I have finally finished The Associate. Kyle has brought in not only his personal lawyer, who he consistently maintains is one of the few people he trusts, but also the Department of Justice and the FBI. They are the only people Kyle has told the full story too, until he tells his father and Dale, his fellow employee and budding romance partner. Kyle has shared his sketches of Bennie, as well as his assistants Nigel and a few other "thugs" that follow Kyle around, with the FBI. Feeling confident that they can capture Bennie, the FBI sets up a trap at one of the spots Bennie set up to meet with Kyle. As far as Kyle knows, Bennie is unaware that Kyle has gone to the feds, however, the FBI receives a surprise when they bust through Bennie's hotel window: it is vacant. Long before then, Bennie had exited the hotel and is likely long gone. The government has relocated Kyle to Pensacola, Florida while they do their best to nap Bennie and keep Kyle safe. However, Kyle refuses to become a part of the witness protection unit, becomes bored in Pensacola, and is soon back in the city. He has made up his mind that he doesn't want to work for Scully and Pershing anymore, and informs the partners higher up on the corporate food chain that he has reason to believe a spy is working for them. Like Dale, he is moving out of the city back to his roots, and plans to start up a smaller law firm, McAvoy and McAvoy, with his father. He has realized his intrinsic desire to get back to being a lawyer with "real clients" and doing what he loves. The story ends at this point, with no clear indication of what happened with Bennie, Joey Bernardo, nor Elaine and the rape allegation.
Personally, I really enjoyed the book. John Grisham is a very capable thriller novelist, and he captured my attention from beginning to end. Kyle was exactly the protagonist I crave reading about, and his thoughts and actions throughout the novel kept me wanting not only to read more, but to know more about Kyle's character. Grisham did a good job of developing Kyle throughout the novel, descriptively detailing Kyle's careful line between innocent pawn in a master plan and master crook and thief of corporate secrets. Kyle maintains this desire to keep his hands clean throughout the book, and the way Grisham paints him as senile to his peers even though Kyle knows he's sane was very interesting.
That being said, I absolutely DID NOT enjoy the ending. It simply ended, without any wrapping up of loose ends or anything of the sort. In my opinion, Grisham should have done something before ending the book, be it: explain Kyle's triumphing over Bennie, Bennie's maintained chokehold on Kyle's life, Elaine dropping the rape charges and having the whole plan disintegrate, Elaine pushing the rape charges harder, or even some sort of cliffhanger. However, this abrupt ending wasn't a cliffhanger at all, it simply...ended. Maybe if I read more of Grisham's work, I will discover that he has a knack for this, in which case I don't think I want to read him anymore. However, the ending of The Associate did not detract from the truly compelling story that it really was.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Book #2 Blog Entry Three
I am about two-thirds through The Associate, by John Grisham, and it is getting very good. Now that he has been forced to comply with the mysterious men who control his life, Kyle is now working at Scully and Pershing, the largest law firm in the world. His nose is forced to the grindstone, he's working intense hours and he has had to put his personal life on hold. Little is known about the actual lawsuit that Kyle is supposed to be extracting secrets from, except that it involves two mammoth large companies each fighting for a bigger cut of a government funded project involving a top-secret military hypersonic bomber. Bennie, the leader of the men who are blackmailing Kyle, has continued his constant following of Kyle, including placing tails on him and bugging his entire apartment. Kyle has struck up a "romance" with one of his cubicle mates at work, and he has also began to confide in Joey Bernardo, one of his college roommates involved in the rape allegation. Kyle and Joey are working on out-smarting the bad guys, but thus far it seems nothing is working and Elaine, the girl who cried rape, is sticking to her story.
So far in the novel, Grisham has developed the plot in a very slow, deliberate way. Already it is clear that unlike Harlan Coben (the author of my first novel) Grisham is more concerned with the development of Kyle's character than with unexpected plot twists and turns. So far, Kyle has avoided officially handing over any "government secrets" to Bennie so that he can keep his conscience clear. We are also seeing his personal life develop. Even with his round-the-clock hours at the office, and everything going on in his life, the fact that Kyle is still coming off as the person he really is and is even in a new romance tells that he is still in charge of his sanity. I have absolutely no prediction as to what will happen next, however, I know I would prefer a happy ending for Kyle. However, if Grisham decides to be a different author than I assume him to be, he very well might spell out a disappointing ending and a victory for the bad guys. I wouldn't think any less of the book either way, I'm just looking forward to reading more of this compelling book.
So far in the novel, Grisham has developed the plot in a very slow, deliberate way. Already it is clear that unlike Harlan Coben (the author of my first novel) Grisham is more concerned with the development of Kyle's character than with unexpected plot twists and turns. So far, Kyle has avoided officially handing over any "government secrets" to Bennie so that he can keep his conscience clear. We are also seeing his personal life develop. Even with his round-the-clock hours at the office, and everything going on in his life, the fact that Kyle is still coming off as the person he really is and is even in a new romance tells that he is still in charge of his sanity. I have absolutely no prediction as to what will happen next, however, I know I would prefer a happy ending for Kyle. However, if Grisham decides to be a different author than I assume him to be, he very well might spell out a disappointing ending and a victory for the bad guys. I wouldn't think any less of the book either way, I'm just looking forward to reading more of this compelling book.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Book #2 Blog Entry Two
The Associate - John Grisham
I wrote my first journal on Digital Fortress, by Dan Brown, but I switched my book to The Associate so that's what I will write blogs 2 and 3 on.
The novel begins telling the story of Kyle McAvoy, who appears to be a clean cut, hardworking law student and citizen. Kyle is the coach of an inner city youth basketball team, and near the end of one of his games, he sees a mysterious man in a suit enter the gym. The man, along with a partner, approaches Kyle after the game, and pressure into talking to them about an alleged rape by Kyle years ago. The men claim to be FBI agents, and after Kyle "checks their stories" he talks to them about the night in question. He can recall nothing after blacking out from drinking too much, but swears he never touched the girl. Kyle gets blackmailed into meeting with another man claiming to be a Pittsburgh prosecutor (where the incident took place) and reveals to him everything about his family life, job happenings, and the night in question. Most of all, Kyle does not want these men to publicize the alleged rape, fearing his life will go down the tubes. All this seems to be at a breaking point,until the "prosecutor" reveals to Kyle the truth: his "prosecutor" occupation, the "FBI men"--none of them are actually who they said they were. In fact, they work at a law firm, and they created this ploy to recruit Kyle to come work for them. (cue dramatic music)
Only four chapters into this book, and I am reeeeeally hooked. My grandma was the one who recommended it to me, and so far, I've eaten up every word Grisham has written. Kyle is exactly the prototype of protagonist I enjoy--clever, curious, and full of potential to do good. However, I crave seeing him be swallowed up by the dark side of life, and although I do want him to come out on top, I've found that even more so I want to simply know what happens next, regardless of the consequences. To be honest, I don't have any predictions for this novel, or at least not yet. With the Dan Brown novels that I've read before, although I obviously can't predict what happens next, I can more or less play out much of the novel in terms of ups and downs for the protagonist, based on other Dan Brown novels that I've read. However, I may find out that Grisham doesn't always reserve happy endings for his protagonists, which would be just fine with me. I'm anxious to see how the rest of the book goes, so if it's alright with you, I'm gonna end this journal now and go read.
I wrote my first journal on Digital Fortress, by Dan Brown, but I switched my book to The Associate so that's what I will write blogs 2 and 3 on.
The novel begins telling the story of Kyle McAvoy, who appears to be a clean cut, hardworking law student and citizen. Kyle is the coach of an inner city youth basketball team, and near the end of one of his games, he sees a mysterious man in a suit enter the gym. The man, along with a partner, approaches Kyle after the game, and pressure into talking to them about an alleged rape by Kyle years ago. The men claim to be FBI agents, and after Kyle "checks their stories" he talks to them about the night in question. He can recall nothing after blacking out from drinking too much, but swears he never touched the girl. Kyle gets blackmailed into meeting with another man claiming to be a Pittsburgh prosecutor (where the incident took place) and reveals to him everything about his family life, job happenings, and the night in question. Most of all, Kyle does not want these men to publicize the alleged rape, fearing his life will go down the tubes. All this seems to be at a breaking point,until the "prosecutor" reveals to Kyle the truth: his "prosecutor" occupation, the "FBI men"--none of them are actually who they said they were. In fact, they work at a law firm, and they created this ploy to recruit Kyle to come work for them. (cue dramatic music)
Only four chapters into this book, and I am reeeeeally hooked. My grandma was the one who recommended it to me, and so far, I've eaten up every word Grisham has written. Kyle is exactly the prototype of protagonist I enjoy--clever, curious, and full of potential to do good. However, I crave seeing him be swallowed up by the dark side of life, and although I do want him to come out on top, I've found that even more so I want to simply know what happens next, regardless of the consequences. To be honest, I don't have any predictions for this novel, or at least not yet. With the Dan Brown novels that I've read before, although I obviously can't predict what happens next, I can more or less play out much of the novel in terms of ups and downs for the protagonist, based on other Dan Brown novels that I've read. However, I may find out that Grisham doesn't always reserve happy endings for his protagonists, which would be just fine with me. I'm anxious to see how the rest of the book goes, so if it's alright with you, I'm gonna end this journal now and go read.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Blog Entry Three
Tell No One - Harlan Coben
The last third of the book was no different than what I had read thus far--thrilling. Beck, the protagonist, is continuing to trace the evidence to what he believes is proof that his wife, Elizabeth, is alive. Because of her, he maintains his practices of "rolling with two known drug dealers in a car with tinted windows" (345), carrying a concealed weapon, and risking his life in sketchy situations. We also are treated to the details of the whereabouts and actions of Elizabeth. Still unbeknown to Beck, she is alive, and she seeks out Shauna (Beck's sister's wife and close confidant) to relay a clue to Beck. Beck sorts out the clue, and finds Elizabeth at the exact same spot they last saw each other before they disappeared. After their reunion, they both realize what needs to be done. Beck seeks out Elizabeth's father, Hoyt, who was hiding a lot more than previously thought by the reader, and together Beck and Hoyt sort through the secrets of the last eight years. Beck and Hoyt travel to the place of the leader of the "villains", where Beck's name is cleared once and for all.
After the climax of the story, I found myself pondering the purpose of finishing the novel. Even though the climax had just taken place, there were still many loose ends that needed to be tied up before the story finished. While tying up these loose ends, Coben continued to throw 'left hooks' with the storyline. New revelations about what the reader had previously thought to be truths were numerous, but at that point, it really didn't matter to me. In fact, Coben seemed a little too concerned with making it too thrilling for the reader to follow along with. The plot became so convoluted that not only was I having trouble keeping up with the truths and lies in the story, but I became genuinely uninterested. Another disappointing aspect of the story involved Beck's wife, Elizabeth. Throughout much of the story, the reader, just like Beck, was kept in the dark about whether or not Elizabeth was still alive. Having read several thrillers similar to this already, I had a predisposition that she would be alive and that Beck would get to see her. However, when a few of the setting "jumps" from chapter to chapter followed Elizabeth's character around, this completely ruined the surprise. Despite all this, I truly am glad I was introduced to Coben as a suspense novel author. And, although still a book worthy of reading, there are several aspects of Tell No One that I would rather have had Coben write differently.
The last third of the book was no different than what I had read thus far--thrilling. Beck, the protagonist, is continuing to trace the evidence to what he believes is proof that his wife, Elizabeth, is alive. Because of her, he maintains his practices of "rolling with two known drug dealers in a car with tinted windows" (345), carrying a concealed weapon, and risking his life in sketchy situations. We also are treated to the details of the whereabouts and actions of Elizabeth. Still unbeknown to Beck, she is alive, and she seeks out Shauna (Beck's sister's wife and close confidant) to relay a clue to Beck. Beck sorts out the clue, and finds Elizabeth at the exact same spot they last saw each other before they disappeared. After their reunion, they both realize what needs to be done. Beck seeks out Elizabeth's father, Hoyt, who was hiding a lot more than previously thought by the reader, and together Beck and Hoyt sort through the secrets of the last eight years. Beck and Hoyt travel to the place of the leader of the "villains", where Beck's name is cleared once and for all.
After the climax of the story, I found myself pondering the purpose of finishing the novel. Even though the climax had just taken place, there were still many loose ends that needed to be tied up before the story finished. While tying up these loose ends, Coben continued to throw 'left hooks' with the storyline. New revelations about what the reader had previously thought to be truths were numerous, but at that point, it really didn't matter to me. In fact, Coben seemed a little too concerned with making it too thrilling for the reader to follow along with. The plot became so convoluted that not only was I having trouble keeping up with the truths and lies in the story, but I became genuinely uninterested. Another disappointing aspect of the story involved Beck's wife, Elizabeth. Throughout much of the story, the reader, just like Beck, was kept in the dark about whether or not Elizabeth was still alive. Having read several thrillers similar to this already, I had a predisposition that she would be alive and that Beck would get to see her. However, when a few of the setting "jumps" from chapter to chapter followed Elizabeth's character around, this completely ruined the surprise. Despite all this, I truly am glad I was introduced to Coben as a suspense novel author. And, although still a book worthy of reading, there are several aspects of Tell No One that I would rather have had Coben write differently.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Blog Entry Two
Tell No One - Harlan Coben
Now that the characters, setting, and other basic parts of the story have been established, the plot is really beginning to pick up steam. The protagonist, Dr. Beck, is now a fully wanted man by authorities, and even more chilling, by other shady villains. In an effort to keep his desires to see his wife alive again, he flees from his assumed surrender in order to try to meet Elizabeth at a specific location later that day. Beck even assaulted a police officer--which only paints him as more guilty--but it really demonstrated the lengths he is willing to go to to see his wife alive. Coben also goes into the legal proceedings of all the events at hand. There are several of "behind closed doors"meetings between Beck's hard-hitting attorney and the police force and other attorneys, who seem predisposed to believe Beck guilty. Indeed, all of the evidence is pointing at him--a warm gun in his trash can, his blood at the crime scene--but Beck never once loses hope. More and more of his acquaintances are murdered by shady villains with an unclear agenda. As the story progresses, more and more evidence begins to turn up and it continues to point to Beck, even though the reader knows (or would like to think) that he is not guilty.
Since the beginning of the story, the overall tone of the story has become much darker. More murders are taking place, and are being described in more chilling detail. Even past murders are being brought up, with horrific descriptions of tortures and beatings as well. However, even among all this, I really like how the author uses dry humor. Coben instills his brutal honesty into Beck, even at the most dire of times. In regards to child abuse, for example: "The Bad Man isn't lurking in playgrounds, kiddies. He lives in your house." (170) Beck doesn't play games with himself; he knows how he thinks and he has a pretty good grip on what other people's thoughts and opinions are too. I also like how Beck has come to develop thus far. He began in the story as what seemed to be a typical grieving widow. Yes, he was crushed by his wife's tragic death, but he had began to live his life again. Now, we see Beck in a different light. He used to be "married to his work", but but it is obvious that he still hasn't gotten over Elizabeth's death. He has developed (or maybe regressed) to an individual who acts without thinking, with his eyes only on one prize. As the story progresses, I will be interested to see whether this almost immature thinking on Beck's part will lead to him getting what he wants, or maybe his downfall--because I know so little about this author, I wouldn't be surprised if the novel had a "sad' ending.
So far, the fast-paced plot is the main aspect of the story that is making me want to turn the pages. This story has all of the thrill of a classic Dan Brown book, and I'm anxious to see how it turns out.
Now that the characters, setting, and other basic parts of the story have been established, the plot is really beginning to pick up steam. The protagonist, Dr. Beck, is now a fully wanted man by authorities, and even more chilling, by other shady villains. In an effort to keep his desires to see his wife alive again, he flees from his assumed surrender in order to try to meet Elizabeth at a specific location later that day. Beck even assaulted a police officer--which only paints him as more guilty--but it really demonstrated the lengths he is willing to go to to see his wife alive. Coben also goes into the legal proceedings of all the events at hand. There are several of "behind closed doors"meetings between Beck's hard-hitting attorney and the police force and other attorneys, who seem predisposed to believe Beck guilty. Indeed, all of the evidence is pointing at him--a warm gun in his trash can, his blood at the crime scene--but Beck never once loses hope. More and more of his acquaintances are murdered by shady villains with an unclear agenda. As the story progresses, more and more evidence begins to turn up and it continues to point to Beck, even though the reader knows (or would like to think) that he is not guilty.
Since the beginning of the story, the overall tone of the story has become much darker. More murders are taking place, and are being described in more chilling detail. Even past murders are being brought up, with horrific descriptions of tortures and beatings as well. However, even among all this, I really like how the author uses dry humor. Coben instills his brutal honesty into Beck, even at the most dire of times. In regards to child abuse, for example: "The Bad Man isn't lurking in playgrounds, kiddies. He lives in your house." (170) Beck doesn't play games with himself; he knows how he thinks and he has a pretty good grip on what other people's thoughts and opinions are too. I also like how Beck has come to develop thus far. He began in the story as what seemed to be a typical grieving widow. Yes, he was crushed by his wife's tragic death, but he had began to live his life again. Now, we see Beck in a different light. He used to be "married to his work", but but it is obvious that he still hasn't gotten over Elizabeth's death. He has developed (or maybe regressed) to an individual who acts without thinking, with his eyes only on one prize. As the story progresses, I will be interested to see whether this almost immature thinking on Beck's part will lead to him getting what he wants, or maybe his downfall--because I know so little about this author, I wouldn't be surprised if the novel had a "sad' ending.
So far, the fast-paced plot is the main aspect of the story that is making me want to turn the pages. This story has all of the thrill of a classic Dan Brown book, and I'm anxious to see how it turns out.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Blog Entry One
Tell No One - Harlan Coben
Almost halfway into this book, it is already proving to be a very worthy suspense/thriller novel, comparable to the well known literary genius of the acclaimed author Dan Brown. The story is narrated by Dr. David Beck, a pediatrician who lost his wife, Elizabeth, to a ghastly murder eight years ago. Beck and Elizabeth had been madly in love since they were 12, and they had a romantic tradition of returning to the same, recluded spot they shared their first kiss each year since they had been married. Eight years ago, they were relaxing at this destination when disaster struck: David was beaten over the head, and Elizabeth was kidnapped. A few days later, she was found on the side of the road, dead--believed the work of a dastardly serial killer, KillRoy. In the present, David is alone on the anniversary of Elizabeth's disappearance when he receives a mysterious e-mail. This e-mail leads to an eerie sign that Elizabeth might still be alive, and includes the phrase "tell no one." in its closing. The story bounces around each chapter between several "groups" of characters and settings, with every page more chilling than the one before. Beck is being followed by more than one group of "villains", and as the story progresses, David finds out more about Elizabeth's death than he ever thought was there. As Beck gets closer to finding out the truth, the predators that are on his tail keep inching closer to him, and I can't wait to read the second half of the book.
Thus far, one of the main aspects of the author's writing style that I like is that the chapters bounce around from setting to setting. It keeps me on the edge of my seat, and definitely makes the story more suspenseful, because I just need to read the next chapter in order to find out what happens next. It is challenging, but I enjoy that. This style of chapter organization is also similar to the Dan Brown novels that I have read. One primary theme of the story so far is one that the main character, Beck, thinks about a lot. He has gone through the grieving process first hand, and knows better than many what it is like to have something so close to you ripped away, without you being able to do anything about it. Indeed, Beck gives the reader thought-provoking insight into this topic. Also, the point of view of the story is intriguing. Beck narrates the novel, yet when the story cuts out to the assumed villainous characters' actions, we also know their thoughts and feelings. However, sometimes with a suspense novel, I would rather not know what every single character was thinking (as in 3rd person omniscient). I think a more limited 1st person narration is perfect for Tell No One, because it allows us to know what Beck is thinking, but more importantly, it limits our knowledge of the workings of the villains' minds. More suspense would be able to be created if when the story cut out to parts besides Beck's, only the facts were given, no opinions or thoughts.
That said, I really am enjoying this book. It's definitely a page-turner, and as a matter of fact I think I'm going to go read some more.
- Troy
Almost halfway into this book, it is already proving to be a very worthy suspense/thriller novel, comparable to the well known literary genius of the acclaimed author Dan Brown. The story is narrated by Dr. David Beck, a pediatrician who lost his wife, Elizabeth, to a ghastly murder eight years ago. Beck and Elizabeth had been madly in love since they were 12, and they had a romantic tradition of returning to the same, recluded spot they shared their first kiss each year since they had been married. Eight years ago, they were relaxing at this destination when disaster struck: David was beaten over the head, and Elizabeth was kidnapped. A few days later, she was found on the side of the road, dead--believed the work of a dastardly serial killer, KillRoy. In the present, David is alone on the anniversary of Elizabeth's disappearance when he receives a mysterious e-mail. This e-mail leads to an eerie sign that Elizabeth might still be alive, and includes the phrase "tell no one." in its closing. The story bounces around each chapter between several "groups" of characters and settings, with every page more chilling than the one before. Beck is being followed by more than one group of "villains", and as the story progresses, David finds out more about Elizabeth's death than he ever thought was there. As Beck gets closer to finding out the truth, the predators that are on his tail keep inching closer to him, and I can't wait to read the second half of the book.
Thus far, one of the main aspects of the author's writing style that I like is that the chapters bounce around from setting to setting. It keeps me on the edge of my seat, and definitely makes the story more suspenseful, because I just need to read the next chapter in order to find out what happens next. It is challenging, but I enjoy that. This style of chapter organization is also similar to the Dan Brown novels that I have read. One primary theme of the story so far is one that the main character, Beck, thinks about a lot. He has gone through the grieving process first hand, and knows better than many what it is like to have something so close to you ripped away, without you being able to do anything about it. Indeed, Beck gives the reader thought-provoking insight into this topic. Also, the point of view of the story is intriguing. Beck narrates the novel, yet when the story cuts out to the assumed villainous characters' actions, we also know their thoughts and feelings. However, sometimes with a suspense novel, I would rather not know what every single character was thinking (as in 3rd person omniscient). I think a more limited 1st person narration is perfect for Tell No One, because it allows us to know what Beck is thinking, but more importantly, it limits our knowledge of the workings of the villains' minds. More suspense would be able to be created if when the story cut out to parts besides Beck's, only the facts were given, no opinions or thoughts.
That said, I really am enjoying this book. It's definitely a page-turner, and as a matter of fact I think I'm going to go read some more.
- Troy
Monday, November 29, 2010
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