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kthomas4415's review against another edition
3.0
3.5-4 stars I think? I was kind of bummed because I thought this book was going to be about an actual dispatcher and not an officer in desk duty. Story was a little rough at times and hard to believe in others, but I've never lived in a small enough town where life may be what it is in this book. Pretty cool action scenes but a whole lot of trigger warnings.
didactylos's review against another edition
1.0
Turned into a nasty gratuitous read, a shame as the writer has actually got some nice touches. I finished it in case it improved. It didn't.
You have to stretch your credulity a lot as to how a man shot in the lung can manage to chase across America and perform feats a fit person would not manage.
Oh dear.
You have to stretch your credulity a lot as to how a man shot in the lung can manage to chase across America and perform feats a fit person would not manage.
Oh dear.
scknitter's review against another edition
3.0
A kidnapped child who has been missing and presumed dead for 7 years calls 911 and begs for help. Unlike many recent stories in the news this is not really about the kidnapped child. Instead it is about a father who turns his back on all he knows about right and wrong and does whatever it takes to get his daughter back. It is a deadly, violent and bloody chase that will only end with his death or the rescue of his daughter.
A gripping, but violent, thriller about a father’s no holds barred quest to rescue his kidnapped daughter.
A gripping, but violent, thriller about a father’s no holds barred quest to rescue his kidnapped daughter.
kirsty147's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent, fast-paced crime/thriller novel. Not one I would normally read as I like British fiction, rather than American (with the exception of Harlan Coben and Linwood Barclay & this novel reminded me of their style). I finished it in two nights, couldn't put it down. A bit graphic in places, but that doesn't bother me as it fitted well with the book.
shelleyrae's review against another edition
4.0
I saw a review of The Dispatcher in my RSS feed st Jenn's Book Shelves but since it was past the publication date I thought it would no longer be available. To my surprise it was still listed so I decided to request it anyway and to my surprise I was approved a few days later. It was both the premise and Jenn's review that I found intriguing. A small town emergency dispatcher receives a call from a phone box, his daughter, who has been missing for seven years, is begging for his help. With single minded determination, Ian Hunt renews his search for his daughter, willing to do anything to bring her home.
From the first few pages, after Hunt receives the call, I was eager to know what had happened seven years ago and by then introducing Maggie's point of view, the author had me hooked. There is a palpable sense of urgency as Hunt mobilises the police and Maggie is dragged screaming from the phone box, leaving the receiver dangling. Jahn then lets us into the mind of Henry, Maggie's abductor - his fury at her escape, his fear at being caught and his twisted justification for kidnapping Maggie. The story unfolds between the three points of view of Ian, Maggie and Henry, overlapping at times to reveal the differing perspectives of the three, allowing us to follow their individual journeys.
Jahn reveals Hunt's grief in the aftermath of his daughters disappearance - the break down of his marriage, his anger at his son who was babysitting her, the end of his career and the solace he found in a bottle. Hunt is incredibly sympathetic even as he crosses the line into vigilantism. He has been driven past the point of the rational, his focus narrowed to saving his daughter and making her captor pay.
Maggie is fourteen now, she has spent seven years in a dank basement with only an imaginary friend for company, grimly holding tight to the knowledge of who she is. Her aborted escape doesn't dampen her spirit and while her strength is unlikely given the circumstances it is admirable and with every fibre of my being I was hoping she would escape.
With Henry's perspective we learn about his own desperation to make his wife happy, the only redeeming feature the man has. It's a fascinating look at motives that makes this man a monster, but still a human being.
The tension is unrelenting as Ian and the police try to determine the identity of Maggie's captor, as Maggie looks for another opportunity to escape and Henry grows increasingly anxious about being caught. An explosion of violence starts the chase across the country, Henry leaving a trail of bodies in his wake while Hunt races to catch them with a bullet wound in his chest. The violence in this novel is not graphic exactly but is real and not for the faint of heart. Ian and Henry are both desperate men, Henry determined to escape, Ian to rescue his daughter at any cost, even his own life.
The Dispatcher is a gritty, dark thriller with a frantic, intense pace. It is not a complex story but is nevertheless completely compelling and I couldn't put it down.
From the first few pages, after Hunt receives the call, I was eager to know what had happened seven years ago and by then introducing Maggie's point of view, the author had me hooked. There is a palpable sense of urgency as Hunt mobilises the police and Maggie is dragged screaming from the phone box, leaving the receiver dangling. Jahn then lets us into the mind of Henry, Maggie's abductor - his fury at her escape, his fear at being caught and his twisted justification for kidnapping Maggie. The story unfolds between the three points of view of Ian, Maggie and Henry, overlapping at times to reveal the differing perspectives of the three, allowing us to follow their individual journeys.
Jahn reveals Hunt's grief in the aftermath of his daughters disappearance - the break down of his marriage, his anger at his son who was babysitting her, the end of his career and the solace he found in a bottle. Hunt is incredibly sympathetic even as he crosses the line into vigilantism. He has been driven past the point of the rational, his focus narrowed to saving his daughter and making her captor pay.
Maggie is fourteen now, she has spent seven years in a dank basement with only an imaginary friend for company, grimly holding tight to the knowledge of who she is. Her aborted escape doesn't dampen her spirit and while her strength is unlikely given the circumstances it is admirable and with every fibre of my being I was hoping she would escape.
With Henry's perspective we learn about his own desperation to make his wife happy, the only redeeming feature the man has. It's a fascinating look at motives that makes this man a monster, but still a human being.
The tension is unrelenting as Ian and the police try to determine the identity of Maggie's captor, as Maggie looks for another opportunity to escape and Henry grows increasingly anxious about being caught. An explosion of violence starts the chase across the country, Henry leaving a trail of bodies in his wake while Hunt races to catch them with a bullet wound in his chest. The violence in this novel is not graphic exactly but is real and not for the faint of heart. Ian and Henry are both desperate men, Henry determined to escape, Ian to rescue his daughter at any cost, even his own life.
The Dispatcher is a gritty, dark thriller with a frantic, intense pace. It is not a complex story but is nevertheless completely compelling and I couldn't put it down.
lanie_b's review against another edition
3.0
The title stood out to me at the library because I work as a police dispatcher at the airport so of course I had to read this one! It is an exciting, fast-paced story from beginning to end.
caitlinxmartin's review against another edition
4.0
I wanted to read The Dispatcher because the story sounded like it would be good and because I panned the author's first book, Good Neighbors (yes, I know it won an award). Most of my issues with Good Neighbors had to do with some authorial and metafictional choices, but were mostly rooted in the fact that he was writing about the Kitty Genovese murder and I think Harlan Ellison wrote the definitive fictional work on that in his short story, The Whimper of Whipped Dogs. What I did know was that Mr. Jahn could write and I watched out for what he might write next.
Second books are hard - lots of people flub them badly. Mr. Jahn, however, wrote a great second book. He kept the cast of characters tight, the various stories and subplots woven together tightly, chose a great landscape with miles and miles of deserted highway, and he paced things just right. In fact, he paced them as if you and he were riding together in the main character's 1965 Mustang down those highways after the people who kidnapped your girl.
Mr. Jahn has a way with words and has proven that he can write a great story. I had a really hard time putting this book down - I devoured it in a day (a work day, even). I wasn't very sociable with my co-workers on break and at lunch because I was too enraptured to stop reading this book. It was a sort of a teenaged joyride of a book, complete with those bad moments that happen when you realize the car is stolen, you're probably too drunk to be in it, and you're definitely driving way too fast, but somehow you just can't stop. Excellent book - highly recommended for those who like a great thriller.
Second books are hard - lots of people flub them badly. Mr. Jahn, however, wrote a great second book. He kept the cast of characters tight, the various stories and subplots woven together tightly, chose a great landscape with miles and miles of deserted highway, and he paced things just right. In fact, he paced them as if you and he were riding together in the main character's 1965 Mustang down those highways after the people who kidnapped your girl.
Mr. Jahn has a way with words and has proven that he can write a great story. I had a really hard time putting this book down - I devoured it in a day (a work day, even). I wasn't very sociable with my co-workers on break and at lunch because I was too enraptured to stop reading this book. It was a sort of a teenaged joyride of a book, complete with those bad moments that happen when you realize the car is stolen, you're probably too drunk to be in it, and you're definitely driving way too fast, but somehow you just can't stop. Excellent book - highly recommended for those who like a great thriller.
unabridgedchick's review against another edition
3.0
In the first few pages of this novel, we meet Ian Hunt, a police dispatcher who gets a 911 call from his daughter, who has been missing for seven years. Four months ago, at his ex-wife's request, they had a funeral for Maggie, but Ian hasn't been able to let go of the hope that Maggie was alive.
This book had me on the edge of my seat every time I picked it up; if I had coffee while reading it, I honestly thought I'd expire from anxiety. Jahn's present tense narrative has the effect of making everything immediate, and so I just chased line after line, desperate to get to the resolution.
The novel alternates mostly between Ian, Maggie, and her kidnapper, and the additional viewpoints are both delightful and maddening. I wanted to get to The End, of course, but Maggie's interludes ratcheted up the tension while the kidnapper's POV just made everything creepier and creepier. Other characters got their own chapter now and then, which slightly affected the mood for me, but otherwise, I can't complain about the pacing or the vibe of the story. If thriller you want, thriller you get.
Beyond the thrilling plot line -- will Ian be able to rescue his daughter? -- this novel also lifts up the damaging effects losing a child has on a person and a marriage. Ian is estranged from his son who was babysitting his daughter the night she was kidnapped; his tragedy is one in this town full of heartache and loss, one that marks him and yet makes him just another of the damaged.
Contemporary thrillers aren't always my thing because I'm a wimp, and I get freaked out easily, and this book has tension and creepiness in spades. The story isn't gory, not exactly, but has some explosive violence that fits with the feel of the story and matches the plot -- but still squicked me out.
In the end, this was a very fun way to spend a few days -- well, maybe not fun, but certainly engrossed -- and anyone who enjoys cinematic, tension-filled thrillers will dig this one.
This book had me on the edge of my seat every time I picked it up; if I had coffee while reading it, I honestly thought I'd expire from anxiety. Jahn's present tense narrative has the effect of making everything immediate, and so I just chased line after line, desperate to get to the resolution.
The novel alternates mostly between Ian, Maggie, and her kidnapper, and the additional viewpoints are both delightful and maddening. I wanted to get to The End, of course, but Maggie's interludes ratcheted up the tension while the kidnapper's POV just made everything creepier and creepier. Other characters got their own chapter now and then, which slightly affected the mood for me, but otherwise, I can't complain about the pacing or the vibe of the story. If thriller you want, thriller you get.
Beyond the thrilling plot line -- will Ian be able to rescue his daughter? -- this novel also lifts up the damaging effects losing a child has on a person and a marriage. Ian is estranged from his son who was babysitting his daughter the night she was kidnapped; his tragedy is one in this town full of heartache and loss, one that marks him and yet makes him just another of the damaged.
Contemporary thrillers aren't always my thing because I'm a wimp, and I get freaked out easily, and this book has tension and creepiness in spades. The story isn't gory, not exactly, but has some explosive violence that fits with the feel of the story and matches the plot -- but still squicked me out.
In the end, this was a very fun way to spend a few days -- well, maybe not fun, but certainly engrossed -- and anyone who enjoys cinematic, tension-filled thrillers will dig this one.
emmymau's review against another edition
2.0
Moderately satisfying tale of revenge in the Southwest. For me, the protagonist crossed the moral event horizon about halfway through the book though, which destroyed any chance for a completely happy ending. Gritty but not to my taste in that respect.
athira's review against another edition
3.0
Ian Hunt is working a regular day at the dispatch office, receiving more prank calls than genuine ones at the job, when a call comes through from a payphone. The distressed caller is a girl who introduces herself as Maggie Hunt, Ian's own daughter who has been missing for the past seven years, and whose funeral was arranged four months earlier to give her mother closure. She had just managed to escape and is hoping for help, but her abductor manages to get her in time. Ian, now convinced that his daughter is very much alive, will stop at nothing to get her back, even if it means punching a few noses, chopping a few fingers or killing someone.
This book is not really my usual fare, but I only chose it because Ryan David Jahn wrote it. After loving the ingenuity of [b:Good Neighbors|10380359|Good Neighbors|Ryan David Jahn|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1311279567s/10380359.jpg|15283848], I was looking for more magic when I opted to read this one. Unfortunately, this one just didn't do it for me. I know it is my elevated expectations that spoiled my enjoyment because otherwise, The Dispatcher was a pretty good crime novel.
One of the main strengths of this book is its characters. There are quite a few narrators, from Ian to his daughter, from her abductor to Ian's friend. Except for Maggie, the daughter, all the other narrators were very well-etched. Maggie felt quite weak to me, and I guess it's because of the minimal information I got about how she has been managing for seven years - her education, her mental condition, her emotional maturity, etc. She didn't appear too affected by the abduction - there is a lot of anger but not any of the emotional effects I would expect to see.
The Dispatcher was pretty fast paced and a bit gruesome. There are some really stomach churning moments and a lot of bloodshed in the book. I didn't feel all that uncomfortable reading the book, but it should be stated that there are quite a few kidnappings and child killings in the book, in case that's something that gives you a headache. The gruesomeness was pretty vivid in Good Neighbors as well, but I think The Dispatcher will take the cake in that department.
The plot itself was pretty well setup. My usual problems with crime novels are how much the writer teases the reader - the good guy will be thiscloseto catching the bad guy before something happens, he escapes and I roll my eyes. I didn't feel manipulated in this case - the expected things happen, and then some unexpected things happen, but nothing that involves the police coming in at the last minute after all the gunshots are fired. The setting being in Texas, there is a lot of landscape descriptions that are not really my cup of tea but will be delicious to anyone who loves a good setting.
One of my issues with this book has to do with my ebook copy itself. I read it via Kindle, sent directly from NetGalley, and the copy was pretty badly organized. The paragraphs weren't properly split up between perspectives. The transition from one narrator to another is not so obvious that sometimes I am a couple of paragraphs into the next person's story before I realize it. This was my first time reading NetGalley copies on the Kindle app - I usually read on my Nook. Not a big issue, but a jarring note, nevertheless.
Despite all the wonderful things I wrote about this book, it didn't really intrigue me much. The middle portion of the book slowed down quite a bit and there wasn't much happening either to move the story along. There are many other characters who come and go through the book. I was disappointed that some of them aren't explored more considering the strategic placement of quite a few subplots. I also felt that Maggie's abductor was occasionally acting out of character - of course, what's out of character for a kidnapper is debatable. His wife was quite frustrating most of the time that I wasn't sure what her ailment was. It was these weak characterizations that eventually took away my enjoyment. I did however like how the author left the ending ambiguous, and although I would love to know how Ian manages after it all ends, I do see how I will be dissatisfied with whichever ending the author chooses.
This book is not really my usual fare, but I only chose it because Ryan David Jahn wrote it. After loving the ingenuity of [b:Good Neighbors|10380359|Good Neighbors|Ryan David Jahn|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1311279567s/10380359.jpg|15283848], I was looking for more magic when I opted to read this one. Unfortunately, this one just didn't do it for me. I know it is my elevated expectations that spoiled my enjoyment because otherwise, The Dispatcher was a pretty good crime novel.
One of the main strengths of this book is its characters. There are quite a few narrators, from Ian to his daughter, from her abductor to Ian's friend. Except for Maggie, the daughter, all the other narrators were very well-etched. Maggie felt quite weak to me, and I guess it's because of the minimal information I got about how she has been managing for seven years - her education, her mental condition, her emotional maturity, etc. She didn't appear too affected by the abduction - there is a lot of anger but not any of the emotional effects I would expect to see.
The Dispatcher was pretty fast paced and a bit gruesome. There are some really stomach churning moments and a lot of bloodshed in the book. I didn't feel all that uncomfortable reading the book, but it should be stated that there are quite a few kidnappings and child killings in the book, in case that's something that gives you a headache. The gruesomeness was pretty vivid in Good Neighbors as well, but I think The Dispatcher will take the cake in that department.
The plot itself was pretty well setup. My usual problems with crime novels are how much the writer teases the reader - the good guy will be thiscloseto catching the bad guy before something happens, he escapes and I roll my eyes. I didn't feel manipulated in this case - the expected things happen, and then some unexpected things happen, but nothing that involves the police coming in at the last minute after all the gunshots are fired. The setting being in Texas, there is a lot of landscape descriptions that are not really my cup of tea but will be delicious to anyone who loves a good setting.
One of my issues with this book has to do with my ebook copy itself. I read it via Kindle, sent directly from NetGalley, and the copy was pretty badly organized. The paragraphs weren't properly split up between perspectives. The transition from one narrator to another is not so obvious that sometimes I am a couple of paragraphs into the next person's story before I realize it. This was my first time reading NetGalley copies on the Kindle app - I usually read on my Nook. Not a big issue, but a jarring note, nevertheless.
Despite all the wonderful things I wrote about this book, it didn't really intrigue me much. The middle portion of the book slowed down quite a bit and there wasn't much happening either to move the story along. There are many other characters who come and go through the book. I was disappointed that some of them aren't explored more considering the strategic placement of quite a few subplots. I also felt that Maggie's abductor was occasionally acting out of character - of course, what's out of character for a kidnapper is debatable. His wife was quite frustrating most of the time that I wasn't sure what her ailment was. It was these weak characterizations that eventually took away my enjoyment. I did however like how the author left the ending ambiguous, and although I would love to know how Ian manages after it all ends, I do see how I will be dissatisfied with whichever ending the author chooses.