Lost Girls (Bookcassette(r) Edition)

Rating:
Summary: OK, but...
Review: This is a well written book with one problem: no where in the information contained on the back of the book do the publishers mention that this is not a typical murder mystery, but a murder mystery with supernatural characters. Unfortunately you don't know this for sure until about halfway through. As I am not interested in the supernatural, I did not particularly enjoy the book. Also, Pyper has a habit of forgetting to use pronouns and strating sentences with verbs that gets really annoying after the 50th time. e.g. When normally aone would right "I drove to the store." He writes "Drove to the store." Sometimes he goes paragraphs without a using a subject in his sentences. Finally, this book is at best borrowing from a far superior mystery novel of the supernatural called, ironically, "Lost Boys" by Orson Scott Card, which is a far superior book.

Rating:
Summary: Doesn't get enough credit...
Review: I've just finished reading this book and after reading some of the reviews, I have to say that this book doesn't get the credit that it deserves. At first, the book was a little confusing. Not in the storyline, but in the way the author wrote. But this confusion quickly disappeared very early into the book, and afterwards, the story was thoroughly enjoyable. The way the author portrays the main character in the story is fascinating! It's like he slowly breaks down as the book progresses. And the ending is not one that you would expect. All in all, I think this book is an interesting look into the world of law from a lawyers point of view as well as a look into how a crime takes over a small town. Ignore the bad reviews and just give this book a chance! It can't hurt.

Rating:
Summary: Compelling and seductive
Review: Incorporating the best of Scott Turow and Stephen King, Andrew Pyper has created an unusual and compulsively readable novel in LOST GIRLS. Attorney Batholomew Crane is a young, coke addicted attorney assigned his first murder case. It's Barth's job to get a teacher accused of killing two of his female students off. No matter what the cost, Barth intends to get his client an acquittal. As Crane digs deeper into the case, pieces of which may be tied to the town's history and to a long forgotten, shameful episode in his own past, Barth spirals further and further away from reality. With prose so beautiful it brings to life the desperation of Bartholomew Crane as he slowly suffers a personal breakdown and redemption, and the cold, white desolation of Northern Canada, LOST GIRLS has a creepy atmosphere that compels you to keep turning pages.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting concept but shaky execution
Review: "Lost Girls," a first novel, has much to recommend it. It has a very unique protagonist who is not particularly likeable and the author, Andrew Pyper, has an interesting style of writing, alternating genuinely spooky scenes with rather off-the-wall humor (at one point, he describes jurors as looking like they are auditioning for "Deliverance-the Movie"). But somewhere in the writing, Pyper loses his way and his story suffers. He gets so wrapped up in creating atmosphere and trying to establish an air of mystery that he lets his plot drag. The book often slows to a crawl and he becomes repetitive in his descriptions of both scene and character. There is a major plot point that the careful reader will see coming a mile away. It's not a bad book and is far superior to Stephen King's "Dreamcatcher," which is a bloated bore. But it is obviously the work of a first-time novelist, who has a story to tell but doesn't yet possess the skills to tell it particularly well. It's good enough in spots to see that Pyper has talent and I hope he keeps writing. Next time, he should just trust his instincts and not try so hard for atmosphere that he lets his plot get bogged down.

Rating:
Summary: A good first novel from a writer with REAL promise...
Review: I'm a bit disappointed in the other reader reviews I've seen here. After all, this is a FIRST novel by the author and I was amazed by the great writing in so much of this book, leaving me with a desire to read more books by Mr. Pyper, who I expect to get better and better as time goes on. To be honest, this book has some of the flaws of a first book written by an author who needs more practice tightening and sharpening his sense of pacing and drama but even so, there is much to recommend here. The first chapter, where a young girl is dragged to the bottom of a lake by an inexplicable force, is truly gripping. After that first chapter, there was some lack of tension here and there and things dragged a bit at time, but I still could NOT put this book down. There is an original voice at work here, one that deserves to be heard again and I, for one, am looking forward to reading another of this author's books in the future.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining read, but nothing new
Review: A good simple read,and enjoyable. Pyper is a writer-in-residence and it showed in that his descriptive passages (atmosphere and thoughts) seemed to be trying too hard. Also a somewhat thin plot. Crane as a charachter is brilliant and would willingly read the next book Crane appears in (if ever) but wont expect a real suprise or challenge

Rating:
Summary: PYPER NEEDS TO WRITE MORE BOOKS
Review: This is the first book of this kind that uses the usual protaganist and makes him an antagonist. The main character was so unlikeable yet you could identify with him. As pathetic as he was, one couldn't help but root for him. The atmosphere of this novel was dark and dreary and I can see a great movie coming out of this one.

Rating:
Summary: Do not read the dust-jacket or back of this book!
Review: Whenever I read mysteries I never read the dust-jacket of the hardcover or back of the paperback because it ruins the plot for me. I like to be surprised. The beginning of the book would have been ruined if I had read the jacket, so thank goodness I didn't. This is an entertaining mystery novel, set in Canada. It has murder, a trial, and a gothic ending. My fave mystery writer is Laurie King, but this was a refreshing change of pace. I don't want to give anything away, but if you want a good mystery in a gothic-inspired setting, this book is for you.

Rating:
Summary: Like a bad movie
Review: Reading this book was like watching one of those awful Hollywood Freddie/Chuckie movies. I also wonder if the author ever parcticed law. His bio says he went to law school, but the main character, a lawyer, is like a caricature from Court TV. I ended up skimming the end, but I guessed it early on. Very a la Hours, by Michael Cunnigham, no insult intended to the latter. On the plus side, his descriptions of settings were very good. Maybe a decent beach book.

Rating:
Summary: I guess the best way to describe my reaction is "empty."
Review: I'm not sure what to make of this book. The juxtaposition of the northern Ontario locals and the "summer folk" rings true enough - but all in a vacuous, ethereal setting and tone. Is it Erle Stanley Gardner? Stephen King? Mary Higgins Clark? Dashiell Hammett? Hunter S. Thompson? It's all that and less. (I hate it when reviewers divulge plots - and I won't burden you with it here.)

I'm going back to the more solid "meat and potatoes" (or is that corned beef & cabbage) of Father Greeley's Chicago.