Monday, April 13, 2009

Review: BoneMan's Daughter by Ted Dekker


Book Info:
BoneMan's Daughters by Ted Dekker
Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: Center Street (April 14, 2009)
ISBN-13: 9781599951959
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Rating: 4/5


They call him BoneMan, a serial killer who's abducted six young women. He's the perfect father looking for the perfect daughter, and when his victims fail to meet his lofty expectations, he kills them by breaking their bones and leaving them to die.

Intelligence officer Ryan Evans, on the other hand, has lost all hope of ever being the perfect father. His daughter and wife have written him out of their lives.

Everything changes when BoneMan takes Ryan's estranged daughter, Bethany, as his seventh victim. Ryan goes after BoneMan on his own.

But the FBI sees it differently. New evidence points to the suspicion that Ryan is BoneMan. Now the hunter is the hunted, and in the end, only one father will stand.




I knew Ted Dekker was a Christian author, but since I'd never read any of his books before I wasn't quite sure what to expect. But, if I hadn't already know he was a Christian author, there really wasn't anything in the book that would have tipped me off. There are some mentions of God and Satan, of good and evil, but that is common in a lot of mystery books. BoneMan is not the first character I've come across that thinks he is God or Satan.

The pace of the book was a little slow for me at times. I like my mysteries to be non-stop action where I can't turn the pages fast enough. BoneMan's Daughter has lots of action, but it also has a fair amount of introspection and soul searching on Ryan's part. While this was important to explain his actions, it did bog things down at times. I would describe BoneMan's Daughter as more of a psychological thriller.

On the other hand, the glimpse into Ryan's psyche gave you a much better understanding of his character. He was more complex than all of the other characters, even BoneMan. For all the time we spent in Ryan's head, I would have liked a little more time in BoneMan's head. I didn't get a sense of why he was really doing what he did until the end of the book.
Overall, this was an exciting thriller, though a little slow at times. I would recommend it to readers of Christian fiction and mystery lovers alike. 4 stars


Thank you Miriam and Hachette Books for my review copy

8 comments:

Kristie said...

Sometimes I am a little nervous about reading Christian authors, because I don't like hearing about God all of the time when I read...but this one sounds good. I have heard about this author before so maybe I will add this one to my list.

Nicole said...

I hadn't been that interested in reading this one. But now that you mention it's more of a psychological thriller I feel like I might enjoy this more.

Sandy Nawrot said...

I love a good murder mystery! I do like them to move along too, but then again, I also like to understand twisted minds. So if it takes me down that path, I will happily follow. I kind of get a kick out of the personality disorders you read about in these books...reminds me of a few people I know!

BevE said...

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BevE
Merry Weather

Sandy Nawrot said...

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Melissa O. said...

Great review! This one's on my wishlist, I really can't wait to read it!

Literary Feline said...

I've seen this author's name mentioned a few times now and wondered about his books. I hadn't realized he wrote Christian fiction, but it's good to know that his books don't have that feel to it. Great review!

Allison said...

I've just started this one..it looked really good and am looking forward to getting in to the 'good creepy stuff"!!!