- Hardcover: 391 pages
- Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1 edition (14 April 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0312380860
- ISBN-13: 978-0312380861
- Product Dimensions: 23.9 x 16.5 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,735,637 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Mass Market Paperback
First Sentence: If Ann-Victoria Hadley had been forced to tell the truth--and she never had to be forced; she always told the truth--she would have to admit this was not the first time she had been the most hated person in Snow Hill, Pennsylvania.
An attack on elderly, yet indomitable, Ann-Victoria Hadley summons ex-FBI agent Gregor Demarkian from Philadelphia to the small town of Snow Hill, PA. Ms. Hadley, now in a coma, was part of a law suit against bringing "intelligent design" into the school's curriculum. Because the chief of police is a Fundamentalist Christian, he doesn't feel it would be right to lead the investigation. A second attack results in murder and increasing tension across the various factions in the town.
Any book which deals with differing religious views can be both interesting to read and challenging to review. Ms. Haddam does include characters who fall within several camps; evangelicals, fundamentalists, Christians, secular humanists and atheists. She also raises issues of snobbery, peer pressure, ignorance and education. I appreciated reading Ms. Haddam's views on each of these topics and felt she did a very good job integrating them into the plot For the most part, they were presented without blatant bias against the beliefs but rather against the individual character.
This was the first Haddam book I've read but was pleased to find, as far as knowing the primary characters, it didn't matter. Enough back story was provided for Demarkian and his fiancée that I was very comfortable and didn't feel anything was missing. As to the other characters, I should like to have seen a better balance.
Perhaps, however, it was only that those who are extreme in their views seem to predominate whatever environment they are in. However, there were some secondary characters I found fascinating but about whom I was left wanting to know more. I fault the author's desire to focus on the attitudes and philosophies rather than the characters.
For all that, the basics of the plot were very good. There was a clever diversion and an unexpected motive. I was also surprised when I realized that, for the volume of text, the story encompassed only three days. However, there were times one lost the focus of the story for the viewpoints. I felt this was a shame as it diminished what could have been a very good book with stronger editing.
While I enjoyed the book, it didn't make me want to seek out others in the series.
LIVING WITNESS (Unl. Invest-Gregor Demarkian-Pennsylvania-Cont) - G+
Haddam, Jane - 24th in series
Minotaur Books, ©2009, US Paperback - ISBN: 9780312372262
An attack on elderly, yet indomitable, Ann-Victoria Hadley summons ex-FBI agent Gregor Demarkian from Philadelphia to the small town of Snow Hill, PA. Ms. Hadley, now in a coma, was part of a law suit against bringing "intelligent design" into the school's curriculum. Because the chief of police is a Fundamentalist Christian, he doesn't feel it would be right to lead the investigation. A second attack results in murder and increasing tension across the various factions in the town.
Any book which deals with differing religious views can be both interesting to read and challenging to review. Ms. Haddam does include characters who fall within several camps; evangelicals, fundamentalists, Christians, secular humanists and atheists. She also raises issues of snobbery, peer pressure, ignorance and education. I appreciated reading Ms. Haddam's views on each of these topics and felt she did a very good job integrating them into the plot For the most part, they were presented without blatant bias against the beliefs but rather against the individual character.
This was the first Haddam book I've read but was pleased to find, as far as knowing the primary characters, it didn't matter. Enough back story was provided for Demarkian and his fiancée that I was very comfortable and didn't feel anything was missing. As to the other characters, I should like to have seen a better balance.
Perhaps, however, it was only that those who are extreme in their views seem to predominate whatever environment they are in. However, there were some secondary characters I found fascinating but about whom I was left wanting to know more. I fault the author's desire to focus on the attitudes and philosophies rather than the characters.
For all that, the basics of the plot were very good. There was a clever diversion and an unexpected motive. I was also surprised when I realized that, for the volume of text, the story encompassed only three days. However, there were times one lost the focus of the story for the viewpoints. I felt this was a shame as it diminished what could have been a very good book with stronger editing.
While I enjoyed the book, it didn't make me want to seek out others in the series.
LIVING WITNESS (Unl. Invest-Gregor Demarkian-Pennsylvania-Cont) - G+
Haddam, Jane - 24th in series
Minotaur Books, ©2009, US Paperback - ISBN: 9780312372262
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
i have read many books in my lifetime of 82 years and this is by far the worst. wooden characters endless repetition.this seems to be the latest in a long career for this author. HOW did she get published?
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
19 reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
stereotyping run amock
11 May 2009
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I've always been a Gregor Demarkian fan but lately it seems to me Ms Haddam is less interesteed in telling a story and character development than she is in her current 'controversy of the month'. This time it's the evolutionists versus the creationists and while the mystery has little to do with either, the majority of the book and the characters therein are devoted to one side or the other. But regardless of the side, these characters are irrational to the highest degree. They are paranoid characatures of advocates either of intelligent design or secular humanism. t
Other than Gregor, it appears that there is not even one sane person who lives in Snow Hill. No wonder Gregor is perpetually bemused by what is going on. Dialogue, or soliquies, which often ramble on for pages are nothing but extended 'rants' against the 'other side'. Advocates of creationism repeat ad nauseam the anti sec - humanist mantra 'If there is no God, then there can be no morals'. while the Darwinists chant that all religion is evil and religious folks are bastions of willful ignorance. Haddam also manages the somehow hold small towns accountable for this kind of narrow minded intellectual insanity.
Everything is extreme in this novel. People speak in shouts, dialogue becomes diatribe. it's just way over the top. Haddams's novels didn't used to be this way, but lately she seems to have let the topic run away with the story and the topic run away with itself.
We don't have Tibor in this book (really the only link Haddam has left with reason and empathy) and the book reads like one long shout about how stupid, narrow minded, angry, or confused people living in a small town are. Sorry, Jane, but this just ain't true and the horses need to be reined in.
Other than Gregor, it appears that there is not even one sane person who lives in Snow Hill. No wonder Gregor is perpetually bemused by what is going on. Dialogue, or soliquies, which often ramble on for pages are nothing but extended 'rants' against the 'other side'. Advocates of creationism repeat ad nauseam the anti sec - humanist mantra 'If there is no God, then there can be no morals'. while the Darwinists chant that all religion is evil and religious folks are bastions of willful ignorance. Haddam also manages the somehow hold small towns accountable for this kind of narrow minded intellectual insanity.
Everything is extreme in this novel. People speak in shouts, dialogue becomes diatribe. it's just way over the top. Haddams's novels didn't used to be this way, but lately she seems to have let the topic run away with the story and the topic run away with itself.
We don't have Tibor in this book (really the only link Haddam has left with reason and empathy) and the book reads like one long shout about how stupid, narrow minded, angry, or confused people living in a small town are. Sorry, Jane, but this just ain't true and the horses need to be reined in.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Not quite as good as it gets
17 May 2009
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I always await Jane Haddam's books eagerly, because they contain an interesting puzzle, delightful characters, and a theme that moves the book a bit deeper than run-of-the mill mysteries. Living Witness is a take on the evolution vs. creationism controversy, reminiscent of the Dover Area School Board court case of recent memory. Jane's takes on such issues are always fascinating, and, as usual, her research is exemplary; readers can access her sources and make up their own minds on the issue. The puzzle is set in motion by a murderous attack on an older woman who is a member of the school board in a small Pennsylvania town; the whodunnit and why are well disguised throughout the book (the clues are fair). Gregor Demarkian, Bennis Hannaford, Father Tibor and the usual characters of this long-running series are present and their stories are moving along. The small town characters are not sentimentalized, not portrayed as thoughtless hicks, but given personalities and opinions on many different aspects of the main issue.
Nevertheless, Jane Haddam has written better books. The issue overpowers the story to an extent that is rare in her work, and sometimes the dialogue comes across as little didactic speeches. Fans of her work (and I am one) will find much to enjoy, but if I were asked by someone who hadn't read her before, I would not recommend starting with this book; I'd recommend Somebody Else's Music or Cheating at Solitaire as a better introduction.
Nevertheless, Jane Haddam has written better books. The issue overpowers the story to an extent that is rare in her work, and sometimes the dialogue comes across as little didactic speeches. Fans of her work (and I am one) will find much to enjoy, but if I were asked by someone who hadn't read her before, I would not recommend starting with this book; I'd recommend Somebody Else's Music or Cheating at Solitaire as a better introduction.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Did Jane Haddam Lose Her Temper?
9 Jun 2009
Format:Hardcover
First the good part: this is a reasonably strong Gregor Demarkian mystery.
Next the question: Since Gregor and Bennis are finally married, will the series continue? Their marriage received less attention than I would have liked, although there was some ingenuity and it was linked into Gregor's reason for taking this case.
Now the problem: Jane Haddam's mysteries include characters of whom she clearly disapproves. This is usually pretty good; she illustrates various popular character faults and disorders in a way that is usually enlightening. Here she tries and fails. Perhaps she just disapproves too much. Perhaps she failed to separate one flaw (incivility) from another (unreason) and so did not nail the characters cleanly. It would be a shame if this were the last of the Demarkian stories because the characters are not so much uninspired as uncrafted. Perhaps she was rushed; this seems to come on the heels of the last book. Perhaps she was so disgusted that she didn't want to put any more of herself into it (she admits her bias in the acknowledgements). Or perhaps she only half understands what she's attempting to portray. She is closer at heart to Bennis than to the coal miners and moonshiners.
I still recommend the book, but it is not Haddam's top tier. And she has not, to my mind, bested Precious Blood or A Stillness in Bethlehem. Still, it is far above Murder Superior (which might be better forgotten) and it is worth an evening.
Next the question: Since Gregor and Bennis are finally married, will the series continue? Their marriage received less attention than I would have liked, although there was some ingenuity and it was linked into Gregor's reason for taking this case.
Now the problem: Jane Haddam's mysteries include characters of whom she clearly disapproves. This is usually pretty good; she illustrates various popular character faults and disorders in a way that is usually enlightening. Here she tries and fails. Perhaps she just disapproves too much. Perhaps she failed to separate one flaw (incivility) from another (unreason) and so did not nail the characters cleanly. It would be a shame if this were the last of the Demarkian stories because the characters are not so much uninspired as uncrafted. Perhaps she was rushed; this seems to come on the heels of the last book. Perhaps she was so disgusted that she didn't want to put any more of herself into it (she admits her bias in the acknowledgements). Or perhaps she only half understands what she's attempting to portray. She is closer at heart to Bennis than to the coal miners and moonshiners.
I still recommend the book, but it is not Haddam's top tier. And she has not, to my mind, bested Precious Blood or A Stillness in Bethlehem. Still, it is far above Murder Superior (which might be better forgotten) and it is worth an evening.
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