shereadsometimeshewrites's review against another edition
5.0
Wow! This is my first time reading anything by Greg Iles and it won't be my last. This book is everything! I couldn't put it down, I was twisted with emotions and I even cried because of them. I recommend this highly. I won't say much more because I don't want to spoil a good thing.
nursenell's review against another edition
5.0
This was a much better book than the first Greg Iles book I read. This book is about how childhood sexual abuse, even when not consciously remembered, affects the way the survivors live their adult lives. The story is set in Natchez, MS. A good read.
aloudy16's review against another edition
5.0
first time reading this author and i recommend!!! going to look for more of his books. very good !!!
judyward's review against another edition
4.0
"Cat" Ferry is fired from a task force investigating a series of murders in New Orleans despite being a world-class odontologist because of panic attacks and apparent blackouts. But when she leaves New Orleans and goes back home to Natchez, Mississippi, her problems seem to multiply. What is going on here? Good job, Greg Iles. I checked this audio book out of the library prior to a week-long trip thinking that it would be interesting even though it has 16 discs. Soon, however, I was hooked--hooked to the point that I was making up excuses to get back into the car and drive around "doing errands" so that I could get back into the story and find out what was going on.
lafate's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I don't usually give trigger warnings to books, but there is child sexual abuse in this story. I just want to put that out there right away.
Now my no-spoiler review. This book is long, which is typical for Greg Iles. In fact he needs a lot of room so he can make our heads spin multiple times. I'm pretty bad at figuring out mysteries and Greg Iles weaves together what seems like disparate tangents into a cohesive tale.
The heroine of this story, "Cat" Ferry is flawed, brilliant, alcoholic, in love with a married man, and pregnant. She is a forensic odontologist who helps figure out crimes through dentistry. There's a serial murderer out there and Cat gets taken off the case, partly due to a panic attack at a crime scene. But this is a Greg Iles book so we fans of Greg Iles know this is not the end. In fact her personal life is going to come crashing down and she's going to be more determined to solve the case.
If you can deal with the disturbing aspect of the book as I described in the trigger warning then you will be rewarded. If not, this is not the book for you. There are others out there.
I loved the narration by Joyce Bean except what the heck accent did the main homicide detective have?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Murder, and Child abuse
afoy22's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
thebookstackattack's review against another edition
5.0
Between the blatant talk of mental illness, and childhood sexual trauma, this novel blew my mind.
Having suffered from both of these things, to see it so plainly written by one of my favourite authors, was amazing, gut wrenching and oddly beautiful.
Greg Iles has never ceased to amaze me, with his ability to completely captive me from page one, as well as write from the female perspective.
This novel is gritty and profound. It’s not a “fun” read, with your heart and head swirling and hurting at the revelations; it is however, a novel that all humans should read. While it’s a work of fiction, nothing about it is fictional.
Having suffered from both of these things, to see it so plainly written by one of my favourite authors, was amazing, gut wrenching and oddly beautiful.
Greg Iles has never ceased to amaze me, with his ability to completely captive me from page one, as well as write from the female perspective.
This novel is gritty and profound. It’s not a “fun” read, with your heart and head swirling and hurting at the revelations; it is however, a novel that all humans should read. While it’s a work of fiction, nothing about it is fictional.
whatleoreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
latas's review against another edition
2.0
This is my first book by Greg Iles and will be my last. I didn't like the narration style, though the subject was promising. It was in first person and in present tense. Getting into Cat's head was the last thing I would want to do !
The original novel is apparently 800 pages long. Thankfully I read the abridged version in the Readers Digest Select Edition. I can't imagine the level of details the original book had.
The way Cat and her BF Sean connected the serial murders to a psychiatrist was weird, the connection was so flimsy. They are casually discussing the murders and started putting together far fetched conspiracy theories, sitting in her den. The FBI agent Kaiser was a big fool to place all the evidences in Cat's hands though she was herself a suspect.
The subject of child abuse is very very sensitive. But the way Cat keeps saying she was abused in her childhood, felt like she was thrilled to have had this experience. And the author's poor narration style is to be blamed for this.
If you want to read a good book on repressed memories, I recommend [b:Tell Me Your Dreams|43326|Tell Me Your Dreams|Sidney Sheldon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390331844l/43326._SY75_.jpg|1298936] by Sidney Sheldon. And for pointers on how to write an engaging story in first person, I recommend books by [a:Dick Francis|5561|Dick Francis|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1208830270p2/5561.jpg].
I have added Cat to my list of the most annoying heroines along with Kay Scarpetta, Maura Isles, Temperance Brennan, Carol Jordan.
The original novel is apparently 800 pages long. Thankfully I read the abridged version in the Readers Digest Select Edition. I can't imagine the level of details the original book had.
The way Cat and her BF Sean connected the serial murders to a psychiatrist was weird, the connection was so flimsy. They are casually discussing the murders and started putting together far fetched conspiracy theories, sitting in her den. The FBI agent Kaiser was a big fool to place all the evidences in Cat's hands though she was herself a suspect.
The subject of child abuse is very very sensitive. But the way Cat keeps saying she was abused in her childhood, felt like she was thrilled to have had this experience. And the author's poor narration style is to be blamed for this.
If you want to read a good book on repressed memories, I recommend [b:Tell Me Your Dreams|43326|Tell Me Your Dreams|Sidney Sheldon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390331844l/43326._SY75_.jpg|1298936] by Sidney Sheldon. And for pointers on how to write an engaging story in first person, I recommend books by [a:Dick Francis|5561|Dick Francis|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1208830270p2/5561.jpg].
I have added Cat to my list of the most annoying heroines along with Kay Scarpetta, Maura Isles, Temperance Brennan, Carol Jordan.