Customer Reviews

Not the leat bit interesting...
I purchased this book to take with me on a trip across the county and had it not been for the fact that I was doing quite a bit of air traveling and had nothing else to read, I probably would have given up on this book after about 200 pages.

It's not that it's necessarily a bad book; it's just that there seems to be a whole lot of nothing happening throughout most of the book. I really had little interest in any of the characters and found that for the most part I didn't like any of them either. I found Sarah and Abbie annoying and Ben despicable. There was absolutely nothing interesting about Josh until the end of the book and by then it was too little, too late for me.

There was also some weird phrasing in the book that I found quite laughable. For example when Rolf tells Abbie "You were concussed." Who speaks that way? I realize that the author is British, but I found several instances when his American characters were using terms and phrases that were more British sounding than American and it detracted from the realism.

This was my first time reading this author's work. I'm not sure I'm up for anymore.

Strong Start But Falters
This is the first book by Nicholas Evans I have read. While the book starts strong, it falters badly as the story goes on. The character of Abbie, the daughter, is the least believable. The author does not show WHY Abbie takes up with Rolf (the ecoterrorist), remains with him, why she does not just leave him, and why she telephones him after she finally does leave. Abbie is a wealthy, educated woman, it is unbelievable that she would stay with Rolf. Evans also does not show in any way HOW Rolf found out where Abbie was; writing "we'll never know how he found her" is not satisfactory - deux ex machina works in Greek tragedies, not in contemporary novels. This novel is so interesting at the beginning - I really wanted to know about these characters and hear their stories. It is sad that the author seems to have lost interest and could not be bothered to finish the book with the level of writing the first part of the book shows.

Contrived and Cliche
The only reason I finished this book was to find out how Abbie wound up incased in ice. I found the characters and the plot annoingly predictable. The wimpy dissatisfied husband who runs off because he just isn't satisfied with the Mrs, the stoner, hormone possessed son who transforms into the hero/clean-cut law school student, Ty the lovesick puppy dog who never gives up on his "true love" even after she landed him in prison and destroyed his family only to cap it off by returning to him pregnant by the man that was responsible for the pain and suffering which he and his parents endured. Lest we neglect Abbie--- the spoiled rich girl who wreaks havoc in the lives of all around her. After years of anti-social behavior she is changed after being slapped around and sexually assaulted by her baby's father---- yes, suddenly she decides to turn herself in for the sake of the baby. Please! I was very disappointed. There was potential for an interesting story but the impression I was left with was that the author couldn't be bothered with the effort required to create it.

A jolly good read without being a prize winner
This was a novel that started with the conclusion and then led the reader through the preceeding facts, so the reader was never left with anynotion that there would be a happy ending. It was the story of a somewhat over-indulged teenager whose actions brought great sadness to those around her due to her focus on what she wanted, to the disregard of her family and real friends. Those who have had teenagers will relate to the frustrations felt by her parents and sympathise with their despair as the tradegy unfolds, although the self-absorbed behaviour of the girl's father can seen to be a contributing factor to the disaster.

Overall I found this good reading, a book that kept me entranced so that I read well into the night, but lacking the finesse in the development of some of the characters to make it a prize winner. But I would certainly recommend it to others.

Couldn't Put This One Down.
I had read The Horse Whisperer and thought it quite good but this book is unbelievable. Living in the northwest I had heard and read about all these acts of violence and destruction but this put the newspaper
articles in perspective. What possesses these people who don't care for something going on to kill, destroy property, etc. There are lawful ways of dealing with these things. I think Nicholas Evans did a masterful job
in portraying all sides of the story. Guess I felt sorry for all but mostly for Benjamin and Josh. They seemed
so at a loss to understand Jessica. But think this is another case of too much, too young. I hope Mr Evans
will continue to write..........more often. Can't remember when I felt so sorry for so many people with no idea
of what to do with this child and her anger at the world. Sorry she died so young but with the mess she had
made of her life, don't believe she could have ever been a "normal" human being (whatever that is).