Helpful Score: 2
A mind-numbingly dull soap-opera of a book. The first 85% of the book is taken up by the (uninteresting) protaganist's musings on her family history, introductions to various uninteresting people (some of whom we learn about at great length but who subsequently vanish (and not in the mysterious way)), and loooong anecdotes about her daily activities (her first day at a new job, and no one talks to her! her grandmother wants to go shopping with her! her hotel has nice sheets!).
******SPOILER ALERT*****
Ultimately, there turns out to be almost no mystery beyond the question of which non-entity fathered Haskell (we never meet most of the candidates - at least one is long deceased). And the characters are such cardboard-cutouts that the family story doesn't make up for the lack of any appreciable plot. Most of the characters are discarded almost immediately and certainly none of them ever grow or develop at all. Even Haskell couldn't care less about these people. Once she determines who she believes her biological father is, she loses all interest. She feels no connection, doesn't want to know his family, in fact, would have been pretty equally satisfied with a Saint Bernard. This would be fairly sensible (after all, he wasn't interested in her either), except for the fact that the entire plot of the book is her determined search for his identity (and a few thrown-in bits about the cause of her mother's death). Haskell's love life is even less fascinating, with the deep hints of a possibly incestuous romance failing to even achieve the "ick factor," and the main puzzle being what could possibly cause a man to consider a second date with her (in a brief nod to plausibilty, Haskell's initial fiance accepts her abrupt and unreasonable breaking of their engagement with an impassivity that the reader guesses is hiding not heartbreak but intense relief).
In an attempt to justify the "thriller" designation, the last 30 pages or so include a fairly exciting scene of deception, attempted murder, and wild chases through a deserted museum. Too bad the only characters I'm still rooting for are the statues.
******SPOILER ALERT*****
Ultimately, there turns out to be almost no mystery beyond the question of which non-entity fathered Haskell (we never meet most of the candidates - at least one is long deceased). And the characters are such cardboard-cutouts that the family story doesn't make up for the lack of any appreciable plot. Most of the characters are discarded almost immediately and certainly none of them ever grow or develop at all. Even Haskell couldn't care less about these people. Once she determines who she believes her biological father is, she loses all interest. She feels no connection, doesn't want to know his family, in fact, would have been pretty equally satisfied with a Saint Bernard. This would be fairly sensible (after all, he wasn't interested in her either), except for the fact that the entire plot of the book is her determined search for his identity (and a few thrown-in bits about the cause of her mother's death). Haskell's love life is even less fascinating, with the deep hints of a possibly incestuous romance failing to even achieve the "ick factor," and the main puzzle being what could possibly cause a man to consider a second date with her (in a brief nod to plausibilty, Haskell's initial fiance accepts her abrupt and unreasonable breaking of their engagement with an impassivity that the reader guesses is hiding not heartbreak but intense relief).
In an attempt to justify the "thriller" designation, the last 30 pages or so include a fairly exciting scene of deception, attempted murder, and wild chases through a deserted museum. Too bad the only characters I'm still rooting for are the statues.
Helpful Score: 1
Haskell Maloney seeks the truth: Her real father? Her mother's fatal car crash--really an accident? Her search leads her to the study of Egyptology, watching from the shadows of a cold museum, a ruthless killer waits to strike.
Helpful Score: 1
liked it
Spell binding
Egyptology student, Haskell Maloney, arrives at the Chicago Oriental Institute to futher her education. She follows in the footsteps of the mother she never knew, but also is looking for answers to her mother's mysterious death and the true identity of her father. She soon uncovers dark secrets and becomes the target of evil forces.
When twenty-two-year-old Haskell Malone accidentally discovers damning proof that the dead was hero whose name she bears is not her father, she is shattered. The revelation only confirms the dark fear that has haunted her since childhood. In fact, what little she knows about her birth and her mother's subsequent death, is a fragile web of evasions and lies.
Determined to expose the truth at any cost, Haskell takes a job at Chicago's famed Oriental Institute in the city where her mother once lived and loved. But as she searched the shadows of the past, she finds that the truth can sometimes be deadly.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Determined to expose the truth at any cost, Haskell takes a job at Chicago's famed Oriental Institute in the city where her mother once lived and loved. But as she searched the shadows of the past, she finds that the truth can sometimes be deadly.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Interesting and easy read.
When a routine medical test reveals that the man Haskell Malone always thought of as her father in fact was not, she begins a search through her late mother's past that leads to secrets and peril she never dreamed of. Egyptian antiquities background, but it's not really relevant to the story.
Suspenseful and interesting. Couldn't read it fast enough.
