donnakaye64's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting book with several surprise twists in it. Thoroughly enkoyed reading this one.
yorugua1891's review against another edition
5.0
It is rare to find a new author that can hit it out of the park. I have read several very good efforts by author’s when they release their first novel, but finding one that I am sure will be among my favorite reads of the year is almost unheard of; well, unless you count Harper Lee, but I digress.
When I started reading this novel, I was surprised by how quickly it captured my interest. A main character living in mortal fear of someone discovering the body of the man he murdered and buried in his backyard is appealing enough. But when a landscaping crew finds a couple of other bodies in that same yard, things get really interesting very fast. From that moment on, I was totally addicted. I found myself reading while walking up the stairs to go to my bedroom. Taking the book on my car and reading while stopped at a red light. Going out to dinner with my wife and daughter and taking the book along “just in case we have to wait long for a table”. Maybe worst of all, reading while the NFL conference finals were being played. What’s wrong with me?!
Of course, all of this is the author’s fault, since she wrote a book so compelling that I found it to be impossible to put down. I should acknowledge that it is my kind of book too, since the description talking about the book being a good fit for Coen brother’s fans could not be more accurate. While working my way through it I could almost picture the movie they are going to make based on this story. The humor is finely crafted and in many cases subtle, but there are also cases in which it caught me by surprise and punched me in the nose extracting a chuckle and earning me curious looks from the people around me, family included.
Another aspect that I think makes this a remarkable effort is that it provides the reader with the excitement of a thriller without sacrificing its literary qualities. I am a little tired of reading fast-paced thrillers that are entertaining but seem as if they were written by a third grader. This is definitely far from that, and it felt similar to when I compare mysteries written by Louise Penny with run-of –the-mill efforts.
There are two more factors that made this an outstanding read. The characters are expertly created and have characteristics that make them perfect in combination with the humorous and action-packed plot. Also, there are several cases in which you can pretty much see what’s going to happen, but in many others, you will be as surprised as if someone hit you on the back of the head with a shovel.
In the acknowledgements Jamie Mason writes “I hope we meet again on a page somewhere soon” and I just want to echo this sentiment, especially the “soon” part, since I cannot wait to read the next book by this promising author.
When I started reading this novel, I was surprised by how quickly it captured my interest. A main character living in mortal fear of someone discovering the body of the man he murdered and buried in his backyard is appealing enough. But when a landscaping crew finds a couple of other bodies in that same yard, things get really interesting very fast. From that moment on, I was totally addicted. I found myself reading while walking up the stairs to go to my bedroom. Taking the book on my car and reading while stopped at a red light. Going out to dinner with my wife and daughter and taking the book along “just in case we have to wait long for a table”. Maybe worst of all, reading while the NFL conference finals were being played. What’s wrong with me?!
Of course, all of this is the author’s fault, since she wrote a book so compelling that I found it to be impossible to put down. I should acknowledge that it is my kind of book too, since the description talking about the book being a good fit for Coen brother’s fans could not be more accurate. While working my way through it I could almost picture the movie they are going to make based on this story. The humor is finely crafted and in many cases subtle, but there are also cases in which it caught me by surprise and punched me in the nose extracting a chuckle and earning me curious looks from the people around me, family included.
Another aspect that I think makes this a remarkable effort is that it provides the reader with the excitement of a thriller without sacrificing its literary qualities. I am a little tired of reading fast-paced thrillers that are entertaining but seem as if they were written by a third grader. This is definitely far from that, and it felt similar to when I compare mysteries written by Louise Penny with run-of –the-mill efforts.
There are two more factors that made this an outstanding read. The characters are expertly created and have characteristics that make them perfect in combination with the humorous and action-packed plot. Also, there are several cases in which you can pretty much see what’s going to happen, but in many others, you will be as surprised as if someone hit you on the back of the head with a shovel.
In the acknowledgements Jamie Mason writes “I hope we meet again on a page somewhere soon” and I just want to echo this sentiment, especially the “soon” part, since I cannot wait to read the next book by this promising author.
jeneessa's review against another edition
1.0
Getting through this book to the end was painful and drawn out. The story was a very interesting concept. However, the writing style was confusing, rambling, and difficult to understand.
dogmom_4ever's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The story is bonkers, in the best kind of way. The writing is fantastically colorful, and the characters are unusual but interesting.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Gore, Cursing, and Violence
jajorgen's review against another edition
3.0
I hesitated over the three stars but can't quite give it four. Probably about a 3 2/3rds for me. I thought the set-up was excellent and the author had me going for about 3/4ths of the book. But the last quarter just took the caper-nature of the book a step too far. And then once all the unbelievable conveniences in plotting occur the story wraps up just too neatly.
kelleybeanne's review against another edition
3.0
The idea was good: the execution, not so much. I just couldn't care much about the characters or what would happen to them. Still not a bad way to pass time.
rachel_abby_reads's review against another edition
1.0
Getty is a small, quiet, shy, man. You know, the kind that neighbors would say, "He was always so quiet; kept to himself. Never made a scene or a mess. Who knew?" His life is checkered with weakness and disappointments. His one anxiety is the body he's buried in his back yard. His one moment of spine, of passion, and the result is this. . .body. . .lying in the back yard, waiting to be discovered.
Imagine his surprise when a body is discovered in his back yard. Not his body, but a body. And then another. What is a man supposed to do? Cops sniffing around, crime scene investigators, and that body still to be discovered at the back of the garden. It's mad, he knows, but he must make some wild, last ditch effort to move the body before it's found.
(Some mild spoilers ahead)
Mason(the author) did his best to make you empathize with Getty, a passive, weak-feeling man who is so pathetically desperate for approval that he accepts the bullying friendship of a chance acquaintance. He makes the victim as unappealing as he can: he'a foul-mouthed criminal who uses Getty's home as a way station for stolen goods. The victim is so nasty, we are invited to wonder what we would do, were we Getty.
Contrast him to our other killer, a self-righteous redneck who killed his adulterous wife and her lover (more on him in a minute), and then hid in a shack in the woods, blaming them for his actions, justifying himself with some quasi-religious mumblings. Clearly, we are not to empathize with this killer.
Finally, complicating the mix of anti-hero characters, we consider the fiancee of the dead wife's lover. He was never faithful, and truthfully, she wasn't sure she wanted a lifetime of him, but he came with the delightful family circle that she was willing to tolerate a fair amount of philandering to have. Provided she could rub his nose in the mess when he was discovered.
She wants to rub her hands in the dirt at the site where his body was found, a last psychic "ah-HA! Busted!" when she has the misfortune to encounter Getty and the Redneck as they are battling over the remains that Getty is attempting to exhume and relocate.
I had difficulty empathizing with Getty because his choices are so alien to my own. Every time I felt invited to consider "What would I do in his place," the answer was invariably, "Not THAT." The author did a good job maintaining tension in the story, and the crisis definitely felt written for visual story telling (do all authors now write with an eye to potential film rights?). But the anticlimax was weak and flat, for me.
Imagine his surprise when a body is discovered in his back yard. Not his body, but a body. And then another. What is a man supposed to do? Cops sniffing around, crime scene investigators, and that body still to be discovered at the back of the garden. It's mad, he knows, but he must make some wild, last ditch effort to move the body before it's found.
(Some mild spoilers ahead)
Mason(the author) did his best to make you empathize with Getty, a passive, weak-feeling man who is so pathetically desperate for approval that he accepts the bullying friendship of a chance acquaintance. He makes the victim as unappealing as he can: he'a foul-mouthed criminal who uses Getty's home as a way station for stolen goods. The victim is so nasty, we are invited to wonder what we would do, were we Getty.
Contrast him to our other killer, a self-righteous redneck who killed his adulterous wife and her lover (more on him in a minute), and then hid in a shack in the woods, blaming them for his actions, justifying himself with some quasi-religious mumblings. Clearly, we are not to empathize with this killer.
Finally, complicating the mix of anti-hero characters, we consider the fiancee of the dead wife's lover. He was never faithful, and truthfully, she wasn't sure she wanted a lifetime of him, but he came with the delightful family circle that she was willing to tolerate a fair amount of philandering to have. Provided she could rub his nose in the mess when he was discovered.
She wants to rub her hands in the dirt at the site where his body was found, a last psychic "ah-HA! Busted!" when she has the misfortune to encounter Getty and the Redneck as they are battling over the remains that Getty is attempting to exhume and relocate.
I had difficulty empathizing with Getty because his choices are so alien to my own. Every time I felt invited to consider "What would I do in his place," the answer was invariably, "Not THAT." The author did a good job maintaining tension in the story, and the crisis definitely felt written for visual story telling (do all authors now write with an eye to potential film rights?). But the anticlimax was weak and flat, for me.
boleary30's review against another edition
1.0
The jacket sounded good, but this book has nothing to offer except the concept you can read in the jacket.
mads0527's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5