In the Heat of the Summer

Rating:
Summary: Great read. Go find it in the nearest used book store
Review: Any reader who enjoys reading serial killer novels must read this book. The interaction between the killer and the reporter contains some of the best dialogue I have ever read in a book of this type. Their conversations are definitely up there with some of the interactions in Thomas Harris' Hanibal trilogy. The protagonsit, a reporter, has to deal with the dilemma between his job as a reporter and his role as a citizen. This conflict adds wonderful insight into his character and his relationships with the secondary cast. The book is a fairly quick read, but is well written and definitely gives the reader something that one is not acccustomed to in these types of books. This is the kind of book that you should be searching the used books stores for. It is the first Katzenbach book and it absolutely will not be my last.

Rating:
Summary: Great read. Go find it in the nearest used book store
Review: Any reader who enjoys reading serial killer novels must read this book. The interaction between the killer and the reporter contains some of the best dialogue I have ever read in a book of this type. Their conversations are definitely up there with some of the interactions in Thomas Harris' Hanibal trilogy. The protagonsit, a reporter, has to deal with the dilemma between his job as a reporter and his role as a citizen. This conflict adds wonderful insight into his character and his relationships with the secondary cast. The book is a fairly quick read, but is well written and definitely gives the reader something that one is not acccustomed to in these types of books. This is the kind of book that you should be searching the used books stores for. It is the first Katzenbach book and it absolutely will not be my last.

Rating:
Summary: Luke Warm Thriller Never Thrilled Me
Review: In the Heat of the Summer is an okay thriller. The plot is interesting and I liked the fact that the protagonist, Malcolm Anderson, was a journalist rather than a police officer or a psychologist as it gave a different perspective. However the book failed to absorb me and it was never truly compelling.

A large problem I had with the book was the character Christine, who was Malcolm's girlfriend. Her character was lifeless, sanctimonious, and not in the least likeable. As basically the only female character in the book given more than a few lines of dialogue I wanted to identify with her, or at least believe in her as a character. Instead it seemed her principle roles were to further depress Malcolm and give him a hard time for no reason and to indulge in the most mechanical and unsexy love scenes with him. Also some of the things she did just did not ring true, for example, one of the weirdest examples was when she danced naked in their living room to `relieve the tension' of knowing that the killer was at large somewhere in the city. Madness!

Other problems included the clunky dialogue which just did not ring true, continual flashbacks to Malcolm's childhood during pertinent moments of the story, the overuse of maniacal laughter by the villain and the fact that the plot dragged at the end. I also thought that some of the description just went on for too long, especially when the killer was describing the deaths on the telephone to Malcolm. The ending was all right but I had skimmed the last couple of chapters and did not really care that much about the outcome.

Overall I could not recommend this book to others because I think there are hundreds of better thrillers written today (this one was first published in 1982). I would recommend however The Analyst, a fantastic book I gave a 5 star review to, written by John Katzenbach last year.

Rating:
Summary: Luke Warm Thriller Never Thrilled Me
Review: In the Heat of the Summer is an okay thriller. The plot is interesting and I liked the fact that the protagonist, Malcolm Anderson, was a journalist rather than a police officer or a psychologist as it gave a different perspective. However the book failed to absorb me and it was never truly compelling.

A large problem I had with the book was the character Christine, who was Malcolm's girlfriend. Her character was lifeless, sanctimonious, and not in the least likeable. As basically the only female character in the book given more than a few lines of dialogue I wanted to identify with her, or at least believe in her as a character. Instead it seemed her principle roles were to further depress Malcolm and give him a hard time for no reason and to indulge in the most mechanical and unsexy love scenes with him. Also some of the things she did just did not ring true, for example, one of the weirdest examples was when she danced naked in their living room to 'relieve the tension' of knowing that the killer was at large somewhere in the city. Madness!

Other problems included the clunky dialogue which just did not ring true, continual flashbacks to Malcolm's childhood during pertinent moments of the story, the overuse of maniacal laughter by the villain and the fact that the plot dragged at the end. I also thought that some of the description just went on for too long, especially when the killer was describing the deaths on the telephone to Malcolm. The ending was all right but I had skimmed the last couple of chapters and did not really care that much about the outcome.

Overall I could not recommend this book to others because I think there are hundreds of better thrillers written today (this one was first published in 1982). I would recommend however The Analyst, a fantastic book I gave a 5 star review to, written by John Katzenbach last year.

Rating:
Summary: This book made J. Katzenback one of my favorite authors.
Review: This book was the first book I had read from Mr. Katzenback, and is still probably my favorite. I passed the book along to my parents, friends, etc. and they all loved it. I love the fact that Mr. Katzenbach has a newspaper reporter background, because his book reflect his talent in writing. I have read all of his works, and because I am a true mystery thriller buff, I prefer those to the last recent Harts war, because I am not a fan of military novels as much, but my husband and all of his male co workers thought the book magnificent, and I have yet to get my hands on it. Mr. Katenbach, if you are listening, do you have any new books coming out soon. I am hoping for something along the lines of Mean Season 2, or something like that, not because your writing isn't just as wonderful in every book, but I read 3 to 4 books a week, and I have become somewhat finicky on what I like to read! Trying to expand my horizons..but those mysteries and your villians are some of the best villians I have read about. If you do read this and could let me know where your heart is leading you to in your next book and when you might be writing another, I would be thrilled to know. What a gift you have, it is rare that my husband and I read the same material, but we both love good writers, and you are one of the few that we both love. On a personal note, at 40 I am now at home on permant disability because of illness so books are my lifeline, and when I see a new J. Katzenbach, it is such a thrill, like I won a little lottery, and the thicker the book the better. So for this one fan I hope a mystery, serial killer (isn't that terrible no accounting for taste) book is coming soon. For such a pacifist, my friends tease me about my taste in books. Oh well. Thanks for enhancing my life Jill Guenther 27892 Wakefield Rd Santa Clarita, CA 91384 661-257-2985 [e-mail]