What do readers think of The Edge of Normal by Carla Norton? Write your own review.

While the edge of normal held my attention through out the book I did find some details to be a bit disturbing. I did, however, find the relationship between Reeve & Tilly comforting. Both dealing with horrific events in their lives, past & present, they somehow find the courage to help each other change their lives. This was my first book review, so please forgive my lack of words! I would like to add one more thing, while finishing this book late one night I got called out to my job, as I was getting in my car I found myself checking the back seats of my car as well as underneath it. I thought to myself, if the author was hoping to have written a good thriller she hit the nail on the head!

I always enjoy a good mystery and Carla Norton's "The Edge of Normal" did not disappoint. Additionally, the book had a message regarding abduction and torture of women and young girls. I had to pause to think of the abducted victims were people and not just characters in a book; this happens in real life.
One of my criteria for a mystery is predictability and realism. There were enough times that Ms. Norton surprised me to say the book was not completely predictable. I held a variety of characters as options of the perpetrator in my mind. I do wonder what Ms. Norton's experience with this particular subject; seems as if she writes from an insider's perspective.
I look forward to another novel from this writer.

Predators and their prey, villains and victims. By now a major genre in the area of thrillers and mysteries, the recounting of serial crimes and multiple targets—more often than not women—has captured a large audience. The Edge of Normal fits the bill nicely.

The main character, twenty-something Reeve LeClaire, had been such a victim as an adolescent and falls into an investigation years later of new crimes against young women that appears to replicate her suffering in the past. LeClaire still bears the scars, both figurative and literal, of her ordeal and it becomes increasingly difficult for her to retain any objectivity about the case.

A psychological thriller, sex and sadism characterize the villain's MO, and he covers his tracks with insidious ingenuity. A word of caution: parts of this page-turner may be too explicit for some readers, so be forewarned. For others, however, The Edge of Normal will provide the requisite chills and thrills, a book hard to put down. And let it be said that Carla Norton writes extremely well. A wide-ranging vocabulary and active verbs sustain her style effectively so there exists little chance of getting bogged down or dozing off.

I found The Edge of Normal pretty predictable and plodding. Not a lot of surprises and the storyline was tedious at times. If you're looking for a real edge-of-your-seat thriller with unpredictable plot twists and shocks and surprises I would recommend Daniel Silva's 'The English Girl'. It too involves a kidnapping, violence and people who aren't who or what they seem. Suffice it to say 'Edge/Normal' read and felt like a 1st effort / author's debut. It felt like a short story you'd read in a magazine but 200 pages too long.

An interesting thriller, The Edge of Normal explores the lives of kidnapped victims. Reeve was kidnapped and escaped and is now helping another victim deal with life after captivity. Unknown to them, they are both on the kidnapper's radar and in danger.
The book moves fast as Reeve works to find the identity of the kidnapper and avoid being captured.

Don't get me wrong here. It's a good story with strong lead character who is intelligent and likable. However, based on the book's description, I anticipated more psychological insight into the protagonist's frame of mind after her own ordeal. Instead, we have a story with a somewhat predictable plot line and a somewhat predictable ending. On the plus side, if the author creates a series with her protagonist as a detective specializing in abduction cases, there may be hope yet!

The Edge of Normal certainly has a current event theme, namely, Cleveland, Ohio's recent kidnap scene. At the heart of Edge... is a depraved serial kidnapper and rapist. I applaud Carla Norton for not becoming overly graphic in her details of rape and torture, but nonetheless the subject is still disturbing. She presents a plethora of short chapters with frequent stops and starts, forcing the reader to continue always seeking resolutions.

The action flows from person to person, but the protagonist, Reeve, a victim of kidnapping herself, while very likable, is not believable in her quick rise to complete control and competency in her efforts to reclaim her life and return to normal. The kidnapper, Duke, must have a story, but we never really understand him. He is but a one dimensional character who has immense power over people and oozes evil.

The Edge of Normal is a thriller and Carla Norton has used her life experience to create a good story, but for me, a bit too predictable with some loose endings needing to be tied.

Unfortunately, the first half of the book did not grab my attention. The characters were not that well developed, and in spite of the subject matter, not particularly sympathetic. Identifying the perpetrator in the beginning of the book is not my favorite style of writing for mysteries/thrillers. However, about half way through the book I was curious as to how the perpetrator would be caught. His capabilities and modus operandi were not that believable. The plus for the book is making the reader more aware of the issues regarding missing and exploited children and how these children and their families deal with the trauma.