Stephen Carpenter (2)

I was intrigued by this, mainly because I love the show Grimm, and wanted to see how Stephen Carpenter originally conceived of the story before the Hollywood writers got their hands on it.

Well, I'm very glad the Hollywood writers did get their hands on it. The premise of the Grimm curse works much better as played out on TV than in this book.

Though maybe I'm unfair in comparing the book to the TV show. So let's take the show out of the equation. This book was really three novellas telling show more three different stories. It's a coming-of-age story of Jake Grimm, who discovered he was a foster care child and runs away to find his real family. At least I assume he was in foster care - the author kept saying he was "adopted" though why his adopted family would get checks from the CPS is beyond me.

The writing was a bit amateurish, and the plots, particularly for the first book, went by too fast and verged on info-dumping at times. The stories would have benefited greatly from more fleshing out and turning each section into a full novel.

However, I did really enjoy the world building, and the premise. And I really liked that last story, "Snow White." I wish Carpenter had spent more time talking about the "templates" that the Otherworld creatures and their victims tended to adhere to - instead, it was mentioned vaguely, and you read between the lines to realize that the templates were the old Grimm fairy tales. But why? And why was the current Grimm's birthplace where the Otherworld congregated - what happened when a Grimm died somewhere that wasn't the new Otherworld center, or what happened before there were Grimms? show less

I “purchased” this e-book a couple years ago when it was available for free on Amazon and I’ve only just now gotten around to reading it. I should have read it sooner!

Killer is a fast-paced mystery that keeps you guessing for the first part of the book. Did the main character, Jack, commit the murder? If not, how did he write about the murder in such detail when it had happened before his book had been published? How did he know details about the murder that weren’t in the book? By show more the mid-point of the book, the author had left enough clues to allow the reader to figure out most of the answers. However, the story continued to move forward at a fast pace because there were still details to be filled in, not to mention a messy situation that needed to be resolved.

I liked the main character in the story. I found myself rooting for him and hoping he wasn’t the killer. There was one moment in this book that I particularly liked. After Jack learned from the police about the murder that seemed to be exactly like the one in his book, he went to his lawyer. Jack told his lawyer absolutely everything, even the stuff that seemed to implicate him that the police didn’t know about. It was very refreshing. Too often I’m frustrated by fictional characters of all genres who hold back information and keep secrets when it seems so obvious that it would be better for them in the long run if they just told the truth from the beginning. It often comes across as a plot device to create drama. I love it when characters actually behave in a manner that makes sense. You can still create drama without making your characters act like complete idiots. So, while Jack didn’t always make entirely brilliant decisions, I did really like the way he handled that meeting with his lawyer.

This book has a sequel (Killer in the Hills), but Killer stands completely on its own. There aren’t any dangling threads at the end to leave you feeling like you didn’t get a complete story. show less

Jack Rhodes is an author of a wildly popular series about a faceless, nameless serial killer. He spends most of his time in solitude, trying to out-write his past, and the demons of alcoholism. Things really get interesting when the LAPD contacts him. It turns out his books aren’t all that fictional, after all. The twists and turns are completely unpredictable, as Jack struggles to remember and deal with things he wish he could leave in the past.
Killer is one of those books that just show more grabs you. Scenes were written in such detail and so vividly, and the emotions were so raw, it was impossible not to feel for the characters. I could not read this book and not get hooked into the story. Jack has very real flaws and imperfections, and grew in ways that wouldn’t be unexpected, adding to the very realistic flavor of the story.
Nothing is what it seems, and I was guessing as I flew through the pages. I am certainly glad I came across this book, and I hope there are more like it! show less

Absolutely loved the book. I have always liked the Grimms Tales. Now with the show Grimm on TV, i have gotten a new taste of the fairy tales combined with the modern. Yes, it is book probably more suited for kids and young adults. But i consider myself young at heart and one is never too old for fairy tales, even ones with a modern twist. The story line was interesting as were the characters. I am looking forward to the other books by this author