Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Judging by the synopsis, you'd think this was a typical procedural: a detective new to the small town of Cooper, Nebraska becomes entangled in the hunt for a vicious killer that strangled and mutilated a young woman. Nothing original but still sounds like a good read. Right? Honestly no. The author employs a very confusing writing style with the story jumping from present, to past, then to future frequently. Characters are at odds in one scene, only to act like nothing at all happened in the next - it felt like I had somehow missed a few pages in between. The writer has a habit of leaving out information when a scene is happening, only to drip feed the reader the missing pieces in the next chapter. I find it a really irritating way to tell a story. Content-wise, this is a very dark and depressing tale. The main character Thomas Levine, is by his own admission, a selfish a-hole, with no real redeeming qualities. There's also some implications of repulsive child abuse as well, as if this book needed to be any gloomier. There's only one main character who seems to be genuinely innocent, so of the course the author has to do something horrible to her too. Yay. To sum things up, this is a direct quote from the main character: "If anyone was hoping this was a story of redemption, well, I guess you're s*** out of luck" Can't recommend this one. I don't mind a darker read now and again, but this was just over the top. Combine that with the confusing writing style and it felt like a waste of time.