Rating: 
Summary: Never fails to entertain
Review: There is a sub genre of crime fiction. It is a thriller in which an otherwise ordinary individual commits an indiscretion which leads to a downward spiral and spends the rest of the book trying to extricate himself or herself. Many times these books are exceedingly well written and impossible to put down. As a whole they can be supremely entertaining. Such a book is DERAILED.
Charles Shine, advertising executive married with a diabetic daughter, takes the 8:43 commuter train to his job in Manhattan each morning. One morning he is late. This, unfortunately, changes his life in that he meets a beautiful woman who actually seems interested in him. The result is quite predictable. However, a sudden complication develops which throws Charles' entire life into turmoil-- a turmoil that threatens all he knows and loves.
This type of Hitchcockian stand alone thriller is one of my favorite sub genres. Other recent works written in the same vein of average man being thrown into a situation beyond his control are ABOUT THE AUTHOR by John Colapinto and TELL NO ONE by Harlan Coben. DERAILED is not a perfect work. There are some good twists- some of which are complete surprises, however, most are quite predictable. As the novel begins to wind down, the plot becomes more and more implausible. Yet it never fails to entertain. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: This frightening book will leave you hoping for a happy end
Review: Oh, the heavy price of a dalliance. A single misstep. After experiencing DERAILED, I'll wager the temptation cannot be nearly attractive enough to stray from the straight and narrow. For me, it certainly isn't. The cost is simply too high. If you don't believe me, read this book.Charles Schine's life isn't going too well. After 12 years on a prime advertising account, he's yanked off and given a schlock assignment, a real slap in the face --- and that's just at work. At home, he lives with the strain of his daughter's diabetes and keeping her alive, wondering how many more days she will be with them. Her illness makes her cranky and irritable, leaving him with bittersweet memories of his little girl back when she was a normal child. To top it off, his wife doesn't turn him on anymore. They go through the motions of everyday life without a shred of joy. The outlook seems bleak. So when Charles meets Lucinda --- sexy, shapely Lucinda with legs up to there --- he dreams of escape into Lucinda's beautiful arms and not-unsubstantial charms. All of a sudden, he feels very lucky. It looks like life has seen fit to give him another turn at happiness. As you read along, lulled into Charles's sense of blissful contentment, a nagging doubt grows all the while that it can't last. Let me tell you now, it doesn't. Things turn ugly --- utterly and extraordinarily ugly. Close on the heels of the new lovers' frenzied trysts come scenes so gruesome they slap you back to reality and beyond --- into the depths of what I imagine as Hell --- with seemingly no way out. Charles is catapulted from the height of heady infatuation into a dire situation, then into a desperate situation, then farther into a totally hopeless situation. He experiences some small victories and hopeful recoveries, but the hole he's dug for himself threatens to bury him alive with every turn of the page. Every scheme he cooks up to free himself just digs him in deeper. To be fair, Charles is an advertising executive, not a world-wise street thug. While we may imagine the streets of New York as tough and dangerous for the unsuspecting, we probably don't imagine them this dangerous. Faced with an unthinkable solution, we wonder just how far we would go to save ourselves. The author presents one man's answer. How can Charles ever get himself out? Just watch him. DERAILED is a book that scares, angers, repulses and leaves you hoping for a happy ending. Don't get me wrong; it's not all unpleasantness. It's a page-turner if ever there was one. Sometimes I wanted to leave the room and the book with it, but the mystery always drew me back. While I can't picture myself falling into such circumstances, the plot as it unfolds could really happen. It is an entirely plausible story --- and that's what really frightened me. --- Reviewed by Kate Ayers
Rating: 
Summary: Fabulous!
Review: One of the best reads of my life! Siegel keeps you turning the pages and guessing what will happen next until the surprise ending. It is rare that a book truly keeps me guesing, but this book has turns that even the most seasoned reader will not see coming!
Rating:
Summary: Believe the Buzz!
Review: If there were a measurement for the addictive character of a book ' that subtle quality that hooks the reader early and makes the book virtually impossible to put down ' 'Derailed' would be the Gold Medallist. First time author James Siegel tells the story of Charles Schine, a New York advertising executive who, meeting a beautiful female executive while commuting on the Long Island Railroad, soon finds his typically mundane life spiraling ever more deeply out of control. Siegel's prose is fast, tight, and riveting, with just enough non-linearity to keep the reader on the edge. Yet despite the leanness, characters and settings are fully developed and wholly credible. Think of Tom Wolfe's 'Bonfire of the Vanities' on pure adrenalin, written with the economy of words and razor wit of a master advertising creative director (which Siegel is). Reviews have paralleled 'Derailed' with Hitchcock ' a valid comparison in the unexpected twists. But much of the allure is in the pure believability of the plot - the realization of how fragile the boundary between 'boring but comfortable' and sheer, unmitigated terror is. Bottom line: if you are only going to read one thriller this year, make it 'Derailed'. Just make sure you don't have any plans for the next several hours when you start.
Rating:
Summary: Buy it now!
Review: James Seigel is the new "king of the pageturner"!... With DERAILED he cast a spell on me that wasn't broken until hours after I'd finished the book. The novel's clean, smart prose introduces Charles Schine, a married middle-aged corporate everyman, leading a comfortably dull life and tosses him into a set of circumstances that test his courage, imagination and humanity in ways that are as startling as they are compelling. Siegel has not written one of those cardboard cut-out crime novels featuring a larger than life detective or spy who can't be killed. He don't something much more challenging and rewarding to the reader -- he's taken a set of circumstances that could confront anyone and has turned them into a narrative that's as credible and exciting as any you're likely to read this year. DERAILED is a "must" for every reader attracted to the best in suspense. It was a real joy to discover.
Rating:
Summary: One of my all-time favorites!
Review: I absolutely loved this book! I listened to it on tape, and not only was delighted with the writing, but the narrator was fabulous as well. I can't remember the last time I was so engrossed in a book, or when I was actually disappointed when it was over because I wanted more. The book was surprising, suspenseful, and wonderfully disturbing, and the author's writing style and word choice really appealed to me. I strongly recommend this book to readers of psychological thrillers. Derailed has made my top 10 list of all-time favorite novels. (And I have read many, many, many books!)
Rating:
Summary: When "Irish" eyes are smiling
Review: Can't wait to sse the movie; there must be a film attached to a plot that seems designed for the cinema. It's a terrific read and you won't be able to put it down. As other reviewers have noted, the amazing event that happens at the Hotel Fairfax is so unbelievable and so badly prepared for you just sit there and take it, like a body blow, with a kind of dumb apprehension. It's over the top and just what we deserve. Somewhere in heaven, William Irish must be smiling. Thirty years after his death, James Siegel has taken the plots of two of Irish's greatest books, "I Married a Dead Man" and "Waltz into Darkness," and jammed them together until sparks flew in hell. We salute Siegel for bringing William Irish (the pen name of the thriller writer Cornell Woolrich) into the era of cell phones and ATM cards.
Rating:
Summary: Good Book!
Review: I enjoyed this book - it was very well written and kept you interested in the storyline. I thought the guy got off easy - but that's just me. Once a person takes a gamble with their lives like that (and the lives of his family!) - I think there are dues that should be paid. Overall, an enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: Derailed My Day
Review: This book certainly derailed my day. I could not put it down. Rarely is tenseness sustained page after page as it is in this book. Charles Schine, the main character - an advertising executive - recounts how his life becomes completely dismantled - derailed. A series of awful incidents compound each other after an entertaining flirtation/affair. The horrible incidents, which are caused by Charles' own actions, are played out against a background of depressing family news that are not of his making. He gradually loses control of both his out-of-home downfall and in-home downfall. Page after page, chapter after chapter, Charles is beaten down withouot respite. The reader finds himself almost cringing with the turn of every page because he knows things are only going to get worse. He can not help but root and root hard for Charles. The format adds to the overall sense as well. There are a few short chapters inserted that are entitled "Attica" and pertain to a teacher in the NY State prison. These chapters bring the book togather at the end. Perhaps the best part of this book is that at every turn the reader is with that most intriguing question: "What would I do?" Most often the answer is the same as that of Charles, making the reader connect and become invested in Charles' plight. The plot takes some absolutely wonderful twists. A review is made difficult because to give away one element may leave to a giveaway of another. The writing is very good. The book moves at a tremendous pace aided by the constant tightening tension. This is a terrific read. Entertaining and clever in all its twists and turns. Throughout the book the reader is constantly faced with that most intriguing question: "What would I do?" Often the answer
Rating: 
Summary: Didn't like it for a different reason
Review: Advertising attempts to create a phony moment and make it appear real. But it is only a moment: a print ad, a billboard, a thirty or sixty second slice of a life we are supposed to wish we had. They do not attempt to sustain the illusion. This book, written by an advertising executive, starts out with a intriguing, if not particularly well-written, bang. But it promptly spirals deliriously out of illusion into plain old stupidity. I never felt anything other than grotesquely manipulated while reading this. Then, when the saving plot twist comes (no spoiler here, as the book is written in the first person, so I knew he wasn't going to die) I thought of the old National Lampoon response to writing yourself into a corner "Suddenly, everyone was run over by a truck." That's what happened here, as the prestidigitator tried to pull a hippo out of his hat and flopped. "Oh, come on....." was my response, and I don't think you're supposed to feel that when reading a suspense novel. Numerous technical problems, such as how do two authors writing separate versions of the same tale have such a uniform style, as well as cliches, stereotypes and cardboard characters all combine to leave one not just unfulfilled, but irritated. Less than nothing here, as the illusionist could not maintain his promising deception.
| 
