Rating: 
Summary: Great thriller!
Review: Deviant Ways is a great book - a nonstop thriller packed with excitement. Jack Casey is a man who is haunted by his past - as an FBI profiler he saw the worst in people and also experienced the loss of his wife and child. Now trying to start a new life in a small town he is confronted by a serial killer like no other. The Sandman is cruel, gruesome and cunning. Jack teams up with another ex-FBI profiler Malcolm Fletcher to find the Sandman. Fletcher is a dark mysterious man with a hidden agenda which adds another level of suspense to the story.The chapters are written like James Patterson (short, tight and full of suspense). Chris Mooney does a great job of developing the main characters and grabbing your attention early in the book.
Rating: 
Summary: PAGE TURNER - I couldn't put this book down!
Review: Deviant Ways is a hit! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. For a first time novelist, Chris Mooney demonstrates a remarkable ability to write a disturbing thriller. I was especially impressed by his attention to detail which really brought each character to life and made each chapter seem so realistic. I could visualize the Sandman's every move and feel Jack's inner suffering and victimization. Deviant Ways is a movie in the making -- Lot's of great action, sex, violence and heroism. I can already imagine someone like Harrison Ford playing the role of Jack, and Sean Connery acting as Fletcher. Highly recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: not deviant enough
Review: DEVIANT WAYS is an inventive enough thriller-- the killer knows technology and how to use it to maximum effect--, but Credibility takes an extended Caribbean cruise along about halfway through the novel; one begins to wonder how this psychopath is able to overpower whole families with seemingly effortless ease and rig up all these elaborate devices undetected, especially when he blows up a whole neighborhood. The characters aren't as convincing as they could be (compare the FBI agents to those in Connelly's THE POET), especially the killer who, for the most part, remains just a shadowy figure throughout most of the novel. The ending is fairly decent, but if only the rest of the novel had been as twisted and creepy as Chapter 24, he could have really had something. PET PEEVE DEPT.: Add Mooney to the growing list of authors-- Michael Connelly, Christopher Reich, and Robert Walker among them-- who think "ahold" is a word.
Rating:
Summary: There can be too much of a good thing
Review: First-time novelist Chris Mooney apparently approached this book with a philosophy that "more is better" when it comes to all sorts of story elements: psychopathology, inner torment, blood and gore, big booming bomb blasts, and the heart-of-darkness-that-lurks-at-the-human-core. Clearly, some people have an insatiable appetite for all of these titillating subjects, and hence the book is a smash hit headed perhaps for the Silver Screen. Respectfully, I dissent. Although certainly *Deviant Ways* constitutes an engrossing read and is hard to put down once started, I finished the book with a definite feeling that Mooney's yeoman effort here has lost its way by going way over the top--whenever in doubt, he substitutes blood, gore, terror, torment, and the endless spectre of Evil for actual literary craftsmanship. The Evil Villain(s), the "Sandman" and Miles Hamilton, are almost laughably omniscient--they do things that are so inhumanly devious and technically sophisticated that one imagines that they must sport gigantic "S's" (for Satan and/or Superman) tattooed on their reprehensible chests. After a while, for me the endless technological resourcefulness of the Sandman becomes predictable and tiresome. And then there is the dark-but-on-the-side-of-good Mystery Man, Malcolm Fletcher, with his dark, haunting eyes and his own varieties of superhuman talents. The Government (FBI), of course, is predictably duplicitous and nasty, and our hero, Jack Casey, is traumatized and tormented but determined to achieve ultimate justice. In light of the willingness of our Sandman to slash, shoot, and blast just about anyone he chooses, his quirky willingness to let Jack Casey live to fight another day, time after time, seems inexplicable. Why is Casey so special as to deserve this treatment? It reminds me of the ongoing gag in Mike Myers' "Austin Powers" movies when Dr. Evil continually refuses simply to kill Powers, and when asked why he doesn't simply liquidate his foe, he says, "You just don't get it, do you?" Yup, this device is simply TRANSPARENTLY necessary to keep the story going, and yet Mooney's treatment of these issues is not convincing enough to allow some of us, anyway, to engage in the suspension of disbelief that is necessary in order to surrender to the flow of a far-fetched story. Overall, Mooney has apparently decided that if people like evil villains, he'll give 'em ones who are simply the most evil ones EVER. IF people like gore and blood and screaming, traumatized children, he'll give 'em pitiable children who have been completely broken psychologically. If people like big explosions, he'll give 'em whole bunches. In my view, there IS such a thing as too much action, too much psychopathology, and too much blood, gore, and torment, especially if these elements end up substituting for highly crafted storytelling and character development. This is not a terrible book by any means, but it could have been a lot better. After a while, to me this novel came to resemble a pulp-ish comic book more than the sophisticated novelistic thriller I had anticipated.
Rating:
Summary: A BOOK YOU CANNOT PUT DOWN
Review: I am only on chapter 32 and it is difficult to put this thriller down. Chris Mooney has an insight and knowledge of all his characters that is nothing less than phenomenal....this book is outstanding. And as I read another review - we need another Anthony Hopkins to create this role, but someone totally different but with the same acting abilities. All I can say is buy this book and you will be in for the ride of your life....you will not be sorry.
Rating:
Summary: Deviant Ways, Divine Read
Review: I could NOT put this book down! Chris Mooney's debut work is an exciting, fast-paced, psychological thrill ride. When you read this book, you can actually FEEL the emotional turmoil that the main character experiences in hunting down an elusive, sadistic, and brilliant killer who enjoys toying with his pursuers as much as his victims. Leave the lights on as you TRY to sleep, for the Sandman cometh!
Rating:
Summary: Good first effort
Review: I don't give out four or five stars easily so do not take 3 stars to mean this is not a worth while read. The writer has talent at ploting, and his characters are not bad, but I feel like I have been down this road before (FBI profiler chasing serial killer). I did not feel this book added much to the genre. There were no great surprises but it did keep my interest. I probably would wait for the paperback, but I will also look for this authors next book; there is a talent worth watching here! I just finished an interesting thriller: "A Tourist in the Yucatan" you might want to check out.
Rating:
Summary: Suspense At Its Finest!
Review: I had never heard of Chris Mooney until someone sent me an e-mail telling me about this book. So, I decided to put it on my list. Well, after reading this book, I am still wondering what took me so long to read it! This book was well-written, exciting, and very suspenseful. I really enjoyed The Sandman, Jack Casey, Miles Hamilton, and especially Malcolm Fletcher. This was a classic case of good vs. evil and, while I was rooting for Jack Casey, I found myself really enjoying and respecting the cleverness of The Sandman. I really enjoyed how the Sandman continued to call and torment Jack Casey throughout the book. He knew ALL of the buttons to push to get to Jack and, believe me, HE PUSHED ALL OF THEM! Although Jack is the main character of the book, you cannot help but to take notice to the antics of Malcolm Fletcher, an ex-FBI agent. He was the "guardian angel" that always seemed to pop up whenever Jack was in trouble. Fans of the Thomas Harris books or even the James Patterson books really ought to give this one a try. If you are looking for heart-pounding suspense, this book should not be missed!
Rating:
Summary: This one is definitely a thriller
Review: I just finished Deviant Ways by Chris Mooney. His first novel, it is a winner, a great book, very hardboiled, with elements that some may shy away from (nothing wrong with feeling that way) -- crimes against children and some fairly graphic descriptions of violence. Serial killers, FBI profilers, bombs, hair raising suspense. This one is a thriller and a good one. Highly recommend.
Rating: 
Summary: This would make a good "Lethal Weapon" script.
Review: I read all the reviews and went out and got the book - especially since it takes place in the Boston area where we live. Overall the book has a few good plot points - but: 1. The plot keeps repeating itself - Former down and out profiler seeks redemption in pleasant seaside town. New Monster serial killer is on a rampage- and decides to toy with the former profiler. Ok --the first couple of times - but then it gets repetitive and completely absurd - 2. The Main character is a Chuck Norris type - no offense to Chuck Norris intended. An emotional moron who attracts beautiful women - although he is an annoying peronality that is mega boring. 3. The "bad guy" keeps doing bad things ala bad guys in a Mel Gibson "Lethal" movie and the "good guy" is always caught short. 4. There are the usual assortment of side characters that are exceptionally inane. 5. I gave it 2 stars due to the mood of the holiday season. 6. Based on the reviews - I thought that this would be a "Silence of the Lambs" comes to Massachusetts. Instead we have hack characters in a hack script. 7. Wait for the video.
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