Rating: 
Summary: Numbing amounts of deer hunting, cookie-cutter people
Review: Gosh, I usually love adventure/suspense reads, but this one just couldn't grab my interest. If the author had put half the effort into characterization that he put into describing the act of hunting a deer, it might have been worth something. All the characters were cookie-cutters except for Diana Jackman and she was so screwed up I thought for a while she was the killer (coulda been a nice twist, parts of her behavior seemed very manic depressive to me). By the time Diana confronts the killer, I didn't even care. Also, I thought it was pretty stupid that the killer is targeting evil deer hunters up north in Canada, when we get about 250,000 deer hunters each fall in Michigan-- they'd have made a hell of a lot more logical target. So the killer stalks some rich hunters way north somewhere white and cold. So it's got an Indian, peyote flavor to it. Go back to the 70's if you still think that's neat. Or better yet, save your money.
Rating: 
Summary: Who is this guy?
Review: I always get suspicious when white people try to write books about Indian characters. It hits home even more when the charcaters are Mi'kmaq (I note that this fact seems to have escaped many of the people that reviewed this book -- they refer to the main character as an "Indian" or "Native American" and never refer to her by her actual nation -- as if all aboriginal peoples of North and South America are the same). While I admire the fact that he did some research into Mi'kmaw spirituality (he seems to sort of understand the moral ambiguity of killing, which is a start), and actually uses some mi'kmaw words, I get the impression that he never spoke to any Mi'kmaq people and relied on books written by other white people to enter into the Mi'kmaw world. I also think that he uses the Mi'kmaq as a convienent tribe in which to place his main character -- he obviously wanted a story that had an Indian woman as a main character, and for some reason made her Mi'kmaw -- perhaps because outside of the Northeast and Maritime Canada no one has heard of them. This shows little regard for the nation, as he takes his character out of the context of the Northeast, thereby revealing his ignorance of contemporary Mi'kmaq culture and the geography of our homeland.
As for his villain, I get the impression that Sullivan has read too much of a certain author that wrote about a Yaqui medicine man who introduced a white dude to 'shrooms and peyote. I wonder if Sullivan himself has ever participated in a peyote ceremony. He's probably used it as a drug to get hallucinations, which is not the same at all and an abuse of a powerful plant.The storyline itself isn't all that bad, nor particularly good, although it is entertaining, if one likes gory quasi-mystical adventures involving Indians (or Native Americans to you PC folks).
Rating:
Summary: Who is this guy?
Review: I always get suspicious when white people try to write books about Indian characters. It hits home even more when the charcaters are Mi'kmaq (I note that this fact seems to have escaped many of the people that reviewed this book -- they refer to the main character as an "Indian" or "Native American" and never refer to her by her actual nation -- as if all aboriginal peoples of North and South America are the same). While I admire the fact that he did some research into Mi'kmaw spirituality (he seems to sort of understand the moral ambiguity of killing, which is a start), and actually uses some mi'kmaw words, I get the impression that he never spoke to any Mi'kmaq people and relied on books written by other white people to enter into the Mi'kmaw world. I also think that he uses the Mi'kmaq as a convienent tribe in which to place his main character -- he obviously wanted a story that had an Indian woman as a main character, and for some reason made her Mi'kmaw -- perhaps because outside of the Northeast and Maritime Canada no one has heard of them. This shows little regard for the nation, as he takes his character out of the context of the Northeast, thereby revealing his ignorance of contemporary Mi'kmaq culture and the geography of our homeland.
As for his villain, I get the impression that Sullivan has read too much of a certain author that wrote about a Yaqui medicine man who introduced a white dude to 'shrooms and peyote. I wonder if Sullivan himself has ever participated in a peyote ceremony. He's probably used it as a drug to get hallucinations, which is not the same at all and an abuse of a powerful plant. The storyline itself isn't all that bad, nor particularly good, although it is entertaining, if one likes gory quasi-mystical adventures involving Indians (or Native Americans to you PC folks).
Rating: 
Summary: Curious about the feathers changing as the book went along.
Review: I am curious about the fact that the feather found in Patterson's mouth was a Red Tailed Hawk, but when referenced later in the book it became a raven feather. The feather found in Grover's mouth was an Owl feather, but was later referred to as a raven....did I miss something????? Also, I thought Pawlett was not scalped but when Little Crow got to Ryan's hideout his scalp was there... I loved the book and the story, but am afraid I missed something......
Rating:
Summary: Very good book.
Review: I bought this book without knowing about the author. I am glad I did. The plot is very interesting and except for the last part where I thought it got a little hokey with the killer being able to get everyone else for all that time and then just become human/normal. But it was a good book and I was interested the whole time. It also helped some parts were based in Maine where I am from. All in all I wouldnt tell someone not to buy it. But read it and make your own judgements.
Rating: 
Summary: Different and very good thriller
Review: I enjoyed this book very much. READ IT! Recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Completely spellbinding!
Review: I have been trying to remember the name of this book or its author for about 2 months. Thank you Amazon.com for your Power Search feature. I heard this book on tape, and have been wanting to get my hands on the actual book. Even, if you're not into horror, this crosses over into mystery thrillers and the story is just, well words fail me, amazing. The female lead is so strong and so believable, it boggles my mind that the author Mark Sullivan (a mere male - presumably) could write such a masterpiece. I'm going to go hunting for more Sullivan fiction, but in the meantime....INTO THE SHOPPING CART with this one.
Rating:
Summary: A True Thriller!
Review: I picked this book up because it had a great cover (hard cover). I bought it because it sounded interesting and fun. You know what I was right. This is a wonderful book. I do not feel that this is a "guy" book. The main character is female, just different from most females. Diana is a strong and powerful female lead. The kind that you have to have in a book like this to make it work. I think that Mr. Sullivan did a great job in working out the plot. I was totally engrossed in this fine piece of work from the beginning. OK the author did mess up with the scalp thing. But some times that is a part of the fun. Finding a mistake that everyone missed and they get paid the big bucks! (No pun intended.) This did not take away from the story and was not important to the plot. So you are forgiven Mr. Sullivan for one little bitty mistake. I'm looking forward to more by this wonderful author. Keep them coming, Mr. Sullivan. I highly recommend "The Purification Ceremony.
Rating:
Summary: A True Thriller!
Review: I picked this book up because it had a great cover (hard cover). I bought it because it sounded interesting and fun. You know what I was right. This is a wonderful book. I do not feel that this is a "guy" book. The main character is female, just different from most females. Diana is a strong and powerful female lead. The kind that you have to have in a book like this to make it work. I think that Mr. Sullivan did a great job in working out the plot. I was totally engrossed in this fine piece of work from the beginning. OK the author did mess up with the scalp thing. But some times that is a part of the fun. Finding a mistake that everyone missed and they get paid the big bucks! (No pun intended.) This did not take away from the story and was not important to the plot. So you are forgiven Mr. Sullivan for one little bitty mistake. I'm looking forward to more by this wonderful author. Keep them coming, Mr. Sullivan. I highly recommend "The Purification Ceremony.
Rating:
Summary: A Fast Action Pcaked Read
Review: I picked up this book on a whim, and I'm glad I did. This is a fast, engrossing read. The mystery was fairly easy to figure out early on, but it was interesting to see the characters process the clues and find the answers. A very strong female main character didn't overwhelm the story but pulled it all together. A fair amount of violence is involved, so if that bothers you, you might want to skip this one.
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