Before I Wake Up Disappointed
Written: Jul 18 '07 (Updated Jul 18 '07)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Writing style
Cons: Storyline, characters
The Bottom Line: Weak characters that left me unsympathetic to their problems means I can't recommend this book.
|
|
|
| cmaw63's Full Review: Anne Frasier - Before I Wake |
Anne Frasier is an author I've recently discovered. I greatly enjoyed her debut novel, Hush, and liked the second book I read, Sleep Tight. Now I have finished Before I Wake.
The Story
Former FBI agent Arden Davis volunteered for Project TAKE, an experiment that included bleaching her memories and taking the memory of a serial killer. Not just any killer...her parents murderer. Dr. Harris believes that by taking the thoughts of a killer the subjects in his project will be able to track a killer more efficiently. For Arden it backfires...she has almost no memories of her own left...including ones of the man she loved.
Special Agent Nathan Fury has a job to do. Bring Arden back to The Hill to finish what she started...finding her parents killer. Part of Project TAKE, he left early and saved the memories of his lover...Arden. Can he protect her and still do his job? What of his feelings for her and her having no memory of him?
Harley, the only other participant that finished Project TAKE is, also, at The Hill. Arden rescues him from the project's isolation tanks trying to stop him from suffering further damage. Arden receives help in the form of three college students that are participating in a new form of Project TAKE. Noah, Eli, and Franny recognize part of themselves in Arden and decide to leave with her and Harley. With all of them on the run and Agent Fury tracking them down the only place for Arden to run to is her former home...the farm where her parents suffered a violent death.
When a snow storm hits, trapping them all, it soon becomes apparent one of them has taken the memories of a serial killer too far.
The Third Time Was Not a Charm
I enjoyed the writing style of Anne Frasier in Before I Wake. But the hour that hits somewhere around four a.m....That hour was brutal. That was when the world shut down and people went into a twisted, troubled realm of sleep. That was when your soul seemed to drown and despair became something you could taste.... Decent dialogue between the characters helped the story along, also.
I couldn't identify with any of the characters, though. People choosing to "bleach" their memories and take on the mental thought process of serial killers is beyond my mental thought process. The main character, Arden Davis, using the bleaching process to erase the violent deaths of her parents is just wrong. She ends up forgetting almost everything of her previous life, including the man she loved. For me, that is the cheap and easy way to get over the natural pain of losing someone you care about. I couldn't relate to that at all. Besides, how the heck did she remember where the farm she grew up on was if she didn't remember much of anything else? The closest I could come to understanding someone was Dr. Harris. Damn the people...this is science...I will do what needs to be done no matter the consequences.
The storyline leaves much to be desired. I had trouble finishing this book due to some of the unbelievable scenarios. I love a good mystery/thriller and even enjoy a good supernatural story. Yet, I couldn't twist my mind around people voluntarily erasing their memories...especially to take a murderers thoughts. The concept that it would make them better profilers without serious consequences...well...all I can say is who would've thought bad things could happen? Ok, me.
While I enjoy the writing style of Anne Frasier, the storyline and characters of this book just don't do it for me. I can't recommend Before I Wake to any reading audience.
Recommended:
No
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
cmaw63
|
 in Pets, Home and Garden, Books |
|
Member: Julie
Location: Illinois, USA
Reviews written: 307
Trusted by: 71 members
About Me:
Looking forward to my first grandbaby. She's due November 24!
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.