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Max Manning

Autor(a) de Now You See

2 Works 67 Membros 8 Críticas

Séries

Obras por Max Manning

Now You See (2017) 44 exemplares
The Victim: A Novel (2019) 23 exemplares

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Conhecimento Comum

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Membros

Críticas

[b:The Victim|42589331|The Victim|Max Manning|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1549367958l/42589331._SY75_.jpg|66279399]
Fight or Flight?

Thank you Max Manning the publisher and NetGalley for my digital arc of The Victim. While I believe the author took artistic risks in the way he structured this book I had like many other readers a hard time following certain aspects. It made for an interesting read and added to the psychological factor of the story. Whether you think it works is a complete personal matter and honestly this might be the first arc that I have been given that I wish I had the actual book to better be able to go back and forth from chapter to chapter. I will say I loved the concept of Fight or Surrender it has a way of pulling you in what makes it more challenging is that there are far too many chapters and far too many points of views to keep straight and my fear with that for other readers is that most read for enjoyment and not to feel that reading is a task. I will however say that if you give this a chance you will find that Manning takes the time to be insightful as he explores all aspects of the characters personalities. Take Gem for example she feels others judge her based on her actions during the carjacking. And guess what? She’s right. One of the positive aspects of the multiple viewpoints is that we see how various people interpret her actions. The police try not to judge yet you get the impression they do anyway. The reporter is only interested when she is the strong warrior setting an example for others. The attacker in his delusional state of being takes her fear and makes it something horrid. All I kept thinking while reading this book is that quote by Robert Frost “Two roads diverged in a wood and I - I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”
In this case would it make a difference thought?
My highlights of this book are the insights into the psychology of the attack and response While the plot is suspenseful, I think it would be an error of judgement to try to read The Victim as a straight-forward suspense novel. While it is beautifully packaged that way this one takes time an energy to get straight in your head. I know that many people will say that this is not worth the time. Even though I am a little late to the party with my review I will happily disagree and pick up another Max Manning book in the future.
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
b00kdarling87 | 5 outras críticas | Jan 7, 2024 |
In a category steeped in talent and serial killer thrillers Max Manning has succeeded in producing a stand out novel with Now You See!
Think Kevin Bacon The Following combined with the power of social media and you are on the right track with this book.

Exposing the darker side to human nature, our inclination towards the macabre, and most people’s inability to not look at the horrors around us. Lets be honest, we cant help but look at a car accident as you drive past or google something we have heard about that’s not pleasant viewing online!

And then on top of that this book takes you into the mind and thoughts of a serial killer in a way i haven’t come across before in such close proximity and I loved it! What makes killers tick has always interested me and I, Killer could be a real life killer and he certainly comes alive on the pages in such a believable fashion you almost end up waiting for him to show up on the news or on your twitter feed!!! (that might just be me and my imagination running away with its self!)

The other characters bring their own thoughts and traits to the story, DCI Dan Fenton is a brilliant character and I really hope there will be a follow-up book to this one. the kind of detective that is human as well as a police officer. Then there is Blake, an ex journalist suffering with ptsd, he makes a fascinating character that you cant help but like and then there is Leah, the sister to I,Killer’s first victim. She might not have been a huge character but she does stand out with her own personality and input into the search for the I,Killer.

It also makes you think about the power social media and how it has an impact on our lives and how easy it is to set the world on fire with 1 tweet or an instagram, Facebook post!! Not that any of mine have ever gone viral on such a massive scale! But then I haven’t killed anyone and posted the photos online 😀

If you enjoyed Chelsea Cain’s Gretchen and Archie series you will love this!! I certainly did!

The last thing I will say is the ending of the book will leave you needing more!! So Max, if by some miracle you are reading this – Please Please bring Fenton and Blake back – asap!!

This book is out now in kindle format and can be ordered now for a bargain £1.99 from Amazon UK and it will be released on April 19, 2018 in paperback so go pre-order your copy now and make a day free to read it as you won’t be able to put it down once you begin!
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
DebTat2 | 1 outra crítica | Oct 13, 2023 |
Please note that I received this book via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.

Well this was a shame. I was looking forward to this one because having an author follow the two possible paths a potential car jacking victim could go sounded so intriguing. Too bad that Manning didn't just focus on the main protagonist and added in POVs from so many people. Also I got so confused after a while if I was following Gem as survivor or Gem as warrior.

"The Victim" follows Gem Golding. Gem stops on her way home to get some painkillers and is accosted by a carjacker. Gem reels wondering if she should fight back or should she just acquiesce with the carjacker's demands. We get at the decision point and from there Manning follows Gem's life if she given in or if she had fought back.

At first I really liked the book. I liked Gem and understood why she was so focused on not being seen as a victim (in either timeline) and getting back to her job. I wish that Manning had stayed more focused on her since the whole point of the book was Gem and how her life was impacted. Manning then shows the different timelines for the same people (her boyfriend, the carjacker, the detectives, the reporter, and others) who follow if Gem was a victim or a survivor.

There was way too much going on and I had to keep going back and forth in my Kindle to make sure I was reading it correctly if Gem was a victim or survivor. After a while I just gave up and started to feel frustrated because it was hard to follow what was going on. Manning should have stripped out the other characters. We focused way too much on the carjacker who apparently went to how to be a serial killer school.

The writing was okay, but I think the scattered shot approach to everyone didn't work real well. I was disappointed in the conclusion of one of the story-lines (Gem as a survivor) and think that Manning should have followed up with an epilogue on both of those story-lines. However, I don't think it mattered to him much, since as I said, Gem wasn't really the focus as she should have been.

The flow was up and down throughout. Following so many people and different story-lines depending on which version of Gem we were with in the book was just confusing and definitely impacted what was going on. It didn't help that we had subplots going on with the detectives and carjacker and reporter as well. The boyfriend POVs don't really count considering how short they were.

The ending was a meh to one story-line with Gem and a "I guess" to the other one following her.
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
ObsidianBlue | 5 outras críticas | Jul 1, 2020 |
Ein Killer, der sich „I_Killer“ nennt, postet verstörende Fotos in den Sozialen Medien. Man sollte annehmen, dass die Entrüstung groß ist, doch das Gegenteil ist der Fall. Er erhält Zuspruch aus der Online-Community, was ihn zu weiteren Taten anspornt. Die Polizei ist hinter ihm her und DCI Dan Fenton verkündet vor laufenden Kameras, dass er den Mörder zur Strecke bringen wird. Nun wird die Sache persönlich und der Täter spielt ein perfides Spiel mit Fenton.
Dieser Thriller ist sehr spannend. Er zeigt, wie gefährlich Öffentlichkeit sein kann. Der Schreibstil ist flüssig und gut zu lesen und die Charaktere sind gut dargestellt.
Es ist etwas leichtfertig von DCI Dan Fenton, vor den laufenden Kameras eine solche Aussage zu machen. Aber als alleinerziehender Vater geht ihm der Fall nahe. Doch mit der Aussage reizt er den Täter zu einem Wettkampf. Rückhalt bei ihrem Vorgesetzten haben Fenton und sein Team auch nicht und als er suspendiert wird, kann er nicht einfach aufgeben. Er tut sich mit dem Freund des ersten Opfers, Adam Blake zusammen, der auch verdächtig erschien. Blake war als Journalist im Irak und hat etwas erlebt, das ihn traumatisiert hat.
Dem Autor ist es gut gelungen, die Spannung bis zum Schluss hochzuhalten. Selbst als man den Täter kennt, gibt es noch eine handfeste Überraschung.
Mir hat dieser Thriller gut gefallen.
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
buecherwurm1310 | 1 outra crítica | Aug 31, 2019 |

Estatísticas

Obras
2
Membros
67
Popularidade
#256,179
Avaliação
3.8
Críticas
8
ISBN
13
Línguas
1

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