Rating: 
Summary: CRYING WOLF Doesn't Deliver
Review: Okay, so I purchased CRYING WOLF because Stephen King declared that Peter Abrahams is his "favorite American suspense writer" on it's cover jacket. I mean, Stephen King can't be wrong, right?
In CRYING WOLF, we meet Nat (I just wanted to add an "e" every time I read his name), an unassuming and humble young man that leaves home for the first time to attend college. Nat then meets Izzie and Grace, spoiled rich twins with different enough personalities to be able to tell them apart (but there was also the different hair color to assist the reader too). All three meet Professor Uzig, long-time family friend of the twins and instructor of Nietzsche at Inverness College. And in between, drug-addicted Freedy quietly enters the scene by chance on escape from California where he did something that was less than appropriate while cleaning pools. Alright. So the character development ain't half bad so far and thus takes us through the first couple hundred plus pages before any real action happens. This is probably where the majority of thriller/suspense novel fans will lose patience and I nearly did, but there was just enough entertainment between all the characters to keep me going. I have to say though, Freedy's slowly deteriorating mental state did make for a very interesting bad guy and Grace's less-than-trustworthy behavior helped mix up the three students relationships to keep things fresh, even if a bit unoriginal.
Moving on to the main event itself (which, again, doesn't really pick up after about two hundred pages): the poorly planned "kidnapping" of one of the twins by Nat and the other twin, with a demand of one million dollars in order to help keep Nat at Inverness after learning that his mother can't afford to keep him there anymore. The plan fails miserably, but not before Freedy secretly jumps in after learning about the plot and decides that the one "milion" dollars will be enough for him to start over down south in Florida. So, as Nat and a twin are being scolded by the twin's wealthy father for pulling such a prank, Freedy officially kidnaps and makes off with the twin in hiding. When Nat and the remaining twin discover this twist, it's a bit too late as no one now believes them anymore. Nat and twin take the law into their own hands and begin an investigation of their own and, incredibly, figure it all out within only a few short hours.
POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT: So here's where things went wrong for me. First, what's up with the two early turn of the century rooms completely preserved underneath the tunnels of the college, complete with fully-stocked liquor cabinet and canopy bed? Second, how believable is it that Nat would actually go along with such a stunt as faking a kidnapping (and, ultimately, end up in prison for it)? Third, couldn't the twins just have asked for the money to help Nat out, considering how generous the family was early on in the novel? Also, why only hint at the father-son relationship between Freedy and Prof. Uzig in the last twenty pages? That in itself is worth exploring for another chapter. Finally, why end on such a depressing note? Did our hero really deserve it?
Overall, I enjoyed the slower pace as a direct result of better character development and the university backdrop in winter, but was left with the feeling that the plot was a bit rushed, if not forced, towards the end. Not something I would recommend for a quick vacation read and would expect to eventually see as a WB TV show. Obviously, Mr. King was referring to Mr. Abrahams other novels because this one just isn't worthy of his praise.
Rating: 
Summary: DID NOT JIBE
Review: Raised by a struggling but supportive single mother, Nat finds himself the hero of his small town when he wins an essay contest that provides a meager scholarship. Nat says goodbye to his high school sweetheart, kisses his mom, and heads off to Inverness, a small college packed with the pampered offspring of the privileged. A chance encounter involving a fish aptly named Lorenzo the Magnificent throws Nat together with Izzie and Grace Zorn who are incredibly wealthy, incredibly beautiful twin sisters. Izzie and Grace are daring and captivating, and they do not suffer from the ordinary worries that plague Nat (like how to meet the next tuition payment without his mom losing her house). The three become close friends, and together they find some secret underground passages which become integral in their scheme to help Nat stay in school.
Then along comes Freedy--Friedrich--Knight. Freedy isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but he considers himself a dashing, irresistable, and super intelligent sort of guy. Unfortunately, one of his more serious blunders nearly gets him shot and forces him to flee back east to hide out with his mom. Of course, Freedy and the trio cross paths, which places all of them in jeopardy.
Perhaps it is a bit misleading for this book to be labeled a suspense novel. Sure, there is some suspense, but the beauty of this book lies in the coming-of-age story of Nat. Freedy is an intriguing character, and the twins are funny, saucy, and more complicated than they first appear. Nat's observations of his surroundings are both touching and humorous, and it is interesting to see how this small town poor boy carves his niche in the world of the rich. Combine this all with the annoying Professor Leo Uzig, and the story can stand on its characters alone. Peppered throughout the novel are references to Nietzsche who would most likely get quite a chuckle out of the quest for meaning that each of these characters goes through.
Don't pick this one up expecting to lose sleep to figure out "who dunnit." This isn't a hair raising thriller. I liked it for the character development. The "action" of the novel doesn't seem to be the focal point but rather the result of all these characters coming together. I also liked that Abrahams does not go for the Hollywood ending so typical of "suspense" novels these days. I thought the book was worth the price even though it turned out to be more of a dramatic character study rather than a nail-biting thriller. This is my first book by Abrahams, and it most certainly won't be my last.
Rating:
Summary: Waste of Time
Review: This book really was not that exceptional, even from the beginning. But heck, I paid (price) for it, so I thought I would go ahead and finish it. That was a mistake. The ending was absolutely stupid. It was as if the author came up with 5 possible endings, wrote them on slips of paper, and stuck them in a hat. This ending was on the slip of paper he pulled out. Too bad that it was the worst ending out of the five. I could think of 10 more satisfying and intelligent endings than this.Apart from the ending, everything else about this book fails. The suspense (well, what little of it there is) really doesn't lead up to anything. It just kind of fizzles out when you think it's going somewhere. The characters aren't that interesting. Freedy made me chuckle a couple of times, but he wasn't any more memorable than a character anyone else could have created. All in all, it's a bad book. Don't waste your time.
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