I loved this book

LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!!

Every single character was annoying at the very least and monstrous at worst. This was partly because they were written that way — manipulative, violent, scheming, extremely dishonest, drunken, whiny, detached to the point of not caring about anyone — and partly because of obnoxious voicing by narrator Jeffrey Cummings. This audiobook was in the car and only listened to in small doses most days, which was the only way I got through it. It did have a rather unexpected ending, though, giving it a little boost. I don’t go for feel-good, happily-ever-after stories, but Wild Zone was like going to a party where everyone is lewd, crude, rude, wasted out of their minds, and socially unacceptable, but at the end of the bad night, you see one couple sharing a sweet kiss. Doesn’t make it worth attending, but at least you end up with a momentary smile.

Weird. And not in a good way. Disturbing, but thankfully not graphically violent. On a positive note, this one was unique, so it gets a couple of stars for that. Feeling a bit queasy upon finishing it, though, and not looking for another Downing read for the foreseeable future.

"Little Blue Truck helped the Little piggy get to school. Little piggy was so late and cried, 'oink, oink, oink.' Little Blue took him to school. Little Blue Truck is so nice." --Kallen Jedrey, age 4

Update: this review is for NYPD Red (#1), not #7. Gave co-author (probably the ONLY author) Marshall Karp top billing here, so let’s see if it comes up correctly. This was better than the last few supposed Patterson books I’ve read/listened to, so kudos to Karp. The idea of the NYPD setting up a group of detectives specifically for highfalutin Hollywood types filming in the city is entertaining, and all the main characters were appealing in their own ways. I’ll definitely check out Red #2 when I need a quick easy listen for the ride to work.

While Mary’s tendency to bounce around seemingly at random on the timeline of her life can be irritating, this book will chill you to the bone. How she survived life in that family is a testament to her resilience and pure stubbornness. I’m counting this as my nonfiction book about winter, because a perfect subtitle would be Winter of the Soul. Those people weren’t just cold hearted; they were heartless and subhuman. Fred T. was gleefully cruel to his own son, and everyone who allowed it to go on for decades bears some of the weight of Freddie’s decline and ultimate death. I wish this were a novel, but it’s all too true.????

12/9 Update: Interesting tale. Interesting layout of the story. My initial concern was kinda sorta halfway right, but not in the way expected. The alternating POV worked well and played into the twists in unique ways. I often foresee endings, but this one surprised me a couple of times. Loved the ending, although many readers won’t. Personally, the last chapter nearly bumped it up to a 5-star rating, but let’s say 4.5. (A couple of typos were more distracting than they should’ve been. Do publishers no longer use proofreaders? Ugh.) 12/5: Good so far, but only a few chapters in. Concerned that the main character is going to be an unreliable narrator...

How does she do it? How does Karin Slaughter keep writing books that gut you AND make you snort-laugh while surprising you, infuriating you, and making you love her crazy-flawed characters? I have no idea but am grateful for her twisted, brilliant mind. After That Night was intense and distressing (as her Sara Linton books always are), but it was impossible to walk away for long. An old question was resolved in a monstrous way, with relationships gifting the saving grace that allows characters to carry on rather than succumbing to their pain. You know, kinda like real life. These books are graphic, violent, and yes (ugh), triggering. But she handles these issues with the skill of one who has experienced real-life horrors and has found that the only way to cope is to be brutally honest. *** Note: There are 2 (or 3, depending on the list) connected series in Slaughter’s bibliography, starting with 2001’s Blindsighted and ending (so far) with 2024’s This Is Why We Lied. They really must be read in order. The characters change considerably through the years. Their relationships change. And all those histories and changes are key to the storyline. She doesn’t spend excessive pages catching you up on their backstories like some series authors do. Missing Blindsighted would definitely have mattered when reading this book! (You can find the shorter stories on Libby if not on the library shelves.) ***

The last book I read by Fielding was notable because of the lack of any likable characters. Not sure how it’s possible, but this one had that same problem. It’s pretty bad when you really don’t care what happens to the people in the story. A saying came into my head near the end: Play stupid games; win stupid prizes. The main characters made repeated Idiotic choices, so it was hard to be empathetic. Essentially the theme was that saying. Sure, there was a horrible murderer. There was a cruel, cheating husband. A drunken mother. An emotionally abusive father. And another mother who constantly said “darling.” (Does anyone IRL use that word regularly? Ugh, hopefully not.) I’m just relieved the book is over. If it hadn’t been the audio version, I’d never have finished it. No more Fielding for me.