Thief of Souls

Rating:
Summary: What a book!
Review: ...and i thought Darian North's "Criminal Seduction" was good..ha! "Thief Of Souls" is definetly one of his best.

Rating:
Summary: A very suspenseful read
Review: At first this book appeared to have a good plot behind it. However, as one read became more involved in the book, it took on the image of a glorified soap opera. We had to listen to Dan ramble on and reflect over his life with Alex, and for a psychologist, if it had been a real life situation, Laura was way of line in some of her actions and statements she made. Then when Alex was taken from the cult and deprogrammed, she left Dan's life for a second time. One never knew where any of the characters were going to be. They were just here, there and all over the page. The entire could have been condensed into a few chapters, but that would have ended in a very short story.

Rating:
Summary: Not what I expected.
Review: I had no idea that this book was about a cult when I first picked it up. When I realized that however, it didn't deter my reading, I thought it would make for an interesting story.

Dan Behr is the lead character. He is a man who loves his family and likes his job. His wife Alex is a complicated woman who we discover has a very interesting yet horrible past. Their daughter Hana is closest to her mother and has to learn some great hardships in life throughout this novel.

Alex has gone to a retreat or so Dan thinks. She has actually become a member of a cult called The Ark. Dan tries to get her back from the cult's grasp but soon comes to the realization that they are too powerful a group for him to be able to free his wife. He joins forces with an individual trained in getting cult members out. This actually works but Alex is already brain washed and it is too late. Dan has to start his life without her and raise his daughter alone.

Unfortunately, Dan has to resort to more drastic measures when the cult kidnaps Hana. He has to infiltrate the group and try to free himself, Alex and Hana.

I found the story lost its credibility when I got to this section of the book...

The story had potential but there were almost too many cult facts thrown in and the character of Laura just didn't come across as real...

I have read other Darian North novels, this one just wasn't his best.

Rating:
Summary: Not what I expected.
Review: I had no idea that this book was about a cult when I first picked it up. When I realized that however, it didn't deter my reading, I thought it would make for an interesting story.

Dan Behr is the lead character. He is a man who loves his family and likes his job. His wife Alex is a complicated woman who we discover has a very interesting yet horrible past. Their daughter Hana is closest to her mother and has to learn some great hardships in life throughout this novel.

Alex has gone to a retreat or so Dan thinks. She has actually become a member of a cult called The Ark. Dan tries to get her back from the cult's grasp but soon comes to the realization that they are too powerful a group for him to be able to free his wife. He joins forces with an individual trained in getting cult members out. This actually works but Alex is already brain washed and it is too late. Dan has to start his life without her and raise his daughter alone.

Unfortunately, Dan has to resort to more drastic measures when the cult kidnaps Hana. He has to infiltrate the group and try to free himself, Alex and Hana.

I found the story lost its credibility when I got to this section of the book...

The story had potential but there were almost too many cult facts thrown in and the character of Laura just didn't come across as real...

I have read other Darian North novels, this one just wasn't his best.

Rating:
Summary: Passes the time when your husband is taking a nap
Review: I must admit it took me awhile to finish this book... It was slow and plodding. The pace never really picks up until it is more than halfway done and the book is filled with took many facts on cults and not nearly enough action. It was interesting to see how one might be able to fall under the cult's spell and then finally see evil within. The pros and cons are shown with nice contrast. The main character of the novel, Dan, is likable and his daughter is one you will root for since she loses people she loves. The love story plotline was not necessary to the plot and got in the way at times...but overall I got a good value for my money[.]

Rating:
Summary: So-So
Review: This book has been sitting in my "to read" pile for years, so I finally got around to picking it up this weekend. I had no idea the book was going to be about a cult, but it was something different, so I kept reading. And while I stayed up late to finish it, it was more to find out how the author was going to get out of this mess, rather than because I cared about the characters.

Dan comes across as stupid and silly. OK, we know he loved his wife, but if abandoning him and his daughter to join a cult wasn't bad enough, I would think that stealing everything he has or injuring him physically would be enough to make him stop and realize he was better off without her...not continue to pine away for her like a lovesick puppy. And the relationship with Laura was awkward - she seduces him, he wants to be with her, then suddenly he doesn't and decides to end it, but she comes back from a walk and confides her past to him and he does nothing. It made it very hard to care about him and what happened to him, since he didn't seem to care much himself.

The last part of the book seemed unrealistic. Why would Noah so openly accept Dan into his special group when he obviously doesn't trust the man and when Dan attempted to steal his wife back from the cult? Wouldn't he be a bit more untrusting of Dan than to just stick a guard behind him and allow him access to so many confidential things?

Sadly, the most interesting character was Felice, and her supporting role was never really developed.

I'm definitely not disappointed this book took me so long to get around to reading, because it was really nothing more than a time filler.

Rating:
Summary: Exciting, Original and Thought-provoking
Review: This is not just another mystery novel. This book is about the human experience and what happens when the "black and white" of life gets blurred. I learned a lot about human nature and resiliance, even from the first chapter. This isn't a book that you can really describe because a short synopsis doesn't do it justice. I've lent this book to four friends and all of them had it back to me within a few days because they just couldn't put it down either. We are all now Darian North fans. If it's out of print - go get it - you won't be sorry.

Rating:
Summary: Exciting, Original and Thought-provoking
Review: This is not just another mystery novel. This book is about the human experience and what happens when the "black and white" of life gets blurred. I learned a lot about human nature and resiliance, even from the first chapter. This isn't a book that you can really describe because a short synopsis doesn't do it justice. I've lent this book to four friends and all of them had it back to me within a few days because they just couldn't put it down either. We are all now Darian North fans. If it's out of print - go get it - you won't be sorry.

Rating:
Summary: AWESOME!
Review: This was an amazing book! I could not put it down. I even made up excuses at work just to have more time to read! The first sentence in this book killed me. From then on, I immediately felt for the Dan and his family. The struggle to regain his family and his own sanity was unbelievable. As are all Darian's books, this topic was a disturbing look into reality. A very scary thought of this happening to my own family came over me many times. And I learned so much! This is an excellent read!

Rating:
Summary: So-So
Review: This was my first book by Darian North and I have to say that I enjoyed it quite a bit.The characters were well developed and the storyline was good. I learned a lot about cults in this book and found it quite interesting and actually kind of frightening.I look foward to reading her other books.