Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9781593154820
ISBN: 1593154828
Label: Vanguard Press
Languages: Array
Manufacturer: Vanguard Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 352
Publication Date: 2008-07-08
Publisher: Vanguard Press
Studio: Vanguard Press

Customer Rating:
Summary: Sick, Twisted, and just what the author was going for.
Comment: As I write this, there is a video on the product page for this book that features the author explaining what he was going for. If you haven't already, please watch that before you consider buying this book.

This book is one that is very hard for me to rate. I find myself feeling dirty just for having read it. It's written from the point of view of a sick, twisted, sociopath. It gets you inside the head of this guy, who isn't someone you really want to understand that well. As I read this book, I found myself slightly intrigued by the main character and where the story would go, and yet at the same time disgusted enough to consider shelving the book. I've read many of Mr Cannell's books, and throughly enjoyed them. The author's 'name' value is the only reason I picked this one up, and the only reason I continued reading after the first pages. Based on this, I was tempted to give this book a very low rating.

On the other hand, this book is brilliantly written. As much as the subject matter makes me want to hate it, it was a relative page turner once the story got going, and the characters were really brought to life. When reading the sections from Chick's point of view, I really felt like I was in his head, and understood what he was thinking and why. It was almost scary at times. When reading Paige's sections, I was almost as involved with her character, except that I kept rooting for her to make different choices, to figure things out that I knew she couldn't. Based only on this, I was tempted to rate the book very highly.

In the end, I've fluctuated between a 2 and a 4 star rating, and settled on a 4. The book is VERY well written, and gets you into the head of the sociopathic bad guy in a way you've never dreamed of. Just be sure you know what to expect going in, and keep a towel and loofah at hand so you can take a shower when you're done reading to scrub away the feeling of being Chick Best.

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: I'm being generous in even giving this book one star!
Comment: This book is trash! It's insulting to his readers and a discredit to a talented writer who I have consider close to Michael Connelly. I have read all of Cannell's earlier books and would suggest that he stick with Shane Scully in any future endeavors.

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: Best I've read in a while...
Comment: This is a great book if you're going to be someplace for a while because you won't want to put it down once you start. Almost impossible to just pick it up for a few minutes here and there. The book keeps you curious about whats to come and reads very easily. Others have criticized the main character as boring, but to me he's more a normal guy with normal feelings and problems. Much easier to relate to than some action hero. I love a realistic sense of humor and the author hits that nail right on the head. When I wasn't reading the book I was thinking about my next opportunity to turn a few pages. Great solid suspense-thriller.

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: Everybody's entitled to a mistake
Comment: Read Cannell's Hollywood Tough while toasting marshmallows. Use this book to toast the marshmallows.

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: Two Suggestions for Mr. Cannell
Comment: Mr. Cannell is one of the most creative authors so far in the literary market, but somehow he might trust his creativity too much and would allow himself gone wild a bit too far sometimes.

Suggestion One: Don't try to write something read like too tabloid. This "At First Sight" is just the one Mr. Cannell should try to avoid. Novels in such kind and taste would only turn Mr. Cannell into a tabloid writer, just like what Stuart Woods had turned himself into. Not worth it, at all. Definitely a big NO, NO.

Suggestion Two: Leave the fatherhood of Shane Scully out of the picture, phase out the son figure and let him and the football crap appear less and less, please.

The "Shane Scully" novels have proved that he really knows what he's writing about with an insider's real touch. All his writings about the LAPD read pretty authentic and realistic, the jargon, the terminology, the attitude, the investigation process and so on, all look pretty vivid and believable.

Mr. Cannell has put a tough heroine as Scully's wife, a higher ranking female officer with a cooler and more rational way of thinking; although it's a bit over-stretched but that's fine and still acceptable.

But putting Chooch in the whole police series don't make Scully look more human or fatherly, nor the stories more interesting. The son figure instead caused more digression and slow down the pace of all the detective's investigation. Even in some of the series, the son got involved in the action, but it only made the story look false and impossible.

---