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There are currently 23 member reviews
for Red, White, Blue
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Mary G. (Nags Head, NC)
Challenging Read
I found this book very challenging to read. It had two primary characters--one named, the other, a former CIA operative, remained anonymous. The book switched between the perspective of the two characters and I sometimes had trouble telling whose story was being told. I also struggled to figure out the point of the book. Although it was billed as in-depth portrait of the CIA, that felt more like a subplot. The author has a lovely writing style and though challenging to read, it was interesting.
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Rosemary C. (Golden, CO)
Beautiful writing, opaque content
I enjoyed the writer's flowing style of writing, but I found the tale a bit hard to follow and unnecessarily dense. Yes, I know it is a story about spies, but it seemed so roundabout that it distracted from my enjoyment.
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Jan B. (Sulphur, OK)
Leaves a lot to the imagination
I think everyone that reads this book will come away with a completely different interpretation than the last. The format is a little awkward and halting but it's a very easy read. I would recommend this book to all ages and it would certainly make a good book club read. I liked the book, i hope you do too.
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Jane B. (Chicago, IL)
Veritas
Fast read-the chapters are very short though the alternation of viewpoints gets old. The author is an intelligent writer who seems to have a fascination with language and the short chapters act as a container for that interest. Contained so as not to over do.The plot was more plow horse than Arabian and frankly, the ending seemed a bit implausible. How safe could a secret be with the wife of a charismatic elected official?
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Ruth O. (Downingtown, PA)
Not a thriller at all........
Red, White, Blue by Lea Carpenter was advertised as a thriller. I didn't find this book lived up to the description. I struggled through it as I agreed to review, but it jumped back and forth between character viewpoints and time without clearly defining who and when, so I was unsure where the story was going. Anna was the daughter of a deceased CIA operative, and the other protagonist was another CIA operative who was a student of her father. Anna was finding out about her father's secret life from this student, but I'm not sure if this was in person or via email or some other method. There were a lot of assumptions made in this book which made it difficult to follow, and nothing was ever really resolved at the end. I did not find it a thriller at all, just a dull read.
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Mary S. (Hilton Head Island, SC)
Missed The Mark
This could have been a good book , but was spoiled by the meandering, disorganized writing style of the author. It was hard to distinguish the narrative voices of the characters and at times, the writing style completely changed making it difficult to discern the author's intent or message. Was this a story with it's roots in the CIA or the story of a woman's quest to come to a resolution of the grief accompanying her father's death? To add to the confusion, the author even throws in the question of belief in a God or Gods!!
Back to the writing board on this one.
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Lynda C. (Sault Sainte Marie, MI)
Red, White, Blue
Although I think that on an intellectual level this novel had a lot of promise; on a practical level, I found the thread of it it very difficult to follow.
This surprised me because I read 100 books per year across a variety of genres. My practice is to discard any book where the writing or subject does not capture my attention.
I finished this one because I received it for review and I kept thinking that it might live up to the promise I thought I detected.
The story line itself had the potential to be very compelling and very good. However, I found the structure to be disjointed and almost too contrived. The continuous interruption of the flow of the story from page to page sadly ruined the novel for me.
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