140. The Sinner by Tess Gerritsen

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Gerritsen, Tess. The Sinner. New York, NY: Random House Publishing Group, 2003. Print.

355 pages

This is the third installment in the Rizzoli and Isles series. Tess Gerritsen continues her exploration of evil in a story about two nuns who were murdered in their convent. The story spans across continents with a connection to a chemical plant in India. 

At this point in the series, Gerritsens’ characters have started to materialize in a more personal way. The depth of character has deepened and readers can start to feel attached to them. We’ve spent enough time with them at this point to feel like old friends. This makes the tension and suspense in the novel all the greater.

Not without scandalous affairs, The Sinner addresses evil from a number of angles. Much like The Surgeon, it explores how evil can be just around the corner. An otherwise average human can have an alternative life that we know nothing about.

In addition, this novel explores the concept of corporate greed as a source of evil in the world. Corporate greed is not only found in large corporations but in charitable organizations and smaller businesses as well. It can be the source of atrocities, including what unfolds in this story.

Reviewed by Jess d'Artagnan Love

Would I read it again? 

Yep

Recommended for

Rizzoli and Isles fans

Not Recommended for

Not for kids of those sensitive to violence.

 

3 stars out of 5

 

Tess Gerritsen’s website: https://www.tessgerritsen.com/

Tess Gerritsen on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18149.Tess_Gerritsen

 

Reviews of previous novels in the series:

The Surgeon

The Apprentice

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134. The Apprentice by Tess Gerritsen

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Gerritsen, Tess. The Apprentice. New York, NY: The Ballantine Publishing Group, 2002. Print.

344 pages

Reviewed by Jess d'Artagnan Love

The Apprentice is the second book in Tess Gerritsen’s Rizzoli and Isles series. It picks up from The Surgeon with a killer that has eerie similarities in his calling cards to the Surgeon that Jane threw in jail a year ago. Jane Rizzoli is back while Thomas Moore has retired. New on the scene is Maura Isles and this is the first-time readers meet Maura. This book, like the first book, is told from third person limited primarily from Jane Rizzoli’s point of view.

As mentioned in my review of The Surgeon, I am re-reading the entire series this year, paying close attention to how Gerritsen explores the concept of evil. In The Apprentice the theme of evil focuses on how everyone has dark secrets. It also explores the question of whether people are born evil or if they are made evil through a combination of biology and environment—the age old “nature versus nurture” question. The book does not take a firm stand on either side of the debate but rather finds a grey area in between. It seems that, while some people may be born evil, others are turned that way as a result of their life experiences, part of which includes brain trauma to the frontal lobe. Gerritsen’s background as a doctor really shines in this novel.

Another story I wanted to track into the second novel was that of, Karl Pachecko, the unarmed man Rizzoli murders in The Surgeon. This event is one that I don’t think would simply be brushed aside as it would have lasting effects on Jane’s psychology as well as her standing as a police officer. It took a while for The Apprentice to get there, but there is mention of this situation. Rizzoli expresses regret and a sense of being haunted by the incident that I felt was in line with what may happen in reality. Jane is also closely monitored and often thought unstable throughout the book. She is threatened multiple times to be sent to mandatory counseling and to be taken off her current case due to mental health concerns which I think would also line up accurately following the events in The Surgeon.

Overall, this is a solid second novel and provides readers with an exciting glimpse into a character that will soon play a huge role in the series (Maura Isles).

Would I read it again? 

Yes

Recommended for

Fans of murder mysteries, crime dramas, and thrillers.

Not Recommended for

Anyone who has experienced violence. This gets pretty graphic.

Word Bank

Sylvan (77)

Introitus (86)

Punchy (91)

Tony (93)

Pugilist (151)

3 stars out of 5

Tess Gerritsen’s website: https://www.tessgerritsen.com/

Tess Gerritsen on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18149.Tess_Gerritsen

Other books in the Rizzoli and Isles series reviewed
The Surgeon

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133. Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead

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Mead, Richelle. Shadow Kiss. New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2008. Print.

443 pages

Reviewed by Jessica Love

This is the third book in the Vampire Academy series. In this installment, Rose is dealing with an inner battle through most of the book. She is seeing ghosts and working through unexplained rage and blood lust. Without giving away spoilers, I can't say much more than that. 

In my review of the previous book, Frostbite, I mentioned that if there was anything int he series that would make me stop reading, it was Rose herself. I didn't like the way the protagonist was emotionally abusive and irrational. This book helped to further elucidate that issue. I like the way the majority of the book was Rose turning inward, trying to figure out why she behaved the way she did and resolve her inner conflicts. She frames mental health, personal growth, and psychotherapy in a positive and somewhat realistic way which I think is so good for teens to read! 

Mead wraps up the story with some actual physical battle which keeps the book exciting. If I had to pick out strengths and weaknesses of the series so far, I would say Mead's weakness is world building, and strength is character development. The world building is still pretty flimsy. I feel like there are so many blanks to be filled in before this will feel like a fully formed "world." The characters though, are excellent. She is skilled at giving each character a voice that is their own. 

My final verdict is that this book is (and series) is pure entertainment and was decent enough to send me on to the next in the series. 

Would I read it again? 
Maybe. 

Recommended for
Fans of the vampire genre.

Not Recommended for
Readers expecting complex, thorough world-building. Readers younger than 13. 

Word Bank

None

3 stars out of 5

Richelle Mead's website: http://richellemead.com/

Richelle Mead on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/137902.Richelle_Mead

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Read to Grow Book Club: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/1058875-read-to-grow-lovestead-book-club

Other Vampire Academy Books Reviewed
Frostbite

112. "Storm Front" by Jim Butcher

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Butcher, Jim. Storm Front. New York: Penguin, 2000.

322 pages

Reviewed by J. d'Artagnan Love

Harry Dresden is both a wizard and a private investigator. He takes a job with the local Chicago PD investigating a murder in which two people's hearts exploded out of their bodies. This was murder by magic and Dresden is set with the task of figuring out who could have the power to do such magic. 

The novel is a fun genre mashup of standard mystery novel formula meets urban fantasy. The pace keeps the reader interested and there is also enough detail provided to understand the world creation and magic system. Told from Dresden's first person perspective, the writing is both intimate and witty. A cast of characters is skillfully built to develop a series of additional novels. I was left wanting to learn more about the cast and to see which adventure Harry would be met with next. Overall, this was a quick, engaging read. It wasn't a literary masterpiece but it was an entertaining 322 pages. 

Recommended for: readers who enjoy a good urban fantasy suspense. Adult readers (some sexually explicit and violent themes I wouldn't recommend for children and teens).

Not Recommended for: Kids and teens or anyone wanting a book that has lyrical or masterful prose. Expect prose that is plot oriented and meant to entertain. 

3 darts out of 5

107. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

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Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. New York: Fawcett Crest, 1985.

311 pages.

Reviewed by J. d'Artagnan Love

SYNOPSIS: This first person narrative tells the story of Offred after the U.S. government has been overthrown by a group of religious zealots called the Sons of Jacob. In this dystopia, humans are struggling to reproduce so women who have successfully had children prior to the overthrow are forced to become "handmaids" used for breeding purposes. Each handmaid us assigned to a commander and is expected to birth his child. The story follows Offred and her experience with her commander and life in the new world order.

WHAT I LIKED: This is an important book to read. Atwood paints a harrowing picture of where we may end up if women become complacent and if Marshall law is enacted. The story is terrifying and I didn't enjoy it, but I don't think it is a book that is mean to be enjoyed. The book is warning much in the same way that Animal Farm is a warning. The writing is good--skilled, artful, absorbing.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: When I read a piece like this that goes beyond being a novel for entertainment's sake and becomes a piece of art, I want that art to provide me hope and some kind of solution to the problem it's attempting to tackle. That is why I love art--it helps me conceptualize new ways of approaching old problems. The Handmaid's Tale falls flat for me in this regard. There is no solution. There is no hope. There is no clear step that can be taken to get end the dystopia that Offred lives in. We don't even get the closure in the end when historians analyze how she escaped. They're answer was "we don't know. haha." We also don't know how the historians gained freedom to study this period in American history from the place of intellectual freedom in which they currently reside. They just do. They're just there. In this way, The Handmaid's Tale is the same as the hanging wall depicted in the story. It's warning, nothing more.

RECOMMEND FOR: Anyone who plans on watching the Hulu adaptation needs to read this. I don't plan to watch the series, but from what I've heard the Hulu series has some major differences from the original novel.

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR: Anyone who may be triggered by sexual violence or hopeless dystopian themes.

4 darts out of 5

105. Locke and Key Volume 1: Welcome to Lovecraft" by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez

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SYNOPSIS: A family is struck by tragedy when their father, a school guidance counselor,  is murdered by one of his students. The event takes them out to a family house on the East Coast--Key house. When Bode, the youngest son, finds a key that unlocks a supernatural door in the house, the fun begins.

WHAT I LOVED: The art in this series is incredible. I spent countless time reading and re-reading this just to soak in the art. The drawings are so detailed and bursting with emotion.

WHAT I LIKED: I liked the fierceness of the sister. She copes with the tragedy by getting angry and being active which I think is an empowering illustration of coping rather than painting her as a tragic victim as so many female characters are.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: I found the level of violence in this hard to deal with. I tend to be sensitive when it comes to gore and wasn't expecting to see so much of it in a story about a mystical old house. I fully get that this is a "me" issue and not an issue with the series,  but that was my only unwelcome experience as I read.

RECOMMEND FOR: Those who enjoy a good horror film.

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR: Readers sensitive to violence and gore.

3.5 darts out of 5

102. "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins

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SYNOPSIS: A woman struggling with alcoholism takes a train into town everyday so her roommate thinks she's going to work. She's actually unemployed, depressed, and lonely. She fantasizes about a couple she watches from the train everyday and in a desperate attempt to connect with someone, moves those fantasies into reality by showing up at the couple's house when she learns the woman has gone missing. From there, everything spirals into a murder-mystery, psychological thriller.

WHAT I LOVED: I loved the non linear timelines told from multiple perspectives. It was a unique way to create tension and suspense. I loved that the points of view were all women who had dealt with the same psychopath and how each of those voices was unique and compelling.

WHAT I LIKED: I liked the way Hawkins worked in alcoholism as a devastating disease. The explanation of black outs was scientifically accurate, for the most part.

WHAT I COULD DO WITHOUT: Honestly, I knew by the third chapter who dunnit. It wasn't because it was obvious who it was but it was obvious to me who it wasn't.

RECOMMEND FOR: Anyone who likes a fast-paced thriller along the lines of Gone Girl.

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR: Those who struggle with alcohol addiction--I could see this book being a trigger for relapse.

3 darts out of 5.

99 "Reliquary" by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

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Preston, Douglas and Child, Lincoln. Reliquary. New York, NY: Tom Doherty and Associates, 1997.

Reviewed by J. d'Artagnan Love


SYNOPSIS: Picking up where Relic left off, Reliquary follows Dr. Margo Green and office D'Agosta as they try to unravel the mystery of the "wrinklers," a group of underground New Yorkers committing horrific murders. Agent Pendergrast joins the efforts as does a cast of new and interesting characters. Together, they must map out underground New York which is full of homeless communities that are highly organized and dangerous. For me, it was a beautiful mashup of the styles of Night at the Museum, Jurassic Park, and your standard murder mystery.

WHAT I LOVED: This books is completely absorbing. I found myself totally lost in the story, forgetting time and space and knowing only what was happening with Margo, Smithback, Pendergast and D'Agosta. Pendergast continues to intrigue me and more than once I found myself holding my breath through the conclusion of a scene.

WHAT I LIKED: Preston and Child have once again nailed the science fiction element of the story. The science-fiction is creative and at the same time believable. I am astounded by the amount of research and planning that must have gone in to the writing of this novel, particularly when it comes to understanding the underground communities of New York City.

WHAT I COULD DO WITHOUT: The only thing I didn't like about this book was that it had to end.

RECOMMEND FOR: Anyone who likes action, adventure, and mysteries.

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR: Someone looking for a romance story--there is virtually none in this one.

5 darts out of 5

87. "The Vampire Diaries: Awakening" by L. J. Smith

Smith, L. J. The Vampire Diaries: Awakening. New York: HarperCollins, 1999.

276 pages.

Reviewed by J. d’Artagnan Love

After reading Vampire Diaries: Awakening, I have a really hard time believing that Stephenie Meyer never read vampire fiction. Twilight parallels this book so very closely, it almost seem like she ripped off the story from L. J. Smith. That being said, in Vampire Diaries: Awakening, Stefan Salvatore is a new guy in town and, naturally, he’s a vampire. Elena, the female protagonist of the story is haunted by the recent death of her parents and infatuated with Stefan but Stefan is too troubled about being a monster to truly let Elena into his heart. By the cliff-hanger ending, a love triangle has formed. Sound familiar?

I found this book entertaining but a bit dated. It’s dated in the ways it illustrated teenage social structures. In the story there is one “queen” of the high school (Elena) and her “crowd” of cool people. Their values and interests are shallow and materialistic. The social structures are reminiscent of the films Clueless and Can’t Hardly Wait; they’re very 90s era and irrelevant to teenagers of today’s world. My biggest issue was how manipulative Elena was in trying to “have” Stefan. I’m pretty sure Mean Girls blew this kind of behavior out of the water (again, going back to how 90s clichéd this book is). If she could drop the manipulation and give some concrete reasons for why she loves Stefan other than him being “so hot,” I might actually like her.

If we stripped away the 90s social structures, the story itself is pretty interesting. One of my favorite parts of reading vampire fiction is picking about the vampire mythology used in each series or book. These vampires don’t sparkle and in order to change from human to vampire, the Dracula method is used (vampire sucks human blood and then human drinks vampire blood). There are some other fun magical features to these vampires but I’ll leave that up to you to discover should you choose to read this book.

2 darts out of 5

This book is FOR people who: want a quick, meaningless read with some fun vampire characters.

This book is NOT FOR people who: want character depth or maturity.   

83. "The Red Bishop" by Greg Boose

Boose, Greg. The Red Bishop. Full Fathom Five, 2014.

305 pages

Reviewed by J. d’Artagnan Love

**I was given this book in exchange for an honest review**

Lake Price’s entire life changed when her brother, Kimball, disappeared. Since his disappearance Lake’s main goal was to get into dangerous situations that would help her forget about the pain his absence left behind. One evening, shortly before Thanksgiving, Lake and her friends decide to spend the night in a haunted house and they get way more than they bargained for. They discover a coven of evil witches and from that point on, Lake’s life spirals into a crazy adventure of witch hunting. Halstead, a man who spends his life tracking the witches, believes that Lake is the Red Bishop, an individual genetically programmed to hunt witches.

The Red Bishop is not written for adults. It is not written for young adults. It’s audience is mature children and pre-teens and the writing reflects this as the language is simplistic and the story very linear. The characters are very much teenagers and their dialogue is peppered with “dude!” and “like” and “bro”. That being said, the characters are pretty lovable, though they could stand for some better development. It appears that this will be the first book in a series so hopefully we can learn more about the characters in the coming novels.

My only quibble with this book really is the character development. Lake’s initial reaction to first being attacked by the witches is blasé. She doesn’t react with disbelief or with shock; she is angry and intensely determined to figure out the connection between the witches her brother. Halstead has the potential to be an immensely interesting character but lacks the required back story readers need to bond with him. The best developed characters are Lake and John and, as I said earlier, I hope in the next books of the series, we can get to know the rest of them more deeply too.

The best part of The Red Bishop is the creep factor. These witches are seriously creepy. Seriously. Creepy. I’ve read plenty of scary stories so I’ve been exposed to lots of different creepy bad guys, but the witches in this book are some of the creepiest bad guys I’ve ever met. Even though this was written for mature children and pre-teens, as an adult I was thoroughly frightened by the scenes with the witches. The hair on my arms stood on end and I had to turn on every light in my home. Yeah.

This is a really fun read as long as you don’t expect it to be written for a mature audience. Weaknesses aside, this book is still written better than the last book of the Divergent series. (Did I really just write that? Bad d’Arty….)

3 darts out of 5

This book is FOR people: who don’t mind reading simplistic writing, who are looking for a good scare, and who want a quick, fun read.

This book is NOT FOR people: who want in-depth character development.  

79. "Body of Evidence" by Patricia Cornwell

****Spoiler Alert****

This review contains plot spoilers.

Cornwell, Patricia. Body of Evidence. New York: Pocket Books, 1991

403 pages.

Reviewed by J. d’Artagnan Love

Body of Evidence is book number two in the Kay Scarpetta series. A new killer is on the loose and his victims are all connected by a strange orange fiber found at the scene of the crime. Beryl Madison, a prolific writer, is found dead in her home. Shortly following her murder, a Pulitzer Prize winning writer, Cary Harper, is murdered in the same fashion. Beryl was a protégée who studied under Harper and become very close to Harper and his sister. Eventually, their killer decides to go after Kay Scarpetta next and from there the plot unravels.

Body of Evidence felt a bit desperate and slapped together. The story came together at the end, but the formula was almost identical to the previous book. Woman is murdered. Another person is murdered. Murderer goes after Kay. How is it they all go after Kay? This wasn’t believable for me as a reader and it felt like a cheap way to get the killer closer to the narrator so catching him would be easy. He would show up at her door eventually, which meant that Cornwell didn’t have to devise any creative ways to track him down.

The narration felt overly dramatic with Kay comparing herself to God at certain points: “I had trained my staff very well. I wondered how God had felt after he created a world that thought it did not need Him” (Cornwell, 281-3). Kay is Catholic so it isn’t entirely out her character to reference God, but it is out of her character to compare herself to God. Kay is stressed, scared, and unsure of herself in this book and the comparison was out of place.

The killer in the story ends up being a paranoid schizophrenic. <sigh> Yes, the book was written in the early 1990s, but come on. Very few schizophrenics have the ability to do organized crime; they don’t function at a high enough level to do so. Cornwell admits this in the narration through Kay's medical knowledge so then, naturally, the killer was also highly intelligent. While not altogether impossible, it felt like a cop-out for having to write a killer that would be more plausible.

In general the book makes mental illness look bad, really bad. The mentally ill characters are dangerous and scary and don’t recover. Instead, they commit suicide and kill people. As a mental health professional myself, this was a really discouraging picture to paint of those struggling with mental illness. Way to feed the stigma, Cornwell. I won’t even get into the rampant homophobia present in the book. I know, I know, early 90s. Times were different back then, but still, I don’t have to like something just because I can put it context.

2 darts out of 5

Bookshelf Project Status: Return to library 

Reviews of earlier books in the series:
1. Postmortem

71. "Postmortem" by Patricia Cornwell

Cornwell, Patricia. Postmortem. New York: Pocket Books, 1990

342 pages

Reviewed by J. d'Artagnan Love

Kay Scarpetta is a doctor who smokes, rarely exercises, and downs meals full of fat and cholesterol. She’s not your average doctor and not simply because she seems to shun taking a dose of her own medicine. Kay Scarpetta is the county medical examiner in Richmond, Virginia, an area known for its soaring murder rate. Scarpetta deals with death on a daily basis: “What the hell. You die. Everybody dies. So you die healthy. So what?” (Cornwell, 41). This was the most profound couple of sentences in Postmortem. The rest of the book is pure entertainment.

Death and the fragility of the human experience is a theme in nearly every murder mystery. It’s present in Postmortem as well, a finely tuned radio acting as background noise to the turbulent plot. There’s a new serial killer in Richmond who the newspapers dubbed “The Strangler” for the gruesome ways in which he kills his victims. Scarpetta, working in conjunction with the local police force, tries to unravel the knot the strangler managers to tie. There isn't a lot of evidence to work with aside from a “glittery substance” found at each scene.

Postmortem was startling creepy is its realism. I found myself double and triple checking the locks on my windows and doors at night before bed while I was making my way through the story. It got under my skin more intensely than other murder mysteries due, though I can’t pinpoint the reason why it affected me in that way. I didn’t identify with Kay Scarpetta, but I liked her a lot. I was rooting for her the whole time.

Postmortem was written at a time when technology was just starting to play a role in police investigations. Dial-up modems were still used regularly (remember that horrible sound?) and DNA testing was just starting to come en vogue. The outdated technology was a chuckle-worthy trip down memory lane. I was just a littlin’ in the early 90s, but I was old enough to have vivid memories of some of the technology that was used before the era of cell phones and iPads.

There were some low points in the writing. The foreshadowing tended to be a bit too obvious and made certain scenes predictable. Some of Scarpetta’s inner dialogue drags on and gets a bit repetitive. Generally speaking, though, I had fun reading this book and isn’t that the purpose of a beach read? To entertain? I had enough fun reading it, that I plan to continue with her series and start in on book number two soon!

3 darts out of 5

Bookshelf Project Status: Return to the Library 

67. "The Bone Garden" by Tess Gerritsen

Gerritsen, Tess. The Bone Garden. New York: Ballantine Books, 2007.
487 pages
Reviewed by J. d'Artagnan Love

The Bone Garden was another one of those books that I bought to build a stack of beach reads. In The Bone Garden, Julia Hamill, recently divorced, buys an old house in Boston and discovers a skeleton buried in her back yard. After the story hits the newspapers, Julia is contacted by Henry Page who is a descendant of the previous owner of Julia's home. Together, he and Julia sort through boxes of old family heirlooms, newspaper clippings and letters to try and uncover the mystery surrounding the skeleton in her garden.

The Bone Garden has a second story arch. The narrative flashes between present time and 1830s Boston where Norris Marshall attends medical school. In a maternity ward, Norris meets Rose Conelly, an Irish immigrant and her sister Aurnia, who is dying of childbed fever. When Rose is witness to a murder, she and Norris are entangled in an investigation to hunt down a serial killer.

This book is a fun read. The sections  of the narrative taking place in the 1830s are much better developed than those set in the present. Julia Hamill experiences a cheeky romance with Henry's nephew that feels contrived and forced. The relationship between Julia and Henry is endearing but not much time is spent getting to know Julia herself. Her character is less of a protagonist and more of a plot device to connect the past to the present. This in itself is not necessarily a bad writing choice, but it did make Julie feel like a hollow and archetypal character.

Rose Conolly, on the other hand, is pretty interesting. She has a fierce devotion to her family and, Irish stereotypes aside, she's strong and easy to root for. The relationship between Norris and Rose also feels a bit rushed and contrived at points but the mystery of tracking down the serial killer, and Gerittsen's descriptions of medical practices in the 1830s were fascinating.

In all, I enjoyed this book. It certainly falls into the category of "beach read" because it was highly entertaining, but not something of high literary value. The next time I want an easy, quick, entertaining read, Gerritson's work will be at the top of my list of choices.

3 darts out of 5
Bookshelf Project Status: DONATED

64. "Insomnia" by Stephen King

King, Stephen. Insomnia. New York: Viking Press, 1994.

787 Pages

Reviewed by J. d'Artagnan Love

I have not read much of Stephen King’s work. His last book I read was Bag of Bones and I read it in high school which, as of this May, was officially ten years ago! A friend of mine loves his work and recommended I read Insomnia based on her knowledge of my novel preferences. Ironically, I was having bouts of insomnia myself when I picked up the book, making it a good fit for the time in which I read it!

Insomnia follows Ralph, an old widowed man, as he wanders through the haze of sleeplessness—a haze which slowly turns into hallucinations that Ralph has a difficult time distinguishing from reality. Ralph loses his ability sleep over time, and he insists that the hallucinatory existence in which he now resides is a result of his insomnia. When he is witness to one of his long-time friends behaving strangely, Ralph is sent spiraling into a neon, dreamlike, domino cascade of events. One thing Ralph is sure of is something very important is happening to him and the town in which he lives.

Ralph eventually surrenders to this new world, a world that overlaps with the real world but no one but Ralph is able to access. Eventually he learns that his long time crush, Lois, is also suffering from insomnia and she admits to having similar experiences with an alternate reality. Lois and Ralph’s journey intensifies as they meet Clothos, Lachesis, and Atropos, three mysterious beings that live, not in this world, but in the colorful alternate world only Lois and Ralph can enter. Together they learn to develop their own personal skill sets that help them in an unfolding battle between good and evil.

This is one of the most interesting books I think I’ve ever read. King reaches deep into a collective unconscious to explore the afterlife and the true meaning of morality. The story presents readers with questions about their own perceptions of the world and how it works. Readers must also make a leap of faith—is what Ralph experiences true and valid or just insane ramblings from a senile old man? Do you believe him or do you think King will chalk it up to a loss of mental faculties by the end of the narrative? These questions kept me turning pages along with his brilliant descriptions of a beautiful world that exists alongside our own. The text is rich and complex and swayed my decision to read more work by Stephen King! I can’t say much more than that without giving the story away! This is definitely a good started text for anyone unfamiliar with King's body of work. If you read it, let me know what you think!

4 darts out 5

Bookshelf Project Status: borrowed from a friend.