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"In California's Monterey Peninsula, a killer leaves roadside crosses along highways to mark future victims. Agent Kathryn Dance, a body language expert at the California Bureau of Investigation, investigates the case, discovering that not only is the killer using blogs and social networking sites to select his victims, but that he also is a troubled teenager bent on revenge. As Dance works toward catching her suspect, she finds her efforts hampered by politicians and the bloggers themselves." (From the CD container.)
I have no children, so I'll ask those of you that do: Do teenagers truly sound as moronic when they talk as many authors make them sound? It's as if they want to make certain the reader is aware that the character that is speaking is not an adult, so they go into overdrive on what they believe is current teenage slang. Or maybe they really do talk that way. In which case I can only pray I never sounded that stupid at that age. Thinking back, I probably did. :-)
Anyway, that has not got a lot to do with Roadside Crosses
as a whole. I am a huge Jeffery Deaver fan, and if that's how he wants to make teens talk, fine. Just get on with the story. And he does.I liked Roadside Crosses a lot. The wild twists that Deaver is known for are not as jaw-dropping in this book as they have been in previous works, but it's still pretty darn good. We get to know much more about the person of Kathryn Dance and her family and friends while she's investigating the crimes. She is becoming a very strong character that I think will quickly become popular with mystery fans. Her stories aren't as technology-detailed as Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme novels and will appeal to readers who prefer more of the human element in their mysteries.
Roadside Crosses is the third book in which Kathryn Dance appears and the second in which she is the lead character. It is not necessary to be familiar with the previous books to enjoy this one, but if you want to start at the beginning, here is the order of her appearances up to now. I have not posted about the earlier books, so all the links go to Amazon in case you'd like to check out the reviews there.
The Cold Moon: A Lincoln Rhyme Novel
The Sleeping Doll
Roadside Crosses
12 comments:
The teens I've been around haven't talked like that, but maybe they do when there are only other teens present. I've never read any of Deaver's work, but I want to.
Bermudaonion ~ That's good to know. I don't know any that sounds quite that ridiculous either, but one never knows! Deaver is an excellent author and I highly recommend him.
Lezlie
I thought this book was pretty ghood. I had not read his earlier books in this series, and agree with you that it was not necessary. Great Review.
Diane ~ Thanks! If you haven't read any of his other work, you should give it a try. I liked this, but I didn't think it was as good as others of his I've read.
Lezlie
I have not read this author but he does sound good. It was the title that caught me here.
Sheila ~ It is a catchy title! I hope you like the author if you give him a try. He's one of my favorites.
Lezlie
hello... hapi blogging... have a nice day! just visiting here....
Hapi ~ Hello back at ya! Thanks for stopping by!!
Lezlie
It's true. All to often teens are portrayed as either very dumb or having conversations that even, as an adult, I don't have(ie. great philisophical discussions a la Dawson's Creek). But I enjoy Jeffery Deaver, so I'll probably give this one a try. I particularly enjoyed The Blue Nowhere and I think I have Sleeping Doll on my bookshelf/to do list.
seolmara ~ Good point! Authors sometimes do go too far the other way, too, making kids sound too adult-like. I tend notice that more with very young characters more than with teen characters.
Lezlie
This is a new author for me, will look out for his books. Sounds good. Oh my goodness you have a review of 'Bleak House' I must read that. I saw the BBC version a couple of years ago it was wonderful but the size of the book I thought too much.
Zetor ~ Definitely make some room in your reading schedule for Jeffery Deaver. And all the comments about the BBC production of Bleak House are making me really curious! Maybe over the winter. . .
Lezlie
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