Wide Open (edition 2012)

Check out this review and more like it on my blog -- Written Permission

I saw this book in the “New” section of my library’s website, and it seemed interesting. I didn’t really know what I was getting into with it. I think I expected more general fiction/mystery with a ghostly touch. But instead I got weird. Like. Just very odd.

The premise (reading the Goodreads blurb) of Wide Open is OK enough, but for me it seemed like there were too many forces at play in the book. We had ghosts, we had the fact that Hallie is in the army, we have the big bad and his ancient power. And they didn’t really play nicely together. Not to mention that the fact that Hallie is in the army doesn’t really play much of a role in the book, except to give her a) a reason for seeing ghosts, b) a timeline, and c) something to repeat every few pages. Points A and B could have easily been taken care of by something else.

Pausing on Hallie for a moment, I have a bone to pick with how she was written. Swearing all the time does not make a badass character. Being in the army does not make a badass character. There needs to be a certain attitude, and I really didn’t find that Hallie had that. On the subject of characters in general, I didn’t find anything stellar here. Boyd was pretty typical sidekick, and the rest of the characters are firmly secondary.

The pacing of Wide Open was weird to me. A lot of time was spent investigating without really finding anything out. All the while, Hallie is counting down the days in her head until she has to leave to go back overseas. I imagine that Coates was trying to instill a sense of being rushed, or panic, but I didn’t feel it at all. I didn’t get emotionally invested in the characters or the story. I was mildly curious to see how it would end, but it didn’t have a great ending either. Not enough explanation for my tastes.

Bottom Line: Wide Open has too much and not enough going on. It didn’t grab me, and I wouldn’t recommend it. ( )

Lovely. A supernatural mystery, with ghosts, that's nicely paced and tense without being over-the-top. The protagonist has, for once, very good and clear reasons for the very typical urban-fantasy-heroine brashness, and she's well-developed and believable throughout. The love interest is also fascinating, in that he fills a very typical niche without setting off any of my asshole alerts, which is sadly rare in the subgenre. Most enjoyable. I look forward to the sequel. ( )

The premise: ganked from BN.com: When Sergeant Hallie Michaels comes back to South Dakota from Afghanistan on ten days' compassionate leave, her sister Dell's ghost is waiting at the airport to greet her.

The sheriff says that Dell's death was suicide, but Hallie doesn't believe it. Something happened or Dell's ghost wouldn't still be hanging around. Friends and family, mourning Dell's loss, think Hallie's letting her grief interfere with her judgment. The one person who seems willing to listen is the deputy sheriff, Boyd Davies, who shows up everywhere and helps when he doesn't have to.

As Hallie asks more questions, she attracts new ghosts, women who disappeared without a trace. Soon, someone's trying to beat her up, burn down her father's ranch, and stop her investigation. Hallie's going to need Boyd, her friends, and all the ghosts she can find to defeat an enemy who has an unimaginable ancient power at his command.

Wide Open is a "refreshingly original dark fantasy debut" (Publishers Weekly) by author Deborah Coates.

My Rating: 7 - Good Read

If I did halves, this would be 7.5, as it's leaning towards excellent. There's a lot I love about this book, namely the writing and how it's infused with character and setting and atmosphere. Everything feel so well developed, which helps the plot, which isn't quite as developed, but rather hums along with the pages, waiting for the characters to figure things out and get into enough trouble so that the story comes to a climax. I can't say I was ever bored, and there were moments in the prose that jarred me in ways I wish were polished a wee bit more, but this dark fantasy should be very pleasing to those fans of Cherie Priest's Eden Moore trilogy (Four and Twenty Blackbirds, etc), as well as to those readers who love reading about small towns and the crazy-ass magic and paranormal activity that can foster there. Of those types of books I've read in the past, this much better, and it's very, very likely I'll be picking up the sequel, Deep Down, when it comes out later this year. I also think McGuire fans will enjoy this, if they like the darkness in her October Daye series. It's a book that deserves a wider audience, and while I don't know yet if I'll nominate this for a Hugo, it's certainly on my consideration list.

Spoilers, yay or nay?: Nay. The full review may be found at my blog, and as always, comments and discussion are most welcome. Just click the link below to go directly to the full review!

REVIEW: Deborah Coates' WIDE OPEN

Happy Reading! ( )

Hallie can see ghosts, something she has been able to do since she died for several minutes in Afghanistan and was revived. If it isn't unpleasant enough to cope with never-ending visions of the dead, it's all the worse when she returns home to attend her sister's funeral and finds her sister's ghost waiting for her at the airport.

Cue the mysterious paranormal rural-not-urban fantasy novel plot, where the death of the sister is mysterious and the means mysteriouser. There are hunky police officers, magicky magicalness, and a large array of character I occasionally had trouble keeping track of. Hallie is a pretty cool kick-ass female character, but unfortunately she is so ridiculously bull headed that it mars her kick-assery. Instead of thinking how awesome she was like I should have I mostly found myself wanting her to be hit by a bus or something. A shame, really.

Alas, this book probably wasn't meant for me from the beginning. I picked it up based on the cover alone, even though I had at first re-shelved it after catching a glimpse of the word 'ghosts' in the summary. It wasn't bad, I just had a hard time enjoying. Not my thing, but it's understandable that others would like it. ( )

ghosts supernatural mystery soldier Afghanistan South Dakota weather magic lightning ( )