Quickie Book Reviews

The Sex Killers: Thirty Fully Documented Cases of Men and Women Whose Aberrant Sexuality Drove Them to Kill (Lucas) C-
I'd be lying if I said true murder cases don't interest me. I used to watch the tv show Unsolved Mysteries religiously and did read In Cold Blood and Dead Men Do Tell Tales (fascinating books, though a bit tedious). Though it presents a wide variety of macabre and interesting cases throughout the 20th century, I found myself perplexed and confused by the writing of The Sex Killers. It seemed archaic, prejudiced, and unprofessional, particularly toward homosexuals. I looked for a copyright page and found none. (??). After a quick search on Amazon, I found it as an out-of-print book, with suspiciously little information, including no copyright. Titilating cases, but terrible writing.

The Lovely Bones (Sebold) A-
Well, Kundera complained that there was no re-invention of the novel going on, but Sebold here sure made an attempt. I don't think she did anything revolutionary, but she did come up with an intriguing plot -- a young girl is murdered and transported to heaven where she narrates her tale. That's where the book could have taken off into Kundera's hopes and dreams, but Sebold had a different idea. Instead, she focused on what the death of a child does to a family -- each individual and all the interconnecting relationships within and without the family unit. And not just for a few months, but for several years. How does death rip apart two people, how does it make someone flee and someone else fight? As all this is going on, the suspense of catching the killer is always looming large in the background, sometimes rather distractingly, as you fly through the book. Well-written and enjoyable.

A Walk to Remember (Sparks) B-
Okay, I know this guy has had two books made into movies, but umm, I don't get it. I read this book in just a few hours. It was sweet and occasionally humorous, (a story about a painfully religious girl and self-absorbed rich boy falling in love), but overall, it felt like one step up from a Sweet Valley High or Harlequin Romance to me. Not to mention a fairly predictable and sickly-sweet ending. I gave it a B- for its ease and speed (I do believe how enjoyable a book is should not take away from its legitimacy), but I can't really recommend it as a great read.