Skull Session

I was mad at myself when I finished this book, that I didn’t figure it out before the end. Duh. I’m not sure how to feel now that I know.

I found Paul to be somewhat weak and pathetic. Really. Just ask the question for god’s sake. Don’t sit there wondering all over the place. He did start to fight back in the end though.

I liked the structure of the chapters. Unlike most thrillers, he didn’t leave each one as a mini-thriller all on its own. Each chapter had closure and was easy to pick up again. Not that I left it long – finished the book in one day. The dialogue from the aunt was a bit stilted though and it was never fully explained where her ex-husband got off to.

This is an interesting book on many levels, and had me hooked from the first page and, as much as it may seem that this would be an automatic 5 thumbs review, there were parts of this novel that pulled it down to a 4 thumbs rating.

The main protagonist suffers from Tourette’s syndrome which in itself is an unusual choice of malady to use in a protagonist. However, it works well with the subject matter of the book and, through the struggles the main lead has with his condition the reader learns a great deal about this illness; and this is where the book lost its 5 thumbs, at times there is so much neurological information it slows the narrative down, and that really affects the novel overall, but it did make me wonder if the Author had show more not had personal experience in some way of Tourette’s. Back to the main character; it is safe to say that this man has his plate full dealing not only with his own problems but those of his son who also has issues, what kind I am not saying as it would spoil the experience of reading the book. The reader is often taken inside the mind of the main character and is able to experience the world he lives in and the events that happen to him through his eyes. This serves to make him a very real person with great depth and, at times, it feels as if the reader is right there with him in this world.

When I first started reading this I assumed it was going to be a purely neurological thriller, and was quite happy to accept this; as I soon found out I was totally wrong. With a skilful hand the Author turns this book into a cross-genre novel covering everything from horror to supernatural urban fantasy with stops at the psychological and medical arenas along the way. It may sound that this leads to what is a very disjointed read, but each of the genres are woven seamlessly together making this an easy, if not very fast paced, read. For the die-hard horror fan out there, the ‘scary’ portions of this book may seem a little tame, but with everything that this book has going for it, it really doesn’t matter in my opinion.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a good thriller/mystery, and I will be reading more by this Author.


Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2015/05/15/review-skull-session-daniel-hecht/





This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. show less

This is an interesting book on many levels, and had me hooked from the first page and, as much as it may seem that this would be an automatic 5 thumbs review, there were parts of this novel that pulled it down to a 4 thumbs rating.

The main protagonist suffers from Tourette’s syndrome which in itself is an unusual choice of malady to use in a protagonist. However, it works well with the subject matter of the book and, through the struggles the main lead has with his condition the reader learns a great deal about this illness; and this is where the book lost its 5 thumbs, at times there is so much neurological information it slows the narrative down, and that really affects the novel overall, but it did make me wonder if the Author had show more not had personal experience in some way of Tourette’s. Back to the main character; it is safe to say that this man has his plate full dealing not only with his own problems but those of his son who also has issues, what kind I am not saying as it would spoil the experience of reading the book. The reader is often taken inside the mind of the main character and is able to experience the world he lives in and the events that happen to him through his eyes. This serves to make him a very real person with great depth and, at times, it feels as if the reader is right there with him in this world.

When I first started reading this I assumed it was going to be a purely neurological thriller, and was quite happy to accept this; as I soon found out I was totally wrong. With a skilful hand the Author turns this book into a cross-genre novel covering everything from horror to supernatural urban fantasy with stops at the psychological and medical arenas along the way. It may sound that this leads to what is a very disjointed read, but each of the genres are woven seamlessly together making this an easy, if not very fast paced, read. For the die-hard horror fan out there, the ‘scary’ portions of this book may seem a little tame, but with everything that this book has going for it, it really doesn’t matter in my opinion.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a good thriller/mystery, and I will be reading more by this Author.


Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2015/05/15/review-skull-session-daniel-hecht/





This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. show less

Wow, what a book!!
I am really stunned how the author put so many pieces of a puzzle into the story, shakes them and gets them back in logic order in a way that kept me reading, reading and wanting to read more.

The detective, Mo Ford, is investigating deaths of youth in the area, despite his superior don't want him to do it.
Paul and Lia are renovating the badly damaged house of his aunt. At first sight, these things have nothing in common.
When the story unfolds though, there are more and more pieces added to the picture and with me that arose my curiosity. Curious, who / what damaged the house so severely. Curious how a medical theory would fit in this picture, if at all.

The author got me following him in the wrong direction several show more times. I had no idea what to expect when the story neared the end. And I was surprised, very much so. But it was also logical.

From time to it is quite violent, with vivid descriptions especially near the end so this book is not for weak hearted. show less

A great mystery with a bit of the paranormal, and an interesting examination of the psyche. Characters are well-developed with an uncommon depth. This one will keep you thinking long after the last page.

I picked up this book based on my enjoyment of Daniel Hecht’s Cree Black series. I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much. An unemployed teacher, who happens to have Turret’s, takes on the job of renovating his aunt’s large home. In the renovation process he uncovers many family secrets. Reading this book I never really got to like any of the characters, so those horrible family secrets didn’t mean a lot to me. Finished the book only because I felt I should.

It's an interesting story written far different then any thriller I've ever read before. For a start, the story is told from the view of every character over and over again. Every a character is mentioned, what he or she sees, thinks at that moment is described in thorough details. It's like you can see the same environment through the eyes of each individual seperately.

The great thing about that is that it shows the writer has not just a broad fantasy but also a lot of talent in describing first impression from several points of views. However, I have to add that despite recognizing the great talent of the writer, I am not a big fan on description, especially not when as a reader I can sense the suspense of the story. I then get show more annoyed and have to repress the urge to skip all that and move forward to the plot.

What surprised me about the end is that in contrast of the detailed and very extensive description and explanation throughout the book, the outcome was compelling but yet surprisingly brief. Not that I minded, that's my style, leaving the explanation to common sense but stil it left me with the question: "Why take the reader through a journey of extended thoughts of the main character when he breaks his heads over a possible explanation and when he finally reaches that explanation, leave the reader guessing and filling in the gaps?" show less