Rating: 
Summary: Provocative
Review: This is a well written "did-he-do-it." It centers on a philosophy faculty member in a small college coming to grips with his being implicated in a kidnapping case. The author keeps you guessing as the clues mount up. Did he do it? Is it a case of repressed memory, calculating deception, or unlikely coincidence? Against this, the characters of the detective and the wife wrestle with trying to determine the truth. In fact, this was the dynamic I found most engaging--their determination bumping against his detachment relative to the crime. Don't expect a grand denouement. Rather, prepare to find yourself returning to earlier sections of the book to double check clues to help you decide his guilt or innocence. In fact, it is the very ambiguity of the ending that creates the lasting impression. George Harrar has written a thought provoking book.
Rating:
Summary: Puzzled
Review: This was a well written book but I have to confess that I don't get it! I found the end very puzzling and I am not sure if he did it or not. I feel rather thick as I usually understand books that I have read. Can anyone explain the end of the story to me? I would appreciate your help as it is driving me crazy! Thanks!
Rating: 
Summary: Keeps you guessing from moment to moment!
Review: We discussed this book at one of my library's book club meetings, and it was one of our most lively discussions! This book will keep you guessing from moment to moment! Is the protagonist an innocent man who has been snared in a missing persons investigation or is he hiding something? The story is complex and occasionally alarming. The possibility that a person could be wrongly accused of a crime and suspected by his community and family is certainly a frightening one. I picked up this book expecting it to be a mildly entertaining read and couldn't put it down. I read it in a day! I hope the author writes more of this kind of story in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Mind-boggling mystery
Review: What will you do if you're allegedly accused of murder that you never committed? How will you defend yourself if you meet all the coincidences (though the chance is infinitesimal)? This is the case for the hapless protagonist in The Spinning Man. Evan Birch is a philosophy professor at Pearse College who had remained in tenure after the department downsized its faculty. One day a police officer pulled him over and handcuffed him for his alleged kidnapping 16-year-old high school junior Joyce Bonner. Birch's ten-year-old twin boys witness their father's humiliating arrest, making the strange episode more poignant. All the evidence pointed against the professor who thrice coincided with Bonner, a cheerleader from a local high school who worked at the information booth of the park. An anonymous informant identified Birch's presence at the park on the day within an hour of Bonner's disappearance. The first two letters of the Jetta's license plate matched those recalled by the informant. A scrutiny of Birch's impounded Jetta produced a lipstick that belonged to the victim. In spite of Birch's firm denial of acquaintance with the missing girl, he recounted giving ride to a few teenagers after the summer camp at the college. So was it really a coincidence or Birch's punctilious lie? Fear, tension, and suspense slowly welled up when Birch's wife Ellen began to suspect her husband. The Birch kept getting mysterious crank calls and Evan received electronic threats that howled him to admit the crime. The boys thought their father was acting weird and sneaked into the park to search for the missing victim. Everybody on campus and in town looked at him as though he was the culprit. Well was he? The Spinning Man is a page-turner that grips you from beginning to the end when the truth manifests. Every page deposits into readers a bit more tension and fear. The philosophical aspect in the professor's diction only made the detective construe his words inaccurately. The book can be so gripping that even a single word being said, a gesture, a facial expression, a nuance, and even the use of verb tense can either redeem or doom the professor. The success of the book lies in the fact that one minute you will sympathize with the professor and take side with him but the next minute you are positive he is the murderer. Pages fly once you open this book! Great weekend or summer read. 4.2 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Spinning a great tale!
Review: What would happen if you were suddenly accused of a horrible crime and your life was immediately turned upside down? And further, there is enough circumstantial evidence to cause even the people closest to you to have their doubts about your innocence? What would the great philosophers say about such a human dilemma? George Harrar sets this classic stage in his excellent new novel and it is not only a great page-turner, can't-put-it-down mystery, but it refuses to offer a cliched ending. If I didn't have to work, I would have finished it a one sitting. Not to be missed.
Rating: 
Summary: Average psychological drama
Review: While George Harrar's "The Spinning Man" is technically well written it is neither gripping nor compelling.
Harrar's tale revolves around 50 year old Pearce College philosophy professor Evan Birch. Due to circumstantial evidence, Birch is the prime suspect in the disappearance of a 16 year old cheerleader who was last seen working an information booth in a local park. The trouble begins when Birch's grey VW Jetta was observed at the park on the day of the disappearance.
The crux of the story revolves around the changes that occur in those characters that are an integral part of Birch's life. Being implicated of a crime puts a strain on Birch's wife Ellen and their relationship. Birch's twin 10 year old sons Adam and Zed start manifesting behavioral changes as a result of the on going investigation conducted by a local detective. Birch becomes a pariah among his colleagues at the university. That unfortunately is about all there is to the story. As I said, not particularly riveting.
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