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There are currently 32 member reviews
for Cloudland
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Kathy H. (Richmond, VA)
Cloudy with a chance of murder
I'd torn between giving Cloudland a 3.5 - 4. I was compelled to finish it, because I was invested and curious as to the identity of the murderer. Yet by the time "he" was revealed, I felt a little deflated, and I'm not sure why. I found Olshan's writing to be very good...descriptive, evocative and with great imagery...his dialogue and even storytelling, not so much. I imagine it must be difficult to write from the perspective of the other sex, but I think he succeeds quite nicely. I liked Catherine very much...appreciated her candor and self-awareness. I didn't find the other characters to be as fleshed out, particularly Paul, Breck, Prozzo and Matthew. I did, however, like Henrietta and Hiram. Overall, a good read but not sure I would recommend. And I feel bad about that, if it makes sense! Thanks for the opportunity to review.
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Kenneth T. (Houston, TX)
"Cloudland" is Overcast
Cloudland, a new novel by Joseph Olshan , is clever but ultimately disappointing. A plot taken from the unfinished work of Wilkie Collins promises much more than this story delivers. Stick figures, not real characters, populate the pages. I read with interest a tale hoping I would care about the people tripping over each other. I didn't. To quote Gertrude Stein, "There's nothing there there."
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Joe S. (Port Orange, FL)
OK but not Great.
While reading the first chapter I thought that I would really like this book but I found myself loosing my enthusiasm for it as I read further. I just couldn't get myself to like the characters. The plot was interesting but seemed to have too many twists that became more and more confusing. This would probably be a good airplane read.
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Mary Ellen (Canfield, OH)
Cloudland
The discovery of a body by a former investigative reporter in rural Vermont begins a crime novel with unexpected connections and psychological twists and turns. The reader is led in many directions along with the reporter as she tries to solve both the serial murders and the problems in her life. There is an interesting tie-in to a Wilkie Collins novel which intrigued this bibliomystery fan. Although Cloudland is an absorbing mystery, I found the unsympathetic heroine and rather unlikeable characters to be distracting to total reading satisfaction.
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