Jonathan Moore (1)

3.5 - 4.0, rounded up.

I enjoyed the story even though I had a bit of trouble accepting the main logic behind the crime. I didn't really think it was feasible. However, accepting that perhaps it was possible, I did enjoy the book, although it seemed like it left a bit on the table, perhaps for a followup. Nothing that detracts from the story too much, though. I would like to know more.

It's pretty hard to really discuss the story without giving away too much. If you live in the SF Bay Area, you would probably enjoy it more. There is a lot of area covered, and I kind of liked knowing where they were going.… (mere)

A very interesting story with a lot going on. It seems that nothing is what it appears to be, but the pieces slowly fit together in a way that we don't see until the end. We never know quite what is going on about anything; even the main detective's girlfriend is a mystery. But the book starts out seeming like it's cut and dried as to what happened, except... Well, I don't want to give anything away.

I've lived in the SF Bay Area for 50 years, so it was fun knowing all the places that feature prominently in the book. But it's not necessary, of course, to know the area.

There was just one thing that kind of bugged me. At one point, the detective got an important phone call very late at night, and his cell phone ran out of juice. I don't understand how someone who depends on his phone as much as this guy could not be bothered to plug it into a charger overnight. And if he has trouble remembering, he should carry a spare battery for emergencies. I don't really depend on mine that much, but I still make sure I keep it charged. You never know when something might happen and you really want your phone for some emergency.
… (mere)

I really wanted to love this one but that just wasn’t meant to be. I didn’t hate it and in fact, liked it well enough but it wasn’t the kind of book that I couldn’t wait to get back to. I had a few guesses about what was really going on in this book early on which took some of the fun out of the book once I discovered I was right. I did like the concept behind the story and feel like I would have enjoyed the book more if I hadn’t guessed the twist so early in the book.

Caleb is a toxicologist who is studying the effects of pain. After a painful breakup with his girlfriend, he decides to go out for a drink where he meets Emmeline. He is instantly taken and is willing to do anything to be with her. Someone who was at the bar at the same time as Caleb is missing and the police are looking at Caleb. To make matters worse, he has already helped his friend, who happens to be the medical examiner, with some of the evidence. This book did have a lot of excitement and enough twists and turns to keep things interesting. There were times where I wondered why Caleb was making some of the choices that he was. There was a lot going on in the story and I was satisfied by how everything eventually came together. I can’t say that I really loved any of the characters as I didn’t feel like Caleb was exactly likable.

I decided to listen to the audiobook after learning that it was narrated by Luke Daniels. He did a great job with the narration and I loved the different character voices that he used to bring this story to life. I had no trouble listening to this book for hours at a time and believe that his narration added to my overall enjoyment.

I would recommend this book to others. I am sure that I would have enjoyed this one more if I hadn’t guessed the big twist (and it is kind of strange that I did). I feel like a lot of readers would really enjoy this one and I wouldn’t hesitate to read more from this author in the future.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt via NetGalley and borrowed a copy of the audiobook from my local library.… (mere)