Susan

It had been awhile since I'd had a good Kellerman book to enjoy. I started this on audio...got so hooked that I bought the $25 hardcover to read on a plane...then went back to audio when I got home.

This was enjoyable and well written. Great mystery and recommended.

This is a very well written book, and I agree with the review. It does take some dry, harsh, technical material and make it interesting. However. I could only take so much. It was not the blood and guts or the gore that got to me, but the repetition. It just seemed a bit drawn out, as if Cornwell were writing a doctoral dissertation on the subject and had to include each and every detail on each and every crime, down to each and every suspect. After the 4th or 5th murder, I started to feel crosseyed with confusion.

One little aside will haunt me for a long time, and this one story she tells was worth the 3/4 of the book I did complete. Cornwell tells of the period's famous circus freak with a "3 foot circumference head with cauliflower type skin and lips turned inside out" who for a time was suspected of committing the crimes, and she imagines what type of person he was inside, how badly he must have desired the look or touch of a woman. This, compared to the true Jack the Ripper, who was graceful and beautiful in appearance, a curious individual, yet liked in the community, all the time rotting, festering and monstrous inside. That sat with me for a while and made me wonder about the whole value of beauty in society thing, getting dressed up to go out to dinner, why I wear makeup to the grocery store...and all of that. Who we all really are on the inside versus what we portray to the world.

Overall, I am glad to have experienced the book and met Walter, Cornwell's "Jack the Ripper." In a strange way, I feel for the man...the child Walter actually, not for his atrocities of course, but for what Cornwell explained brought him to become the monster he was, the horrors and surgeries of his early childhood. Perhaps someday I will complete her work. She is an excellent writer.

I am normally a huge fan of this author. But, this time I just couldn't get into the ridiculously unbelievable twisty jolty plot (ok, so a lot of them are sort of unbelievable anyway, but...). I usually enjoy Joe Montegna, the reader, but there were just so many characters that the voices he had to come up with for all of them were really starting to crack me up, both female and male. And, I do agree with the reviewer who commented on the number of times the author says "he said" or "she said". Hadn't noticed that before, maybe I wasn't listening for it before (thanks :) haha) For audio, it was distracting. Couldn't finish this one.

I have read all of Evanovich's books and eagerly await the release of each and every one of the Plum series. Once again in To The Nines (named by a reader in an online contest), Stephanie Plum's original character blunders and snoops her way through a case. The subplots are always great, and the entire Plum clan is a true joy to read about. The narration is easy to listen to, and as always, I found myself laughing out loud at stoplights with no regard for the confused commuters staring at me in my Jeep Wrangler. Great work Janet!

At times, I could not stop. At other times, it was a little sluggish and I found myself wanting to move on to the next story.

However, and the reason I give this 4 stars, my absolute favorite story is found in this collection. I also discovered 2 other authors whose other works I've really enjoyed. That's the great thing about story collections...you never know what you're going to get. When you get something unexpected, that really makes you go, "wow. now that is a brilliant mind," it's all worthwhile.

Granted, this is a long one and not the very best of Patterson's works...but it is good and worth the time. I was fascinated by it. I truly enjoyed the characters and presentation of the reader who does a wonderful job. Normally, I do not read period fiction and tend to shy away from knights, crusades, et al, in favor of more recent locales. However, as a lover of Patterson's other works, I gave it a shot and was really pleased. I feel I learned a little bit about the life of a crusader and appreciated the historical touches that brought back my Middle Ages college history classes.

Yes, it's a little predictable...for avid readers like you and I just about everything becomes this way. I did find some of the coincidences a little too far fetched. But, I could not stop listening. And, I feel that is the key to a good audiobook. I was drawn into the path of Hugh's life and could not wait to burn my next CD. I say, give this one a chance. If you're not drawn in by the end of the first CD...well, you can't please everyone. Maybe try the Life of Pi?