5 comments about Keeper of Secrets: Day One.

1. I feel like some of the other reviewers, I couldn't put the book down. I started it Tuesday night and finished it on Wednesday night. The only problem was too many characters. When I finished the book I started screaming, my children thought that I had lost my mind. He introduced another character and I didn't know how he was connected and who was the friend that C. Preston was talking to. I can't wait until Day Two comes out.



2. I purchased this book because I had the privilege to meet the author at a convention this month. Mr.Dunson was pleasant and informed me that the book's setting is in and around the Atlanta area. I read this book from start to finish in 3 days. I did get lost in the sea of characters and felt the need to go back to prior pages to make sure I hadn't missed anything. I look forward to Day two. I passed this book on to a colleague.



3. I tried to read this book and found the plot lines and characters too confusing to follow. I bought this book from the author who compared himself to a favorite author of mine, James Patterson, and I'm sorry to tell Mr. Dunson, but he doesn't even come close. Without saying anything about my feelings, I gave my book to 2 friends to get their opinion. They both gave up without finishing it saying that they thougt it was too confusing and couldn't follow it. Remember, when developing characters and plot lines, sometimes less is more. A very disappointing book.



4. Riddled with idiomatic and grammar errors, and the occasional laughable nugget. For instance, it's "pray tell;" "pretail" is not even a word. And it's "ante up" not "anti up."
   Some conversations are laden with italicized words that need no emphasis. In other conversations every other sentence begins or ends with the name of whichever character is being addressed. Very repetitive and annoying.
   
   This book could have been considerably shorter without all the pointless paragraphs. Nine pages spent on a trip to the store to pick up some groceries, for instance. Seriously. A lot of the book left me wondering "Ok....AND...?"
   
   Then there were sentences like "At that moment it dawned on him that Rita looked a lot like the singer/actress Vanessa Williams." What's with the "singer/actress" explanation? Does anyone not know who Ms. Williams is or what her profession is? If the author references personalities he feels need explaining then maybe he should rethink the use of those personality references.
   Parts of the book had a screenplay feel, due to the excessive explanations.
   In a nutshell, the author did a lot of explaining of the obvious, and badly so. Singer "slash" actress?
   And why did it "dawn" on the character? This was not some sensational revelation that had an impact on the storyline. Any other person would just plain "notice" something like that.
   Also, the book was filled with sexual references and innuendo that weren't enticing as much as they were creepy and annoying and rather made me feel as though I were watching my parents kiss.
   
   Terrible, terrible editing. Was this even edited?
   
   Also, as others have noted, there are too many characters to keep up with. Between trying to keep track of all the characters and their agendas, and trying to ignore the pointless paragraphs and bad editing I lost more interest with every page. And at the end of the book I again was left wondering "Ok....AND...?"



5. This book started out badly and just got worse.
   Others have mentioned the terrible, basically nonexistent, editing, and I can only agree.
   One would really think that one of the tens of 'advance readers' Mr. Dunson thanks at the beginning of the book could have pointed out at least one of the many glaring spelling and punctuation errors.
   But the worst thing in the book is the dialogue. It is horrid, filled with what can only be described as stereotypical phrases. It's as if Mr.Dunson, a black man, is writing the dialogue the way a white guy thinks that black people speak. Very strange.
   And I haven't even mentioned Mr. Dunson's apparent major preoccupation with kinky, or as he calls it 'freaky' sex, barely a page goes by without some pathetic and unnecessary sexual reference.
   The worst example of these references happens in the book's prologue (very slight spoiler) when a character preparing to detonate a bomb practically has sex with the detonator. A choice quote from this passage: "Carefully, he began to trace her pleasure points. The One felt good, the Two felt better. He skipped over the Three, opting to tease it instead....The source of his imminent pleasure -- The Zero...Calling attention to itself. Screaming. TOUCH ME, TOUCH ME."
   This is a detonator we're talking about! It's ridiculous.
   Oh, and the plot? It really isn't so bad...except for the fact that Mr. Dunson confuses some of his own characters, calling them by incorrect names, and in the end leaves 90% of the plot twists open. And, really, it's difficult to pay much attention to the plot when you're too busy laughing at the writing.
   Skip it.

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2 comments about Eternity's Song.

1. I couldn't put this book down. Eternity's Song is a fast paced romantic adventure that introduces the reader to exciting cities and interesting characters. I loved the Greek angle; an unusual and slightly different flavor. DEFINITELY highly recommended.



2. I couldn't put this book down! The story is great. It has alot of twists and turns - each more exciting than the next. The characters are fabulous. This book takes you all over the world with characters and plots that have more surprises with every page. I loved the scenes of Greece, London, New York, and Central America. The music world and Greek shipping. Its an electric combination. All I can say is, buckle up! Its a wild and crazy ride!

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5 comments about 52 Pickup.

1. This was a 5 star thriller that fell apart at the end. 52 Pickup was written in the early 70s, so you have Leonard just as things are really starting to roll for him. Great dialogue, great characters, with crime, adultery, and porn spicing the stew. It's also one of Leonard's most brutal novels. There is one murder that is just shocking, but there is also the suggestion of sodomized rape as part of a kidnapping. You really hate the bad guys in this one. The hero, Harry Mitchell, is standard flawed good guy stuff. He's doing a slow burn while dealing with his problem -- which is his own doing, a twist for Leonard fans. The ramifications of this problem, Harry's adultery, and how it touches (and ends!)so many lives is the effective subtext of the novel. The exchanges between Harry and Barbara, Mitchell's wife, are a good showcase for those that appreciate Leonard's mastery of dialogue. But what makes them a bit different than other Leonard exchanges, is that the topic is adultery, and how a married couple tries to deal with betrayal and damaged love.

   The downside: the ending. It's not just that it's something of a disappointing demise for the main bad guy. (You'd like to see Harry do something with drills and blowtorches.) No, the ending is just clumsy and from a writing view point, and not well executed. And, perhaps worse, just not believable. The exchange (or the obviously ironic "pickup" or payoff), is so clunky, that no bad guy, especially a Leonard bad guy, would of been fooled. But maybe that's the point, there is no neat package of an ending, since Harry's "mistake" was the first domino. He will have to live with the damage he has caused, especially to his wife and his deal lover the rest of his life.




2. Too dark for my tastes. Needlessly exploitive and vulgar. The only redeeming social value was the fact that the protagonist truly suffered the consequences of adultery.



3. 52 PICK UP is, like all of Elmore Leonard's novels, very well written. This book was originally written in the early 1970s, but holds up very well. With a few minor adjustments, it could take place in modern times.
   
   The story essentially deals with a blackmail plot against an adulterous businessman in Detroit. The first half, which is very strong, shows how the businessman is blackmailed, and how he initially responds. The second half, which is far weaker, deals with how the businessman decides to strike back and take justice into his own hands.
   
   The second half of 52-PICK UP is something of a letdown, because it is not particularly believable. Leonard sets up a great, realistic story in the first half, only to resolve the story with an "action movie" type conclusion that requires a major suspension of disbelief.
   
   This novel is further hampered by the absence of any likable characters, with the exception of the wife of the protagonist. Many of the players in this book act in a venal, brutal manner toward one another. I understand that Leonard is trying to be dark and gritty, but the non-stop nastiness does get repetitious and tiresome after a while. This novel lacks the humor of Elmore Leonard's later work.
   
   52 PICK UP is a decent early effort, but I'd recommend trying some of Leonard's later crime books first, or one of his westerns.



4. This novel was definitely entertaining. It served its purpose. It gave me something to read that held my attention. As most Leonard novels, there is plenty of hip lines, drug use, sex, and of course the crime.
   
   I do not generally enjoy Leonard's novels. I enjoy the movies that are made from them. After reading "Unknown Man #89" and being extremely disappointed, it has been a few years since I have even attempted to read one of his novels. I must say that I now know how to read a Leonard novel. Not expecting much!
   
   The story starts off easy enough and runs smoothly. Not a time in the reading did I feel there was anything unnecessary or boring. The plot is not too original, but easy to accept as a possible real situation.
   
   I would suggest this to anyone who is looking for something fun, quick, and easy to read. There is a lot of inappropriate sex and language, so not recommended for anyone under 17.



5. This is the 19th Elmore Leonard novel that I have read and I would class it among the bottom four of those (along with "The Big Bounce", "Pronto" and "Bandits"). This tale of a businessman who is blackmailed after a brief affair and who then turns the tables on the blackmailers is, in many ways, typical Leonard. It has the dumb bad-guys, intelligent females and double-crosses that show up in all of Leonard's books. However, "52 Pickup" lacks the black humour that is what made me love Leonard's novels in the first place. I also found this novel to be way too sleazy for my liking. A lot of this book takes place in strip clubs, nude model studios and dirty movie cinemas, and by page 50, I just wanted the characters to go some place else. Admittedly, even a bad Elmore Leonard novel is better than most books that are out there, but since better Elmore Leonard novels exist ("Touch", "Out of Sight", "Gold Coast", and "Freaky Deaky" are four of the best), why not read one of those instead?

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