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Oblivion: A Novel
What determines your identity? Is it the clothes you wear? The way other people treat you? The stories, anecdotes and experiences you have stored in your memory? When Nick Petrov wakes up in a hospital room, his clothes are two sizes too big. Everyone treats him like a victim. And he can't remember how he got there in the first place. Nick Petrov is a brilliant private investigator with a reputation for bringing missing children safely home. Launched to tabloid stardom when he apprehended a brutal serial killer named Gerald Reasoner, Petrov has become something of a celebrity. When a woman approaches him, begging him to use his unique gifts to find her missing daughter, Petrov's instincts sound an alarm. He senses that she's concealing something. But is she lying to get Petrov's help or to set him up? Three days later, just as he has amassed all the answers he needs to close the case, they are swept away into oblivion. Petrov awakes in a hospital bed, his memory of the past two weeks a complete blank, his personality altered. He is tempted to just put the trauma behind him and move on with his life, but there are too many things holding him back. When he returns home, he discovers a photograph full of strangers. In his office is a greeting card with a cryptic message inside, both the receiver and the sender completely unknown. His bank account has been augmented by a $450 check from a woman he can't remember. All of it points to a case he cannot recall. Digging for answers when he doesn't even know the questions, Petrov begins to fear he is searching for the most elusive quarry he has ever himself. Uncomfortable truths about his past rise up from this haunting investigation, truths that force him to reinterpret the events of the notorious Reasoner case from years before. But the closer Petrov comes to solving the mystery, the more likely it seems that the monster he's looking for is staring back at him in the mirror.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
42 people are currently reading
489 people want to read
About the author
Peter Abrahams
117 books419 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Peter Abrahams is an American author of crime fiction for both adults and children.
His book Lights Out (1994) was nominated for an Edgar Award for best novel. Reality Check won the best young adult Edgar Award in 2011. Down the Rabbit Hole, first in the Echo Falls series, won the best children's/young adult Agatha Award in 2005. The Fan was adapted into a film starring Robert De Niro and directed by Tony Scott (1996).
His literary influences are Vladimir Nabokov, Graham Greene, and Ross Macdonald. Stephen King has referred to him as "my favorite American suspense novelist".
Born in Boston, Abrahams lives in Falmouth, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod. He is married and has four children including Rosie Gray. He graduated from Williams College in 1968.
Peter Abrahams is also writing under the pseudonym Spencer Quinn (Chet and Bernie Mysteries).
Peter Abrahams is an American author of crime fiction for both adults and children.
His book Lights Out (1994) was nominated for an Edgar Award for best novel. Reality Check won the best young adult Edgar Award in 2011. Down the Rabbit Hole, first in the Echo Falls series, won the best children's/young adult Agatha Award in 2005. The Fan was adapted into a film starring Robert De Niro and directed by Tony Scott (1996).
His literary influences are Vladimir Nabokov, Graham Greene, and Ross Macdonald. Stephen King has referred to him as "my favorite American suspense novelist".
Born in Boston, Abrahams lives in Falmouth, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod. He is married and has four children including Rosie Gray. He graduated from Williams College in 1968.
Peter Abrahams is also writing under the pseudonym Spencer Quinn (Chet and Bernie Mysteries).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews
May 13, 2016
This is a thriller that everyone was raving about a while back—Entertainment Weekly gave it an A+, etc. Maybe I’m just a cranky bitch, but I don’t see why. Admittedly, Abrahams treatment of amnesia—a central plot point—was really well done; we fanfic writers could learn a thing or two from his descriptions of Nick Petrov’s post-accident confusion. Yet it’s frustrating, because I think we’re supposed to be as shaken as Nick is about how this has changed him, changed his personality, but we can’t be, because pre-accident Petrov is too much of a cypher. Further, the central mystery was unsatisfying to me, mainly because I knew who the villain was going to be very early on (the character has almost no other role in the narrative; ergo…), and even the exposure of that character’s motivation didn’t much interest me—it was too pat, too old hat. And then, Abrahams has to tack a “happy ending” onto the end. Or, a bittersweet one, anyway, but it was way too sudden and too neat. Oh, he gets the girl! Great, except she has almost no personality and their relationship was barely developed. Sigh.
All this makes it sound like I really hated this book; I didn’t, at least not while I was reading it—in fact I was pretty entertained. But man, those were some empty calories and now I have indigestion.
All this makes it sound like I really hated this book; I didn’t, at least not while I was reading it—in fact I was pretty entertained. But man, those were some empty calories and now I have indigestion.
September 18, 2019
Nick Petrov has a talent for finding missing children. His special skills, and most of all his desire to save kids, have led him to get wrapped up in a case where nothing is as it seems. Everyone is lying to him and just when he figures out the answers, he wakes up in the hospital with oblivion where his memories of the last two weeks should be.
He could just let it go, and get on with his life. But what did he discover that was so important? Who are the people in this picture he has at his home? Why is there a check in his bank account from someone he can't recall?
Oblivion is definitely a thriller, with lots of twists and turns along the way. I was not able to predict ANY of the twists, and definitely couldn't figure out who the “bad guy” was until the very end!
He could just let it go, and get on with his life. But what did he discover that was so important? Who are the people in this picture he has at his home? Why is there a check in his bank account from someone he can't recall?
Oblivion is definitely a thriller, with lots of twists and turns along the way. I was not able to predict ANY of the twists, and definitely couldn't figure out who the “bad guy” was until the very end!
August 31, 2023
Bewertung ist ein Kompromiss aus starkem Start, den sich der Autor hätte sparen müssen, wenn sein Amnesie-Konzept für Spannung hätte sorgen sollen. Der Leser kennt ja schon die Lücken, wenn man von ein paar späten Knalleffekten absieht.
October 16, 2020
I like all Peter Abrahams novels, for their deceptive sense of glide, driven by sneaky character depth and deliciously off-the-nose dialogue that turns pages without pumping up pulse points in the histrionic fashion favored by publishers of contemporary thrillers.
I especially like OBLIVION because it does all the things Abrahams does best while neatly subverting, in satire so sly you'd almost argue that there's no satire at all, two of the tiredest tropes in crime friction: the world-weary, Chandlersesque detective disillusioned with the sunny darkness of the City of Angels; and the hero beset by memory loss who must rely on random sensory triggers to stitch together clues and solve the crime.
In the first place, Nick Petrov, our detective hero, isn't all that disllusioned despite being divorced and estranged from his teenage son (itself an inversion of the trope of the dark hero using a virginal teen daughter as a cheap, cynical humanizing tool and convenient mirror moment). He's close to the LA chief of police. He caught a serial killer in a case so headline-grabbing that a TV movie was made from it, starring Armand Assante as Nick. Things change, of course, as he takes a beating on missing-girl job and from that learns that he has a brain tumor that cost him a weekend worth's of memories and, oh by the way, will likely lill him in around seventeen weeks. But then we're back to inverting topes, because most of this LA novel takes place outside of LA — in fact, almost half of it happens in the desert backwater of Barstow, which in Abrahams' able hands comes off as far more interesting than anything, say, West Hollywood might have to offer.
There's no sensory triggers to magically restore Nick's missing memories in style of most lazy amnesiac thrillers; no, he has to recover as much old ground as he can from bits and pieces found in his pockets and from the few people he's close to. And while he's working on the case he took before his diagnosis, he's working at the same time on the case of himself — and the possibility that he framed, or allowed himself to be led to a frame of, the serial killer who made his name and fame.
It's all delicious stuff, with every page and passage shot through with pleasurable uncertainty. My only quibble is that Nick gets out of a handful of attempts on his life in wildly improbable, eyer-rolling fashion —but perhaps, in its own way, that is more of Abrahams so-sly-that-maybe-it-isn't satire. Either way, OBLIVION is great fun and infused with freshness that the crime novel sorely needs as much now as it did when it was published in 2005.
I especially like OBLIVION because it does all the things Abrahams does best while neatly subverting, in satire so sly you'd almost argue that there's no satire at all, two of the tiredest tropes in crime friction: the world-weary, Chandlersesque detective disillusioned with the sunny darkness of the City of Angels; and the hero beset by memory loss who must rely on random sensory triggers to stitch together clues and solve the crime.
In the first place, Nick Petrov, our detective hero, isn't all that disllusioned despite being divorced and estranged from his teenage son (itself an inversion of the trope of the dark hero using a virginal teen daughter as a cheap, cynical humanizing tool and convenient mirror moment). He's close to the LA chief of police. He caught a serial killer in a case so headline-grabbing that a TV movie was made from it, starring Armand Assante as Nick. Things change, of course, as he takes a beating on missing-girl job and from that learns that he has a brain tumor that cost him a weekend worth's of memories and, oh by the way, will likely lill him in around seventeen weeks. But then we're back to inverting topes, because most of this LA novel takes place outside of LA — in fact, almost half of it happens in the desert backwater of Barstow, which in Abrahams' able hands comes off as far more interesting than anything, say, West Hollywood might have to offer.
There's no sensory triggers to magically restore Nick's missing memories in style of most lazy amnesiac thrillers; no, he has to recover as much old ground as he can from bits and pieces found in his pockets and from the few people he's close to. And while he's working on the case he took before his diagnosis, he's working at the same time on the case of himself — and the possibility that he framed, or allowed himself to be led to a frame of, the serial killer who made his name and fame.
It's all delicious stuff, with every page and passage shot through with pleasurable uncertainty. My only quibble is that Nick gets out of a handful of attempts on his life in wildly improbable, eyer-rolling fashion —but perhaps, in its own way, that is more of Abrahams so-sly-that-maybe-it-isn't satire. Either way, OBLIVION is great fun and infused with freshness that the crime novel sorely needs as much now as it did when it was published in 2005.
July 11, 2014
I see a lot of mixed reviews about Oblivion. I thought it was an exceptional book and the whole premise outstanding,
PI Nick Petrov is well known for finding missing persons and will always be remembered for his hand in locating and bringing down a serial killer who tortured and killed 6 women before being stopped.
The largest character of this book is his amnesa due to a brain tumor. For such a smart and organized man, losing 2 weeks out of your life is like being in a cage. Slowly but surely he starts piecing together partial clues when his brain misfires and has memory hallucinations.
Having the brain tumor also changes Nick's personality. He's become a kinder, gentler man,,,especially in dealing with his son who lives with his mother. He may have lost some of his brain cells, but he's developed a heart.
It's fun watching him put his life back together in order to find a missing young teenager. The author does an excellent job is showing us the character's frustration and sometimes anger with himself. And he really, really hates to ask for help.
I liked the characters .... I liked the storyline...and now I'm going to be looking for any other of his books. Not so much blood and guts with this one, but any time reading this one will not be wasted. 5 Stars.
PI Nick Petrov is well known for finding missing persons and will always be remembered for his hand in locating and bringing down a serial killer who tortured and killed 6 women before being stopped.
The largest character of this book is his amnesa due to a brain tumor. For such a smart and organized man, losing 2 weeks out of your life is like being in a cage. Slowly but surely he starts piecing together partial clues when his brain misfires and has memory hallucinations.
Having the brain tumor also changes Nick's personality. He's become a kinder, gentler man,,,especially in dealing with his son who lives with his mother. He may have lost some of his brain cells, but he's developed a heart.
It's fun watching him put his life back together in order to find a missing young teenager. The author does an excellent job is showing us the character's frustration and sometimes anger with himself. And he really, really hates to ask for help.
I liked the characters .... I liked the storyline...and now I'm going to be looking for any other of his books. Not so much blood and guts with this one, but any time reading this one will not be wasted. 5 Stars.
December 16, 2015
Non-series. Dense P.I. novel with plenty of plot twists. Nick Petrov has a brain bleed, coincidently in the hospital driveway. when he recovers consciousness some ten days later, he has no memory of the case he had been investigating for three days before his collapse. He tries to pick up the case, ignoring physical limitations, by odd clues he finds and conversations with people he spoke to during the lost weekend. The case eventually merges with the case that made his reputation (he was played by Armand Assante in the movie).
Non-series - When crack P.I. Nick Petrov comes to in the hospital with certain gaps in his memory, he hunts for what's missing-with scary results.
Non-series - When crack P.I. Nick Petrov comes to in the hospital with certain gaps in his memory, he hunts for what's missing-with scary results.
October 31, 2023
I'm giving it 4. There were definite faults. Underdeveloped characters, especially the love interest. (I mean he proposed, and she asked what I was thinking "do u even know her?!") A few eye roll moments when he just had to explain every thought over and over again or he did something that was not in line with the character at all. And such a buttoned up ending.
But it was gritty. And it was good. The story wasn't predictable, and I did find it addictive and entertaining.
Possibly the weirdest mystery I've read.
And worth the read just for that.
I would have loved an alternate ending where the entire story was a hallucination, and he died from the brain cancer.
But it was gritty. And it was good. The story wasn't predictable, and I did find it addictive and entertaining.
Possibly the weirdest mystery I've read.
And worth the read just for that.
I would have loved an alternate ending where the entire story was a hallucination, and he died from the brain cancer.
November 18, 2017
A cop turned private investigator is hired to find a missing teen. Memories from that weekend vanish when he awakes in a hospital having suffered a seizure due to Glioblastoma Multiforme grade 4. He works to capture those memories while working with several clues (he thinks) and won't give up until he has the answers. Too many people are dying while he gropes for answers.
July 1, 2025
The first 10 chapters really draw you in, but in my opinion, the middle is super boring. The ending was very exciting, but that was only the last 80 pages or so. I have another book of his checked out from the library, so I'm anxious to see if that one is better. This was a new author for me so I wasn't sure what to expect.
June 13, 2023
...a good crime thriller. I liked the structure of the lead character trying to solve the mystery "a second time" after amnesia.
August 14, 2007
OBLIVION (Private Investigator-Los Angeles-Cont) – Okay
Abrahams, Peter – Standalone
HarperTouch, 2006- Paperback
Private Investigator Nic Petrov is asked by Lisa Rummel to find her daughter Amanda. The missing person case leads to murder and presents Nic with more questions than answers. The case keeps cycling back to a Hollywood movie made about Nic and the capture of a serial killer. But putting the clue together keeps getting harder as Nic’s mental abilities degrade and when amnesia requires that he start back at the beginning.
*** Nic is presented as a somewhat larger-than-life character, even as his illness progresses. There is a romantic relationship which is completely implausible, if not bordering on silly. The writing style is choppy which, I am guessing, was meant to convey Nic’s mental processes but I found rather annoying. Without coincidences the story would have gone nowhere. The identity of the killer, which was a surprise, seemed absurd to me. There was some good tension, it did keep me reading and I liked another book written by Abrahams, which is why I rate it Okay rather than Poor. I’m willing to give Abrahams another try, but I’d recommend passing on this book.
Abrahams, Peter – Standalone
HarperTouch, 2006- Paperback
Private Investigator Nic Petrov is asked by Lisa Rummel to find her daughter Amanda. The missing person case leads to murder and presents Nic with more questions than answers. The case keeps cycling back to a Hollywood movie made about Nic and the capture of a serial killer. But putting the clue together keeps getting harder as Nic’s mental abilities degrade and when amnesia requires that he start back at the beginning.
*** Nic is presented as a somewhat larger-than-life character, even as his illness progresses. There is a romantic relationship which is completely implausible, if not bordering on silly. The writing style is choppy which, I am guessing, was meant to convey Nic’s mental processes but I found rather annoying. Without coincidences the story would have gone nowhere. The identity of the killer, which was a surprise, seemed absurd to me. There was some good tension, it did keep me reading and I liked another book written by Abrahams, which is why I rate it Okay rather than Poor. I’m willing to give Abrahams another try, but I’d recommend passing on this book.
January 18, 2010
This was a pretty decent thriller, although not quite the outstanding book I was expecting given all the critical acclaim it seems to have received from "The New Yorker" among others. Nick Petrov, a private investigator, begins fast and furious work on a missing persons case only to be derailed by the discovery of his unsuspected brain tumor and some resulting unfortunately timed amnesia. The rest of the book describes Nick's efforts to put the clues together despite his memory loss.
As another reviewer pointed out, some of the writing was choppy, particularly in the first section. Ironically enough after all my recent complaints about glacial or nonexistent plots, this one moved way too fast for me in the beginning. As I read on, though, I felt that both the writing and the pacing improved and I found myself caught up in the story. Despite some unlikely coincidences and a way-too-easy romance, this book delivered a gripping story with an ending that I figured out a little early, but not early enough to ruin the suspense for the most part.
If you like thrillers as a rule, chances are you'll enjoy this one.
As another reviewer pointed out, some of the writing was choppy, particularly in the first section. Ironically enough after all my recent complaints about glacial or nonexistent plots, this one moved way too fast for me in the beginning. As I read on, though, I felt that both the writing and the pacing improved and I found myself caught up in the story. Despite some unlikely coincidences and a way-too-easy romance, this book delivered a gripping story with an ending that I figured out a little early, but not early enough to ruin the suspense for the most part.
If you like thrillers as a rule, chances are you'll enjoy this one.
September 14, 2017
If you liked the movie "Memento" or the novel/play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, give this book a try. Ace private eye Nick Petrov is on the brink of solving the case of a missing girl when he falls victim to brain damage. Emerging from the hospital, he takes up where he left off. Unfortunately, he doesn't remember most of what he found out. This generates considerable suspense--the reader knows what Nick is walking into and he doesn't. Adding interest is that Nick doesn't just have a disability. He's a different person. His feelings and perceptions have changed. The mystery plot is very tricky and its solution is satisfying. Veteran thriller writer Abrahams is much underrated, in my opinion. And Steven King's, too.
June 16, 2014
3.5 stars
Confusing...with purpose. Done exquisitely well to show what someone might be going through if he'd had traumatic brain injury, and then tried to rebuild a life that holds way too many secrets and lies. What's real...what's not? Messes with your mind a bit, and sometimes gets overwhelming to the point where you want someone else to take over POV for awhile just to get some clarity and distance.
But you can't and so the book becomes a relentless pulsating thing, where you need the answers for your own sanity as much as Nick needs it for his own.
Well done. Almost gave this 4 stars but dropping it down because the book was so exhausting. That's probably my own fault more than that of the book, but it's where I am right now.
Confusing...with purpose. Done exquisitely well to show what someone might be going through if he'd had traumatic brain injury, and then tried to rebuild a life that holds way too many secrets and lies. What's real...what's not? Messes with your mind a bit, and sometimes gets overwhelming to the point where you want someone else to take over POV for awhile just to get some clarity and distance.
But you can't and so the book becomes a relentless pulsating thing, where you need the answers for your own sanity as much as Nick needs it for his own.
Well done. Almost gave this 4 stars but dropping it down because the book was so exhausting. That's probably my own fault more than that of the book, but it's where I am right now.
August 23, 2011
What a ride! This is everything I want in a thriller and well written and plotted to boot. Naturally it wasn't on my list of what I'm supposed to be reading this year. This is the third book by Abrahams I've devoured in the last couple of years. Oblivion is actually from earlier (2005). Heck if I can remember who recommended it. Doesn't matter.
Shortly after Nick Petrov takes on a missing person case, he wakes up in a hospital bed with his memory of the last two weeks gone. There's a strong 'memento' feel about the book and watching Nick as he struggles to find answers turns this into a real page turner.
Shortly after Nick Petrov takes on a missing person case, he wakes up in a hospital bed with his memory of the last two weeks gone. There's a strong 'memento' feel about the book and watching Nick as he struggles to find answers turns this into a real page turner.
August 20, 2013
The amnesia aspect was really well done. The mystery side makes sense I guess but yeah I agree it's a little out there. When his dead father, starts talking to him I kind of phased out but again I guess that can just be his unconcious mind. The lack of real tension kind of makes it boring which is sad because it is really unique. I'd read it again because I'm sure it would be just as good following the threads.
May 17, 2017
I am surprised the book is rated so low, I really enjoyed it. One of my favorite mysteries ever. Sure, you can figure out whodunnit early, but can Nick figure out after his brain bleed/stroke? I really liked this book, it was such a different type of mystery...
May 16, 2011
Smart thriller. Interesting main character with brain 'issues.'
October 3, 2019
This one starts out like a run-of-the-mill PI
story, a case of a missing girl that the PI begins to
investigate. And he is fairly successful, actually
finding the girl, ready to return her to her
guardian, when suddenly the story takes an
abrupt right turn.
The PI has a stroke, gets laid up in a hospital
for a few weeks, and has lost most of what he
learned in that investigation as well as a very
shoddy memory overall.
Now the story begins so to speak, and it's a good one.
Sort of like "Memento" where he has to find all
the clues all over again but now it happens in
reverse order.
Clever plotting and I really liked how the PI had
to recover his lost memory while also recovering
from his stroke. Very realistic I thought.
The ending is very clever too. At first you think
one way about who did a crime (and that would have
been an absolute mindblowing climax!), but then the
actual denouement is not too bad either. Everything
is tied up cleanly.
I wasn't too happy with the last chapter, but oh well
I guess the author needed to have the reader get even
more upbeat. I thought it was unnecessary.
This is RECOMMENDED reading for a whodunit thriller.
story, a case of a missing girl that the PI begins to
investigate. And he is fairly successful, actually
finding the girl, ready to return her to her
guardian, when suddenly the story takes an
abrupt right turn.
The PI has a stroke, gets laid up in a hospital
for a few weeks, and has lost most of what he
learned in that investigation as well as a very
shoddy memory overall.
Now the story begins so to speak, and it's a good one.
Sort of like "Memento" where he has to find all
the clues all over again but now it happens in
reverse order.
Clever plotting and I really liked how the PI had
to recover his lost memory while also recovering
from his stroke. Very realistic I thought.
The ending is very clever too. At first you think
one way about who did a crime (and that would have
been an absolute mindblowing climax!), but then the
actual denouement is not too bad either. Everything
is tied up cleanly.
I wasn't too happy with the last chapter, but oh well
I guess the author needed to have the reader get even
more upbeat. I thought it was unnecessary.
This is RECOMMENDED reading for a whodunit thriller.
October 1, 2023
I read once somewhere that the novel is a conservative genre. Sometimes when I read Joyce or Ali Smith I question this but detective fiction, with its drive toward control and categorization, always worries me in that in seeking to impose order, we are embracing some troubling habits of thought. The conservatism leaks through in other ways as well, of course, Horowitz is an out and proud conservative, and Galbraith is an out and proud TERF. Abrahamoff, for his part, seems to take quite a stand against political correctness what with the song lyrics his protagonist embraces and the misogynist old man his Nick instantly likes, and the blithe treatment he gives racism.
Personally, I'm strongly in favor of political correctness, the means by which we are kind to people we have never met. And yet, I would recommend this book, because it is layered and poignant. It has all the things detective fiction lovers enjoy - snarky dialogue, irony, good, evil, gray areas, a puzzle and its unfolding; but it is also unique enough to stand out in the genre, both thematically and for the quality of the writing.
Personally, I'm strongly in favor of political correctness, the means by which we are kind to people we have never met. And yet, I would recommend this book, because it is layered and poignant. It has all the things detective fiction lovers enjoy - snarky dialogue, irony, good, evil, gray areas, a puzzle and its unfolding; but it is also unique enough to stand out in the genre, both thematically and for the quality of the writing.
June 16, 2018
I found this book to be a study in contrasts. The twist I figured out fairly early on, yet kept reading because I wanted to find out what's next. The main character goes through a big personality change yet it was subtle. The story was character driven but gave way to Hollywood style action sequences near the end. The romance also felt added on because, why not?
There was enough well-plotted mystery to keep me interested but I felt the story ultimately left too many plot threads hanging. It was the kind of book that was a good read while reading it but when I finished I focused more on the annoyances. I feel this is unfair to the author, since I genuinely enjoyed the book but, well, that's how I feel.
There was enough well-plotted mystery to keep me interested but I felt the story ultimately left too many plot threads hanging. It was the kind of book that was a good read while reading it but when I finished I focused more on the annoyances. I feel this is unfair to the author, since I genuinely enjoyed the book but, well, that's how I feel.
January 23, 2023
Going to make a conscious effort this year to get a bunch of shit off my bookshelves. I've accumulated a lifetime of detritus and don't want to burden anyone - even myself - with my mess.
Abrahams writes a hell of a thriller. I loved the structure of Oblivion; watching Petrov reconstruct clues he had already uncovered was fulfilling for a reader who already in the know. I liked how the third part moved the action forward into areas neither Petrov or the reader understood. And the whole thing is done with a rye humor and eye for detail that works really well.
Complaints would likely include the occasional repetitiveness of the text. The repetition feels fairly organic though, in the sense that the protagonist is literally turning over the same things he's already been through.
Overall, a decent thriller that slightly overstays its welcome.
Abrahams writes a hell of a thriller. I loved the structure of Oblivion; watching Petrov reconstruct clues he had already uncovered was fulfilling for a reader who already in the know. I liked how the third part moved the action forward into areas neither Petrov or the reader understood. And the whole thing is done with a rye humor and eye for detail that works really well.
Complaints would likely include the occasional repetitiveness of the text. The repetition feels fairly organic though, in the sense that the protagonist is literally turning over the same things he's already been through.
Overall, a decent thriller that slightly overstays its welcome.
July 5, 2017
It was a bit confusing but in a good way, like how a mystery/thriller book would do to you. It kept me at the edge of my seat trying to find out what really happened. The ending was a bit eh but all the suspense build up throughout the book was good that at the ending you're like 'how did I not notice that?' at least I was..Great book overall!
April 26, 2020
An amazingly original novel. You can't tell where it's going to go, partly because the protagonist has a huge memory problem and he doesn't know what's going on (and although the novel is written in third person, you get into the protagonist's head nonetheless, and it's very "strange" in there. Terrific novel, really.
November 26, 2017
Some very interesting twists, although I knew who did it fairly early in the story.
March 22, 2018
Well written. I solved the crime before Nick did, but that only added to the suspense of wondering how he would figure it out and would it be in time.
March 24, 2018
very interesting murder mystery; but I didn't enjoy the time shifts; I was constantly confused with his flashbacks and current time; it was slightly annoying, but perhaps that helped the storyline.
June 19, 2018
1 1/2 stars. I am a grammar person and don't like reading in sentence fragments. I was able to finish it over several weeks which is why it got above 1 star. Barely.
March 14, 2019
Disappointing
April 16, 2021
Weirdly interesting at the start, when investigator Nick discovers he has a brain tumor that is changing his perception. However the book lost me for a while in the middle.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews