Has Our Society Become Desensitized to Violence?
***** SPOILER ALERT *****
There was a root problem with this novel that I was never able to overcome.
How could Lauren witness her husband violently beating (and apparently ultimately killing) a man without becoming remotely concerned about his character? Wasn't she concerned about the safety of herself and her unborn child knowing what Paul was capable of? Her only concern was how to cover up his crime???
It should have been royally troubling to her to realize what violence her husband possessed, yet somehow it sailed over her head. There are extreme situations where violence gets repaid with violence, but that was not what was depicted here.
Worse yet, Lauren kept claiming that Paul had viciously beaten Scott "for her". Lauren had engaged in a consensual act with Scott. Paul was not protecting Lauren by any stretch of the imagination, so how could she keep justifying his behavior? How could his violent propensity not be totally troubling to her?
Women with low self-esteem are notorious for making all kinds of excuses for men. It is a waving red flag when women read "noble" motivations into negative and disturbing behavior on the part of men, both for their own sake and for the sake of their children.
I believe that Paul had a chip missing in that he could behave so violently and viciously toward others. Lauren had her own chip missing in terms of not only failing to see the problem but, worse yet, to interpret it as somehow being a tribute to her relationship with him.
Is our society becoming so desensitized to the violence depicted by the media that this constituted a reasonable response to a vicious beating? And have male-female relationships become so troubled that Lauren did not run for her life and the life of her unborn child before Paul erupted again?
I could go on and on, but I would like to point out one other thing. This novel depicted caffeine and alcohol as being plausible beverage choices for a pregnant woman. I am willing to cut Patterson some slack on this on account of his being a man. Yet I certainly hope his female readers are savvy enough to realize the hazards these substances can present to an unborn child.
Let's please not buy everything the media sells us as being acceptable or advisable.
Do yourself a favor and skip it.
Am I the only one who thinks Patterson falls ridiculously flat when he tries to write from a woman's point of view? I didn't believe for a second that Lauren was a competent NYPD detective. Her narration is flighty and shallow and exaggerated. She sleeps with a man once, this so-called quickie, but in narration she treats it like some long-established affair. And the writing here is ridiculously bad, something I would expect from a first-time author, not someone with 50ish books under his belt. The amount of "quoted words" drove me crazy. The saddest thing here is that the story had real promise, but very little is fleshed out. Instead we have a book full of shallow, selfish, unlikable characters and Patterson's now-trademark white space. If you have ever been a Patterson fan, do yourself a favor and skip this one. If I hadn't been stuck in a car for 7 hours, I wouldn't have bothered.
From J. Kaye's Book Blog
It was the first time I almost didn't finish a Patterson book. I read nothing about this book prior to getting it. Big mistake, but I do this with authors I read everything they published. I trust the story will be a good one, so I kick back and enjoy the ride. My copy was an ausio book.
I wish I had known that Lauren Stillwell was a NYPD cop, before her husband killed the guy she'd just slept with. I didn't discover this until after that. It was like throwing cold water on me. I almost stopped listening. If the book hadn't been so short, I would have. I am glad I didn't though, because everything Stillwell believed about her husband will be a lie. The whole thing surprised me.
It ended up to be a good read. Glad I didn't miss it.
Review of Audio CD
I've read a number of Patterson's books and my opinions are varied; perhaps depending on who the co-author is? I did enjoy this story with its myriad of plot turns & surprises. Also enjoyable is the narrator's voice. I find it easier to listen to women reading men's lines than I do listening to men read the women's parts. Mary Stuart Masterson did a good job and kept me interested. Pleasant voice, good engagement.
Best Patterson I've read
This book was quick paced like all Patterson, but not super obvious. It was thrilling until the end, and twists and turns all over the place. This is the best Patterson I have read, and was such a page turner I read it in just a few hours time.
(295 reviews)
