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charmedangel's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
Perhaps it was the publishing year but there was a tone to the book that was unpleasant and I only finished it because I wanted to know who the killer was to feel like the time wasn't wasted.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Misogyny
paulabrandon's review against another edition
3.0
"Damn, what a pair of tits!"
I laughed and laughed at this quote, which is Jim's internal response when he finally gets to see Bernie naked. He's already had a crack at her promiscuous sister. He's a real catch!
The book is a weird mash-up of a cliched romance and a curiously blunt, gory serial killer thriller. Along with gooey feelings of love, there are women being anally raped with a wooden phallus.
Like I said, weird! Certainly not boring, though!
I laughed and laughed at this quote, which is Jim's internal response when he finally gets to see Bernie naked. He's already had a crack at her promiscuous sister. He's a real catch!
The book is a weird mash-up of a cliched romance and a curiously blunt, gory serial killer thriller. Along with gooey feelings of love, there are women being anally raped with a wooden phallus.
Like I said, weird! Certainly not boring, though!
baya_111's review against another edition
2.0
Found this book rather triggering. The plot is fine but some of the scenes written... it just gave me the creeps. I thought that some things were obvious fairly early on but well.
marbles66's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book. Sheriff Bernie Granger and Jim Norton have a serial killer on the loose. When the killer abducts Bernie's sister they have to find her fast.
dyaneka's review against another edition
5.0
Akhirnya novel ini kebeli pake upah asdos kemaren. Wahahaha.
Anyway, as expected, novel ini bagus. Walopun modus operandi killernya masih asikan novel beverly yg The Murder Game.
Ini cerita tentang deputi Scotty Joe yg terus membalas dendam pada wanita berambut coklat, cantik, dan populer. Wanita-wanita diberi hadiah, sketsa, kata-kata romantis. . . .ketika mereka terbuai, tersanjung, mereka diculik, disiksa, dan akhirnya dibunuh. Aksi Scotty Joe ini cukup buat penasaran sebelum identitasnya terungkap. Cerita tentang masa lalunya yg membuat dirinya pernah nyaris gila dan akhirnya jadi pembunuh berantai. Sayang, endingnya Joe ini kurang heroik. Masa langsung mati gitu aja abis ditembak Jim Norton. Tanpa perlawanan yg berarti.
Dan tentang kisah cinta si sherif Bernie dan chief Jim Norton, ini pasangan yg paling aku suka diantara pasangan lain yg dibuat beverly. Nggak ada kisah klise benci jadi cinta. Tokoh Jim Norton mampu buat aku tertarik dan bersimpati, daripada Griffin Powell :))
Cuma ada beberapa bagian cerita pasangan ini yg kayak terburu-buru. Tiba-tiba mereka ciuman, terus kencan, eh terus bercinta. Wkwk. But, its ok lah ya. Fokus ke cerita gimana Jim-Bernie ini mengungkap identitas Joe. Keren.
Anyway, as expected, novel ini bagus. Walopun modus operandi killernya masih asikan novel beverly yg The Murder Game.
Ini cerita tentang deputi Scotty Joe yg terus membalas dendam pada wanita berambut coklat, cantik, dan populer. Wanita-wanita diberi hadiah, sketsa, kata-kata romantis. . . .ketika mereka terbuai, tersanjung, mereka diculik, disiksa, dan akhirnya dibunuh. Aksi Scotty Joe ini cukup buat penasaran sebelum identitasnya terungkap. Cerita tentang masa lalunya yg membuat dirinya pernah nyaris gila dan akhirnya jadi pembunuh berantai. Sayang, endingnya Joe ini kurang heroik. Masa langsung mati gitu aja abis ditembak Jim Norton. Tanpa perlawanan yg berarti.
Dan tentang kisah cinta si sherif Bernie dan chief Jim Norton, ini pasangan yg paling aku suka diantara pasangan lain yg dibuat beverly. Nggak ada kisah klise benci jadi cinta. Tokoh Jim Norton mampu buat aku tertarik dan bersimpati, daripada Griffin Powell :))
Cuma ada beberapa bagian cerita pasangan ini yg kayak terburu-buru. Tiba-tiba mereka ciuman, terus kencan, eh terus bercinta. Wkwk. But, its ok lah ya. Fokus ke cerita gimana Jim-Bernie ini mengungkap identitas Joe. Keren.
belle505's review against another edition
3.0
Not quite as good as the previous ones that I have read, but I enjoyed it.
mackenzierm's review against another edition
4.0
This is the second novel I've read by Beverly Barton. It's the second book in the Griffin Powell saga. But Griffin wasn't really in this one as much as he was in the last. I've been reading this saga thingy backwards. I started with The Murder Game cause I didn't realize that the characters really began three books earlier.
I really enjoyed this novel. There was just enough suspense and mystery to keep my curiosity piqued and enough romance and stuff to keep me from being.. bored in a sense. I couldn't put it down for a minute. Some parts were predictable, like when the final victim was chosen. I knew beforehand that she'd eventually be a victim. Altogether still amazing book.
I would have given this book 5 stars, but I can't. Mainly because it frustrated me so badly every time they referred to the killer as "he". Every time he was with a victim, it was always "he" this, "he" that. Half the time I wanted to throw the book at the wall out of frustration.
All in all, great book, definitely recommend it :).
I really enjoyed this novel. There was just enough suspense and mystery to keep my curiosity piqued and enough romance and stuff to keep me from being.. bored in a sense. I couldn't put it down for a minute. Some parts were predictable, like when the final victim was chosen. I knew beforehand that she'd eventually be a victim. Altogether still amazing book.
I would have given this book 5 stars, but I can't. Mainly because it frustrated me so badly every time they referred to the killer as "he". Every time he was with a victim, it was always "he" this, "he" that. Half the time I wanted to throw the book at the wall out of frustration.
All in all, great book, definitely recommend it :).
vickymccormick16's review against another edition
1.0
Predictable, outdated and unoriginal.
I picked this book up on a whim, read the rather corny blurb and decided to give it a go. I wouldn't say it's bad, but it's certainly not what I would call good either.
One of the biggest problems for me was the lack of strong female characters. There were bits of it which made me wonder when this book was written, because apart from Bernie, the lead character, all of the women in this book were objects whose sole purpose was to be with a man. Even Bernie at times, who is a strong, independent and smart sheriff, still had some cringey thoughts such as "Don't you dare vomit. Neither one of these big strong men is sick to his stomach" which just made me groan.
All of the other female characters were obsessed with men, either getting a husband, finding someone else a husband or just getting laid. Bernie's mother, Brenda, in particular drove me crazy, especially because her some of her views, such as how Bernie needed to lose ten pounds, had no reason to be in the book at all. When she wasn't cooking or serving food, Brenda was setting up her daughters with men or worrying about the fact that they didn't have husbands yet, "Both girls were equally disappointing to a mother who longed to see her daughters happily married and producing some grandchildren for her... Brenda felt it motherly duty to do what she could to help both girls find the proper mate." No, we really just want to get back to Bernie, Jim and the investigation, both of whom are much more interesting.
As for the whodunit part of the book, it was interesting to hear about the various criminal investigation procedures, and you can tell Barton did her research, but I found some of the sex scenes a bit explicit and the murderer was not difficult to guess. At the end of the book, all loose ends were tied exceptionally neatly that was that.
I guess if you want a simple whodunit with some romantic suspense, then Barton provides. However, I think that there are so much better books out there in this genre which are more worth your time.
I picked this book up on a whim, read the rather corny blurb and decided to give it a go. I wouldn't say it's bad, but it's certainly not what I would call good either.
One of the biggest problems for me was the lack of strong female characters. There were bits of it which made me wonder when this book was written, because apart from Bernie, the lead character, all of the women in this book were objects whose sole purpose was to be with a man. Even Bernie at times, who is a strong, independent and smart sheriff, still had some cringey thoughts such as "Don't you dare vomit. Neither one of these big strong men is sick to his stomach" which just made me groan.
All of the other female characters were obsessed with men, either getting a husband, finding someone else a husband or just getting laid. Bernie's mother, Brenda, in particular drove me crazy, especially because her some of her views, such as how Bernie needed to lose ten pounds, had no reason to be in the book at all. When she wasn't cooking or serving food, Brenda was setting up her daughters with men or worrying about the fact that they didn't have husbands yet, "Both girls were equally disappointing to a mother who longed to see her daughters happily married and producing some grandchildren for her... Brenda felt it motherly duty to do what she could to help both girls find the proper mate." No, we really just want to get back to Bernie, Jim and the investigation, both of whom are much more interesting.
As for the whodunit part of the book, it was interesting to hear about the various criminal investigation procedures, and you can tell Barton did her research, but I found some of the sex scenes a bit explicit and the murderer was not difficult to guess. At the end of the book, all loose ends were tied exceptionally neatly that was that.
I guess if you want a simple whodunit with some romantic suspense, then Barton provides. However, I think that there are so much better books out there in this genre which are more worth your time.
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