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98 of 118 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic first half, disappointing second, 4 Jul 2008
I'm with the reviews that say this book was very promising, but doesn't live up to its potential. The first half of the book was excellent - the action starts immediately, sucking the reader in; as the drama unfolds the plot seems to thicken, with some moments that were truly chilling to the bone. There was never a moment where I felt bored as the story moves with breakneck speed, and I managed to finish in one sitting.
The second half of the book was, however, a letdown. The story, while it cleverly ties up all the loose ends together, starts to border on the ridiculous in its incredulity and some of the characters seem to have been created for the sole purpose of slotting into the jigsaw very conveniently. Indeed, the story may have been salvaged had more of the characters been better developed: the main 'villain' in the story in particular was so laughably one-dimensional that I was hoping it was a red herring. The main twist in the story was good, one that you would never have guessed from the onset - but the writer eases you into it too gradually so that by the time it arrives, it feels as though it was almost predictable.
At the risk of sounding rather pedantic, I also became increasingly irritated by the unnecessary amount of swearing and the slangy style, mainly within the dialogue. For example, the writer frequently omits the first verb in a question, so that it reads "You going to pick her up?" instead of "Are you going to pick her up?". While I am not against swearing or colloquialisms at all, it feels odd to read such writing in print so many times and I feel that it degrades the novel somewhat to a second-rate genre. However, this may be just hair-splitting on my part and may not be something that will annoy everyone.
All in all, I feel that the basic skeleton of the book is based on a very ingenious idea, one that could have made a great novel. However, the writer's use of clichés and stereotypic characters means that this original concept was never realised to its full advantage. While this book, with its exhilarating and breathtaking speed, would be a good read on a plane journey, it will not be one that will be listed among the greatest of thrillers.
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90 of 113 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant!, 24 Jun 2008
What if the ones you loved and cherished the most suddenly just vanished? No good bye, no reason why, one minute they are there and the next they are not. This is the question explored by Barclay in this wonderfully weird and spooky novel. When teenager Cynthia Archer awakes to find her entire family has disappeared (Dad, Mom and younger brother) and must face the next 25 years wondering how, why? Was she left behind or spared? Then she agrees to be interviewed for a TV documentary that is exploring the old case, still searching for clues. Will some one remember something or maybe he Mom, Dad or brother will finally reach out to her. Then she receives something in the mail that makes her wonder if she has made the right decision to pursue this mystery. This is a great story, with plenty of chills but it is also very well written. Along with "Misfits Country" (stunning portrayal of a fictional Marilyn Monroe!) this is my favorite read so far this year.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good plot; spoilt by inane dialogue, 19 Jan 2009
I bought this book on the basis of the blurb on the back - and have to say it lived up to expectations plot-wise, although I more or less guessed what had happened quite early on, due to a clue in the first chapter. The idea was great - in 1983, 14-year-old Cynthia Bigge wakes up with a raging hangover following a night out with her unsuitable boyfriend and the ensuing row with her father, to find that her entire family (mother, father and brother) have disappeared. The story then brings us forward 25 years, with Cynthia married to Terry Archer, an English teacher, and the mother of an 8-year-old daughter. The story is henceforth told through the eyes of her husband as they try to unravel the mystery of what really happened to her family so many years before.
So far, so good. However, at several points during the story I honestly felt like throwing the book away - I got so irritated with the continuous incomplete sentences, and particularly the use of "Californian Valley-Girl Interrogative" - starting right at the beginning of the story, when Cynthia's mother phones her friend: "Hi - this is Patricia Bigge? Cynthia's mother?" This was annoying enough, but was even worse through being constantly interlaced with "like". Yes, I know some people speak this way ("thanks" to American and Australian soap operas), but I don't need to be reminded of it in a novel!
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