Burn Factor

Rating:
Summary: Painfully bad plot
Review:
Mills seems to have a pseudo gift, that of being able to run the protagonists along through the unfolding story in a manner that is friendly towards the reader. His characters are as developed and deep as what you might expect from a Grisham novel. In fact the entire story concept could be interchanged with a thousand other uninspired novelists writing for what might sell in today's market. Plot and character here as flat as a cardboard sandwich. What does set this novel apart from the rest of the pack is unending sexual and gratuitous violence. This is one of the most horrific, blood thirsty, and grisly novels that I have ever come across. The victims number in the hundreds as a psycho killer rampages across the eastern corridor and it seems as though every single one of them was massacred in the same tedious fashion. The worst part is the predictable happy ending that ties the story neatly together. Something so outrageous as Mills' sick ideas deserves a more unique ending than this Dean Koontz rip off. (Can you believe that someone actually stated that Dean Koontz was being taken advantage of intellectually?) It would be nice if Mills manages to emulate authors who take risks. I think that he has it in himself to someday produce a book worthy of a human being and not focus groups might suggest. After all, I was able to make it through to the end of this drivel, and that was an accomplishment worthy of some note to the author's credit.


Rating:
Summary: even escapist fiction should have some grounding in reality
Review: I read this right after reading Rising Pheonix and, while I felt it was better overall-- more plausible plot, better characters, better writing--, it was still far from a satisfying read.

The main problem was the writing. The action scenes were awkward, and there were a couple of howlers, especially at the beginning: rice cakes "fatally impacting" on the floor (pg. 8), a woamn eating a "snowball-sized" scoop of ice cream (pg. 63).

Some of the characters still were not fleshed out enough or totally believable-- Twain and Marin, for example. There is actually the cliche of the serial killer listening to classical music at one point, something you see a lot of in movies but not in real life.

More than a few of the plot developments and incidents seem straight out of an action movie: the bad guys are always a step or two behind the good guys, a woman survives a gunshot when a bullet glances off her head (pg. 201), two people survive massive explosions that kill everyone around them (pg. 355), a man jumps out of the way of a bullet (pg. 377), the killer imbeds a knife in a cinderblock wall (pg. 333). Other plot points are just ludicrous, as when one of the characters calls Stephen Hawking on the spur of the moment.

There are many more smaller problems which highlight his lack of research or inability to write about events in a believable manner, though it would be pointless to list them all. Two thumbs down for me.

Rating:
Summary: Read his other books
Review: I'm a big fan of Amazon's if you like... suggestions. That's how I found Kyle Mills and I've really enjoyed all of his books, except for this one. It was so repulsive I could barely make it through the book. Read all of Kyle Mills books, except this one.

Rating:
Summary: Great, probably Mills best book so far
Review: It was a very quick read, the plot kept you going, plus the author really got you into the main characters. Occasionally it seems a little unbelievable, but then again look at the stuff we see in the news.
The story is written around Quinn Barry, a new FBI hire, she is in a safe programming job and finds a problem. Trying to work through the channels she gets put down and transfered by her boss, she endeavors to solve the problem, first on her own then with help from a suspect. The case is extremely difficult because the real culprit is extremely bad, very talented and has help from government higher ups. The book ocassionally gets pretty brutal (torture and rape) but it is essential for the story and did not bother me. I would definitely recommend this book. However, I noted in some reviews that it did bother a few people - therefore, if you are easily offended - skip this book and find tamer material by always checking the reviews before reading a book.

Rating:
Summary: Very entertaining
Review: The plot is both utterly unbelievable & revolting. The bad guy, a "brilliant" physicist, is permiited by retired military officers to roam around the country carving up 2 dozen women because the physicist is essential to a secret government program. The thought that anybody would do nothing while some ghoul inflicts multiple cuts on young girls with an X-acto knife is not only preposterous, it is a slander on the members of the military. Don't waste your time or your money. Unfortunately, I did & now regret it. The book sucks.

Rating:
Summary: Mills at his Sadistic Best
Review: This book gave me nightmares... in the good sense. It is pure thriller. I've found that Mills usually introduces all his characters early in the book, with a twist. You know who everyone is but you have no idea what's coming next. Being a Fan of Kyle Mills, this book was no exception. This particular read was focused on a seriously, sadistic serial killer, and the signature well-planned plot that is revealed at the end. Vividly written (which was very hard to read for me just because the picture of his victims suffering came alive in my brain) characters come to life and makes you wonder if it really happened. To some the storyline might be familiar with other authors but i personally feel that it surpasses a "regular" thriller due to the fact it was written in a classic "Agatha Christie" style. Meaning that the suspense builds and there are no redudancies of plots or stories its chapters. Overall, Literally stimulating, with vivid characters that come alive and a beutiful storyline flow.

Rating:
Summary: Offensive and Repugnant
Review: This book is about a young FBI computer analyst aspiring to become an agent, but when she stumbles upon a series of crimes that were programmed into CODIS (combined DNA index system) to be missed all hell breaks loose. Though not as good as his three previous books, I still found it entertaining and readable. I can't wait for Mills' next Mark Beamon novel.

Rating:
Summary: Implausible, to say the least
Review: This was an excellent book! I am a first time reader of Kyle Mills, and I was not dissapointed at all. The whole plot was very thrilling and suspenceful. The evil and sadistic killer made this book very thrilling and the questions that needed to be answered kept the suspense throughout the whole book. Kyle Mills did a great job with the characters of Quinn Barry and the sadistic madman and the details of his sadistic crimes. The book stayed interesting from the beginning to the end.

Ms. Quinn Barry, a computer programer for the FBI, was put on a assignment to set up a program called CODIS. This program takes the DNA from crime scenes and organizes them with other DNA samples that are the same. She comes across five phantom DNA samples that are not accounted for. Not being able to figure out what is going on and her boss thinking that she messed up the programming of CODIS, she gets taken off of the CODIS assignment and assigned to a new job.

Being a FBI agent is something she has dreamed about for a long time. To prove she did not mess up the programming of CODIS and did not hurt her chances of becoming a FBI agent, she decides to dig deeper into the five phantom DNAs.

Checking into the phantom DNAs, she finds that they are not phantoms at all. They are real brutal killings that were committed by the same sadistic man. She found that these five innocent women where bound to furniture by coat hangers, and then cut deeply with a knife to where they would bleed to death slowly as the man pleasured himself. So why wasn't they being matched up in the CODIS program?

Finding this information puts Quinn Barry on a run for her life. With the government tracking her down and trying to kill her, and a sadistic madman on the loose, she is left wandering who she can trust to help her?

She has many unanswered questions that she has to figure out before it is too late. Who is this sadistic madman that is after her and why? Why is the government protecting him and covering up these horrible crimes that he is committing? She has to figure this out and stop this madman before anymore innocent women are brutally killed.

This book is one that was hard to put down until the very last page. It has everything that is needed in a good book, the suspense and the thrill that lasted till the very last page. Should not be read by anyone with a queasy stomach with the killings being so graphic. Definitely makes me want to read more books by Kyle Mills and to be introduced to the character whom he usually uses Mark Beamon!