Roadside Crosses

A Kathryn Dance Novel

By: Jeffery Deaver

Narrated by: Michele Pawk

Length: 14 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's Summary

The Monterey Peninsula is rocked when a killer begins to leave roadside crosses beside local highways -- not in memoriam, but as announcements of his intention to kill. And to kill in particularly horrific and efficient ways: using the personal details about the victims that they've carelessly posted in blogs and on social networking websites.

The case lands on the desk of Kathryn Dance, the California Bureau of Investigation's foremost kinesics -- body language-expert. She and Deputy Michael O'Neil follow the leads to Travis Brigham, a troubled teenager whose role in a fatal car accident has inspired vicious attacks against him on a popular blog, The Chilton Report.

As the investigation progresses, Travis vanishes. Using techniques he learned as a brilliant participant in MMORPGs, Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games, he easily eludes his pursuers and continues to track his victims, some of whom Kathryn is able to save, some not. Among the obstacles Kathryn must hurdle are politicians from Sacramento, paranoid parents and the blogger himself, James Chilton, whose belief in the importance of blogging and the new media threatens to derail the case and potentially Dance's career. It is this threat that causes Dance to take desperate and risky measures...

In signature Jeffery Deaver style, Roadside Crosses is filled with dozens of plot twists, cliff-hangers and heartrending personal subplots. It is also a searing look at the accountability of blogging and life in the online world. Roadside Crosses is the third in Deaver's best-selling High-Tech Thriller Trilogy, along with The Blue Nowhere and The Broken Window.

Please note: Part three of this audiobook consists of The Blue Nowhere.

©2009 Jeffrey Deaver (P)2009 Simon & Schuster

Teenage detective story

I don't need to add much to what other reviewers have stated that are so obviously true.. Bad writing and the narration is even worse... this book should be in the Kids section. I felt like it was written for teenagers.

Its a waste... Guess I should have read the reviews earlier

Okay....but not 20 hours and not Deaver's best

I enjoyed the fact that Deaver wrote a novel specifically for Katherine Dance, but warning those of you who chose books for length and author, this book is about 12 hours long with an abridged copy of "The Blue Nowhere" tacked onto the end as "part 3".
Don't get me wrong, "The Blue Nowehere" was a good book and it shows a progression in computers but a.) I hate abridged books and b.) When I am going on a trip I sometimes choose a book from my wishlist based as much on length as on topic or author. Shame on you audible for at least not warning me.

Loved the story

While I got exactly what I expected from the story itself, I, too, was disappointed that the "20" hours was really only about a third of that. Audible needs to put a very visible disclaimer on this listing. "The Blue Nowhere" was written ages ago and I already have that one. Glad I found out before I downloaded "Roadside Crosses Part 3" so I didn't waste my time... I still would have bought "Roadside Crosses" if the listing had said something like "Includes a bonus recording of "The Blue Nowhere", abridged, 6 hours."

Roadside Crosses

I love Jeffery Deaver but I chose this book in part because it was 20 hours long and thought I had paid for a 20 hour book. You can imagine my disappointment when I found that Part 3 was a part of a book I had already bought. I am very dissappointed with Audible for the deception.

Deceptive!

I was really unhappy with this book. Not because of the storyline or the narration- but because like the other reviewer's, I didn't get what I was expecting. When I ordered it I thought "great"- A good, long unabridged book from one of my favorite authors. Toward the end of the 2nd part I was thinking, they are about to wrap up this mystery, what more could they possibly put in the 3rd part? Another book of course!! One I had already read and didn't care to listen to in the abridged version. I think Audible should refund a credit to all who were duped by not getting a full disclosure about this.

Not as good as usual

This is my least favorite Dance novel. Like everyone else, I did not enjoy the constant explanation of computer terminology (does anyone in 2008-2009 need to have terms like "http" defined!?). He also put a lot of preaching about internet safety in the mouth of the professor. However, there were some good plot twists.

Liked the book but....

I enjoyed the story,although not as much as other books I have read by this author. I got toward the end of Part 2 and couldn't help but wonder what else might happen to the characters and "low and behold" the book ended. I feel cheated by the author and by Audible. There should definitely be a refund or credits given to the members who purchased this. I have purchased 200 to 300 books since my membership began, but I have never been this disappointed with a selection.

Katherine Dance is a Great Series

I bought this because I enjoyed The Sleeping Doll so much. The characters are great and I love how Deaver writes Dance as an investigator. Like most every Deaver novel, there are really surprising twists that either keep you in suspense or eager to understand what has transpired.

Michelle Pawk does a great job with all the characters. She gets a well earned 5 star rating for me.

I give the story 3 stars because I found the subject matter, (blogging and cyber bullying), a bit trite and boring. Deaver more than compensates for this with his talented character development and storytelling.

Bogged Down in Minutiae

I liked Deaver, but this book is not up to his best. The story started out with an interesting premise, but soon became bogged down in trifling details about the Internet and social networking sites -- that anyone with a computer today already knows. A primary reason fans read this book is to get insights into kinesics via Kathryn Dance -- but there was too little of this. Add the long-winded descriptions, idiotic adolescent dialog, and the annoying narrator and I couldn't finish the book. I suggest Michael Connelly instead.

Good, but not 20 hours!

Typical Deaver book--the writing isn't fantastic but the plot is fun and always leaves you guessing.

I was really disappointed, though, that the last six hours of the book was an abridged version of The Blue Nowhere (which I've already read).

Anyway, it's a fun listen, but ignore the third part of the download.