I really wanted to love this book. It sounded right up my street, time travelling, which I usually like as a theme, Chicago, which I've liked in the past as a setting (and which I admired her bravery as a time travelling location, although I did start to wonder was there something in the Illinois air), and a bit of horror, which I traditionally enjoy.
There is a buzz about this book at the moment, it's all over twitter, it's marked as a summer must read, so I went to Tescos last week and picked up a copy and curled up.
The positives - and there are many: the voice is very good, very fresh and confident, this is a writer who knows what she wants to do. The setting - whilst not nearly as sumptious as the hype suggested - was good. The main character, and the secondary protagonist, were likeable and the chemistry between them good. And it was nice to see a strong female protagonist. All of which, combined with the premise -- a time-travelling serial killer - led to a nice set up.
Sadly, the book fell down for me on a number of points. Firstly, I didn't, really, understand the science behind the time travelling, which seemed to be linked to a house, but not ever, really, explained. The sci fi fan in me started to twitch, but I like sci-fantasy so I swallowed my doubts and went on.
The antagonist's motives weren't really explained at any stage, he just seemed to come under the spell of the house and go on a spree. When it was explored his childhood was done quickly, and was a bit of a psycho-by-numbers without ever giving us a defining incident to hang it on.
But, in terms of keeping my interest up - which is where the book really failed, I got bored and remained bored until the last ten or so pages - the set up was one I struggled with. Each of the killings, whilst well written, were leading to an outcome we already knew about. The girls he killed were named early in the book and listed on the back cover, so there is no suspense in these meetings. And because, by and large, the victims are only characters we meet at the point of killing, or close to, we have no empathy. And, thus, it does become about the gore, and how he does it, and not the pathos. Which is a real pity because she outlines victims that we should have sympathy for.
Some parts of the book were lovely - the first victim, a stage performer who glows was very well done. The first encounter between Kirby, the protagonist, and Harper, the antagonist, was well laid and built on (although I found the notion of the killer being so careless as to carry evidence from the future with him a little hard to swallow). Their encounter, where he attempts to kill her, is shocking and close in its outline.
But, ultimately, I was disappointed. By the writing - there were a number of traits which I thought sorely needed stronger editing - by the lack of suspense, and mostly by a premise that could have been brilliant, but which just didn't do it for me.
There is a buzz about this book at the moment, it's all over twitter, it's marked as a summer must read, so I went to Tescos last week and picked up a copy and curled up.
The positives - and there are many: the voice is very good, very fresh and confident, this is a writer who knows what she wants to do. The setting - whilst not nearly as sumptious as the hype suggested - was good. The main character, and the secondary protagonist, were likeable and the chemistry between them good. And it was nice to see a strong female protagonist. All of which, combined with the premise -- a time-travelling serial killer - led to a nice set up.
Sadly, the book fell down for me on a number of points. Firstly, I didn't, really, understand the science behind the time travelling, which seemed to be linked to a house, but not ever, really, explained. The sci fi fan in me started to twitch, but I like sci-fantasy so I swallowed my doubts and went on.
The antagonist's motives weren't really explained at any stage, he just seemed to come under the spell of the house and go on a spree. When it was explored his childhood was done quickly, and was a bit of a psycho-by-numbers without ever giving us a defining incident to hang it on.
But, in terms of keeping my interest up - which is where the book really failed, I got bored and remained bored until the last ten or so pages - the set up was one I struggled with. Each of the killings, whilst well written, were leading to an outcome we already knew about. The girls he killed were named early in the book and listed on the back cover, so there is no suspense in these meetings. And because, by and large, the victims are only characters we meet at the point of killing, or close to, we have no empathy. And, thus, it does become about the gore, and how he does it, and not the pathos. Which is a real pity because she outlines victims that we should have sympathy for.
Some parts of the book were lovely - the first victim, a stage performer who glows was very well done. The first encounter between Kirby, the protagonist, and Harper, the antagonist, was well laid and built on (although I found the notion of the killer being so careless as to carry evidence from the future with him a little hard to swallow). Their encounter, where he attempts to kill her, is shocking and close in its outline.
But, ultimately, I was disappointed. By the writing - there were a number of traits which I thought sorely needed stronger editing - by the lack of suspense, and mostly by a premise that could have been brilliant, but which just didn't do it for me.
