Winner Take All

Rating:
Summary: One of the best commercial novels I have ever read . . .
Review: . . . and I've read a lot. This is Davis Bunn's third thriller for WaterBrook, an imprint of Random House. The first two, The Great Divide and Drummer in the Dark, were very good, but this book is really something special. There's a depth and richness to it seldom found in commercial fiction.

What really sets this book apart is Bunn's ability to seamlessly combine serious moral, spiritual, and psychological themes with an extremely fast moving and deftly plotted storyline. Others have written similar books--some of David Morrell's later work, Dean Koontz's last three or four books, David Lindsey (sans the spiritual element)--but few have been as successful as Bunn, in my view.

One of the great pleasures of this book is the contrast between the main female characters. Both suffer from major childhood/teen trauma. Both have experienced the highest levels of international fame and acceptance. Both enter adulthood badly wounded and desperately in need of true love and care. One somehow finds the courage to seek it out, while the other remains completely self-consumed. A key scene--indeed, one that the entire book hinges on--occurs when the two meet and one is able to resist the almost overwhelming temptation to fall back into her former life. This scene is simply marvelous and brings front and center Bunn's prodigious talent: fraught with hair-raising peril, depicting a world impossibly glamorous, and perfectly pitched, it is the kind of reader-friendly tour de force that many authors try to pull off, but few have the chops to absolutely nail.

Another thing I really liked about Winner Take All is the grand rogue gallery. Hamper Caisse (great name), Sephus Jones (another great name), and a third individual who shall go unnamed (not to spoil things for those who haven't read it but want to) are about as colorful and nasty a combination of characters as one is ever likely to meet. Indeed, I've read hundreds of commercial thrillers, and seldom have encountered such creatively malevolent characters.

My only complaint is that I had a little trouble getting into the book. You may experience this too. If you do, keep with it; things eventually heat up way past the boiling point. Plus, there are some very skillfully handled plot twists and character revelations that make for great reading pleasure.

All in all, I'd say this is a major advance for T. Davis Bunn in particular and religious-based commercial fiction in general.

Rating:
Summary: Quality Continues
Review: I have enjoyed every one of T. Davis Bunn's books. I've bought his books from the beginning. I continue to enjoy his books, and this one is great as usual. Without getting into details, Winner Take All continues to give me a very interesting, fast paced story with great characters.

Rating:
Summary: Mr. D I get a bonus
Review: Winner Take all is an awesome example of courage and boldness. The beginning for me was a little slow to get me interested but about half to three quarters of the way through it got more intense and exciting. Since Bunn is a christain author I do think that he could of added a bit more of Jesus, But to an extent he did show how much evil is in the world and how good always prevails. Even in the hard times. I would read another of Bunns novels.Definately