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I loved this book, could not put it down and when finished, decided I must read his other books so purchased them all. Can't wait to get started on the next.

I thought this book was generally very good - however I did struggle about quarter way through as it got a bit repetitive and didn't seem to be going anywhere. It did however pick up again and by the end it was a can't put down read. Did anyone else feel it was a little rushed by the end compared with the amount of time it had spent on a very small time scale at the beginning?
It should also be noted that some of the descriptions of the murder scenes are quite disturbing so please be prepared.
However all in all very well written.

GREAT BOOK. Don't take any notice of the negative reviews. Its a very unusual "crime" novel and beatifully written. Needs time to read properly but it does grip from the beginning and the macabre content is sufficiently offbeat to make it a real page turner. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who simply likes a good story.
Christine Smythe

This was a beautifully and methodically written crime story that didn't have to resort to plentiful gory references to set the tone. There was a real quiet intensity about it and the author really took his time in telling the story, building the tension and then finally unfolding the mystery. It was wonderfully but frustratingly wide open in terms of identifying the culprit, with so many twists and turns that I didn't see coming. I did find it creepy and oppressive at times but again that is simply a testament to the author's skill in defining the nature of this book. Definitely one to add to your reading list this year.

This is the narrative of a journey, or rather journeys, into America, into despicable crime, into loss and gain and loss again, into dreams, ambition, love, hatred and fear. The narrator, Joseph Vaughan, takes us from his childhood in a superbly evoked Georgia to the bustling streets of Brooklyn via the hellhole of the American penal system. The story, spanning from a pre-WWII America emerging from the Depression to the shattered ideals of that nation at the end of the sixties, relates Vaughan's obessive hunt for the serial-killer of tens of children, a killer who has brought violence and pain into the Joseph's own home and family. We watch him grow, become a man haunted by his own ghosts (a major Ellory theme), and marvel at his desperate quest to both unmask the killer and retain his own sanity.
Lovers of long narratives that take their time weaving their webs, of intricate crime-stories, of rigourous yet entertaining writing, this one's for you. RJ Ellory breathes life into his descriptions of time, place and people that are quite staggering (considering he's English and his theatre of operations is America). It's a sometime's frightening story, filled with so much drama but one which leaves you with faith, inspired by the unhappy Vaughan, in human nature.