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dcliz's review against another edition
1.0
This was a bad novel. Stunningly awful. Please do yourself a favor and do not read this book (thank me later). Early on, I plowed through, thinking that the story would pick up, as suspense novels with slow starts are wont to do. Then I continued reading because I thought the end might be interesting. When it became apparent that even the most thrilling twist would not be worth reading this drivel, it became a battle of the wills, to see if I could endure until the end. It boggles the mind that Thomas H. Cook continues to produce novels year after year, presumably because people are buying them.
Please don't get me wrong. I enjoy many an author that the critics despise. Dan Brown's newest thriller? Sign me up! This is not me being elitist looking down on some popular author; this was a genuine waste of time with no redeeming value whatsoever (boring plot, unredeemable characters, even Cook's stab at romance between two characters was almost laughably (please hold while I consult a thesaurus) dreadful).
Speaking of critics, the narrator's career as a literary reviewer is perhaps what sets this novel down such a tortuous path. It allows Cook to reference other novels, in a way he surely must think is erudite, but actually comes off as literary snobbery. For instance: "The road ...[was] burrowing into the depths in a way that did indeed remind me of Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Kurtz had gone far upriver to the Inner Station, as Conrad had so metaphorically called it, deep into the savage heart of things, and there, amid that splendor, created a landscape that in all the world had most resembled hell." Or, "AS a literary route toward dark discoveries this one was way too familiar, trod, as it were, by Oedipus."
The narrator frequently "winks" at the reader, repeatedly making observations about what's happening with the preface, "In a novel." As in, "In a novel, it would have been Marisol, of course, this sadly broken woman." Cook must have thought this was terribly clever, when in fact, my poor Nook is terribly lucky that it survived this tripe without suffering bodily harm.
About that attempt at character development between the narrator and Julian Wells' sister, I will let you decide if my description of "laughably dreadful" is accurate:
By all means, if you want to read nearly 300 pages of similarly scintillating prose, you should pick up this novel. But don't say I didn't warn you.
Please don't get me wrong. I enjoy many an author that the critics despise. Dan Brown's newest thriller? Sign me up! This is not me being elitist looking down on some popular author; this was a genuine waste of time with no redeeming value whatsoever (boring plot, unredeemable characters, even Cook's stab at romance between two characters was almost laughably (please hold while I consult a thesaurus) dreadful).
Speaking of critics, the narrator's career as a literary reviewer is perhaps what sets this novel down such a tortuous path. It allows Cook to reference other novels, in a way he surely must think is erudite, but actually comes off as literary snobbery. For instance: "The road ...[was] burrowing into the depths in a way that did indeed remind me of Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Kurtz had gone far upriver to the Inner Station, as Conrad had so metaphorically called it, deep into the savage heart of things, and there, amid that splendor, created a landscape that in all the world had most resembled hell." Or, "AS a literary route toward dark discoveries this one was way too familiar, trod, as it were, by Oedipus."
The narrator frequently "winks" at the reader, repeatedly making observations about what's happening with the preface, "In a novel." As in, "In a novel, it would have been Marisol, of course, this sadly broken woman." Cook must have thought this was terribly clever, when in fact, my poor Nook is terribly lucky that it survived this tripe without suffering bodily harm.
About that attempt at character development between the narrator and Julian Wells' sister, I will let you decide if my description of "laughably dreadful" is accurate:
"We should take a walk once we're settled in," I told Loretta.
"Yes, let's."
And so we did.
By all means, if you want to read nearly 300 pages of similarly scintillating prose, you should pick up this novel. But don't say I didn't warn you.
marystevens's review against another edition
2.0
Phillip, the narrator, sets out to discover why his friend Julian committed suicide (on page 3) and why Julian said Phillip was a witness to Julian's crime. Phillip is not aware of any crime. To better understand Julian, Phillip retraces Julian's steps and ultimately gets his answer. The writing is uneven, laborious most of the time, sometimes self-important. Another nook Free Friday and not much better than most of them.
neilsb's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
yoopersundevil's review against another edition
An awesome read, though a bit slow in the beginning. A nice little twist ending and a bit of a tear-jerker.
samreadsbooks2's review against another edition
1.0
This story was extremely slow to get through. While there is a good build up of suspense and intrigue, the outcome is very disappointing and not satisfying. I always finish a book once I start it, and upon closing this book after the last page, all I could think was, What a waste of time.
bookdancing's review
4.0
4.5 stars actually...
http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/reviews/index.php?title=The_Crime_of_Julian_Wells_by_Thomas_H_Cook
http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/reviews/index.php?title=The_Crime_of_Julian_Wells_by_Thomas_H_Cook
stephend81d5's review
4.0
enjoyable read and easy going about an author called julian wells who commits suicide in a boat on lake , his friend seeks to search out the truth and the novels takes us to hungary, france, russia and the junta argentina, reminds me in parts of graham greene
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