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Book Reviews of The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1)

The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1)
The Halo Effect - Butterfield Institute, Bk 1
Author: M. J. Rose
ISBN-13: 9780778321972
ISBN-10: 0778321975
Publication Date: 7/1/2005
Pages: 384
Rating:
  • Currently 3.6/5 Stars.
 95

3.6 stars, based on 95 ratings
Publisher: Mira
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

31 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

reviewed The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1) on
Helpful Score: 4
Forensic sex therapy interspersed with a soft porn novel
reviewed The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1) on + 18 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Thinly disguised soft-core porn, masquerading as thriller.
reviewed The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1) on
Helpful Score: 2
It's a good thriller...it is a bit graphic and detailed (not as much as a Nate Kenyon book, however), so probably not good for the weak tummied.
stef140 avatar reviewed The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1) on + 28 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I am conflicted on just how to rate this book. I liked the story just fine, it was engaging and interesting. I liked the main characters, I wanted to know more about them and thought they were constructed really well. But the way the author kept switching from the Dr.'s first person perspective and jumping to some other person every few chapters, and usually waited at least a few paragraphs to tell you who we had switched to, and then jumping right back to Dr Snow with no warning; well it was irritating. I found myself having to spend half my time trying to figure out who was telling me the story at this moment rather than enjoying the story. Then it all reached a heavily predictable conclusion that made Dr Snow seem like an absolute imbecile for not figuring it out. Making your intelligent main character look stupid is a very bad idea. Confusing your readers with who is telling the story is also a very bad idea. Ultimately I just couldn't get into it and just wanted it to be over. As I write this I realize, I don't want to give this the 3 stars I had originally intended because I didn't like it so that was being too generous.

*This review is also posted on my Goodreads account, not copying from someone else.
reviewed The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1) on + 223 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Very good book. Lots of mystery and suspence. I enjoyed the characters and the resolution.
deenie1979 avatar reviewed The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1) on + 15 more book reviews
I really liked this book. It was a BOTM (book of the month) and my first by this author, and I would read more.
Sunshine avatar reviewed The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1) on + 142 more book reviews
A "Butterfield Institute" book, unexpectedly suspenseful.
reviewed The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1) on + 7 more book reviews
Great thriller... if you love a good mystery, this book is for you!
kamanjah avatar reviewed The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1) on + 4 more book reviews
Good mystery/thriller, I want to read author's other books now.
reviewed The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1) on + 62 more book reviews
Very provocotive and explicit look into the side of sex crimes.
reviewed The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1) on
This book was a great read ! A truly erotic thriller. Looking forward reading " The Delilah Complex" next.
reviewed The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1) on + 2 more book reviews
I really liked this one. At the end I was at the edge of my seat and that does not happen to me often!
reviewed The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1) on + 92 more book reviews
An author I'd not read before, but the plot looked good. It is excellent.
reviewed The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1) on + 145 more book reviews
Graphic mystery, a little gross, but keeps you turning the pages.
reviewed The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1) on + 108 more book reviews
this was a sneak attack style book, really good!
reviewed The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1) on + 42 more book reviews
great book
reviewed The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1) on + 171 more book reviews
GOOD THRILLER BUT I FIGURED OUT WHO DID IT EASILY
reviewed The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1) on + 43 more book reviews
An interesting mystery.
luvbooks avatar reviewed The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1) on + 126 more book reviews
A real page-turner! Sexy and suspenseful!
reviewed The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1) on + 149 more book reviews
The mutilated body of a prostitute in a nun's habit, her pubic hair shaved into a cross, appears on page one of this suspense thriller, making it plain that Rose's latest (after Sheet Music) is not for the squeamish. The novel is the first in a new series featuring the Butterfield Institute, a Manhattan sex therapy clinic employing psychiatrist Dr. Morgan Snow. One of Morgan's patients, the clever and selective call girl Cleo Thane, has written a memoir full of thinly disguised portraits of her clients, powerful men with odd fantasies and fetishes. She leaves this potentially explosive manuscript with Dr. Snow and then misses several appointments, causing Morgan to suspect foul play. Yet NYPD Det. Noah Jordain and his team, diligently pursuing leads in what's become a gory, ritualistic series of prostitute murders, have no evidence that Cleo, whose clientele puts her in a class by herself, might be a victim. Noah and Morgan are drawn to each other, but when Morgan can't persuade Noah to devote more effort to the search for Cleo, she determines to go undercover and meet Cleo's principal clients herself. Ill-equipped for this masquerade, Morgan is soon in over her head and in peril. The mystery takes second place to the catalogue of sexual eccentricities, but Cleo is an engaging guide to the world of dysfunction Rose painstakingly constructs.
maggieminnich avatar reviewed The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1) on + 400 more book reviews
While I somewhat liked this book, and the storyline was pretty good, all-in-all, I found myself getting irritated with our sex therapist heroine, Dr. Morgan Snow. The author gives the reader obvious clues (e.g., a man hidden in the shadows, following Cleo Thane), but Dr. Snow amazingly "forgets" this important piece of information that, at the time, supposedly has her so concerned and worried for Cleo. I'm not sure if Dr. Snow is really that dumb or the author is when trying to slip the reader clues. The details of the murders, etc., was well written, but personally, I could have done without the romantic bullcrap between Dr. Snow and the homocide detective, Noah Jordain. What's the point, other than to gussey up and try to attract female readers? I read murder mysteries and police procedurals for the thrill and challenge, and if I wanted romance, I'd read a romance novel. Not sure I'll waste my time with this author again, as she seems to be more of a novice. There are too many other, more highly-evolved murder-mystery novelists out there. Still, if you don't like something too deep and go for a lighter mystery, you may like this book.
reviewed The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1) on + 153 more book reviews
A follow up to "Lip Service", more of a mystery, not quite as naughty. Very readable.
Tunerlady avatar reviewed The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1) on + 581 more book reviews
A tale of intrigue about a sex therapist who's client disappears. Well written and keeps you guessing till the end. The first of the Butterfield Institute series. I look forward to the next one.
reviewed The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1) on + 131 more book reviews
Dr. Morgan Snow, a top sex therapist, sees Cleo Thane, a high-priced prostitute and connects immediately. When Cleo asks Morgan to read her unpublished book about her exclusive clientele, Cleo disappears soon after.
myanniecat avatar reviewed The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1) on + 218 more book reviews
The second book featuring Dr. Morgan Snow, a sex therapist at the Butterfield Institute.
reviewed The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1) on + 122 more book reviews
The mutilated body of a prostitute in a nun's habit, her pubic hair shaved into a cross, appears on page one of this suspense thriller, making it plain that Rose's latest (after Sheet Music) is not for the squeamish. The novel is the first in a new series featuring the Butterfield Institute, a Manhattan sex therapy clinic employing psychiatrist Dr. Morgan Snow. One of Morgan's patients, the clever and selective call girl Cleo Thane, has written a memoir full of thinly disguised portraits of her clients, powerful men with odd fantasies and fetishes. She leaves this potentially explosive manuscript with Dr. Snow and then misses several appointments, causing Morgan to suspect foul play. Yet NYPD Det. Noah Jordain and his team, diligently pursuing leads in what's become a gory, ritualistic series of prostitute murders, have no evidence that Cleo, whose clientele puts her in a class by herself, might be a victim. Noah and Morgan are drawn to each other, but when Morgan can't persuade Noah to devote more effort to the search for Cleo, she determines to go undercover and meet Cleo's principal clients herself. Ill-equipped for this masquerade, Morgan is soon in over her head and in peril. The mystery takes second place to the catalogue of sexual eccentricities, but Cleo is an engaging guide to the world of dysfunction Rose painstakingly constructs.
CherryBlossom avatar reviewed The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1) on + 24 more book reviews
At the Butterfield Institute Dr. Morgan Snow, one of New York's top sex tehrapists, sees everything from the abused to the depraved, from couples grappling with sexual bordeom to twisted sociopaths with dark, erotic, fetishes.
Cleo Than, a high-priced prostitute, is one of those special patients Morgan connects with immediately. When Cleo asks Morgan to read her unbpulbished book about her exclusive clientael, Morgan realizes that what she has in her hands could be explosive.
Then Cleao disappears.
BostonBooks avatar reviewed The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1) on + 48 more book reviews
Love this book
reviewed The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1) on + 224 more book reviews
At the Butterfield Inastitute Dr. Morgan Snow, one of New Yorks top sex therapists, sees everthing from the abused to the depraved, from couples grappling with sexual boredom to twisted sociopaths with dark, erotic fetishes.
Cleo Thanes, a high-price prostitute, is one of those special patients Morgan connects with immediatley. When Cleo asks Morgan to read her unpublished book about her exclusive clientele, Morgan realizes that what she has in hands could be explosiveand possibly deadly.
Then Cleo disappears, Morgan worries that a serialkiller who has been targeting prostitutes may have taken Cleo.
reviewed The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1) on + 144 more book reviews
Did not read.
reviewed The Halo Effect (Butterfield Institute, Bk 1) on + 73 more book reviews
Great book! It is autographed by the author as well!