An Isolated Incident

Rating:
Summary: Small town bigotry and a murder paralyze police
Review: Thought I reviewed this a month ago but do not see it. Sloan disappointed me with this effort. I agree with those who criticized An Isolated Incident and wonder about those gave it a rave. There were too many ill-defined characters, too much hatred and angst which was never resolved and a police force which made Barney Fife look like a genius. Don't waste time on this turkey.

Rating:
Summary: A fine beginning, fair middle and no ending!
Review: If I could have given this novel "0" stars, I would have. Ms. Sloan has shortchanged her readers. The story began with endless possibilities that were introduced but never brought to fruition - including the ending. I have never read a novel with so many unfinished subplots - incomplete and unfulfilled relationships (Ginger and Ruben, Stacy and Danny); the murderer left undiscovered to murder and commit incest again with his spouse having full knowledge; the ruination of the Frankel family also with no closure; the anti-Semite group headed by Kyle Breckenridge; no to mention the ambiguous role of Mr. Purdy. The only winner here is the author Ms. Sloan, who seems to have pulled the wool over the eyes of we fools who purchased her book. If there is another as there most assuredly will be, yours truly will not be fooled twice!

Rating:
Summary: Major loose end
Review: Two days after I finished this I thought -- hey, wait a minute, she never explained just how the anti-semite group just happened to have a knife with Tara's blood on it to conveniently plant in the teacher's car. They supposedly didn't know who did it so how do they explain having the murder weapon? Did anyone else pick up on that and if so, did she explain it anywhere?

Rating:
Summary: This book shows early promise and then steadily declines.
Review: Having enjoyed the author's lst effort was looking forward to her 2nd book. Unfortunately AN ISOLATED INCIDENT, though it started out well and promised to thrill and mystify, became bogged down with lightweight writing, and slipshod police work. We have a community which is gradually revealed to contain a proportionate amount of bigotry in relation to its population. This could have been used to convey a strong message. The end was telegraphed three quarters of the way into the book. The small police force were impressed with their efforts to uncover the murderer when in fact, the Chief and his Detective were too engrossed in their romance to thoroughly check out their weak evidence. They had no hard evidence, and were unprofessional in their handling of the entire investigation. I became angry at the slurs and was left empty at the end as the incestful father who murdered his pregnant daughter was left free to molest his younger girl with no one to stop him...most of all his weak wife. The small townspeople went on with their shallow lives, with no hope of changing their narrow minds. A waste of time, reading this book, in my opinion.

Rating:
Summary: A good enough story, but what happened at the end?
Review: I enjoyed this book even though the characters are pretty much idiots -- BUT what in the world was with that ending??? WHAT happens with Ruben and Ginger? WHAT happens to the other Breckenridge daughter? WHAT happens with Stacy and Danny? WHAT happens with the anti-Semite group? Good grief woman! If you are going to have that many sub-plots going on in the book it's gonna have to be a LOT longer. I think the book would have benefitted from having one-half of the characters drawn twice as richly. It's frustrating to read through 470 pages and then be left feeling as if the last 100 pages of your book were ripped out! Will there be a sequel? I sure hope so or else we'll never really find out how the story ended.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent - wasn't sure "who done it" until last line.
Review: This book is written in a very captivating style. It kept my interest from the first page to the last. I wasn't exactly sure "who done it" until the last line of the last page. What a shocker! Excellent read.

Rating:
Summary: Great book, but.....
Review: The book was great, the first I've read by this author. Plot was suspenseful and gripping. One problem. Sloan introduces policewoman Ginger. Describing her in a way we think she's going to play the hero. A smart, quick woman. Not so. Turns out sloan makes her dim-witted. For a policewoman, she jumps to conclusions, fails to follow up, and bases 'facts' upon rumors. It's disappointing to see a woman portrayed this way. Also that Ginger has a gun drawn when making an arrest without any apparent threat. Not realistic. If you can get past the bad character of Ginger ( and the letdown of one of the leading woman characters being an idiot) then the book is very entertaining.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent. Susan R. Sloan is destined to be one of the best
Review: For days after finishing this book I found myself thinking about Ginger and hoping she was all right. I actually had to remind myself that she was just a character in a book. Susan R. Sloan is masterful. Her technique of occassional newspaper editorial comments was superb.

Rating:
Summary: Exciting ride-----but blah ending
Review: I enjoyed this read a ton, and aside from the ending, I thought the plotlines and characters were very well written. The reader got a feel for the Pacific Northwest. It seems like the kind of book Hollywood would drool for

Rating:
Summary: What a train-wreck cast of characters!
Review: On a positive note, the book was a fast read and somewhat of a page turner....a "quick-read", sadly without much depth. Every female character was a huge disappointment in that those portrayed were either huge town gossips, bigots, or corrupt. 'Sure didn't make me feel very proud to be a member of the female gender. If anything, this book was a cheap thrill. It taught me absolutely nothing; yet I admit that to it least some degree it held my interest.