Rating: 
Summary: An Great Medical Thriller
Review: I'm not the most patient person and therefore find it difficult, and at times irritating, to be strung along when it comes to revealing plot lines which was the main problem I had with "A Slow Burning". Pottinger would introduce this mysterious storyline, only to make me wait until the last 10 pages to figure out what it all means. Now don't get me wrong...this can be a very effective way to keep a reader's attention. However, I found Pottinger's style of the "string-along" a bit unnecessary because there would have been no harm done had the plot unfolded without the waiting game. In other words, with some mysteries this technique works well, but with this book it didn't because the mystery lost it's intrigue by the time it was revealed. "A Slow Burning" is a great story. At times it was a bit "Hollywood" and unbelievable, but overall it held my interest from beginning to end. The possibility of the medical technology introduced in the book was fascinating. To be able to repair damaged brain cells and cure all kinds of neurological diseases was a remarkable and well thought out concept. It's obvious Pottinger did a lot of medical research while writing this book. I'm not going to get into a blow-by-blow of the plot in this review because everyone can read it in the above summary. I found the characters to be a bit shallow and their dialogue somewhat unreal and stilted, but aside from that it was an excellent book that I didn't want to put down. A great "lazy-weekend" or vacation read.
Rating: 
Summary: A truly dramatic audiobook presentation.
Review: It's been twenty years since Nat watched his father being beaten to death: now a routine homicide investigation lends him opportunity to avenge the murder, and others become embroiled in a story of deception and violence. Boyd Gaines lends a dramatic tone to this thriller.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Thriller!
Review: Much awaited since THE FOURTH PROCEDURE... I'm glad to say that his second novel is even better. Truly a page-turner. The story really grabs you and never lets go. Fine combination of action, mystery, romance, and a touch of gore. The character development is first-rate, but never gets in the way of a fast-paced plot. Highly, highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: An absorbing read that is almost a roller-coaster ride..
Review: of intensity. Pottinger has given us a medical thriller in every sense of the word. His research and imagination make you wonder at just how much of the conceptual work with the brain used as the centerpiece of his story is real, and already being pursued, and how much is fantasy. Nat Hennessey and Cush Walker are well-drawn characters on both sides of an issue, with hidden, bloody secrets in their past and equally in love with the same woman. The intricate plot of "A Slow Burning", in telling their separate stories, along with that of Camilla, and visiting in flashbacks, scenes from their past keeps you consumed and reading long past bedtime. The novel did not bog down for me, as is reported by other reviewers, in the middle, and continued to move along at breakneck speed to a really successful conclusion. I give only four stars because the brutality in several of the scenes was too horrific, and the villain, JJ Jackson, was much larger than life. The "race card" played out in two ways with each of the heroes, added, rather than detracted from the texture of the book for me, and I certainly will take the time to find and enjoy "The Fourth Procedure", Pottinger's first novel. A great read for fans of the medical thriller genre, but also for those who enjoy a solid mystery and crime story!
Rating:
Summary: Actually Three And A Half Stars, I Rounded Up.
Review: One third of the way through this story, and I was ready to trash this book. The reasons numbered 2, firstly, the violent murders mentioned on the book jacket would make Hannibal Lechter flinch, and young children witnessed them both. Secondly, as mentioned on the jacket they were race-based. Unless an Author truly has a new idea or view on race/racism, making it a centerpiece for a book is too easy, too cliché, and has been done more times than I can remember. This Author clearly can write and tell a great story. By bringing to the book one of the lowest common denominators of what is wretched in our Society, he introduced an issue that I don't think was necessary. Further, the Author brought nothing new to the discussion. Adding young children was tabloid sensationalism, every location, slur, and behavior is beyond cliché. It's like being tied down and listening to music you hate, repeated incessantly. The High-Tech Medical aspect was good. The field that is discussed and plays a key role in the book is real, it's being developed today, and it's not Star Trek material. But again the same issue mentioned above gets center stage, even with the techno-wizardly medicine, and it detracts from the story. Trying to pull all the different threads of this story together, and then trying to make societal commentary out of it, was a huge task, and it did not work for me. The book is a well done at times, entertaining at times, and frustrating because of how good it really could have been. I will buy his next book. That may sound contradictory, but it really is an indication that I believe this Author could really spin some great tales. You will love it, or like it, you won't hate it.
Rating: 
Summary: Overwhelming Unabridgement...Yawn
Review: Overall, the plots and storylines were actually pretty good. The only problem was that we had to withstand so many pages of boring material to get to the interesting plot. This book could have been done with almost half the pages it has. By the time I was done with the book, I was too numb to actually appreciate the ending, as good as it was. I'm not a big fan of the abridged version of books, but this one could still have been shortened and called unabridged. This is my first experince with a Pottinger book, and will be the last.
Rating: 
Summary: Slow Burning
Review: Pottinger is so good with his male characters. They come across quirky, fun loving, intelligent, sexy and certainly not perfect. However they always seem to tangle up with unlovable, unlikable women. As a woman myself I read about these woman with dismay. In Slow Burning we have a woman who doesn't know her own mind and winds up with a man who's personality is subverted in the operating room into a mish mash so the woman can have both of the men who loved her, in one man. Now the very core of what made these male characters unique is gone.I liked Nat, he was human and made mistakes. I wish he would have ended up with Shaw he'd have been a lot happier. In the Fourth Procedure Victoria & Rachel are so driven, self centered and selfish it was incredible! Victoria in particular irked me not because of her beliefs but she left road kill. Hurting the man who loved her without a blink of an eye. Molly although as independant as the other two came across as a perfect match for the lead character, sadly your left wondering if they really get together again. I liked McLeod I thought he deserved better.
Rating: 
Summary: Another lawyer turned novelist follows convention
Review: Stanley Pottinger tries to catch the Grisham money-train as he is yet another lawyer turned mystery-writer. But the book follows the all-too conventional plot-lines of other novels in this genre, including the busty woman rookie-cop partnered with a dubiously ethical, vendetta-ridden cop partner. Giving Pottinger his due, however, he does take a few turns into psuedo high-tech medicine. But it is hard-to-believe and overheated stuff which makes the book longer than necessary. Pottinger also invokes the 'race card' torn from today's headlines of big city cop bigotry against Blacks as his key plot device. The book's opening scenes are needlessly brutal. Yet, they do lay out what one hopes will be an interesting and unconventional story development. Unfortunately, it doesn't happen.
Rating:
Summary: This is a strange book
Review: That being said, I really enjoyed it. Lots of crazy twists and turns and I was not happy about some of the people who died. But, I couldn't guess the outcome halfway through and that makes it an interesting read. I recommend it to anyone who reads a lot and needs a new twist now and then.
Rating:
Summary: Cringe-inducing
Review: There is absolutely nothing to like about this book. The characters are so poorly sketched and so lacking in depth that it seems the only effort the author made in creating them was coming up with their names. Their personas are completely unpredictable; at no point is there even the slightest sense that they are independent agents with wills of their own. They simply feel like rag-dolls the author has hired to speak the lines and flesh out the plot.
The plot, although actually quite creatively conceived, is badly realised from beginning to torturously drawn-out end. Although a book of speculative fiction does have the right to expect some suspension of disbelief, the 'science' explored in A Slow Burning is downright nonsense. The attempted exploration of racial prejudice seems superficial and a balance between theme and action never seems to be struck. Not only did the themes add nothing to the novel, they actually detracted from its potential as an entertaining thriller. (In its defense, I must grant that, as a non-US reader, the motifs of racism do not have the same social connotations for me as they might do for the target audience.)
Many other books have attained literary credibility despite drawbacks such as these. However, the one thing that really kills A Slow Burning and converts it from a mildly enjoyable paperback thriller into an absolute catastrophe is the simply appalling writing style. The author's turn of phrase is self-conscious and pretentious, and quite frankly off-putting. It is a shame to see what could have been a decent thriller, or even a reasonable piece of speculative fiction, fall so far short of the mark.
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