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Summary: Magnificent psychological study of diverse personalities.
Review: Laurie R. King is fast proving herself the equal of masters of the novel such as Joanne Greenberg. Working in a genre that is not generally known for its sophistication, King has brought a breadth and depth of knowledge to her characterizations that is matched by few.
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Summary: excellent and different thriller/mystical novel
Review: This book goes away from the usual style of thriller and examines in detail cult situations and when and where they may go wrong. The main protagonist, Anne Waverley - a professor in religion and occasional FBI agent provocateur in cult situations, is easy to identify with. The supporting characters are also well written, with none of them being one-dimensional, not even the "Baddies". The plot is very gripping, I HAD to find out how it ended. I have enjoyed all Laurie King's previous books. In this one she has come up with an original situation and an interesting character and presented them in a thought-provoking and exciting way. This is up there with the Mary Russell books!! I look forward to reading more about Anne Waverley.
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Summary: Ms. King's BEST book yet!
Review: My first exposure to Laurie King's writing was with Kate Martinelli, and then I picked up Mary Russell and Holmes. I've read all her books to date. But The Darker Place has to be her best book yet. I couldn't put the book down, yet I didn't want to get to the end of it. I wanted it to go on and on. Anne Waverly became like a friend I was reading about. I surely hope Ms. King is going to do more books about her.
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Summary: Wonderful storyteller with a daunting tale of "cults"
Review: Laurie R. King is a wonderful storyteller. She has taken a disturbing premise and woven a story that keeps your interest. The story gives one new insight into the world of "religious cults" and also into the world of those who seek to understand them. As always, Ms. King has created characters who draw the reader and yet never reveals too much too soon about what makes them who they are. The story is one of woman who has the ability to infiltrate a religious body to try to stop a supposed mass distruction. Along the way the reader finds out why she became an expert on such organizations. The reader gains new insight to this type of group while still being moved along in a story for which the ending is dubious. I was disturbed by the book, but I was swept away in the reading of it. All in all, I enjoyed the book very much and have recommended it to others to read.
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Summary: dark, sinister, with great character development and build
Review: Laurie King has been one of my favorites, both for her tortured policewoman and of course for Mary Russell. Such chutzpah - to give Holmes a wife at his age! But the stories have a wonderful plot and sinister rise with anticipation. Thus, I started this book with grave (get it?) anticipation. The characterizations and character development is incredibly excellent. Ana is wonderfully drawn and executed and very believeable as is her FBI contact. The children, too. I kept wondering if I had missed a book of LKing's. Had she written one with these characters before? And it is not yet published? The flashbacks were too substantial and yet too wispy. If there was no previous book there needed more explanation. The plot was very suspenseful and I quivered with anticipation. I read very slowly as the evil got worse and worse. I did not understand why they had to go to England, I guess it is as good as Montana, but I think people are less likely to be left alone in cults there. I have reread the ending 4 times and still don't understand it. It just sort of fell apart. I need an epilogue, not just a pulse at the end. Something between Ana and Jason or the FBI man something. I will read it again, but will write my own ending.
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Summary: "A Darker Place" is a gloomy and weird novel.
Review: I loved Kings "Beekeeper's Apprentice" which had humor, suspense and marvelous characters. I had great expectations for this book and I was tremendously disappointed. King is erudite and scholarly, but these qualities are not enought to make a book engrossing and involving. The protagonist is a tortured soul and we hope that she will find her way to inner peace, but the book has several failings. One, it is too cerebral and the storyline moves slowly. Two, it is much too depressing. Three, it ends abruptly, with no feeling of closure. The book featured many bizarre characters whom I did not want to get to know. The only plus is that King shines a bright light on what makes cults tick and what makes people want to join cults. She also discusses how society should behave towards cults. All this is useful in a non-fiction book, but in a work of fiction, it is deadly boring. I am looking forward to better work from Ms. King.
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Summary: INCREDIBLE! MASTERFUL! AMAZING WRITING!!!!
Review: WOW!!!! WHAT A BOOK!!!! nothing in her 6 previous fabulous books even attempted to prepare me for her fantastic writing in this one!!! her research was phenomenal....very strong characters, ones that you realllly got to know! i didn't want this one to end....it's the hold-your-breath type of ending! hope that she continues with these fantastic characters....i want to know what happens to them....this is my favorite one of 1999 so far and i think that it will remain at the top....i read close to 100 books a year..for pleasure..and i know this will be added to my top ten favorites of all times....don't dismiss this book because of the subject matter as i almost did...get it, savor it and you'll be glad you did!
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Summary: laurie king's best book to date
Review: Laurie King has written an incredible novel exploring the theology of cults-Her characters are real and believable-no stereotypes in the bunch. They are all people like ourselves-seeking something and questioning along the way. Here's hoping she continues with these characters.
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Summary: Brilliant thriller
Review: Almost two decades have passed since the catastrophic event that forever destroyed Professor Anne Waverly's inner peace. Eighteen years ago, the professor of religious studies left a Texas cult whose members, including Anne's spouse and daughter subsequently committed suicide. Anne, blaming herself, has always tried to make up for that disastrous day. So when the FBI asks for her help to infiltrate the California-based Change, she agrees because she figures the group to be led by either maniacs or con artists. Anne easily joins the group and learns that the leadership is modern day alchemists. She is surprised because she quickly understands that the Change is different than she expected. They believe they have discovered a path to righteousness. Still, they are a cult, willing to risk the innocence of children. Though she suffers from monumental guilt, Anne risks her life to try to protect two of the innocents. Award winning Laurie R. King shows why she is one of the regal fiction writers of the last few years. A DARKER PLACE highlights the dim environment of a cult so that readers obtain a fascinating and quite interesting look inside a well-designed story line. However, what make this novel so good are Ms. King's characterizations. Motives are obvious and bring various players into full scope. Especially brilliant is Anne, whose dichotomy of feelings makes her one of the best and most compete characters of the decade. Ms. King remains the true king. Harriet Klausner
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Summary: Laurie R. King is an amazing writer
Review: Not only has Laurie R. King created two amazing original series, the Kate Martinelli and Mary Russell books, but she has written this riveting book as well. She is a master at creating suspense, not in a cheesy John Grisham way, but deliberately leaving you hanging at the end of the chapter so you can't wait to turn the page and find out what happens. This book has a lot of interesting psychological discussions of people involved in cults and shows the mentality of the leaders, and the followers. I think King is a very fair and balanced leader and doesn't make the mistake some writers would make with this subject by showing all cult leaders as amoral, or all cults as harmful. The book keeps you hanging until the ending, which is concise bordering on abrupt. I could see how some people were dissapointed with the ending because it was so curt, but in a way, that's more interesting than books with a long drawn out conclusion and typical "happy ending." King leaves it ambiguous and more up to the reader's imagination (or maybe open to a sequel, I'm not sure). Once again, Laurie R. King shines in the world of shallow popular fiction, outstanding among her peers.
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