more space to focus on the central plot. Allie Mae's ghost made a couple of cameo appearances without any explanation as to why she was there--or even if it really was Allie Mae. The ghost of Billy Ray Hobson puts in a couple of appearances without adding anything to the plot. It's not even explained whether his presence is for good or ill. His final appearance would seem to suggest it was just for pure orneriness. And don't even get me started on the whole concept of the secret, underground temple. It seemed like something right out of a 'Scooby-Doo' cartoon! The conclusion was one of the worst-written things I've ever read. There was zero resolution to the plot, only a blunt threat that evil still lurks in Cades Cove and would not be deterred. It just seemed like the author had gotten bored with the whole thing, slapped down the last of his underdeveloped ideas and called it a day. The final chapter, which was only tangentially connected to the plot of the rest of the novel, was a total waste and should have been left out entirely--or at best saved as the first chapter of the next novel--assuming the author could come up with some better ideas to go with it. I'm not holding out much hope and I'm not waiting for book 3 of this series.
2924348
Bond's first book in the series successfully left this reader "wanting more," but this sequel left this reader feeling devoid of emotion other than, " I paid $2.99 for this?"
The plot was much too simple and predictable to hold my interest. The only reason I continued to read the novel was the hope that it would get better; however, it didn't.
661197
A lot of repetition and the story or plot didn't advance.  Very disappointing.
1197120
Why is it that all the book club style novels are as dull as dishwater?! Im so glad that I didn't pay for this book, it was a library read. I chose it because I saw a list of supposedly suspenseful novels and this was on it. The plot has been done before in many other more successful books and movies. Quick summary of the plot...girl has rich & apathetic father, girl gets kidnapped, girl falls in love with kidnapper, kidnapper dies, girl has mental breakdown, girl wants unloving father to pay for not loving her enough. The fact that the author jumped around from past to present, character to character for each chapter got annoying really fast. Honestly, Im not sure why there are so many 5 star reviews. Then again I also hated Gone Girl and I thought that was equally boring.
408922
I was really looking forward to reading this book but, unfortunately, I found it underwhelming.

The premise sounded good and it started out well, but the story quickly deteriorated into dull waiting and organisation sequences.  There were lots of visits to the bank, finding food, and just generally waiting around for something to happen. I was bored for much of this book, I think that boredom prevented me from connecting to characters.

 I actually sort of liked Sams and Anyas characters (even if I found them a bit one-track minded), but Page was just vapid and stupid. We follow these three characters around and Pages story seemed to run through the same thing three times, with very little difference  her only plot drivers seemed to be shopping and getting assaulted. It was very repetitive.

I did like Anya's authority, but she didn't do much besides find her scattered work colleagues and then... she bought a house. There wasn't much to her story, except for towards the end when things finally started happened to her, but by that time I was completely disinterested.

Sam's story was the one I came closest to liking, but again it was bogged down by long periods of waiting and spying (which amounted to waiting around outside a building).

As I indicated before, the ending was a bit better, but I am honestly not interested in reading a sequel to this series. Thats just my opinion though, other people might like it. Id recommend checking out the look inside for those interested in buying it, and remember those first few scenes are probably the most action-packed of the book.