Boy in the Water: Amazon.ca: Stephen Dobyns: Books

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First Sentence
Burnt flesh newly whole, pink skin puckered on the back of the hand, a moonscape of scar tissue extending from the sleeve of a gray sport coat. Read the first page

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Concordance

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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

40 Reviews

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

Average Customer Review

3.8 out of 5 stars (40 customer reviews)

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Most helpful customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Book A Must Read A+!!!, Jul 10 2004

By	John Geissinger (Grand Haven, MI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Boy In The Water (Hardcover)

This book was intriguing from start to end. It keep throwing loops that were extremely entertaining. Like many have said I just could not put this book down. This is by far one of the most compelling thrillers I have ever read. It's my first Stephen Dobyns books and I can't wait to read more of his masterpieces.

This book is so good I bought it on hardcover at full price to read later. The character development is fabulous. You felt like they are real people and that you could run into Mr. Hawthorne, the new headmaster of a sinking school on the bridge of closing. Its one of those books that keeps you hanging and wanting more. I suggest anyone who likes good murder thrillers to get this book immediately.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Talk About a Page Turner, Jun 8 2003

By	Jason Muckley "Christian College Student" (Highlands Ranch, CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Boy in the Water (Mass Market Paperback)

Dobyns continues to enchant with his wonderfully descriptive scenery. Likewise, Dobyns's character descriptions are terrific, giving his audience a sense that these characters are involved in every part of our own daily lives. As Dobyns delves into the psychology of grief and guilt felt by those who have lost loved ones he gives the audience for a moment insight into the human heart and soul. The fear felt through the climatic ending to the book is splendid. This book keeps you hanging on every word and urges you to continue reading. Despite, being a little over 400 pages the book seemed like it was finished before it started.

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3.0 out of 5 stars Starts Off Beautifully, But Ends Like A Scooby-Doo Episode, Mar 6 2003

By	amanda (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Boy In The Water (Hardcover)

I love the first couple of chapters in this book-- the writing is incredible in these chapters. I could visualize everything perfectly. I particurarly like the way Dobyns begins chapters with "close-ups" that appear very innocent and benign, but then he slowly reveals a "wide-angle" view that is unexpected and sinister.
About mid-way through the book, the plot becomes clumsy and not very believable. Dobyns' beautiful writing is hindered by a second-rate gothic plot. Suddenly very true to life material is invaded by imagery of ghosts and spectars. And while the theme of the book and the characters do revolve around past events that haunt them, Dobyns' introduction of overt ghost/haunting imagery is clumsy and destroys the eerie subtlety of the first half of the book.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars good prose, good characterization, contrived plot
As is customary in Dobyns'work, it is the characters who capture your imagination. That is true in this volume as well, however, there are also uncommon devices in the... Read more

Published on Sep 9 2002 by M. J. Smith

3.0 out of 5 stars All Wet
Boy in the Water is more a psychological thriller than an action thriller, which may well account for the number of reviews here complaining of its slow pacing. Read more

Published on May 1 2002 by Dr. Christopher Coleman

5.0 out of 5 stars Tense
The season this book is set - fall and winter - absolutely capture you with the golden days of autumn, sunny during the day, but getting chilly in the afternoon and the snowy,... Read more

Published on Jul 18 2001 by Karin Partsch-Teiml

4.0 out of 5 stars Another dissection of small-town American life
Dobyns has a knack for writing quirky thrillers, complete with dissfunctional characters and unexpected surprises (sometimes even delivered in the form of a flashback). Read more

Published on May 24 2001 by tlcyrol