Rating: 
Summary: I Don't Understand All the Great Ratings
Review: I bought this book quite awhile ago, and have tried to read it 3 or 4 times. I just cannot get into it! I love mysteries, crime stories, whodunits, and keep thinking that I'll push on and get this book read. But I just can't do it. I can't follow the characters and seldom know what they're talking about. Actually, I guess I could understand what they're talking about if I really paid attention, but the truth is that I just don't care; they just don't engage me at all.For those of you who loved or liked this book, I'm glad you've found a new author to follow. Perhaps I actually would like the book if I could force myself to get through it, but there are too many more books on my "waiting to be read" list to waste more time forcing myself to care about this one.
Rating: 
Summary: An Okay Book
Review: This was an enjoyable read. I have no major complaints about the book, but for some reason it didn't really do anything for me. For me the book seemed to have too many characters for such a small book (in paperback it was only about 340 pages). The short chapters made it a quick read, but there were at least 8 characters that you had to keep track of, and those were only the cops. Let's not forget the suspects, both red herring and real. With the suspects and victims added there are at least 12-15 names you have to keep track of. To me that is just too many for such a short novel. Don't get me wrong I liked the book. I thought the dialog was great, and last few chapters were really good. At first I thought the ending came out of nowhere, but when I went back the clues were there (albeit small, and Mr. Harstad doesn't give the complete wrap up until the epiloge), but they were there. All in all I was entertained, and thought this was a great summer read. I'd gladdly go back to the world of Carl Houseman.
Rating:
Summary: Average Book.
Review: Maybe my judegment is tainted having just read a truley great book (American Gods for those of you who are curious), but this book was just okay. I agree with the reviewer who said that it was sometimes hard to understand who was talking, but besides that I have no real complaints. It was an enjoyable book, that would probably make a better television mini-series. All in all this book was good. Not great and not awful.
Rating: 
Summary: Wow! Done in less than a weekend.
Review: I found the book to be amazingly gripping. I carried the book with me everywhere in hopes of getting a few moments to read a few more lines! I loved the natural easy and very convincing writing style of the author. Harstad easily transports you into this community and into the sheriff's department as they struggle to deal with the horrific events unfolding around them.
I was fascinated by the way each of the characters deals with the very real presence of evil in their midst...and by the way it shows that people are people everywhere ...pulling back the curtain of the "mild Midwest" exposing the fundamental truth that the potential for great good and horrible evil exist simultaneously in every community and in each of us. If you d want a crime story that keeps you reading and reading than pick up this book from Amazon. I plan to order the author's other books right now. O yeaah by the way I'm a clergyman and this book definaltley isn't for any of you proper blue haired church ladies....mmmmm...or is it. Thanks for a great weekend of reading Mr. Harstad!
Rating: 
Summary: This book is awful.
Review: This book is awful. Maybe people familiar with law enforcement can relate to it or something but it's really bad. For some reason the author omits the subject of every other sentence. Don't know why. Didn't have to. Makes reading it difficult. Went overboard if you ask me. Even his characters adopt this style when speaking! You will wince every time you see this. It's also *extremely* gruesome. Perhaps the crime scenes are true to life but prepare yourself, it's bad. I would never package this kind of material as entertainment. Don't pollute your mind with the ugly images presented here. Avoid this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Riveting
Review: I found this book absolutely gripping from the first page, plunging straight into an evolving multiple homicide with the promise of horrors to come. The protagonist, Deputy Sheriff Carl Houseman, is tasked to respond to the scene, a rural property. Harstad accurately portrays the clipped style of speech used by emergency responders during moments of tension. His descriptive style is sparing, allowing the reader to more easily picture the scene using their own imagination. What Houseman finds only leads to more mystery and indicates a crime involving demonic practices. Harstad writes with a laconic style and introduces his secondary characters using a descriptive shorthand I found very appealing, vis; "Agent Hester Gorse didn't smoke. Thin and stringy, it also looked like she didn't eat, either." Houseman is portrayed as an experienced police officer who focuses on solving the crime as part of a team while also carrying out his usual duties. He's overweight, balding and his wife doesn't like his job, but he's street smart without being cynical, compassionate, and very astute, carrying his own weight in the investigation and able to make good deductions from the evidence. I found him a very sympathetic and well-rounded character. I enjoyed the penultimate climax of the plot as I wasn't expecting it, but by that time I had (surprisingly for me) spotted the villain, although the climax proper wasn't disappointing. The epilogue tidies up all the loose ends quite nicely. I found this book very hard to put down, and a very natural read, packed full of detail. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: The idea of the book was quite good. However the writing of the book was not as good as it could be. The ending was quite disappointing. How anyone could have thought that a headless baby and a headless dog could have been mistaken for each other. Also how many times does the author talk about coffee? Either drinking it or making it or getting it for someone. He could have added to the story but insted I feel that he led his readers on a wild goose chase and then gave them a very weak ending. However I can say it would be better than my first try at writing a novel. But I am not an author either.
Rating:
Summary: Wow.
Review: This is one of the best first novels I've ever read. I started reading the mystery/thriller/procedural genre at my gramma's knee (gramma probably shouldn't have let me read those kind of books -I still have trouble getting to sleep at night... but she knew it ticked mama off!) I literally have bookcases crammed with paperback mysteries and I still have overflow into boxes (kept in gramma's attic, of course) -and I get rid of the bad ones! Not only was this one a keeper, but I continuosly find it a good read to go back to. The environments are wonderful. I dont find a problem with the characterizations: there ARE a lot of characters and going into a life history/psychoanalysis of each one would detract horribly from the story. Instead you are generally given the amount of information you might expect to know about the people in your own "day in the life" -and further information is given when a character becomes more prominent or when it adds to the story. I found the characters diverse enough that I didnt confuse them. I think the sensationalist "satanist" murders are secondary to the process of the book -another "theme" of murder could have been written about and the story would have been just as good.
Rating:
Summary: A Halloween Treat from the Heartland
Review: A page in the front of the hardcover edition says "Inspired by Actual Events" - only this and nothing more. The reader suspects that this one has overtones of Mia Farrow (get the farmland connection in that name?) and Rosemary's Baby, but that could end up being a pig trail. Former Deputy Sheriff Donald Harstad has written a treat to read by your hearth this Halloween season. It's a fine first mystery novel/police procedural and I'm looking forward to more character development, good storytelling, and stout Scandinavian descendent coffee!
Rating:
Summary: Alot of potential but a weak ending
Review: I'm not that familiar with police procedurals. I had never even heard of the genre until browsing on Amazon. I saw this book and decided to give it a try. I'm not sure where this book stands in comparison of other police procedurals but as far as a suspense story I was really pleased with the book all the way through until the very end. It's nearly impossible to explain without ruining the ending. The author seems to have run out of steam and just decided to end the whole thing in a few pages. There is one key event that he just completely takes back which makes for a happier ending but short changes the integrity of the story and cheats the reader. If you liked the movie "The Game" with Michael Douglas but hated the ending you'll feel the same way about this book. The thing I did like was the author's style. The characters were likable and the dialog was fairly believable. The main character, Carl Houseman is funny at times and it's nice to read about a hero that's middle aged and balding. The supporting cast are all well thought out and there isn't a lot of the sterotypical characters you usually find in crime novels. All in all I liked the book enough to buy his next. If you've read this and liked it I would recommend Dirty White Boys by Stephen Hunter, it's similar and has a more believable, satisfying ending.
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