C. Getz

Another “killer” piece of writing craft

Revisado: 05-07-23

I’ll always give Krueger the highest marks for his writing craft. I love his prose, smartness and sophistication. The Cork series is a predictable great read when I’m at a loss for what’s next to devote 12 hours of my life to. Heaven’s Keep has all the great hallmarks of Krueger writing: family, intrigue and suspense. Krueger does a beautiful job of making Cork real, a regular guy, not some ridiculous tough guy that shows up to kick butt and take names trope. I recommend it and all in his series of the Cork O’Conner mysteries.

I gave it a 4 star because 1) I thought this story was a bit overly complicated. A ton of characters and the bad guys coming out of the woodwork right and left. Some of the characters objectives/behaviors were hyperbole when stacked against their motivations. 2) I guess I know why people claim what I consider a great read as being too melodramatic. Krueger has none of that, a bit flat considering the pivotal plot point of the whole series. 3) I agree with some of the 1 star complaints, there is an excessive and beyond the pale embellishment of the use of Christ. Makes a reader wince in a way that is not beholden to a likable author.

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Complex web of provocative human relationships

Revisado: 05-02-23

Oh my gosh, the pinnacle of writing craft! The height of perfected and magical prose. It seems improbable that a collaboration could yield such a seamless body of work that reads so consistently in its wonderful style and structure. Some of the best storytelling I’ve ever read.

I came away a changed person with respect to the provocative subject contained within. In fact, when I came to the reveal in the book, I rolled my eyes and said, “good grief, another contemporary writing pushing an agenda”. But I read on without hesitation and I’m glad I did. The believable emotion, the factual psychology, the known trauma, and the truths were excellently integrated into a believable and terrifying story. It did open my mind and my heart.

Four stars instead of 5 because I have a “gratuitous F*** word” meter that got pegged early on. I have a distain for the continual use of that word, especially when people are conversing about something beautiful or glorious. The reverse chronological telling of Lilly left the last 1/3 of the book a bit flat and tedious since it presented information that would typically be at the beginning of a book and more tolerable as there is an expectation of a rising, growing momentum. Intermixing the trial with this could not sustain the droning on of details that at times seem to reiterate.

Oh, and it includes an amazing encyclopedia of everything bees.

Highly recommended!

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An achingly incredible story,

Revisado: 12-03-22

My first Lisa Wingate book. What a beautiful weave of literary artistry.
On all levels, this book was a masterpiece. The premise is a griping story of a little-know grotesque deceit within the adoption “industry” before state regulation corrected the unjust nature of obtaining “product”. Unimaginable horrors that tossed aside the impacted and the smug nature of the perpetrators.
Wingate has impeccable writing skills that gives an unmatched voice to her characters. Her book could be a benchmark for learning prose that works perfectly.
The readers were awesome and brought to life the intent of the authors. I was blown away by these talented people with the ability to bring realism to the written word.

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A story not to my liking

Revisado: 10-10-22

Every Fifteen Minutes and Eternal were both great stories, so I have admiration for Scottoline based on those books. But I simply did not care for this story at all, I didn’t like the premise nor the conclusion. I’m sure a younger generation can relate to the coarseness of all the characters behavior, but no one seemed to rise above callous and unforgiving behaviors. No real significant hero, nor transformative bend. A big bag of depression.

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Smartly written, theatrical performance

Revisado: 09-02-22

Medoff’s quick pace and hard driving style I found unique. I enjoyed her story construction and riveting flow. Apart from the theme, I was personally thrusted into a menagerie of haughty characters both relatable, yet not so likable (good development), a product of the city from where they hail, big city, big egos, big messes, big falls. I liked her three-pete of certain words that not only drove home a point, but at times exemplified the meaning to the absurdity of the point toward its negation.

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Great writing, double edged story line

Revisado: 05-13-22

Krueger is the best wordsmith out there. I’m “listening” my way through the Cork O’Conner series and they’re great. Mercy Falls has all the elements of a super story. I recommend it. But, a couple of letdowns, 1) the IN MEDIAS RES did not serve the story well. I think it would have read better without the prologue. 2) and because of #1, the climax was not so much and the tying up of who done what sort of rang like a flat bell, 3) too many characters for me to make it enjoyable

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Finally, an injured protagonists that doesn’t heal in a single day

Revisado: 01-05-22

I read Krueger’s “This Tender Land” first, then came back to check out his earlier writing. He definitely has strong roots in good voice, believable characters and outstanding story building. His character dialog is perfect, an education for aspiring writers.

I want to say the audio reader is el primo! What an outstanding performance in tempo, clarity, and most of all, voice changes.

Although I gave the book only a 4, I highly recommend it never the less. I suspect the ending is abrupt because it’s part of a series, and it could be debated that it finished the story thread to its proper conclusion.

Finally, a tough guy investigator that is dogged by injuries of recent skirmishes. So often the writer loses sight the body’s limited ability to heal in a few hours or days or weeks. Krueger got it right.

Some things I thought were, trying to be nice here, “cute”.

The old indian says, “it’s time to be a more dangerous animal.” Then pulls out a 6” knife to give to Cork. I almost fell out of my bed laughing. It reminds me of Crocodile Dundee, when he says, “that’s naught a knife, this is a knife” I guess a wombat is more dangerous than a rabbit.

At the end, the gas catches fire and creates additional, unnecessary effect. Under the circumstances, what would induce such a fire. Trivial, but speaks to just a bit too much bloating of words. Yeah, too much unnecessary details that didn’t contribute to the story or characterization. Your editor gave you considerable liberties.

I’m ready to go read the next book.

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I love historical fiction and this book is why

Revisado: 11-11-21

Lisa Scottoline brings a fascinating story to us by way of the unending way that Nazis, fascism and crazed nationalism strips away people’s humanity while earnest, regular folks rally to help the innocent and condemned. I thought I would tire of yet another WWII story, but every crevice of Europe has its unique characters, atrocities and hero’s. This story is a “slow burn”, sometimes meandering, but it’s purpose enhances the characters individuality and and unattained goals. Scottoline is a fantastic writer, even if I could care less about what’s on the menu for a given scene’s dinner, but it’s her trademark, her sense of detail and importance, I can certainly respect that. I’m glad it those dishes were read to me and I didn’t have to read them myself. It’s a great and intricate story done well.

The Audible readers did a superb job. This is great talent. Personally, I would have preferred the main characters not have an accent, but I’m sure Scottoline had her desires satisfied and her unique creation and overall success says it worked out just fine.

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An astounding writing where the human soul is the protagonist

Revisado: 10-29-21

William Kent Krueger writes lyrical about philosophy and spirituality which is the canvas upon where a story is told. Each character becomes vividly known and is essential to the matrix of the whole. All characters are flawed, broken and real like the life around us. Very relatable. I admire Krueger’s word usage, descriptive constructs and

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A story that had to be told, fantastico!

Revisado: 10-24-21

Mark Sullivan is an excellent story teller and considering this historical fiction novel is based on first hand accounts, he is also an outstanding researcher. To me, this too was an incredible piece of WW II accounting that had not garnered much attention. That war had brought so many outrageous stories of inhumanity and its inverse, and this is one of millions, albeit, uniquely told. The characters are clearly recognizable, the weave of the story was incredible, the writing suspenseful after Pino is called back home by his parents, when they ordered him to do something so contrary to his prior exploits.

Not related to the story itself, but those sub chapter numbers were insanely distracting and I could not figure how they added any value to anything, at least in the auditable form.

The reader/actor did a superb job. I hope Mark Sullivan feels he did his work justice because I felt he did. Dialog was clearly distinguishable. Never felt lost, not ever. Since there was so much emotion in the story, the reader added that much more color.

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