Peril

Tremendous work once again by Thomas H. Cook.

I especially liked the book design - no chapters. It was broken into five acts which made the story so much more fluid.

The story added up at all ends. The characters were vibrant and alive. The ending was fantastic. That's where so many good mysteries fall off - the ending. Not with Cook. He nails the story from beginning to end.

Cook has a special way of exposing the darker side of humanity. He takes good advantage of that gift. That is one of the many reasons he is my hands-down favorite author.

I have read a few Thomas Cook book. I got hooked on ever since I read "Places in the dark". However, this book was a complete waste of time. I ended the book hoping the next chapter would bring some intrigue, something that never came. You can get the audience hooked by saying "I saw a murder last night" and then end the story by saying it was on TV. I hope you see where I am getting at...

No real plot, an avalanche of F*** words, zero literally work and an absolute waste of time and money. I would not advise users reading this book. Cook is a far better writer for such a disastrous book.

Only recently did I come upon Thomas Cook. I just happened to
pick out CHATHAM SCHOOL AFFAIR, and as the saying goes, I
couldn't put it down. Now I have just finished PERIL. I sailed through
it with just as much enthusiasm despite the fact that the story's
presentation is markedly different from CHATHAM SCHOOL'S. PERIL'S
content is grittier too. Other reviewers have set out enough of the
story's carcass for anyone who wants to know something of how it will
look. Therefore I am limiting this to praising Cook's PERIL for its
excellence. Cook is a master at character development and clarity.
And he achieves these results while at the same time not burdening
readers with wordiness.

I am not one to praise a book because of its complexity or high
degree of challenge to the reader. Nor do I seek out works of simple
escapism to dive into. Instead I seek literature that captures my
attention fast and holds it, without my having to work myself into a state
of mental exhaustion. So far Thomas Cook has met my requirements
expertly. I am very glad to have stumbled on to Cook. I relish the
knowledge that he has written a substantial body of work to
entertain me in future.

I couldn't agree more with "avidreader". Peril is unrecognisable as Thomas H. Cook novel. The prevous books I've read, The Chatham School Affair, Evidence of Blood, Mortal Memory, and Instruments of Night are the work of a master storyteller. They are filled with atmosphere, empathy, and often sadness, but written with a wonderfully engaging style that few authors can imitate. Then along comes Peril - a plot full of cliches, caricatures and coincidences. Hopefully its just an experiment and we'll soon have the "real" Thomas H. Cook back writing great stuff again.

I just want to ask the brilliant author: Why?? This book is a departure from the writing and storytelling in his previous books. He has impressed me tremendously so this book was a real letdown. In fact, I decided half way through I didn't want to finish it, I just didn't enjoy anything about it. There are multiple characters, with the author flipping back and forth. Sadly, none of the characters are worthy of spending time with...and the storyline is....well, boring. I just wonder where this book came from, did Mr. Cook decide to experiment with a new style? I was befuddled by his partnership book with Larry King, which was also very bad. If this was the first book I ever read by this author, I would never read him again.