Trigger warnings: Murder

6/10, well where do I begin with this one and this is the first and only book I've read from Ken Catran since my library does not have any other books that he wrote but he underwhelmed me with this crime novel. It starts off with the main character Robert living in Tucker, New Zealand when four people were killed and he tries to find out why and this is where the book gets quite unrealistic for two main reasons. First off Robert discovers some forest fortress where there is some sort of cult that believes in the Egyptian gods for whatever reason and I didn't find that believable and secondly there was a side plot that wasn't really needed where he dives into a lake with a trapdoor and a corridor to find some coins but apparently they were all fake so it was all for nothing I guess. I think the murderer was someone I least expected who might've used an alias and the only traces they left behind were jack cards with smiles on them which could represent something but I really am perplexed as to what they mean. The characters were just there to keep the story moving and I didn't care if some of them died since they had no characteristics whatsoever. I'm not surprised that my library has this novel because they like keeping old books, this one being 13 years old and better novels have been made since then. If you like crime novels skip this one and try the Inheritance Games series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes instead of this. ( )

A suspensful murder story that starts off well becomes a liitle monotonous then comes to the climax. By 2/3 through you will soon click who the killer is and how Robert is implicated. Robert lives in a small, prosperous rural town where his father is a respected and trusted pillar of the local community. He is also the financial advisor to the eccentric but essentially harmless community of Atenists ( a reclusive cult) who live nearby. When Robert's father and uncle are killed in road accident his comfortable world rapidly begins to unravel. With so much to deal with, he barely thinks about the evil grin on the playing card Jack found at the site of the accident. Until the second death, and the third, when once again Jack's leering malicious grin is found nearby. As Robert realises he never knew his father, those people his father betrayed turn against him, and he is forced to look deep into the shadows that are closing in if he is to get out alive. A classic whodunnit with a startling and unexpected twist which you will work out by the third murder. ( )

A great teenage read, a murder mystery with an unexpected twist, set in a small town where everyone knows one another. ( )

Robert comes from a small town called Tucker that is surrounded by the complex of a cult called the Atenists who believe they are descended from the Ancient Egyptians, When Robert's father and uncle are killed in a road accident, it is discovered that they have turned the townspeople's worth into collectable gold coins that have suddenly disappeared. As Robert peruses the scene of the accident, he finds a playing card with a scribbled smile but thinks nothing of it until one of the Atenists turns up dead with the same card in his pocket. Despite repeated warnings from the local cop, he doesn't leave town, but then has to endure bricks through windows, slashed tyres, no brakes and various other punishment from the townspeople who believe he knows where the gold is stashed. There are many references to the fable Beowolf and to the tale of the cockroach and the turtle as Robert ries to decipher where the gold is hidden. Along the way he is helped by his acid-tongued cousin Susan and her home stay companion Nicole, By the end of this book, everyone in Roberts' town appeared to be a suspect in the rash of "smiling Jack : killings and as it turned out, I was right with my guesses. An engaging and enetrtaining thriller.

Robert, who has dropped out of school, has been hauled away from Christchurch back to his small and rural hometown by his father who is financial advisor many of the townsfolk as well as it’s eccentric Atenist community. When his father and uncle are both killed in a car accident his life begins to unravel. A Jack card with a malicious grin added in pen is found at the crash site. Robert thinks nothing of it until the bodies and the cards start accumulating. The townspeople are harassing Robert, asking where the money that his father handled for them has disappeared to. How well did Robert actually know his father and how is he going to avoid becoming another victim of the Smiling Jack?

This is a fairly easy read from New Zealand author Ken Catran. I did have to make myself finish it as I found that I was bored about half way though. Main character Robert has great realizations, only to find out that he is incorrect which I found annoying. The character development could have been improved, but I enjoyed the references to Beowulf. An okay read. ( )