Pretty disappointing - Rated 
I bought this book because of the numerous reviews raving about it but I ended up feeling let down by it. I found quite a few problems with it. For a start it could have done with some more editing, the plot is really not interesting enough to fill a book of this length and I began to find it very repetitive. The central character Joseph had the same boring thoughts and dreams over and over again. I think it was supposed to be haunting but it was just dull. Right from the start I found it difficult to get into.
Another difficulty I had was engaging with the characters because none of them were likeable really. Also as others have pointed out Joseph's life is quite ridiculously tragic, it was like being in a soap opera where people he loves drop like flies in very mean ways. I suppose people can be that unlucky but it doesn't make for great reading. It isn't even a good who-dunnit as the culprit can be guessed at pretty quickly. The identity of the murderer is quite stupid really as there is no real sense of why he killed so many young girls, it seems quite random like the author just went 'eenie meenie, ok this guy.' Oh and the running 'angel' theme is hideously irritating in my opinion. I really can't understand why this was so well liked, I would advise people to steer clear and not waste there money. I got through it once but will not be reading it again.
Not a 5-star book - Rated 
I tore through the first half of this tale in no time at all, lapping up the atmosphere of the American South and finding myself wanting to be there, despite all the dangers. The sign of a good read, no? Trouble is, the pace soon starts to drag. There's a big pinch of flab in the midsection where the writing style becomes Steinbeck like and experimental, and where characters are brought to life in adjective soaked descriptions only to fall off the radar minutes later and never be heard of again. It feels like a 300 page book fleshed out to please a publisher who really wanted 400.
While the writing does pick up considerably towards the end, by this time the main character has undergone so much misery and torment that you no longer find yourself flinching at any of it. Not only that, but the serial killer's notoriety is never discussed, and criminal investigators take little interest, despite the death toll of a plane crash and an M.O. that makes Ted Bundy look like a saint. We are lead to believe that almost nobody's interested; no newspaper wants to follow the case, no police department has the manpower or brainpower to figure out what's going on. None of it feels very real.
Anyway, this isn't a bad book by any account, it's just not a very good one, despite what Richard & Judy would have you believe. Who are they to recommend this sort of stuff anyway?
disappointing - Rated
I loved the book in the beginning. I loved the characters making up the small town community, and how, faced with the murders of the little girls, some members turned on each other. But the disasters that befall Joseph start to grate, and I found myself skipping pages because it was obvious that common sense and sensible investigative practices had all but escaped the police and the lawyer, and any person with a brain could have made the connections to discover there had been a major miscarriage of justice. This book was a major disappointment.
The best book I've read all year - Rated 
I let this book sit around for months thinking I was not in the mood for a thriller. I was missing out. This is a beautifully written, almost lyrical novel that kept me enthralled. The murders and mayhem were incidental for me I was much more interested in the narrator's story. Ultimately I'm not sure it all stacks up and there is a lot of bad luck for one lifetime but I enjoyed every page. Don't let this book sit around for you!
A slow burning thriller with character. - Rated 
Finding the right book to take on holiday can go along way towards the success of the vacation. Though I had not read this author before, he turned out to be an ideal companion for the long hours on the beach.
While essentially the book is a thriller, outlining the long search for a serial killer, the narrative takes in more than just this, capturing the life story of the main protagonist (the narrator), and the various people who come and go in his life. Thus the focus is wider than the quest for the killer -which is not handled as a police investigation- and the description of characters and their backgrounds provides a broad canvas within which the essential story unfolds.
While the book proved a resounding success as my holiday reading, it is not perfect either. Although the ending satisfys the usual necessity of identifying the villain, there are some questions left unanswered. However this somehow seems to fit with the perspective from which the story is told.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and am happy to recommend it.
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