The Hunt Club

Starts out strong, another good book by Lott. I figured the ex-cop was going to be one of those tough-as-nails, can solve anything. Nice to be wrong. The narrator, Huger, is a 15 yr old who grows up quickly after discovering a dead body and gets involved in local intrigue about his family's land by greedy men.
By the end, I was feeling that the parents should be a bit stronger, not fall apart as much as they did, especially in comparison to the teen who saved the day. Simons frequent use of "trailer-trash" label got old fast.
I do have a couple of questions: Huger spent $9 to fill up his truck's tank (p. 81), yet the internet is important in the story, so the setting isn't that long ago. How would a deaf person have learned to walk show more quietly in the woods (p. 84)? show less

This is a slow-moving mystery that comes together a bit too easily. I'd like more from the characters, and a bit more thought to fitting it all together not quite so smoothly, but overall it's an entertaining read that's unique from most of the mysteries I've read recently, in character portrayal if nothing else. It probably isn't something you'll come back to again, but if you're looking for a story and entertainment, it's worth picking up.

My bookshop snuck this Advanced Reading Copy to me because it's set in the town where my folks live - Charleston, S.C. There is a murder but this is much more a coming of age kind of story than a mystery. The story is very true to its Southern roots and the Charleston references were really interesting to me.

The ending was a bit of a blur and a little unclear, but that's because it was so fast paced, and I didn't really care becasue I was turning the pages very fast to get there... a well-written, engaging book it was. I read it as a challenged book for Banned Book Week, and am very glad I did. Frankly, the challenge that was written up in the Post and Courier picqued my curiosity as to what all the fuss was about. Yes, there's language and violence, but it really wasn't written for children, although the protagonist is a child. I think those are just part and parcel of the book, as an artform, reflecting life as it really is.

I was disappointed with this story. Set in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, this book focuses on a 15-year-old who becomes involved in a murder investigation that turns out to be more than meets the eye. He soon learns that the murder that has occurred on his uncle's land is connected to the efforts of prominent members of Charleston society to blackmail his blind uncle into selling his hunting land to them. For me, the story moved slowly until the last few chapters. Then the author threw in some twists, ones that I did not see coming. I did enjoy the addition of local folk lore and would have liked to see more. Due to strong language, this is definitely a book for adults and mature YAs.

This book was not at all what I expected, but it was a good book. I did think that the part where everything happened near the end dragged on a bit and would have rated the book higher if not for that. There were a couple of twists that I didn't expect, which always keeps a book interesting. I thought several times as I read this book that it would make a good TV movie.

#18, 2004

I'd read one of Lott's books when it was an Oprah selection (Jewel), and when I spotted this one in the library, I thought I'd give it a try. Basically a murder mystery, but with less emphasis on a complex plot and a lot of time spent on the emotions and thoughts of the teenaged boy narrating the story. I liked it, but didn't love it. Not bad, but nothing special.