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Summary: Slade Does It Again
Review: I am a Sladist , but I have never read a book this thoroughly and quickly before . The story is intense and very realistic . He has created some of the best characters in print today . Starting with Headhunter you can follow and watch as these characters grow and develope . I would recommend this book to anyone .
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Summary: BORING!
Review: I became so tired of slogging thru pages and words to get to the story that I abandoned the whole ordeal 1/3 of the way thru.
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Summary: Slade delivers another unique reading experience.
Review: I don't understand buying books by an author knowing it is gonna be rich in historical background. The readers who say it's bogged down apparently haven't read his other books...they are all like this. This one is great becuse of the historical teachings of Roman, Druidism, Stonehenge and Celtic myths and legends. To be able to tie that aincient history into what is going on in the present is a talent most can't pull off...but Slade does. It's got gore but more importantly the characters are real, the situations are realistic and the conclusion reached, while not 100% completed, makes sense. Slade's Special X series is one of the best out there. I mean, you ever hear of the new science called geoprofiling? I hadn't but now will be looking to study up on it. If yu like serial killer books with an intelligent twist, Slade is for you. I recommend reading all the other Slade books first to understand, more fully, the history of the Specail X division and its players. You can, however, read this book asd a stand alone and not miss anything too integral. A great novel and I look forward to the next one.
Rating: 
Summary: Just not the same
Review: I have read all of the Michael Slade books and couldn't wait for this one to come out. Unfortunately, it wasn't really worth the wait. I often wondered how multiple authors could get together and write a book. In this case I think it really shows that something is missing from the others input. The suspense in the earlier works kept me wishing those books would never end. Burnt Bones never really captured my interest. It was OK but not what I've come to expect from Michael Slade. Hopefully, if there are more to come the original authors will get together again.
Rating:
Summary: gripping
Review: I have read some of the other reviews, and I will admit that the history is a little tough to get through sometimes. However, with a villain as evil and as dear to my heart as only a great villain can be, this book captivated me from the beginning. Very believable characters, and the history lends it a feeling that it was all destined, or perhaps it really did happen. Far and away the best bad guy I've ever encountered, in part because he is so alluring. What was it...money, power, and lust?
Rating:
Summary: gripping
Review: I have read some of the other reviews, and I will admit that the history is a little tough to get through sometimes. However, with a villain as evil and as dear to my heart as only a great villain can be, this book captivated me from the beginning. Very believable characters, and the history lends it a feeling that it was all destined, or perhaps it really did happen. Far and away the best bad guy I've ever encountered, in part because he is so alluring. What was it...money, power, and lust?
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Summary: Burnt Bones Baby!
Review: I like Slade. From the first book straight on through I've been entertained. Burnt Bones was certainly no exception. I loved the mix of Scottish heritage and dabbling of the occult. I think the one disappointment I had was the way the book ended so quickly. But speaking of quick, this book was definitely a quick read and a must for Slade fans.Eagerly awaiting the next novel which will feature Zinc Chandler.
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Summary: too much of everything..
Review: I quickly tired of all the ancient history lessons, the constant referrals to earlier books by Mr. Slade. The main plot is buried under and between all the talk about Druids and Romans and Scottish wars, hoards, kilts etc. Mephisto, his evil hero, is almost unbelieveable and why he has to be so cruel in order to find his "hoard" gets lost somewhere. Lots of blood in this book...if you like rape, torture, sadism, masochism set in the beautiful San Juan Islands...then this is the book for you. I didn't finish the book...when body parts started being cut off, I called a halt. But I had been skimming and skipping sections for quite awhile. Not too difficult to put the book aside.
Rating: 
Summary: Schlock, but so what, eh?
Review: I read Headhunter years ago, thought it was a pretty taut procedural, then bailed out about halfway through its sequel. This is the first time in probably a decade that I've given a Michael Slade book a try. I can't say his ouevre has gotten much better with age. I'm sick and tired, for one, of arch-villains possessed with money out the wazoo to pursue their diabolical schemes. If you're rich enough to own your own island and helicopter, you're much too wealthy to waste time being a psychopath. Slade even glances off this problem in the novel, mentioning the hokey line of bad guys from the James Bond novels. He glances off a lot of things, by the way. Sometimes, it's worth the detour, such as the introduction he provides us to geographical profiling. Sometimes, it's not. Case in point is the constant babble about Druids. If the Druids knew so damned much, the Romans never would have conquered Britain and Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales never would have been converted to Christianity. Some North Americans seem to have a fetish about being descended from Scots and Irish, but the sad truth is that Celts never were very good at civilization building, which requires at a minimum the ability to gather more than two people in an enclosed space without blood being shed. See -- he's got me doing it now! Look, the bottom line is that this is exactly the kind of book you take to the beach and leave behind in the cottage you rented when you come home. There's enough kinky sex, meaningless violence and weird side trips to keep your mind engaged, but not so much that you'll ignore the 16 year-old girls in bikinis walking past you.
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Summary: MALEVOLENT MEPHISTO
Review: I used to think that James Patterson's Alex Cross series had the most vile villains in today's serial killer thrillers. That was until I started reading Michael Slade's DeClerq series. Slade's bad guys are rotten to the core, and vicious, unrelenting, and completely psychopathic. In "Burnt Bones," we are treated to the devilish Mephisto, a man so bent on finding an ancient "hoard" (a silver medallion) that he will go to any lengths to find out where it is. He buries one man alive to find out; he drops another one into the ocean to find out; and he even manages to capture one of our staunchest heroes, Nick Craven, and torture him for what he wants. Aided by one of the vilest women in recent fiction, Donella, Mephisto lures the Mounted Police, a local cop (Jenna Bond), and the FBI into his web of terror. Addditionally aided by three druids (who are really a rock band) who viciously rape and murder women, Mephisto seems poised for success. If that weren't enough, he's even managed to get his hands on a super virus that could wipe out the world. Yipes, where's Superman when you need him? Once again, Slade inundates us with extensive history about Romans, Druids, Celtics, etc. A tremendous amount of research and one has to give Slade credit for the time he must spend in digging up these historical anecdotes. I noticed that with this book, Slade is now only one author's pen-name, instead of two. No evident change in style is noticed, so Slade must still be a potent writer on his own. This one doesn't have as many twists and turns as other Slade books, but the two Wicker Man deaths are surprising in who is getting cooked! And, of course, the ending leaves us wide open for future encounters of the worst kind with the evil Mephisto. I'm doing "The Hangman" next, so I'll find out if Mephisto waltzes through this one; although remember, there were several books between the two Headhunter cases. Please, Michael, don't make us wait too long to find out what happens to Mephisto!!!
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