Comments on: Review: Alone by Lisa Gardner

By: Review: Bones by Jonathan Kellerman « Reactions to Reading

Review: Bones by Jonathan Kellerman « Reactions to Reading — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:55:07 +0000

[...] The mutilated body of a young woman is discovered in a protected marsh area in Los Angeles. Veteran LAPD Detective Milo Sturgis is called in to assist a rookie Detective by the name of Moses Reed. Naturally Milo brings his friend, psychologist Alex Delaware, along for the ride. A few more bodies are uncovered and there are hints that a prominent local family might be involved in the grizzly deaths.I stopped reading this series somewhere around book 9 or 10 due to their repetitive nature. And I chose this one from my local library’s meagre selection of audio books on the grounds that …well…it’s a meagre selection of audio books. So I’m admitting up front that I was undoubtedly going to struggle to love this book, although I am ever the optimist. Sadly I found the story dull and lacking credibility and it’s another that I’d like to assign the one-word review: meh. [...]

By: Quick Question: which book to read? « Reactions to Reading

Quick Question: which book to read? « Reactions to Reading — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 08:41:43 +0000

[...] First choice is Lisa Gardner’s The Neighbour. I don’t know a thing about it but I haven’t had a huge amount of success with Gardner’s books. The last one I read, Alone, was really only worthy of the one word review: meh. [...]

By: The Sunday Salon 2009-07-12: Week in Review « Reactions to Reading

The Sunday Salon 2009-07-12: Week in Review « Reactions to Reading — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 17:04:34 +0000

[...] review) and have posted reviews for Gianluca Morozzi’s Black Out, Lisa Gardner’s Alone, and Joanne Harris’ Gentlemen and Players; none of which rated more than a 2 on my rating [...]

By: bernadetteinoz

bernadetteinoz — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:15:25 +0000

The old curmudgeonly side of my character resists modern text-speak changes to my beloved English language but I have to say meh has become one of my absolute favourite words – how did we do without it for so long?

As for chruned out books with interchangeable, predictable plots and laughable female characters I guess they’re here to stay and I shall just have to be more careful to avoid them in future. Unfortunately there’s not a heck of a lot of Scandinavian crime fiction available on audio in English at my local library (or anywhere else for that matter). In fact the poor quality of content available in audio format is a very vexing problem of the sort I would complain to my local MP about if it weren’t for the fact she is an illiterate moron.

By: Maxine

Maxine — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:19:16 +0000

Yes, that’s just the word! Brilliant! I took this book on holiday a couple of years ago and if I hadn’t been in a foreign country (no English-language bookshops that I saw in that little bit of France) I would have chucked it half way through and bought something else. There are quite a few books like this I find – very well marketed but when you read them they just seem so same-y. I read one recently and had a similar reaction so did not review it, it was called Black Out by Lisa Unger. Great reviews, blurb by Coben – but stupid plot and a protag that made me want to strangle her for her inconsistent swinging between romantic fiction trembly heroine and (suspected) murder. And the plot holes….and the build up to nothing…final revelation – flat as pancake.

I am glad I didn’t read that other book by LG, Barbara!

By: Barbara

Barbara — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:37:15 +0000

Meh! What a great tag to use for books like this. I reviewed one of hers and had the same reaction, except actually it was more like “damn, another dent in the wall.” In that case the female lead (who has a tortured background and is being pursued by a crazy serial killer; probably gorgeous, as well) literally goes down into the basement alone so that we can have our denouement. Manipulation was the name of the game, and violence against women was trivialized. I hated the whole thing viscerally.

But meh would have been a more fitting reaction.