Crystal (CrystalWith2Cats) -
Helpful Score: 3
I am very disappointed with this book. Had I known that this was essentially two separate short stories joined on one cd, I may have thought twice before ordering it. The characters are not very well developed, the stories lack any real mystery or suspense, and overall it just fell flat. I've never before read any Kellerman novels, Jonathan or Faye, and now I'm hesitant to give either of them another chance. I've heard that they are each really great writers, and if that is the case, this is not their best work. At least I hope it's not their best work. If you want real suspense, well developed characters and story lines, stick to James Patterson.
Andrew K. (kuligowskiandrewt) -
The celebrated crime-writing family, the Kellermans (Jonathan & Faye) have collaborated on 2 books; both consist of 2 novellas featuring new characters in new (at least for the Kellermans) locales.
Double Homicide contains two excellent examples of the standalone novella. Both books introduce new characters - cops and the people in their lives, and victims and the people in THEIR (former) lives. By the time the story has concluded, we know enough about the protagonists and other supporting characters to care about them, or dislike them, or whatever emotion we might have been led to form about them. Too often, full-length novels by lesser writers are not able to accomplish this task.
The settings are also intriguing; Boston, in particular small-college Boston, and Santa Fe. And the plots both manage to have a twist to them; neither follows what I would consider to be formulaic whodunnit.
It is a shame that the Kellermans have not collaborated on a third such effort - perhaps they can now incorporate their author son into the mix and revisit this genre soon. (And, it is also a shame that the characters in all 4 of the novellas have returned to the corners of the imagination ... all of them deserve another chancce in the limelight; perhaps even in a full novel of their own.)
Rating is 4 1/2 stars; however, I'll round up to 5 where half-stars are not allowed to acknowledge the many things this book and its authors did right!
ASIDE: I listened to this book via audio during my commute. On the plus side, Lou Diamond Phillips is an excellent narrator, and I hope he considers adding more of this type of work to his resume. (Maybe he can do one of Craig Johnson's Longmire novels if George Guidall is ever not available - wouldn't THAT be ironic!) But, on the negative, the producer chose to include some mood music during various parts of the narration. I've always thought that this is an approach that more Audio books should employ, but after listening to this one, I realized that the effect can be distracting, rather than augmenting the material. The choices were usually appropriate, but their sudden inclusion was usually detrimental to my enjoyment of the material.
Double Homicide contains two excellent examples of the standalone novella. Both books introduce new characters - cops and the people in their lives, and victims and the people in THEIR (former) lives. By the time the story has concluded, we know enough about the protagonists and other supporting characters to care about them, or dislike them, or whatever emotion we might have been led to form about them. Too often, full-length novels by lesser writers are not able to accomplish this task.
The settings are also intriguing; Boston, in particular small-college Boston, and Santa Fe. And the plots both manage to have a twist to them; neither follows what I would consider to be formulaic whodunnit.
It is a shame that the Kellermans have not collaborated on a third such effort - perhaps they can now incorporate their author son into the mix and revisit this genre soon. (And, it is also a shame that the characters in all 4 of the novellas have returned to the corners of the imagination ... all of them deserve another chancce in the limelight; perhaps even in a full novel of their own.)
Rating is 4 1/2 stars; however, I'll round up to 5 where half-stars are not allowed to acknowledge the many things this book and its authors did right!
ASIDE: I listened to this book via audio during my commute. On the plus side, Lou Diamond Phillips is an excellent narrator, and I hope he considers adding more of this type of work to his resume. (Maybe he can do one of Craig Johnson's Longmire novels if George Guidall is ever not available - wouldn't THAT be ironic!) But, on the negative, the producer chose to include some mood music during various parts of the narration. I've always thought that this is an approach that more Audio books should employ, but after listening to this one, I realized that the effect can be distracting, rather than augmenting the material. The choices were usually appropriate, but their sudden inclusion was usually detrimental to my enjoyment of the material.
Basic who-done-it but a really good deal because there are 2 complete stories in one audio book.
Fair and 2 short stories are hard to do.
I have read Kellerman books that were better.
I have read Kellerman books that were better.
Two cities, two murders, and two masters on 5 CDs unabridged with 6 hours of listening enjoyment.
