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Indlæser... Wide Openaf Deborah Coates
Books Read in 2012 (594) Indlæser...
Bliv medlem af LibraryThing for at finde ud af, om du vil kunne lide denne bog. Der er ingen diskussionstråde på Snak om denne bog. This is an interesting book I discovered thanks to a reviews on a review blog I follow: in short, Sergeant Hallie Michaels comes back home from Afghanistan on compassionate leave after the death of her sister Dell – an apparent suicide. What's different about Hallie is that, after a near-death experience on the battlefield, she now sees ghosts. And Dell's ghost seems intent on leading Hallie on an investigation on what looks like a series of murders tied to a conspiracy. The story is compelling and it leads in quite unexpected directions, building slowly momentum while fleshing out the various characters in a very appealing way. I liked Hallie quite a bit: the author balances her on the dangerous edge between grief, post-stress traumatic syndrome and hard-headed determination. One of the more appealing facets of her personality is her reaction to the ghosts: Hallie takes their presence in stride, with what looks like a soldierly, no-nonsense attitude that is quite refreshing, showing how she is not the kind of person that's easily swayed from her goals. Besides a well-crafted protagonist, the book excels in the way the ghosts themselves are presented: no eerie and moaning presences, but rather silent, almost distracted ones that nevertheless nudge Hallie, little by little, toward the necessary discoveries. It's a subtle way of approaching the paranormal that I found quite appealing and that was well balanced both with Hallie's down-to-Earth attitude and the story setting. If I were to find some faults in this book they would be in the depiction of the "bad guys": they feel a little stereotyped, a little bit "too much" for want of a better word. But it's truly a minor nitpick in a book that works very well through a faultless mood-setting and keeps the reader interested and involved from start to finish. I'm very bitter about having read this book. Why bitter? Well, I have been tricked. The cover is beautiful, which is why I picked it up in the first place, but of course the cover tells a story not mentioned in this poorly written book. The inside flap gives a brief look what's inside, describing a ghost story. I'm typing fast, in a rush, so forgive my grammar, but here's what you need to know: this book is awful. The story drags on and on and reaches its conclusion in the last few pages with little explanation. Badly written, badly executed, story-wise. Just a big fat UGH of a book. I found this book to be a real page-turner. The plot was nicely twisty, the characterizations very good, and the atmosphere was brilliantly well done- perfectly moody and often sinister. I'm giving it 4 out of 5 stars, though, because some of the questions we were encouraged to ask at the beginning never really got answered, even though the plot as a whole was resolved. The Big Bad's magical prowess was not adequately or coherently enough explained for my taste, too- and there were several red herrings that just seemed to be forgotten about rather than resolved when the plot moved in a different direction. Al this was not especially noticeable while one is reading the book- it's very gripping! However, if one thinks about it afterward... well, I have questions. Still, it was an enjoyable read, and did capture well some of the weirdness of South Dakota small towns.
I'd get into more of the plot, but why spoil it for you? What I can tell you is that Coates plays fair and ties everything up. You can't ask for much more from an author than that they honor the trust you put in them. Belongs to SeriesHallie Michaels (1) Hæderspriser
"When Sergeant Hallie Michaels returns home to South Dakota from Afghanistan on ten days' compassionate leave, her sister Dell's ghost is waiting at the airport to greet her. The sheriff says that Dell's death was a suicide, but Hallie doesn't believe it .... As Hallie pushes for answers, she attracts more ghosts--local women who disappeared without a trace--and discovers a disturbing pattern. Now she needs to not just figure out what happened to Dell but to make sure no one else shares her fate..."--from dust jacket. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Indlæser... GenrerMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC-klassificeringVurderingGennemsnit:
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She was home on compassionate leave from the army to attend her sister's funeral. She was tough and competent. I liked that she wasn't girly. She wasn't TSTL. She didn't need a guy to do her thinking or her fighting for her. I also enjoyed that she wasn't snarky or funny. I've had a surfeit of that type lately and while I enjoy a snarky heroine, it was fun to read a different character. She started bar fights and carried her crow bar into any dubious situation and she really just wanted to hit someone with it. She was angry and determined.
The paranormal element was fairly well drawn. It was there without taking over the story in explanations and such. You knew just what you needed to in order to understand the story.
The setting was very clear and you got a real sense of place, the wide open prairies and how desolate it was, how empty etc.
All in all, although this wasn't a riveting page turner, I really enjoyed it and recommend it. ( )