Roadside Crosses (Kathryn Dance Series #2)

Surprising Disappointing

Roadside Crosses was my introduction to Jeffrey Deaver and sadly, I have confess this book was barely readable. I have to agree with another reviewer that character development was rather minimal and I found it odd that all the story characters spoke in clipped,fragmented sentences. It was irritating and almost considered quitting this story. The only thing that stopped me was that I bought this book. Some men might speak fragmentedly, but I find it difficult to believe that women, even law enforcement career women like Kathryn Dance speak this way as a general rule. Everyone has their own unique speech & vocabulary patterns when they communicate, but everyone in this story spoke in the same fragmented manner. Implausible! Then there was the endless streams of blogs I had to sift through & other techie information which was very monotonous. Ennui quickly set in after awhile, living inside the head of Kathryn Dance throughout most of this book. There was much too much display of kinesics and processing in this story for me. Kathryn Dance read everyone,kids, friends, co-workers, suspects, witnesses, the dog.....on a 24/7 basis. It made me think Dance is a control freak and way too sensitive about what others think and what their body expressions might convey. Her professional analysis of body reading can assist in investigations, but is insubstantive and an inadequate basis as a primary tool for crime solving. It's a good tool as an aid....but just an aid. I found it hard to believe that a good law enforcement agent can conduct a thorough and factually based investigation solely based on kinesics. Furthermore, I wasn't convinced that Dance could effectively control people on a consistent basis by giving hard looks & or growling commands. Once Dance barked, people backed off. Really? Men,in particular, often challenge the authority of women, yet not one gave her a serious challenge. I guess Dance was talented that way. Ha! I really had a difficult time getting through this book.

Most of the story was dialog so I presume that the author is hoping for Hollywood to buy the screenplay & movie rights for this story.

The author did not appear to "paint" the scenes and just plainly told the reader how things were instead of using the device of powerful or subtle scene descriptions to lead the reader down the path of imagination. It appeared to me, this author wrote this story in a hurried manner to meet a deadline.

Sorry to say, it but this is one of the worst novels I've ever read. Interesting storyline & plot twist but extremely disappointly poor in execution.

Here's my two thumbs down on this book!

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

The plot for Roadside Crosses was okay. Good lead character. However, the companion "Blue Nowhere" was much, much better - fantastic, really!!! The Blue Nowhere is one of the most interesting books I have read in awhile.

I listened to the Roadside Crosses audiobook. It was enjoyable, but simple. Although the idea of confusing the online world with reality is fairly fresh, the book didn't go into much depth on this topic.

The Roadside Crosses audiobook came with a free book by Deavers called "The Blue Nowhere". This book was absolutely outstanding. The plot was thrilling, the lead character extremely likeable and the technology was thoroughly described. I felt that I really learned about the world of computer hacking in-depth. This book was enjoyable and provocative. I felt like Roadside Crosses was written for a leisure audience, while The Blue Nowhere was written for a more serious reader that wants to learn about a new, scary technology. I read many books, and I felt that the Blue Nowhere was really refreshing because it did not assume that the reader simply wants a cheap thrill. The book was clearly thoroughly researched and I was pleased to finally read a mystery novel that was complicated and intellectually engaging.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Not my favorite

I read all of Deaver's books but this one spent too much time on the family and coworker's side stories. I had hoped for more focus on the title story and felt that more time should have been spend developing that.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Jeffrey Deaver, author of the great Lincoln Rhymes mysteries, has another hit series with the Kathryn Dance police procedurals

The Chilton Report blog, owned and operated by Jim Chilton, opens up a discussion thread dubbed Roadside Crosses, which questions why an accident occurred on the spot where two roadsides intersect. The teens were going home after a graduation party; but two died, one was hospitalized and driver Travis Brigham hardly had a scratch. On the blog, everyone attacks Travis holding him responsible for vehicular homicide.--

He becomes the victim of a cyber war in which each part is uglier than the previously horrific segue as people accuse him of all sorts of crimes. Tammy Parker was kidnapped and thrown into the trunk if her car, which he drove into the ocean at high tide; she was fortunate to be rescued. She said Travis did it Another female almost died from poisonous fumes; she tells the cops Travis did it. --------------

California Bureau of Investigation agent Kathryn Dance investigates Travis, but when she tries to see him a second time, he is gone. As more people on the blog claim Travis attacked them, Kathryn applies her kinesics expertise to separate the lies from the truth in hopes of catching Travis before he kills again; he knows if he is caught he has no prayer as the evidence is extraordinarily overwhelming.-----------

Jeffrey Deaver, author of the great Lincoln Rhymes mysteries, has another hit series with the Kathryn Dance police procedurals (see THE SLEEPING DOLL). The protagonist seems genuine because she makes mistakes even with her being the department's expert on reading body language. As she follows clues that seem to inch her closer to the perpetrator, she must deal with her mom being arrested for a mercy killing while also coping with the Blog attacks coaxing politicians to pressure her and other cops to catch Travis. There are plenty of red herrings and misdetections as Mr. Deaver provides an intriguing high tech thriller; that besides an exhilarating cat and mouse murder investigation looks deep into the influence of blogs.-----------

Harriet Klausner

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Highly Recommended

An excellent read, I highly recommend this book!

O.k.

This is not the best book Deaver has written. There is definately a "keep you in the pages" element missing.

Not his best.

I listened to the audio version of this book and was very disappointed. The narrator's voice didn't help the impression of "chick lit".
It's been a while since I read the last Dance book so I can't compare the two accurately but I remember liking that one. I wouldn't buy a third.

Roadside Crosses

A killer leaves roadside crosses to warn of a murder he will commit that day. As the CBI tries to track down a teenage boy whom they believe is the killer, their trail leads to the world of blogging and gaming.

Although, there are twists and turns, as the lead detective searches for the killer I found the whole gaming and blogging tale fairly unappealing. Not one of Deaver's best.

I loved it!

This is my first Jeffery Deaver book and I could not put it down. This is a great book.

Roadside Crosses

I am having a hard time getting through this book. Usually I look forward to the evening when I can sit and read but I haven't been looking forward to finishing this book. Too much about the blogs, and the kinesic information. I will finish it and am counting down the pages to til the end. Sixty pages to go... ugh...Hope the ending is worth it. It also feels like Michael O'Neill doesn't want to be in the book either. Was hoping to see more of him.

Typical Deaver

Jeffery Deaver always comes through with a legal/suspence tough to figure out mind puzzle. I have a 35 minute bus commute to work five days a week and his books are perfect for making the time fly. Love his books.

So many twists, turns and a surprise ending!!

This is one book that had me stumped until the end. Just when you think you know whats going on - surprise...

jeffery deaver books never let you down.

it was nice to have a katherine dance thriller. it was such a good read, but for me jeffery deaver never disappoints. one note. only one double contraction in this book.....i guess they all belong to lincon rhymes.

new character

I like the new character. I'm not real fond of the Lincoln Rhymes character, but I still read it because I like Deaver's style.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

gift

I like my dad liked this book.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A MUST READ

From the first attempt, there are a series of twists and turns that keep you reading. I'm not going to give the book away, but there is a killer that leaves roadside crosses BEFORE he kills. Uh huh.. BEFORE!! A great book even though (and I'm not an author by any stretch of the imagination) I would have written a slightly different ending. But if that's the only negative I can come up with... as I said.. it's a MUST read.

Trudging through a mass of technical information and words.

Great plot and writing style in places, but gets rather burdensome with more technical details than one would normally want to know. You begin to think that some of this excess verbage is used as a filler to get the required pages for the publisher, rather than entertain and satisfy the reader.

kathryn dance is a great character

loved it.

Timely & Thrilling

I read varied literary genres from history (world wars, biographies), travel, mysteries (law & medical), etc. However, I have read all of Jeffery Deaver's books & look forward with great anticipation to what he has in store for us next. Every one is a gem of roller coaster excitement & just as important,timely & well-researched facts. Kathryn Dance is a nice balance to our well-loved Lincoln Rhyme, which is something more "for the girls". I hope that there will be more films based on Deaver's books.

Deaver Does It Again! Kathryn Dance Series A True Thriller

Jeffery Deaver has a sense of timing, characters, and location that is nearly unbeatable. His writing allows the readers to be right there, visualizing the entire storyline. While I am unsure what series or characters could possibly compete with Lincoln Rhymes et al, I do believe Kathryn Dance and her cohorts do just that. Selfishly enough, I'm thrilled that Jeffery Deaver has an unstoppable imagination and the talent to put all into a story and characters that are as great as they are! I look forward to all the upcoming journeys in print he will offer!