Rating: 
Summary: One of Cook's best books!
Review: Although I am no stranger to the books of Thomas H. Cook, nothing I previously read prepared me for the emotional roller coaster journey I took while I read this title. The opening lines of the book, "This is the darkest story I have ever heard," certainly rings true as Cook takes his readers on a time machine ride back to Choctaw, Alabama in the year 1962. And what the reader finally learns on this journey in the last few pages will have them aggreeing that Thomas Cook is the the master of a genre hard to categorize. At first glance one assumes that he is a mystery author while a second glance has you thinking he writes psychologial studies dealing with the relationships of people and what pure and simple evil does to their lives. And some readers may even think that Cook borders on being a thriller witer. Whatever your conclusions, its safe to say that a Cook book will have you reading late into the night. And even once you've finished, you will continue to wonder about the plot and characters for a long time.Middle aged, married and the father of one daughter. Ben is troubled by an incident which occured 30 years ago. As he relates the story and finally the truth, all sorts of issues have been explored. Among them adolescent love, integration, the question of parentage, standing up for what you believe, deception and finally hatred. As the reader finds himself immersed in the lives and events of this town and what did occur on Breakheart Hill, the question of who did it becomes secondary. For it is the telling of the events leading up to and the aftermath of this event which keep you turning the pages in breakneck speed. And the last few pages were so riveting and unexpected, that I found myself going back and rereading them to make sure I understood everything. And even as I closed the book I stil had some nagging thoughts and unanswered questions which I continue to think about. Do read this if you're looking for a "can't put it down" title. But don't blame me if you can't get anything else done until you finish this very good book. And finally other books I would recommend by this author are The Chatham School Affair and Places in the Dark, Cook's newest title.
Rating: 
Summary: Edge of your seat suspense
Review: As with all of Thomas Cook's novels they are filled to the brim with suspense and stunning twists in the tale that the reader would never suspect but once revealed the reader can't imagine it any other way. I usually select fast paced, psychological suspense mysteries - but this book kept me on the edge of my seat. Just as Cook was about to reveal a thread of the story he would pull you back into the present - it had twists and turns and was well written. Cook did a great job of keeping me guessing until the very end. It is a haunting story of lost love and remorse that lives in the heart for over thirty years. Dr. Ben Wade, the town physician, has lives in Choctaw, AL most of his life. In high school he was in love with Kelli Troy, but his affections were not returned. Her badly beaten body was discovered on Breakheart Hill and few knew what to make of this brutal murder. Who committed this crime and why? Was the right man convicted of this crime? Only Ben Wade knows the truth and for thirty years he has kept watch over Kelli's legacy... This novel truly brings you back to those days of yearning in high school and shows you how one small event effects so many lives. A great read and a moving tale.
Rating:
Summary: Slow at Times, But Well Worthwhile
Review: I read this book when I was 14 (7 years ago...wow!) and I've never forgotten it. The technique used here, not the "unreliable narrator" but rather the "narrator who doesn't know as much as he thinks he does" is a very effective way to deliver the shock that the reader (and the narrator!) recieve at the end of this book. The characters are well crafted, and we find sympathy in even the most unlikely places.
I disagree with the reviewer who thought it was unlikely that the narrator would not have "deepened" in the 30 years since the main events took place. This simply serves to show how little his viewpoints have changed over the years, and this is to be expected, given that he has lived in the same backwoods small town all his life.
The pace of this book is slow, and we have to wade through a lot of unnecessary "artistic" description, but the overall story is powerful and unforgetable. Fans of mystery and suspense novels that actually have well-developed plots and characters should enjoy this book. (Notice that I've left out any specific description of the plot...I want it to be a surprise, dang it!)
Rating: 
Summary: LOVE MEANS NEVER HAVING TO SAY, "I FORGET."
Review: I recall someone once saying that you never marry the greatest love of your life, you just end-up thinking about her [him] all your life. That may or may not strike you as a false sentiment, but it serves as a fine overview of the emotional tenor of Thomas H. Cook's plot presentation in BREAKHEART HILL. In this book, Dr. Ben Wade narrates the story of his unrequited love for the doomed Kelli Troy. It bridges the children's early teen years in the 1960's with adult retrospection that is best characterized as elegiac in the 1990's. This book is a "psychological thriller." Cook displays the very breachable division between eros and thanatos in the soul of man, and the consequences to lives that attend such a breach. His moral sense is the classic view that evil, once released, will not be contained again but will affect hearts and minds far afield from the proximity of its origin. BREAKHEART HILL is sentimental, melancholic, brooding. Ben Wade narrates his story in the voice of his adolescence. Even though the book changes time frames easily, transitioning smoothly between the past and the present, Wade's voice itself evidences little in the way of a thirty year deepening. This is not fatal to the enjoyment of the book, but it does point-up a limitation to Cook's own stylistic range. From the opening sentence's nod to Ford Madox Ford's THE GOOD SOLDIER, the reader is alerted to the fact that Thomas H. Cook has very high ambitions for BREAKHEART HILL. "This is the darkest story that I ever heard." Well, the reader must judge that for himself/herself. This book is a "page turner." It's a "good read." You grow increasingly interested in learning the full nature of the story's dark violence. Cook unveils it all in episodic flashbacks and creeping revelations. In his book, Cook invokes not only Madox's THE GOOD SOLDIER, but also Emily Bronte's WUTHERING HEIGHTS and Edith Wharton's ETHAN FROME. He over reaches. In overtly putting BREAKHEART HILL among the rarified company of these greater products, Cook has set himself a standard he does not satisfy here. Review blurbs associate this book with the work of Pat Conroy and Harper Lee's TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. I might agree with the first assessment; and will not accept the second one. BREAKHEART HILL is a good mystery/thriller; it does not, however, rise to the august level of "Literature." If you accept BREAKHEART HILL for what it is and for the pleasure it can provide, you'll like this book. You may even love it.
Rating: 
Summary: incredibly bad book--so much potential
Review: I was enthraled by this book. This was the first of this author that I had read. I could hardly put it down, the writing was incredible. And then the ending came and it was as if all the air went out of the balloon. Lame, weak, stupid, words fail me. This guy writes well but someone needs to supply him with a plot that works. What a sad waste of time to read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Lives up to expectations.
Review: I've come to expect great things from Thomas H. Cook, and he always delivers. "Breakheart Hill" is no exception. It's hard to review any of Mr. Cook's stories without giving away too much of the plot. Even though the story jumps back and forth between past and present, it was simple enough to follow along. The power of the story comes from the resentment and unrest surrounding the first attempts at integration. Kelli Troy, having come to the South from Baltimore, is naturally more sensitive to such issues than the local youth who have been exposed to racial prejudice from birth and see nothing unusual about it. Indeed it would be impossible for them to view the situation with an unbiased eye. One sunny day Kelli is attacked on Breakheart Hill, and the reader fears learning the truth, for the list of suspects is wide-ranging. Although Lyle Gates is tried and convicted for the crime, the reader can't be sure he was the one . . . .
Rating:
Summary: Really Dreadful
Review: In the correct sense of the term, this story is dreadful. The
writing invoking the lives of the young people in the story is
very good - their loves and betrayals. But throughout the book,
( from the opening sentence really ) there is papable dread. I thought the resolution of what happened on the fateful day was
a little too pat and unexpected. But the very ending of the book
is very satisfying. You can feel the weight of the truth that
has pressed down on the doctor for all the years of his life. I recommend this one.
Rating:
Summary: Reason I love Cook
Review: This book is another reason I love Thomas H. Cook. He has a way of telling a story that keeps you on edge. You are dying to know how it ends, but the journey is long and often dark. When I first started reading this book, I wanted to rush to the end, but his story kept me hooked. He is not like most authors that write the same story with a different character everytime. For someone like me that reads lots of mysteries, it is nice to be challenged in a book. His writing style makes you slow down and enjoy the ride making it a great read.
Rating:
Summary: Unbelievable Page Turner!!!!
Review: This has got to be one of the best mysteries I have ever read. Wow!! If it wasn't for reading the reviews from other Amazon readers I would have never thought to buy this book. I am very glad I did and have now ordered another Thomas H. Cook novel to read. This story was so haunting. I couldn't put it down and once it ended I found myself going back to read passages, trying to understand what had happened. It is a real shocker, grabs you and you won't soon forget the characters. It is about young love in the south in the 60's. It is also about a tragic event that happened and how it effected this small community for 30 years. Read this book!!! You won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: A Compelling, Intriguing Suspense Triumph
Review: This is a wonderful novel. The format is repeated in several of Cook's novels (e.g. The Chatham School Affair, Instruments of Night), but only in Breakheart is Cook able to pull off the past and present juxtaposition. What really makes this story work is the depth and complexity of the narrator--and his relationship to the charismatic teenage girl with whom he is in love. I do not want to give any of the plot away, but, suffice it to say, it should enthrall and even consume you. I have read approximately 500 suspense/mysteries in the past few years and have read only two of them twice: Breakheart and Andrew Taylor's Four Last Things, both of which are significantly underrated. This novel should not only change your attitude towards life, but also, more importantly, alter the way you live. Thoroughly intoxicating, this book must be read.
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