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Book Reviews of A Room for the Dead

A Room for the Dead
A Room for the Dead
Author: Noel Hynd
ISBN-13: 9780786000890
ISBN-10: 0786000899
Publication Date: 1/1/1995
Rating:
  • Currently 3.6/5 Stars.
 31

3.6 stars, based on 31 ratings
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

9 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

reviewed A Room for the Dead on + 242 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
This book is part ghost story, part mystery. Frank OHara is the New Hampshire cop responsible for identifying Gary Ledbetter as the man who has killed several women in a horrifying manner. He gets extradicted to Florida for other murders and dies in the electric chair, protesting his innocence to the end. OHara is 4 months away from retirement when the same type of murders turn up in his area. The murders had a very negative effect on OHara so he's not thrilled when his Captain assigns him to investigate the murders. Then OHara starts seeing the ghost of Ledbetter who demands that OHara find the real killer whose crimes he was executed for. Throughout the book, OHara tries to figure out whether he's crazy or he's really seeing a ghost. There are many surprising twists and turns to this story that make it hard to put the book down. OHara is a sympathetic character. The minor characters who pop up are intriguing. The ending is somewhat disappointing but at the same time it's a very fitting one.
Linda avatar reviewed A Room for the Dead on + 770 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Lots of twists and turns .... good reading for those who enjoy a good mystery.

From the back cover: Both a mesmerizing ghost story and a gripping detectove tale, this one takes you on a hair-raising journey into the darkest recesses of one man's soul....
reviewed A Room for the Dead on + 228 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Noel Hynd never dissappoints. this is a very good murder story about a detective ready to retire, but then his recent death row murderer keeps coming back saying he's innocent!! What a great ghost story! It will keep you guessing until the exciting conclusion! I could not put it down til I knew the ending!!
reviewed A Room for the Dead on + 45 more book reviews
It is the winter of 1993. With only a few months to go before his retirement, Detective Sgt. Frank O'Hara faces the most impossible challenge of his career: A killer who can't possibly exist...not in this world, anyway.
missymagpiesmom avatar reviewed A Room for the Dead on + 4 more book reviews
I was really disappointed in this book, especially as I had gotten it right on the heels of "Ghosts", a book by the same author that I couldn't put down. It's as if the author, trying to duplicate his ghost story success with the previous title, was rushing to get something out on the shelves again.

To be fair, the base storyline is a good one, a police officer being haunted by the spirit of someone he helped send to the electric chair. Unfortunately, I couldn't really get into the cop's character b/c although we should have been able to sympathize with him, he was really not all that likeable. And, although, there were many characters in the book that the author DID go into depth with, I never really connected with any of them, good or bad, which is an odd occurrence for me as a quite active reader.

The other thing that surprised me is that even though this book should have been a quick beach/paperback-type read, it took me days to get through it. The beginning 60 pages are so read like they are by a TOTALLY different author than "Ghosts" and in fact read a little different than the rest of the book as well, in that it seems sloppier. There are also a lot of cliche descriptions that are used overmuch, such as describing the killer REPEATEDLY as a "dirtball Adonis" and other cops as "harness bulls". (maybe that was 90's slang?? I just worked 5 1/2 years in a police department and NEVER heard that phrase).

I really want someone to want this book so I can unload it from my inventory so I should probably not have written such a scathing review--however, it got almost consistent 4 stars so maybe it IS just me. I would say that taste is individual and perhaps someone would like this for an airplane or beach read, but if you have read "Ghosts" and are expecting the same quality, I wouln't recommend it based on that factor.
emeraldfire avatar reviewed A Room for the Dead on
It is the winter of 1993. With only a few months to go before his retirement, Detective Sergeant Frank O'Hara faces the most impossible challenge of his career: a serial killer who can't possibly exist...not in this world, anyway.

Several years before, Detective Sergeant O'Hara helped send Gary Ledbetter, an angelically-faced blue-eyed psychopath, to the electric chair. Now Gary Ledbetter's grisly signature is apparent on a string of fresh murders that sicken even veteran cops... Is this just a hideous re-enactment of Gary Ledbetter's crimes? Or...is Frank O'Hara completely losing his mind?

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was incredibly eerie, very mysterious, and I just had to find out how the story ended. I give this book an A! Noel Hynd is a new author for me, and he certainly is an author I would like to read more from in the future.
jasoncavallaro avatar reviewed A Room for the Dead on + 92 more book reviews
no
ladyshortyg avatar reviewed A Room for the Dead on + 33 more book reviews
is a story about a psycho killer . who likes to stalk his victims first.
reviewed A Room for the Dead on + 42 more book reviews
Haven't read yet I ended up with two copies so I am releasing one for anyone intereasted in Noel Hynd