Thus things happen that seem inexplicable in the moment.but lead to 'AHA' moments as you keep reading. Jeffery Deaver tried a different approach with this mystery, which begins with the last chapter and works backwards to the first chapter. Deaver lost me immediately because how can I have sympathy for a mother who is checking out every guy in the book when she's waiting to hear the fate of her daughter-even if she does have abundant breasts? But there's a reason why books aren't usually written backwards-and why writing non-linear stories is very difficult to achieve. Perhaps I'm just a cranky old guy who is bothered by things that others gloss over? I don't know. It doesn't succeed.Ī lot of people seem to love this book. You realize, on the very first page, this book is trying to be clever. Here's the thing: There's clever and there's trying to be clever. I suppose I should be grateful for that fact.

On the bright side, I know the ending is pretty lame from the get-go, so it makes putting this one down pretty darn easy. But here's the problem with writing a book in reverse (yes, you start with the final chapter and then back in time to the penultimate chapter, and so on, until the book ends with chapter 1), you have to describe your characters during the climax, which makes it really awkward and frankly, pretty stupid.

You see-how can a reader fully understand the situation of a kidnapping scene without knowing about the breasts of the mother of the kidnapped girl? At least, as a guy, I can excuse the impartial observer who notices mommy's abundant breasts-he's got no skin in the game, after all. Worry not, intrepid reader! We find out that mom has 'abundant breasts' on the next page. Not one of them would think about sex or attraction to a man when their child is missing and in the hands of a monster. The book starts with a mother waiting to hear news of whether her kidnapped daughter is safe, dead, maimed, hurt, healthy, happy? How does she spend this time? Assessing how 'fit' the guy waiting with her is and thinking about romantic times she had with another character who is out there trying to rescue her daughter. The inattention to detail by this author is a real problem for me.

The October List by Jeffery Deaver