Biting the Moon

Rating:
Summary: no follow up on details
Review: I assume Andi was a ghost from the bus crash but why did she take all those polaroids "just in case" and Grimes never followed up on that? Little details like that that she went to great pain to mention, that you assume she'll eventually bring all together and she never does!!! And what was the point of the river trip and the drowning? We never got an explanation. Did Grimes just get tired of writing or sacrifice detail to make her deadline? I think it would have been clever to have had Mary Dark Hope travel back through Utah and stop by the orphanage or the library and see Andi's picture and name and maybe learn a bit about her. I would have liked to have known Andi's real name but if the point was to make you wonder if she was a ghost and Mary Dark Hope was on a Quest then I can see why Grimes didn't go there.

Rating:
Summary: A great disappointment - stay with Richard Jury
Review: I can't think of a single person to whom I would recommend this book. I found the two girls who are the main characters unbelievable and the storyline weak. Although both these girls appeared in earlier Grimes books, I have serious doubts that many readers will remember or recognize them. Moreover, the animal abuse theme is carried to extremes. For animal lovers, some of these scenes are very hard to take, and she is preaching to the converted. On the other hand, I doubt if many of those who participate in such activities will be reading this book. This book fails on every level, as its author fails to realize her own potential.

Rating:
Summary: I didn't plan on reading this book, but.....
Review: I did so as a favor to a friend who couldn't believe the problems she had with this book. Most of my feelings have been expressed below: Georgraphical problems...and Ms Grimes spends some of her time in Santa Fe? Far-fetched? Exaclty, and unbelievable. Too many sub-plots? I felt like I'd been ambused by the SPCA. As one reader put it, better to pick one or two atrocities than to blast the reader with both barrels. I felt that Ms Grimes could have accomplished her aim--to make readers aware of these problems--by writing an article for a major news magazine. I would have been more sympathetic.

Rating:
Summary: NOT TRUE TO LIFE BUT A GOOD READ
Review: I ENJOYED THIS BOOK I HAVE NEVER READ ANY MARTH GRIMES SO HAD NO EXPECTATIONS. THE STORY WAS JUST THAT A STORY IT ENTERTAINED AND HELD MY INTEREST WHAT MORE CAN YOU ASK FOR

Rating:
Summary: Very disappointing
Review: I have read and enjoyed all of her books until now. It looks like she had a deadline to meet and no idea what to write, so this came out. Gladly, I borrowed it from the library.

Rating:
Summary: Stay with what you do best--Richard Jury stories!
Review: I have read most of Martha Grimes' novels and when she is writing a "Richard Jury" mystery, she keeps me turning the pages faster and faster. The few times she has abandoned Superintendent Jury for another, she has failed miserably. I am now going to make sure that I know the next book I read by Ms. Grimes is a Richard Jury mystery or I won't be reading it!

Rating:
Summary: A Dubious Best Seller
Review: I listened to the audio version of this book, which may have helped some; it was engaging enough, in spite of the frequent sordid plot twists around every corner - the canned hunt was especially disheartening - the only thing at the end that left me shaking my head was, what the heck happened to Andi ?? Mary Dark Hope waxed reflective on the Sandias, and how Andi's name was in them. Did Andi go back to the cabin in the woods ?? Was she a ghost, from the bus crash ?? I finished the book, feeling like I'd been left hanging.
If anyone picked up on the what happened at the end, could you please clue me in ? !

Rating:
Summary: A disappointing outing
Review: I looked forward to a new book by Martha Grimes, s as her Richard Jury books are literate and satisfying. "Biting the Moon" is a letdown. The opening is promising, but it soon degenerates into an "adventure" tale with gauzy plotting which relies more on action than on character. The events depicted in the book are unlikely, and the writing is at a level more suited to a young adolescent readership. I think she "mailed it in" this time, without her usual pungent insights, interesting and complex characters, and quality writing. I hope to see the return of Richard Jury in her next work.

Rating:
Summary: Very disappointing.
Review: I suppose I've become too addicted to Richard Jury and his coterie of eccentric friends, but this book certainly leaves a lot to be desired. Not only that, but this is the third mystery I have read recently (the others are Moon Music by Faye Kellerman and Black Notice by Patricia Cornwell) that have a shape-changer/werewolf subject. What's the deal ladies?

Rating:
Summary: Unbelievably bad.
Review: I was sorely disappointed by M. Grimes latest. She has taken a perfectly riveting premise and muddied it with totally unplausible side stories, a mis-timed and disatisfying resolution of the central mystery, and downright bad writing. This book was poorly executed, poorly written, and poorly edited. I loved Andi and Mary (though they were easily confused at points-I think they are different sides or stages of the same character), but are readers to believe that they are mixed up with a kidnapper/murderer/kiddie porn purveyor who has ties to "canned hunts" as well as an illegal dog-fighting ring and crooked veterinarian? And what's with all the lonely, kind, jaded folks who were once so talented and have totally unrealized dreams of greatness? My suspension of disbelief was stretched to its breaking point. To M. Grimes I say this: take Andi and her story, and re-write it. You had something there, and you botched it!