I enjoyed this book totally. Well written, and although I knew the outcome the author kept me engaged with the story & the people involved. I saw Hector Tobar speak in Seattle - he has a twinkle in his eyes & a smile that would endear him to all he spent time with to tell their stories without hype, exaggeration or over dramatization. It's a suspenseful tale & I look forward to the movie.

A better description would be: I could barely make myself pick this book up. I've read many wonderful mystery, thriller, gentle & harsh & everything in between "mystery" books. This ranks up in the "worse book I've ever finished" - only finished it because I said I'd read it & wanted to give it a fair shot. It only got more drawn out and less compelling with each page.
Maybe a short story - 100 - 150 pages or so - might have saved this story. There was a hint of a good story arc at the beginning. The 1st 1/4 was interesting but then it went on and on and on.
I did not find any of the characters had any depth or redeeming qualities. Each was predictable and poorly developed. To me the story was a drill in timelines, an insult to Alzheimers sufferers and a huge waste of good reading time.
I would not recommend this book to anyone, certainly not my reading groups.

I cannot give this book more than a "2 - poor". The writing style is very simple - short sentences: subject - verb; subject - verb. The characters are, at best, two dimensional. Many triangles of sad, unhappy, unfulfilled folks. I have not read Flannery O'Connor's works, but I trust it has more substance than this attempt of historical fictional.

I was interested in various aspects of the characters lives - by skimming the pages I could tolerate the poor writing style and find glimmers of character involvement that pushed the pages to be turned so I could finish the book and write the review.

Everything about this book was just too simple to satisfy my tastes in reading. I'm glad many other reviewers enjoyed it - mk

I knew this was not going to be a book I'd enjoy and I was so correct. Page 12: "The frightened horses dwarf the drivers in their cars, who instinctively shrink away when the horses leap by, their large penises jiggling at eye level." Frightened horses do not leap with penises jiggling -- my guess is this writer has never seen a horse at all. And as far as spies go, I think he should go back to writer's school. The book is filled with nonsense and filler that adds nothing to the story like the above sentence.

I did not care for the characters and only stayed with the book in hopes I'd learn something about North and/or South Korea - very interesting countries in a very interesting time. The main character, Ki-yong, could have been developed and this might have provided some depth to the story. Yes, the novel is about a day in the life of a spy but his daughter's and wife's sexual romps, work days, school chums, etc. do not add anything to this story. The book does not know if it's about spies or soft porn - both of which failed in my estimation.

I would never read another book by this author or recommend this book to anyone. There were moments when I thought something would be developed and the history of Ki-yong's early life did hold some promise. But nothing came of this spark - it died before the chapter was complete and back to the wife and her young lover and his friends. Spare me, please.

What spy would let a reporter drop in on her in her old age and readily tell her story of being a deadly sniper, a spy and a defector to this complete stranger? That's what I'm asked to believe in the first pages of Tat'yana's story. OK, I said, I'll go along with this but let's hope the story line improves. It did not - I was disappointed in the characters, the plot, the historical aspect of the story and the writing style. I did read it and was so happy to put it down. I thought the 1st part of Tat'yana's story as a sniper was the best part - it held promise but as she became a hero and then a spy in America, the story lost its punch. After that fairly strong start, it did not hold intrigue, suspense, thrills, depth, emotional strings, historical insight for me. I would not recommend this book to friends, didn't care about the characters, wouldn't replace it if lost during reading and wouldn't read another book by author - my 4 points required to rate as a "good book". MK

I enjoyed this book - the story line is strong; the characters are well developed and I cared what happened to them. It was suspenseful until the end. Good news bad news: Good: In addition to being an enjoyable book, I learned considerable information about the period of time (1580), Oxford University, the Catholic Church, etc; Bad: it was so story driven and so suspenseful I wouldn't stop reading long enough to research more history and gain additional background of the time period and situations. However, I will pursue the interest the book sparked by reading more history for that time and setting. The author was kind to the reader by NOT filling pages with meaningless "filler". Although there are graphic parts to the novel, I would not classify them as unnecessary. Part of my criteria for giving a book a "good" rating: would I recommend it to book clubs and friends - yes; and if l lost the book, would I seek another one out to finish it - yes; and would I read another book by this author - yes. Good book.

The story is well written, but shallow with a story line that is predictable, not believable and slow. Ron Rash, author, is skilled in language use, description of time and place and weaves interesting history into a shallow story. The first 100 or so pages just didn't seem to go anywhere; then the story picks up the pace. The reason I continued to read it was for the information about the logging, timber, depression era and National Park formation. In that respect, I thought the author had information to portray and did so with skill. It's too bad he used such one-dimensional characters. I felt terrible about the logging and exploitation of workers, beasts and countryside. No, I would not read another book by this author, would not recommend it to friends, didn't care about the individuals and wouldn't replace the book if I lost it unfinished.

I enjoyed this book - it held my attention and I can identity with the situation. I grew up in Texas long before integration so the book did seem believable. What is unbelievable is how things were in the South during my early years. I have memories of discrimination that I think couldn't have happened in my lifetime! When I read or watch stories about segregation/integration I often hang my head in sadness and grief.

This book brought up these feelings in me. For that reason it gets a "good". Although it is not a complex book, It is well written and clear. The writing style is simple; the story is engaging; the characters are well formed, three dimensional and I cared what happened to them. The mystery is driven by the characters and doesn't seemed forced. I found myself often thinking about the story and I wanted to know the conclusion - that also qualifies it as a good book, worthy of the read and I'd recommend it to a friend. I belong to 4 book clubs and I don't think I would recommend it - although the story is complex, the book is not challenging. It is a good book for a long airplane trip or a beach read.

I love a long book rich in characters, challenging plot and layered with ideas, so I had great hope for this book. I was very enthusiastic for 1/2 of it thinking, AT LAST, a good book! However, it began to go downhill for me and continued on that path until the end.

Stieg Larsson's writing style and language skills are good and he started off with strong character and plot development. The story line seemed believable at first but as the various plots played out, I became less and less interested and engaged.

With the various threads to follow I thought it would knit together an exceptional good tale. The potential was there at first. However at the end I felt like the author was stretching to write just a long book with elements of mystery, intrigue, horror, love, sex/violence (anyone could guess the cat component!) Even the list of Vanger family members provided me with substance and I like that technique from an author. However, I did not develop a "relationship" with even the most central ones.

After a book passes the language/writing style/believability qualifications, I ask myself the following "test" questions: 1) do I care what happens to these people? I did not; 2) if I lost the book would I find another one so I could finish the story? No; 3) would I recommend this to a friend? No; and finally 4) would I read another book by this author? No. I will give this book to a friend, but it only rated a 3 at best with me.

From the first sentence I knew this story was going to capture my attention. Since I have very little knowledge of this part of the world, culture and the struggles of the people, the story kindled a desire to learn more history of Bangladesh, the War for Independence and the people. The story is told from a mother’s point of view; a story of a woman’s loss, courage, love, longing, determination, the will to survive and see her children live through a war destroying her country. The story is woven delicately and simply but is filled with meaning and feelings. I especially liked the writing style and the characterization of each person. I cared for the characters and could understand the situation they were confronting in their lives. I praise Tahmima Anam accomplishments on a beautifully written first novel. It is a book I’ll recommend to my book clubs, friends, and look forward to future novels by the author.

I finished Killer Heat with more enthusiasm than my slogging through the middle. Overall I was disappointed with the book and thought the characters were very flat & 2-dimensional. About 1/2 way into the story I realized I didn't have feelings for the people in the story. By the final drama I did care enough to hope the killer would not harm any of these folks. This late-to-arrive caring is not enough for me to rate the book over a 3. Maybe reading earlier Alex stories would have provided me with a better understanding & background and therefore more involvement in the story. The historical setting and information about the NY islands were interesting details and well done. The various plots and courtroom issues were realistic and did not distract from the story with the exception of the character Clarita. Overall this book just didn't get me involved and I probably won't read more books by Linda Fairstein.