Eleven Hours

I don't know exactly why but I keep reading other novels by Paullina Simons looking for the same feeling "The Bronze Horseman" trilogy left me, which I devoured in no time (and they are not short books at all!).
This is my second book by Simons after the trilogy, and again, I feel more than disappointed, I feel disgusted.
No trace of the smart and subtle prose of her most acclaimed series, just another impossibly likable characters in a superficial story not believable at all...

In this "thriller", we meet nine-month pregnant Didi (short name for Desdemona...) who is kidnapped by a disturbed young man in the parking of a mall (going shopping stupid make up and underwear when you're due any minute?). We are supposed to wonder why he show more kidnaps her, and even though it isn't revealed until the last pages, it's completely obvious from the beginning, which makes all the story even more pointless...
Her husband Rich tries to save her with the help of a typical film FBI Agent, half stupid half funny (or at least he tries to be...).
Plus I couldn't help but dislike Didi; she seemed false and swallow, her supposed Christianity and her willingness to save everybody didn't match her passion and strength in her fighting of the last pages, I doubt a pregnant woman mistreated the way she was could have the nerve to react the way she does in the last chapter.
All in all, the novel failed to move me, I found it charmless and predictable and vulgar.
And let me warn you, there are some passages with explicit violence, disgusting detailed descriptions of physical abuse and torture, which I personally found unnecessary.

So, if you're looking for a thriller, go for a Stephen King's or even a James Patterson's and don't bother with this novel.
In fact, I think I won't bother myself with Simons anymore... show less

This book was a page turner and had suspense and action from the start to the end, the writing is accomplished and it is hard to put down at times, but..

..but, it is what I call an airport book. You buy it to read on a long flight and then pass it on when you're finished. It's an average read but not a book that needs to be kept in your personal library. It's a 'my mind is overloaded and I need something easy to read' book.

The story centres on Didi, a heavily pregnant woman who is abducted from a shopping mall. Her kidnapper doesn't seem to want money and he teeters back and forth between being nice and a violent psycho. Her husband is beside himself and every second chapter is from his point of view and the search to find her.

As I show more said, this story is well written and a page turner but what irritated me were the increasingly frequent references to christianity. I felt these religious overtones actually pulled the story down a notch or two as they added no value to the plot and seemed contrived and only written in as a nod to the authors own beliefs perhaps. At the very first mention, I almost put the book down for good - that's how much they didn't work with the rest of the story.

So, in summary, a thriller that will keep you in suspense but I don't recommend it unless you are bored and can't get into any heavier reads. show less

Another riveting read from this author. As the title suggests, this book takes place over the course of eleven hours. Didil a heavily pregnant woman is kidnapped, and this book tells the story from her own viewpoint and the viewpoint of her husband. I felt that the reader was really able to get into the mind of Didi, and that all of the characters were very believeable. A real page turner - I couldn't put this book down!

A heavily pregnant woman is abducted from her local mall. While Lyle has his own agenda, Desdemona struggles to control her actions so that she doesn’t anger him further. With the FBI and her husband quickly on her trail it is only a matter of time before things come to a head. I found this story to be a bit Christian with a lot of praying, something I don’t enjoy. Average read.

An amazing book! I couldn't put it down and read it in less than a day. I fell in love with one of her other books, 'Tully,' and this is certainly very different, but in a good way. Some parts I found absolutely horrific but I couldn't help but read just to find out what happened to her. Not for the faint-hearted, but I would certainly recommend it!

not as good as Tully

Excellently suspenseful novel, highly recommended.