Rating: 
Summary: Thrilling intrigue and suspense!
Review: Hunting Down Amanda is an electrifying page turner from the moment you lift the cover. The thrilling intrigue and suspense captivate your attention from the beginning and never allow you to lose your grip. The perils of Carol Dodson and Lonnie Blake will have you cheering for them as you turn each and every page. Complete with the evil villain Winter, Hunting Down Amanda is one book you will actually want to read over and over again. From the award winning author, Andrew Klavan, this is another one of his novels you would love to see on the "big screen" next to True Crime. I'm dying for a sequel.
Rating:
Summary: Klavan does it again
Review: I became an Andrew Klavan fan after reading True Crime. Hunting Down Amanda is another great book that keeps you guessing from beginning to end. Great story and characters. Klavan makes it very easy to get to know the characters. The opening chapter grabs you and refuses to let you go.
Rating: 
Summary: A wrong pick
Review: I bought this book after being captivated by the superb blockbuster thriller "True Crime" by the same author which frankly I can list among the best books I have ever read but this time unfortunately what I found was something totally different.The plot dull from beginning to end has not surprises and steps into the grotesque, it is possible to find some outbreaks of suspense but they vanish rapidly and in general the events are not believable and contrived. Coming to the rescue and to highlight some good features, I can mention the nature of the mystery surrounding the little tender girl Amanda, which arises curiosity all the time and some convincing character developments like those of Lonnie Blake, the former street gang member turned club saxophone player, and old Roth, the chain smoker jewish college professor. On the other hand the powerful villain Winter looks poor, extravagant and bizarre. To be honest if you are looking for a good mystery and thriller to enjoy, definitely this is not the book.
Rating:
Summary: A wrong pick
Review: I bought this book after being captivated by the superb blockbuster thriller 'True Crime' by the same author which frankly I can list among the best books I have ever read but this time unfortunately what I found was something totally different. The plot dull from beginning to end has not surprises and steps into the grotesque, it is possible to find some outbreaks of suspense but they vanish rapidly and in general the events are not believable and contrived. Coming to the rescue and to highlight some good features, I can mention the nature of the mystery surrounding the little tender girl Amanda, which arises curiosity all the time and some convincing character developments like those of Lonnie Blake, the former street gang member turned club saxophone player, and old Roth, the chain smoker jewish college professor. On the other hand the powerful villain Winter looks poor, extravagant and bizarre. To be honest if you are looking for a good mystery and thriller to enjoy, definitely this is not the book.
Rating:
Summary: A wrong pick
Review: I bought this book after being captivated by the superb blockbuster thriller ???True Crime??? by the same author which frankly I can list among the best books I have ever read but this time unfortunately what I found was something totally different. The plot dull from beginning to end has not surprises and steps into the grotesque, it is possible to find some outbreaks of suspense but they vanish rapidly and in general the events are not believable and contrived. Coming to the rescue and to highlight some good features, I can mention the nature of the mystery surrounding the little tender girl Amanda, which arises curiosity all the time and some convincing character developments like those of Lonnie Blake, the former street gang member turned club saxophone player, and old Roth, the chain smoker jewish college professor. On the other hand the powerful villain Winter looks poor, extravagant and bizarre. To be honest if you are looking for a good mystery and thriller to enjoy, definitely this is not the book.
Rating:
Summary: Klavan's most readable novel, one of the summer's best!
Review: I found this book delightful. Whether you are a Klavan fan (as I am) or simply a genre-shopper out for a great, fast read from an author you haven't read before, you should find something enjoyable in "Amanda." It sizzles along like the best thriller bestsellers, but it has the depth of character and plot that few summer potboilers ever achieve. Granted, like many thrillers it is necessary to suspend your disbelief occassionally, but one of Klavan's strengths is his ability to make you willingly suspend it. And maybe Klavan has written more seamlessly plotted novels in the past, but none as accessible. I strongly recommend it to anyone who loves Klavan's work, but also to fans of Thomas Harris, Jeffrey Deaver, early Dean Koontz or later Robert McCammon.
Rating: 
Summary: He Almost Did It Again!!
Review: I have to confess I like Andrew Klavan's style of writing. It is fast paced, centralized to a few main characters, and there is always something interesting happening. That style is what made "True Crime" a masterpiece (in my opinion). This book comes close to duplicating that style with likeable characters who are constantly in and out of predicaments. The problems I had with the book had more to do with the believability of the characters choices. Many times I had to put away my common sense as plot points got more and more far fetched, including a villian with god-like powers. Yet, despite the problems that I had with the book, I still gave it 4 stars because it was impossible to put down and was a thoroughly enjoyable read. Just don't think about it too much.
Rating: 
Summary: violent and implausible
Review: I heartily agree with the "reader from Manhattan" that this book is "impressively awful." Klavan's "True Crime" was well done, but almost everything else he's written has been lousy. This one is perhaps the worst. The premises, of course, are scientifically absurd: that there is an ability to "sparkle" people, thus bringing them back to life after a pulverizing air crash and curing them of advanced lung cancer (two of the more preposterous examples); that this ability is inherited from a father who gets it via a scientific experiment and passes it on to his daughter Amanda (shades of discredited Lamarckian evolutionary "theory"; that Amanda, who has this ability, will gradually die if she uses it too much, except of course if she manages to reach the magic age of puberty before she "sparkles" herself out; etc., etc. (Thus, Amanda is prevented at the end by her mother from rescuing the black man who saved both of them -- not a very sensitive development from the racial standpoint.) The working out of this unbelievable plot would be laugh-out-loud silly were it not for the terrible scenes of torture and killing which systematically wipe out almost all of the characters, good and evil alike. Furthermore, it is a pretty tired device to put characters into impossible situations only to deliver them through some absurd machination. This book is obviously intended as a money-making career strategy on the way to an even more lucrative film; but the film is one that people with any scientific intelligence, or weak stomachs for gore and gristle, will want to avoid. Save yourself even more time, money, and upset: avoid the book itself.
Rating:
Summary: a real page turner
Review: I literally could not put this book down. I read a review of the hardcover in our local newspaper and purchased the book. That was over a year ago and I have loaned the book to others who have passed it on to others....I still do not have the original back. You will not be able to put this one down....I finished it in less than two days. Once you read the first chapter you are hooked and cannot put the book down until all your questions are answered. And believe me the author continues to peak your desire to know all! I look forward to more from this author.
Rating:
Summary: A tightly wound and well written novel
Review: I picked up this novel thinking that I would not like it. All I can say is, boy, was I wrong.From the first page describing the plane crash from hell, to the tense and griping denouement, Klaven convinces the reader to stay in his world.This is not the typical suspense thriller. The reader has to practically finish the book before he/she knows why somebody wants to find Amanda. The joy is to guess why that somebody needs to find her.Klaven makes us want to finish his book in one siting, a rare accomplishment. Read this book when you have two or three days to spare.
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