The Disappearance

Rating:
Summary: My first J. F. Freedman book, but not my last!
Review: I found this book so fascinating that I was rude to my friends; hid in the bathroom with the book so no one would bother me; changed my mind about the identity of the guilty party at least 5 times; and can hardly wait to read another Freedman book!

Rating:
Summary: Very suspenseful reading that always keeps you guessing!
Review: I could not put this book down! I found myself constantly trying to outguess the book and myself. Everyone was suspicious! I have never read any of J.F. Freedman's books prior to The Disappearance, but after reading this one, I want to own them all!

Rating:
Summary: The man can write!
Review: This was one of the best books that I have read lately. Freedman puts many other authors to shame, many of which get a lot more recognition than he does. Grisham for instance, is a good author, and I like his books, but Freedman is definitely a better writer. He writes with a lot more depth than others. Maybe that is his problem; his books require a little more thought and are a bit more subtle. But as far as I am concerned, he should be right up there with Grisham, Connolly, Baldacci, Patterson, etc.

Rating:
Summary: Why Grisham and not Freedman?
Review: I've never really understood the publishing business. Freedman isn't Dickens or Tolstoy, but his writing and his characterizations are far superior to the stuff turned out by Grisham (who sold out after his first book), Cornwell, Clancy and the rest of the popular novelists who sell zillions of books and turn them into movies. Yeah, Grisham can do plot twists, but so can Freedman. Maybe the publishers think the audience is too dumb to grasp subtlety. Or maybe they just want the formula. This book? It's good, it's not great. But it's better than most of the things that sell a lot better. And I don't know why.

Rating:
Summary: Kept me reading and guessing despite a few technical flaws.
Review: The characters interacted well and were quite believable. I couldn't help drawing comparisons with the Jon-Benet Ramsey case, but I was surprised at who the killer turned out to be. I am usually good at guessing so I can't help wondering if the author gave enough clues (even subtle ones). I was also quite disconcerted throughout with the constant shift in tense and point of view.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book. Very surprising ending.
Review: I thought this book was one of the best I have read in a long time. It had one of the best endings I have come across in ages. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: A Real Page Turner
Review: Freedman keeps the suspense fresh and alive throughout the entire story. The characters are especially well developed. This is one of those books you don't want to finish because it is just so delicious, but the suspense is just to great to take it slow.

Rating:
Summary: A Really Good Ride to a So-So Ending
Review: As a reader of mostly true crime, I only read mystery fiction if it's fast moving and fun. This was both (even though I wished his hero hadn't had that stupid pony tail). The characters were engaging enough to keep me turning page after page. Trouble was - the ending. Too trite. Just too pat for my taste. I don't know exactly how the author could have made it better, but I wish he'd tried. Anyone who can write like that has a better imagination than the one he showed me.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Thriller
Review: This was my first time reading J.F. Freedman's book and I couldnot put it down once I got pass the finding of Emma Lancaster. Theonly thing I did not like was that after we meet Luke and his new girlfriend, they were having too much sex. But after that, it was a good book.

Rating:
Summary: No big surprises.
Review: I just finished reading this book about five minutes ago, and I was disappointed with the formula ending. The book was written well, and there were many parts in the book that I would consider "page-turners" but overall, this book left a bad taste in my mouth. All of the buildup in the first 9/10 of the book is answered with a solution that just seemed trite to me. Even though I didn't actually know how this book would end, the ending wasn't a big enough surprise to win me over. I was like, "Oh..okay. I guess I should have known that. Blah Blah."