Dr. William J. Kass

too much violence/too little character/story

Revisado: 08-02-19

The characters in this book, especially the lead, Logan, seem one dimensional, maybe 1 1/2. There is too much gratuitous violence against children and animals which seems to be intended to manipulate reader-emotion to justify police violence and aggressiveness. There are also a lot of chase scenes which made me think someone might be writing for a camera rather than a reader. At the end of the day, the villain is dispatched even though he was clearly a victim whose story deserved more, IMO. These crime novels don't need to be true, but, as someone said, they should be plausible. With complex characters, almost any story line can seem plausible but because these characters are so shallow, the story line faltered. I doubt I'll be keeping an eye out for a second book.

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written for American TV or flim

Revisado: 02-17-19

The unfortunate pattern of American drama--book, tv, film--is that they are long on action, special effects and violence but short on character development and story. That's my view of this book which I don't expect from Scandinavian fiction.

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Pedantic

Revisado: 11-05-18

I was fully half way through this audible version of this book before I became aware of one character of interest--the wife of brother Tom. The plot and the characters did not capture my interest. The author is brilliant with respect to describing details, but...I understand this is Mina's first effort, or maybe second, at so=called real crime writing. I urge her to focus on her own creative imagination and leave real time stuff alone.

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credibility?

Revisado: 04-01-18

I'm into a couple hours of this book, mostly because I enjoyed The Hypnotist. So far, the set up is long, dull, and entirely incredible. I can't imagine any police force being so careless, make that reckless, with a colleague's life. The characters so far are absurd. The main monster is too Hannibal Lector to make me do anything but roll my eyes. Don't know if I'll finish it.

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Needs an editor

Revisado: 11-06-17

I own all of Eddie Izzard's performance CDs. I think his standup comedy is brilliant. That said, this book desperately needed an editor who was willing and able to red-pencil what is a great deal of minutiae that renders the book pedantic, a word I never thought I would use in the same sentence with the name Eddie Izzard

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Too many chase scenes

Revisado: 07-08-17

What would have made A Dark So Deadly better?

I will continue to read Stuart MacBride books. There are some memorable one-liners in this book as is his MO, but this book struck me as akin to movies with too many action scenes and special effects and not enough character development--actually the characters were more caricatures--and not enough engaging plot. Oh well.

Has A Dark So Deadly turned you off from other books in this genre?

No.

What does Steve Worsley bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His performance is as per usual--great, that is.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from A Dark So Deadly?

If I were to cut scenes, this would probably become a short story.

Any additional comments?

no

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too many notes

Revisado: 07-05-17

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Because this book has so many characters and so many "themes" it seemed to me to be disjointed and difficult to follow. Additionally, there were so many characters that none of them was developed into a character this reader/listener cared about.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

More character development. Fewer superficial twists of narrative.

Did Lesley Mackie do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Because there were so many characters, differentiating by the reader was probably not possible. Mackie is an excellent reader but in this reading there were so many sudden changes of direction as well as changes of characters that Mackie failed to differentiate between stories so this listener was constantly having to reverse to catch up with a new character in a new narrative.

Could you see Evil for Evil being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Movies generally need to be more simplistic than books and this book was anything but simplistic.

Any additional comments?

Have the reader and recording separate not just chapters but also switches in narratives and characters.

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complicated as usual

Revisado: 05-13-17

Would you listen to The Thirst again? Why?

Actually, I plan to listen to it again just as soon as I've finished listening to it the first time. I have great respect for Nesbo's ability to create complex narrative without it becoming silly, and his consistent character development from each novel to the next and all those that came before.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Thirst?

I always enjoy characters, including but not limited to Harry, becoming reflective and introspective and philosophizing about politics and policing and male/female perspectives.

Which character – as performed by John Lee – was your favorite?

Harry, of course.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

no

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Important concerns not gore

Revisado: 10-23-16

Would you consider the audio edition of But for the Grace to be better than the print version?

I don't read these books, only listen to them.

What other book might you compare But for the Grace to and why?

An Accidental Death, for one, the first in this series. Both books address important issues and concerns of our time. The author is insightful and profound in his analyses.

Which scene was your favorite?

I did enjoy the scene of DS Smith interviewing the granddaughter who was described as a self-assured female character, appreciated by the police interrogating her.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There were several areas in the book which addressed assisted dying that I though were well done.

Any additional comments?

Please, Audible, make sure you acquires the rest of this series.

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More of this series, Please

Revisado: 10-19-16

Would you consider the audio edition of An Accidental Death to be better than the print version?

I don't know.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

It kept me engaged and convinced me to order the second book before I'd finished the first.

What does Gildart Jackson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The performer is clear, distinguishes the characters well, and is generally unobtrusive.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

no

Any additional comments?

Please acquire the other books in the series.

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