Burn Factor

Rating:
Summary: even escapist fiction should have some grounding in reality
Review: I read this right after reading Rising Pheonix and, while I felt it was better overall-- more plausible plot, better characters, better writing--, it was still far from a satisfying read.

The main problem was the writing. The action scenes were awkward, and there were a couple of howlers, especially at the beginning: rice cakes "fatally impacting" on the floor (pg. 8), a woamn eating a "snowball-sized" scoop of ice cream (pg. 63).

Some of the characters still were not fleshed out enough or totally believable-- Twain and Marin, for example. There is actually the cliche of the serial killer listening to classical music at one point, something you see a lot of in movies but not in real life.

More than a few of the plot developments and incidents seem straight out of an action movie: the bad guys are always a step or two behind the good guys, a woman survives a gunshot when a bullet glances off her head (pg. 201), two people survive massive explosions that kill everyone around them (pg. 355), a man jumps out of the way of a bullet (pg. 377), the killer imbeds a knife in a cinderblock wall (pg. 333). Other plot points are just ludicrous, as when one of the characters calls Stephen Hawking on the spur of the moment.

There are many more smaller problems which highlight his lack of research or inability to write about events in a believable manner, though it would be pointless to list them all. Two thumbs down for me.

Rating:
Summary: Read his other books
Review: I'm a big fan of Amazon's if you like... suggestions. That's how I found Kyle Mills and I've really enjoyed all of his books, except for this one. It was so repulsive I could barely make it through the book. Read all of Kyle Mills books, except this one.

Rating:
Summary: Great, probably Mills best book so far
Review: It was a very quick read, the plot kept you going, plus the author really got you into the main characters. Occasionally it seems a little unbelievable, but then again look at the stuff we see in the news.
The story is written around Quinn Barry, a new FBI hire, she is in a safe programming job and finds a problem. Trying to work through the channels she gets put down and transfered by her boss, she endeavors to solve the problem, first on her own then with help from a suspect. The case is extremely difficult because the real culprit is extremely bad, very talented and has help from government higher ups. The book ocassionally gets pretty brutal (torture and rape) but it is essential for the story and did not bother me. I would definitely recommend this book. However, I noted in some reviews that it did bother a few people - therefore, if you are easily offended - skip this book and find tamer material by always checking the reviews before reading a book.