Helpful Score: 3
Product Description ***Found on line***
Max Parkmanautistic and whip-smart, emotionally fragile and aggressiveis perfect in his mother's eyes. Until he's accused of murder. Attorney Danielle Parkman knows her teenage son Max's behavior has been getting worseusing drugs and lashing out. But she can't accept the diagnosis she receives at a top-notch adolescent psychiatric facility that her son is deeply disturbed. Dangerous. Until she finds Max, unconscious and bloodied, beside a patient who has been brutally stabbed to death. Trapped in a world of doubt and fear, barred from contacting Max, Danielle clings to the belief that her son is innocent. But has she, too, lost touch with reality? Is her son really a killer? With the justice system bearing down on them, Danielle steels herself to discover the truth, no matter what it is. She'll do whatever it takes to find the killer and to save her son from being destroyed by a system that's all too eager to convict him.
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NOW...I am not saying that boosting your vocabulary is a bad thing by any means but PLEASE... It seemed like the author was over using her great vocabulary simply for ego's sake. Common words could and should have been used in several places.
I mean come on...tenebrous, nebulous, kilim, expiation and malefic just in the first 20 pages and that's leaving out all the psychiatric terms.Then there was masticating instead of chewing.People do not talk like that.
That aside; having several children of my own I can definitely go to that place of being willing to do anything to save your child. Yet there were times(lots of them) that I could have shook Max's mother because it "seemed" as though she didn't have the common sense God gave a door knob.
Am I ever glad I got past the at times ridiculous use of words and Danielle's what appeared to be a lack of common sense, to finish the book because it turns out to rank a solid 4.
I realize that deducting a whole point for an extreme use of 50 cent words may seem excessive but most of us read books like this to relax or escape and don't want to have to grab our Websters to find the meaning of unnecessary and extreme words.
I am looking forward to her next book.
Max Parkmanautistic and whip-smart, emotionally fragile and aggressiveis perfect in his mother's eyes. Until he's accused of murder. Attorney Danielle Parkman knows her teenage son Max's behavior has been getting worseusing drugs and lashing out. But she can't accept the diagnosis she receives at a top-notch adolescent psychiatric facility that her son is deeply disturbed. Dangerous. Until she finds Max, unconscious and bloodied, beside a patient who has been brutally stabbed to death. Trapped in a world of doubt and fear, barred from contacting Max, Danielle clings to the belief that her son is innocent. But has she, too, lost touch with reality? Is her son really a killer? With the justice system bearing down on them, Danielle steels herself to discover the truth, no matter what it is. She'll do whatever it takes to find the killer and to save her son from being destroyed by a system that's all too eager to convict him.
________________________________________________________
NOW...I am not saying that boosting your vocabulary is a bad thing by any means but PLEASE... It seemed like the author was over using her great vocabulary simply for ego's sake. Common words could and should have been used in several places.
I mean come on...tenebrous, nebulous, kilim, expiation and malefic just in the first 20 pages and that's leaving out all the psychiatric terms.Then there was masticating instead of chewing.People do not talk like that.
That aside; having several children of my own I can definitely go to that place of being willing to do anything to save your child. Yet there were times(lots of them) that I could have shook Max's mother because it "seemed" as though she didn't have the common sense God gave a door knob.
Am I ever glad I got past the at times ridiculous use of words and Danielle's what appeared to be a lack of common sense, to finish the book because it turns out to rank a solid 4.
I realize that deducting a whole point for an extreme use of 50 cent words may seem excessive but most of us read books like this to relax or escape and don't want to have to grab our Websters to find the meaning of unnecessary and extreme words.
I am looking forward to her next book.
Helpful Score: 2
This was a really easy book to get hooked on. Within the first chapter I found myself finding it hard to put this book down. I love books that make you bargain with yourself on how many more pages you will allow yourself to read before you get back to the real world, and this was one of those books. I also found myself breaking all those bargains to read just one more chapter.
The author gives you a glimpse into the life of a single mother of a special needs child. The struggles she faces with a demanding career and a son who needs a whole lot of her time and attention. This is not just a thriller, or a murder mystery, but a story about family. The author tells a tale that both horrifies and humbles. The story is filled with characters that range from the deeply disturbed to the completely devoted.
This book would have easily been a 5 star book, had it not been for Danielles detective disasters. I found myself getting so mad at how much she got away with in the courtroom and with all her illegally obtained evidence, that it was raising my blood pressure to dangerous levels. I realize that this is a work of fiction, but it got pretty unbelievable at the end at times. Had the author stayed more true to life in that regard, this book would have been practically perfect. As it is, Perry Mason-esque courtroom scenes aside, it was pretty damn good.
Cherise Everhard, October 2010
The author gives you a glimpse into the life of a single mother of a special needs child. The struggles she faces with a demanding career and a son who needs a whole lot of her time and attention. This is not just a thriller, or a murder mystery, but a story about family. The author tells a tale that both horrifies and humbles. The story is filled with characters that range from the deeply disturbed to the completely devoted.
This book would have easily been a 5 star book, had it not been for Danielles detective disasters. I found myself getting so mad at how much she got away with in the courtroom and with all her illegally obtained evidence, that it was raising my blood pressure to dangerous levels. I realize that this is a work of fiction, but it got pretty unbelievable at the end at times. Had the author stayed more true to life in that regard, this book would have been practically perfect. As it is, Perry Mason-esque courtroom scenes aside, it was pretty damn good.
Cherise Everhard, October 2010
Helpful Score: 1
I really enjoyed this one! Could hardly put it down. It is a legal/medical thriller. If you are a John Grisham fan, I definitely recommend this one.
It also has a phycological thriller story line....
I loved it
It also has a phycological thriller story line....
I loved it
I really enjoyed this book, didn't want to put it down! Although from a medical and physcologial standpoint some things in this book aren't possible, it is still a great read. Enthralling, captivating and keeps you on the edge of your proverbial seat. The overuse of 'big words' is a little irritating but otherwise I highly recommend this book.
Helpful Score: 1
This book had the opportunity to be decent. In fact it started off pretty good. While I couldn't relate to the characters, I enjoyed learning what it is like to live in family with an autistic(?) child. Then something happened. I think the author decided one day that she could a legal thriller even though the book started off more as a general drama. Then she took LSD (jk) and made some terrible decisions. The plot stopped making sense. The main character fell off the deep end and made decisions no sane person or mother would ever do. She was a lawyer for crying out loud! Anyway, there are points in the book where you will laugh out loud at the sheer stupidity. I don't regret reading it, but would advise Ms. van Heugten to never write another book. Stick to lawyering.
