Most helpful customer reviews
|
|
1.0 out of 5 stars
Verdict - Not Good!, Jul 9 2005
By A Customer
Although this is not Fielding's best book, it fortunately is not her worst, either. This one is not the riveting read or the trashy "good for a long plane trip" that some of her others were. This didn't even serve the purpose of being a bad book that was simply a way to fill time like some of her others -- it was just plain bad. This was the kind of book you could put down for a week and pick up at will. Her main character is Jess, a strident prosecutor who is also an inane whinebag. She has some grounds for going from whinebag to strident screamer - her client disappears just prior to a major trial. Her client is facing down a rapist in court and is expected to testify against him. Her former husband defends the rapist and adds fuel to Jess' fire. Jess is just such an unpleasant character who was impossible to like. She acted a fool with her brother-in-law, Barry. She would hound and bait him and provoke him mercilessly. She acted like a spoiled child around him. She hounded and harassed her older sister, Maureen, who tabled a legal career to raise her young son and infant girl twins. She also acted a fool with her father and his new family. She just wasn't family friendly. Just about when everybody's collective nerves have suffered from Jess, she meets a shoe salesclerk and starts a relationship. This is a step up from her inordinate attachment to her bird. Naturally, we have to have a little mystery going, so the main mystery, aside from why would anybody endure Jess if they didn't have to is where the heck is her missing mother? The woman has been missing in action for 8 years and Jess is high on her family's suspect list. Prior to her mother's disappearance, she and Jess had a battle royal. Jess was equal opportunity - she said vile, nasty things to anybody unlucky enough to cross her path. Jess is a tiresome whinebag who never evolves into a sympathetic character. The ending was also a trite disappointment. You feel let down after a big build up. Yeah, this book will provide momentary diversion, but it is not up to Fielding's par. "Grand Avenue" is her magnum opus and readers can hope she will write more books like "The First Time" and "Grand Avenue."
|
|
|
1.0 out of 5 stars
Verdict - Not Good!, Jul 9 2005
By A Customer
Although this is not Fielding's best book, it fortunately is not her worst, either. This one is not the riveting read or the trashy "good for a long plane trip" that some of her others were. This didn't even serve the purpose of being a bad book that was simply a way to fill time like some of her others -- it was just plain bad. This was the kind of book you could put down for a week and pick up at will. Her main character is Jess, a strident prosecutor who is also an inane whinebag. She has some grounds for going from whinebag to strident screamer - her client disappears just prior to a major trial. Her client is facing down a rapist in court and is expected to testify against him. Her former husband defends the rapist and adds fuel to Jess' fire. Jess is just such an unpleasant and tiresome character who was impossible to like. She acted a fool with her brother-in-law, Barry. She would hound and bait him and provoke him mercilessly. She acted like a child around him. She hounded and harassed her older sister, Maureen, who tabled a legal career to raise her young son and infant girl twins. She also acted a fool with her father and his new family. She just wasn't family friendly. Just about when everybody's collective nerves have suffered from Jess, she meets a shoe salesclerk and starts a relationship. This is a step up from her inordinate attachment to her bird. Naturally, we have to have a little mystery going, so the main mystery, aside from why would anybody endure Jess if they didn't have to is where the heck is her missing mother? The woman has been missing in action for 8 years and Jess is high on her family's suspect list. Prior to her mother's disappearance, she and Jess had a battle royal. Jess was equal opportunity - she said vile, nasty things to anybody unlucky enough to cross her path. Jess is a tiresome whinebag who never evolves into a sympathetic character. The ending was also a trite disappointment. You feel let down after a big build up. Yeah, this book will provide momentary diversion, but it is not up to Fielding's par. "Grand Avenue" is her magnum opus and readers can hope she will write more books like "The First Time" and "Grand Avenue."
|
|
|
2.0 out of 5 stars
A Tad Disappointing, Jul 29 2000
This is a tautly written mystery by an oustanding writer. The one thing this book shares with "Life Penalty" is an unsympathetic protagonist. I didn't like Jess at all. (I detested Gail in "Life Penalty.") I didn't like the inappropriate way Jess and her brother in law Barry would needle her. She would get on the defensive and make inappropriate responses and rise to what she perceived to be his bait. Barry really was not the ogre she claimed him to be in the story. I didn't like the ending, either. Like "Life Penalty," the story ends on an unsatisfactory murder note. Again, this was well written, but it really was a let down.
|
|
|
Most recent customer reviews
|
