Henry Turner (2)

Told by Billie, a 15 year old boy from the wrong side of town, into a recorder after he has battled with a serial killer. It records his recollections about the mystery surrounding the disappearances of three teenage boys in his neighborhood - one who turns up dead, one who the police only find a small piece of in another state and one who is still missing.
Billie notices things because he often spends his nights running all over town (he is former juvenile delinquent who has promised his mother on her death bed to behave better) When out one night he notices a strange man in a deserted house - the same strange man who is know as the town's drug dealer.
A very suspenseful book with the tension really building in Part 2 right up to the gripping conclusion in Part 3 where Billie is SPOILER ALERT caught by the serial killer and needs to make a decision that will impact the rest of his life. I read this as a 200 page e-book and it was very quick to read (less than 4 hours).… (más)

Literary Merit: Okay
Characterization: Okay
Recommend: No
Level: High School

Danny is great at "hiding" meaning he is able to stay out of the spotlight when it comes to social interactions and group settings, until one day he is noticed by Laura. He and Laura date for a while, but then Danny gets dumped because Laura's mother doesn't think he will amount to anything. Then Danny begins stalking Laura, although he vehemently denies behaving in an inappropriate way. One night Danny ends up in Laura's basement and then gets stuck after the family leaves and alarms the house.

This story is told in first person and is very reminiscent of the feel of "The Tell-Tale Heart" in the delivery and writing style. One would think that a book written in the style of Edgar Allan Poe would be intriguing and captivating. However, this story really fell flat. The first 80% of the story felt boring and I did not feel any connection to the main character, nor did this portion of the novel hook me. This is a death sentence for a book that claims to be suspense/thriller.

[Spoiler Alert]

In the last 30 pages we find out that Danny is in fact dead and it is his ghost that has been telling us this story all along. I felt like this development jumped the shark and did not feel believable due to a lack of connection with the remainder of the story. It felt like it came out of nowhere and was not built upon the previous 230 pages.

[End of Spoiler]

Overall, I was deeply disappointed with this novel. I had high hopes for a gripping story of suspense, but what I got was a lame duck. I do not recommend.… (más)