How does it compare to audio works by the same author?
Not applicable
Advantages:
many
Disadvantages:
few
Recommend to potential buyers:
no
Full review
I open the book and find a dedication to Truman Capote, on the next page a quotation on childhood by an author I don't know, then comes a half-page long prologue on gunshots in New York which no one heard or cared for. So we are in New York? The following one and a half page in italicised print have no headline but don't take up the theme of the prologue, instead a first person narrator looks back at his life and promises to tell us all about it, obviously things have happened that make it worth telling. "I look at the body of a dead man before me, and I know that in some small way justice has been seen to be done." On the following page the first chapter starts.
I HATE THIS! First the pompous beginning with dedication, quotation and prologue, then the italicised insert (there will be more throughout the book), in my opinion the cheapest way of creating suspense. Either the story is thrilling or it isn't, if the author has to point out repeatedly that something mysterious has happened or is going to happen, something is rotten. Dear author, show me the mysterious events, describe them for me, but don't hint at them.
When we get to the story proper at last, we see the events taking place in a small town in Georgia, USA, in the year 1939, through the eyes of 12-year-old Joseph, several little girls are raped, mutilated, slaughtered, the crimes destroy the peace in the closely knit community. The outbreak of WW2 in Europe is woven into the story which makes sense as they affect the inhabitants' attitude towards a German family among them.
Doesn't sound too bad, does it, but everything is described in such great detail that I was wondering repeatedly what I was reading. This is a thriller after all and a thriller should be action driven methinks. Little Joseph is coached by his teacher to develop his writing skills, examples of his endeavours are given, whole essays are included, a nice idea which could be made into a novel in its own right, what does it do here? We want the killer to be found!
I stopped reading after the fourth or fifth girl has been found hacked to pieces, before I put the book away, I read the last pages and learnt that all in all 32 girls are murdered. I've always had problems with the idea of serial killers, there must be many more fictitious ones than real life ones. Why 32 girls, for God's sake, wouldn't, say, five have been enough? Too much of the same thing creates boredom and that's also true when it comes to murders.
When I was young, I read tons of thrillers but I must confess that I was never able to find the culprit before the author told me who it was. When I stopped reading A Quiet Belief in Angels, I had already got to know the whole personnel but again I wasn't able to see the decisive clue although the author makes it clear as I can say now that I know the end. Very clear indeed and it's also so logical that I can only bang my head against a wall deploring my daftness!
The novel reminds me of David Guterson's Snow Falling on Cedars, also sold as a thriller but not sticking to the plot, either, there's a story about this character and a story about that character and a deviation here and a deviation there so that even the most committed reader loses the thread. I'm especially angry at Mr Ellory because I took the book with me on my Easter holidays, when I put it away, I had to divide the pages of the remaining books carefully through the remaining days in order not to be without reading matter. I'm now offering the book on Amazon Marketplace, maybe a member of a reading group will buy it, the copy I've bought has Reading Group Notes at the end with 12 points for discussion. Imagine, people meet in order to discuss a book and must be given suggestions what to discuss, if that isn't ridiculous! So, surprisingly, the book, not the novel though, ends with a funny note for me.
I should have trusted my instincts, I've mentioned repeatedly that no novel should have more than 400 pages, I should have set the limit at 350, if I had, I wouldn't have bought A Quiet Belief in Angels which has 396 pages *but in small print*! In normal print it would exceed 400 pages by far. I fell for it because browsing on Amazon I came across the most enthusiastic reviews, for example under the headline WOW!!, "Well, I sat up until somewhere past 4.00 this morning, and I finished this book in one sitting…I wondered whether this was in fact the best book I'd ever read". I'm mentioning this to show you that it has its fans, you don't have to believe me, I've just given you my opinion. Richard and Judy love it . . .
Orion 352 pages RRP 7.99 GBP
Evaluate this review
How helpful would this review be to someone making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
This product has not yet been reviewed. 
