CluckingBell

Competently written, but reviewers have played it a little fast and loose with words like "thriller." I might forgive a predictable storyline if it were tautly told, but when the only surprises happen because the characters are inexplicably stupid or disengaged from reality, and even their stupidity fails to take the story in a different direction, I'm just disappointed. But in a way that would still be fun to recount in excruciating detail with someone else who'd read it (or someone who hasn't read it, but I doubt such a person would have much patience for me). It gets 2 stars because I could see the bones of a decent story and genuine popular-fiction writing ability, but it just doesn't deliver on any level.