Acceleration by Graham McNamee

From Goodreads.com:
“It’s a hot, hot summer, and in the depths of the Toronto Transit Authority’s Lost and Found, 17-year-old Duncan is cataloging lost things and sifting through accumulated junk. And between Jacob, the cranky old man who runs the place, and the endless dusty boxes overflowing with stuff no one will ever claim, Duncan’s just about had enough. Then he finds a little leather book. It’s a diary filled with the dark and dirty secrets of a twisted mind, a serial killer stalking his prey in the subway. And Duncan can’t make himself stop reading.

What would you do with a book like that? How far would you go to catch a madman?

And what if time was running out. . . .”

Duncan is an average kid living an average life in a blue collar section of Toronto. He takes a summer job working in the lost and found (aka “The Morgue”) of the subway. There he finds a diary and decides to read it.

Once he realizes it is the diary of a serial killer in training Duncan doesn’t know what to do. He tries to take it to the police, who ignore him. He decides to try to find out who “Roach” (the nickname he gives the diary’s author) is and what is his next move. He enlists first the help of his friend Vinnie. Vinnie is smart and soon figures out where “Roach” feels most comfortable. That is where he is likely to strike, or so Vinnie believes because of all the books he has read.

Wayne is Duncan’s oldest friend. They grew up in “the jungle” (the nickname of the housing complex where all three live) together. Wayne is a petty criminal and is working at a fast food place for the summer. Wayne and Vinnie don’t get along so Duncan ends up working first with Vinnie and then with Wayne to solve this mystery.

It isn’t the most realistic mystery ever. How many teenage boys would actually stalk a serial killer, and then break into his house (with his deaf grandmother in the living room)? It is a compelling story though. I wanted Duncan to catch “Roach”.

Each character had his good qualities and his flaws. Vinnie has a deformed arm and hand and is super sensitive about it. He is smart but cautious. Wayne is not the sharpest knife in the drawer but he is street savvy and that comes in handy when Duncan decides to break into “Roach’s” house. Duncan is plagued by a drowning death he witnessed and was unable to save the girl. He is looking for some sort of redemption.

I listened to the audio CD of this book. The reader did an excellent job of setting the tone and the mood. I would recommend this book to teen boys but I think girls will enjoy it too. It is, as many mysteries are, fairly predictable but an entertaining read. ( )

Acceleration starts with a great premise: a teenager takes a summer job at the transit authority lost and found department in Toronto. While working in the "stacks," he finds a lost diary. As he reads it, he realizes that it is the rantings of what is probably a serial killer. If this story had remained focused on the mystery of finding the serial killer, it could have been a really good story, but it gets mired in the personal life of the main character. Most of the story deals with Duncan and his relationship with his friends and family, which changed dramatically after an unsuccessful attempt to save a drowning girl in a pool during a previous summer. Now he sees his attempt to find the serial killer as an attempt at redemption. The book moves very slowly after the initial problem is introduced and doesn't really pick up again until near the end of the book. The ending is as unsatisfying as most of the rest of the story. To say the least, a very disappointing book. ( )

Excellent book about a boy called Duncan who works at the lost and found department of an underground railway system. One day he stumbles across a notebook with hand written entries and curious, he starts reading...and finds himself plunged into the mind of a psychopath. He can't stop reading and he wonders if he should tell the "authorities" about what this man has done and plans to do. And then one day, a man comes looking at Lost and Found for a brown notebook he left on the train.. Seriously creepy novel with Duncan's minor problems in life contrasting brilliantly against the rantings of the notebook owner. Full of suspense and intrigue. Highly recommended. ( )

I am quite disappointed with this book. It was anticlimactic and failed to give justice to a premise that would’ve made for a really terrific, suspenseful read.The only positive thing about this book is that it’s a fast-paced and quick read—which is also the main reason for my not enjoying it. The execution is severely lacking and left much to be desired.

There are a lot of plot points and progression that could’ve been elaborated on for the readers to establish a bond with the characters, empathize and relate to them, just to get to know them a bit more, especially the complicated relationships they have—from Duncan’s somewhat awkward way of getting along with his mother; to his longing for his ex-girlfriend that he obviously still has feelings for; and even his bond with his eccentric best friend who he sometimes does petty theft with.

Everything about the plot has just been rushed. The characters’ personalities—even the Duncan’s, the main character—are glossed over, and there is hardly any proper build-up for the subplots. It was a decent read, but it could’ve been more. ( )

This book was really an impulsive read. I came across this book on my public library's online e-book/audio book website. The cover drew my attention, as that is one of the only things the website displays during a search, the cover and the title. I decided to take a look at it and found that it wasn't an overly long book and appeared to be a stand-alone. I figured that it would be an easy read and that I could get through the book fairly quickly. This turned out to be the case, as I managed to finish it over the course of two days.

This book seemed a little slow at the beginning, which is understandable considering that it was setting up the story and developing the characters. Once the initial character development was made, the story did appear to pick up. Once Duncan found the diary, I found it more interesting to read what was found in the diary and Duncan's response than the actual day to day stuff that Duncan was doing.

Overall, this book was interesting to me as I am an avid fan of looking into the criminal mind, as some of my favorite T.V. shows include investigation shows such as Criminal Minds and C.S.I. This book provides an interesting look into a case where a young boy finds himself with a criminal's diary and seeming to be the only one who can actually prevent any potentially fatal crimes from happening to unsuspecting civilians. ( )