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The Face of Fear: A Powers and Johnson Novel by R. J. Torbert (2013) Paperback
Ghost Face returns like you've never seen or read before. The village of Port Jefferson, Long Island, NY, is rocked by a kidnapping on the Cross Island Ferry that leads to a series of murders that adds to the mystery. Detective Powers and Johnson, led by Detective Lieutenant Cronin, are pressured by national media, the FBI, and the public to solve the related cases before more innocent lives are lost. Things become tense as the detectives' personal lives become complicated as the mystery unwinds in the case that would become known as The Face of Fear.
- GenresMystery
Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
16 people are currently reading
94 people want to read
About the author
R.J. Torbert
2 books14 followersR. J. Torbert, who has been a key figure in the history of the Ghost Face mask since 1996, continues his work at Fun World, which includes protecting the trademark and copyrights of Ghost Face. R. J. has entered his twenty first year at Fun World, creating and developing over one thousand items sold around the world. He is currently working on his third novel, R. J. holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Creative Writing.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 7, 2015
AVOID THIS BOOK AT ALL COSTS.
That being said, I would give zero stars if I could but I cannot, so let me tell you why this book is an abhorrent piece of crap.
1. The writing: An illiterate middle school student could write better than this. It was like reading the script for a daytime soap opera. Except the script for a soap opera would be better. Every single thought of every character was pretty much directly stated. The dialogue was robotic and unrealistic, cliche and sickening. There were attempts at prose - "her eyes were like the pacific ocean" - which clearly fell flatter than a glass of coca-cola left in a hot room for over a week. The characters were stereotypical and stale. Detective Paul Powers was obviously the McDreamy of this book. Unfortunately, unlike Grey's Anatomy, Paul Power's survived all the way to the end. By the way, SPOILER ALERT, Rachelle didn't seem that broken up over the fact that her sister knifed a couple people. Totally believable.
2. The plot: If the writing wasn't enough to drive you to throw this book into your outdoor fire pit and roast marshmellows over it, then the plot will top it off. 498 pages of dragged on, silly plot points. Was a cop conspiracy necessary? Once the kidnapping ended, 25% through the book I might add, the book should've ended. Not that that would've saved the book, but it would've saved me a lot of wasted time.
3. The Historical Information regarding the setting: I grew up in Port Jefferson. It's great. Village, harbor, stores, restaurants, it's hardly unique. This author makes it sound like the most INTERESTING place in the world, the GREATEST place to live. It isn't. But not only does he mention every popular spot in town about 5920902 times, he gives a historical lecture on each of them. It sounds like the village of Port Jeff paid this guy to advertise for them. I can tell you something right now, lived in Port Jeff for 20 years, never stepped foot inside of Z Pita. Obviously Im not missing that much.
4. The sheer ignorance about how certain things work, such as the Port Jefferson Now. I have a best friend who is the editor of a magazine, and has worked at a certain paper that actually is based in Port Jeff, and you do NOT just write whatever articles you feel like. You also don't get approval of said articles from certain people who are NOT your editor before putting them in print. It's one thing to be vague about a character's job, but if her job has a major part in the story, than it needs to be correctly shown. Shoddy research. Fiction or not, you can't just make up the way certain things work. Like they didn't take Sherry to Mather hospital and declare "ALL HER SURGERY WILL BE FREE". No, because that's not how hospitals work.
This book was so terrible, I started skipping large chunks. I went from 40% to 56%, then from 60% to 76%, and then to 90%. And guess what? I didn't miss a single piece of important information. I am glad I completed the "Book Set in Your Hometown" challenge, but I am disgusted that I took the risk to spend $10 on this piece of crap.
That being said, I would give zero stars if I could but I cannot, so let me tell you why this book is an abhorrent piece of crap.
1. The writing: An illiterate middle school student could write better than this. It was like reading the script for a daytime soap opera. Except the script for a soap opera would be better. Every single thought of every character was pretty much directly stated. The dialogue was robotic and unrealistic, cliche and sickening. There were attempts at prose - "her eyes were like the pacific ocean" - which clearly fell flatter than a glass of coca-cola left in a hot room for over a week. The characters were stereotypical and stale. Detective Paul Powers was obviously the McDreamy of this book. Unfortunately, unlike Grey's Anatomy, Paul Power's survived all the way to the end. By the way, SPOILER ALERT, Rachelle didn't seem that broken up over the fact that her sister knifed a couple people. Totally believable.
2. The plot: If the writing wasn't enough to drive you to throw this book into your outdoor fire pit and roast marshmellows over it, then the plot will top it off. 498 pages of dragged on, silly plot points. Was a cop conspiracy necessary? Once the kidnapping ended, 25% through the book I might add, the book should've ended. Not that that would've saved the book, but it would've saved me a lot of wasted time.
3. The Historical Information regarding the setting: I grew up in Port Jefferson. It's great. Village, harbor, stores, restaurants, it's hardly unique. This author makes it sound like the most INTERESTING place in the world, the GREATEST place to live. It isn't. But not only does he mention every popular spot in town about 5920902 times, he gives a historical lecture on each of them. It sounds like the village of Port Jeff paid this guy to advertise for them. I can tell you something right now, lived in Port Jeff for 20 years, never stepped foot inside of Z Pita. Obviously Im not missing that much.
4. The sheer ignorance about how certain things work, such as the Port Jefferson Now. I have a best friend who is the editor of a magazine, and has worked at a certain paper that actually is based in Port Jeff, and you do NOT just write whatever articles you feel like. You also don't get approval of said articles from certain people who are NOT your editor before putting them in print. It's one thing to be vague about a character's job, but if her job has a major part in the story, than it needs to be correctly shown. Shoddy research. Fiction or not, you can't just make up the way certain things work. Like they didn't take Sherry to Mather hospital and declare "ALL HER SURGERY WILL BE FREE". No, because that's not how hospitals work.
This book was so terrible, I started skipping large chunks. I went from 40% to 56%, then from 60% to 76%, and then to 90%. And guess what? I didn't miss a single piece of important information. I am glad I completed the "Book Set in Your Hometown" challenge, but I am disgusted that I took the risk to spend $10 on this piece of crap.
April 30, 2019
Shallow characters, lifeless execution of plot had me put the book down at page 100. Another go-around with an editor also needed. Sorry, not one bit my bag.
March 10, 2023
Deborah is the daughter of William Lance, a self-made millionaire. Since her mother died when she was thirteen, there have been just the two of them, which has made her father very protective of her. Deborah is now twenty-six and in a relationship with her father's assistant Robert Simpson. William is uneasy because of the big age gap but otherwise is pleased for the couple. One Saturday, Deborah meets William for lunch before he sees her drive onto the Bridgeport Cross Island Ferry. She is due to meet up with her best friend, Patty Saunders, for dinner and a concert. Deborah never arrives!
As the ferry leaves the dock, a stranger punches Deborah in the face and knocks her out. Two men with him help put her in the boot of his car. There are no clues, and nobody sees this happen. Detectives Powers and Johnson have never met Deborah, but she becomes a big part of their lives as they work hard to find her before the kidnapper's deadline. Detective Powers thinks he knows how the kidnapping occurred and enlists friends and colleagues to put his theory to the test. Unfortunately, it all goes horribly wrong! Why has Deborah been kidnapped? Is Robert Simpson hiding a secret? Moreover, who is Ghostface? Read The Face of Fear by R. J. Torbert to find answers to these questions and solve the mystery.
I disliked lots of things about this book. Torbert repeats himself throughout. For example, on page fifteen, Torbert writes that Joey constantly walks around the restaurant keeping an eye on the staff and customers. Two lines further on, he says that Joey was famous for constantly walking around the restaurant, making sure everything was running smoothly. This happens regularly throughout The Face of Fear, and I struggled to finish the book. Because of the repetitions, the story is slow to move on and becomes boring!
I enjoyed the banter between Powers and Johnson, which added a touch of humor. The concept for this complicated story is excellent but could have been better executed and needs a professional editor and proofreader to knock it into shape. I found mistakes on most pages, sentences that ran on, spelling errors, and the wrong grammar. Torbert changes his mind on details constantly. For example, on page two hundred and seventy-three, Detective Johnson meets a friend's dog for the first time, and while petting her, he sees her dog tag, which reads Minty, and in the same sentence, Torbert writes that the detective says '"Hey, Monty!" There are also huge mistakes in a chapter entitled 'Saturday, June 25th' where everyone refers to the day as Sunday!
I rate The Face of Fear by R. J. Torbert 1 out of 5. I give it one point because the ending was unexpected, and I was surprised when I discovered who Ghostface was! I have taken four points away due to all the errors I have already mentioned and the fact that many supporting characters are unnecessary. They are very one-dimensional and do not add anything to the story. I also found the main characters very stereotyped and predictable.
Once all the mistakes have been corrected, The Face of Fear will be an engaging and exciting read. But as it stands, I would not recommend it to anyone; however, if you enjoy thrillers involving crime, murder, and detectives and can ignore the errors, then you would enjoy this book. There are swearing and sexual references, so it would be best suited to adults.
As the ferry leaves the dock, a stranger punches Deborah in the face and knocks her out. Two men with him help put her in the boot of his car. There are no clues, and nobody sees this happen. Detectives Powers and Johnson have never met Deborah, but she becomes a big part of their lives as they work hard to find her before the kidnapper's deadline. Detective Powers thinks he knows how the kidnapping occurred and enlists friends and colleagues to put his theory to the test. Unfortunately, it all goes horribly wrong! Why has Deborah been kidnapped? Is Robert Simpson hiding a secret? Moreover, who is Ghostface? Read The Face of Fear by R. J. Torbert to find answers to these questions and solve the mystery.
I disliked lots of things about this book. Torbert repeats himself throughout. For example, on page fifteen, Torbert writes that Joey constantly walks around the restaurant keeping an eye on the staff and customers. Two lines further on, he says that Joey was famous for constantly walking around the restaurant, making sure everything was running smoothly. This happens regularly throughout The Face of Fear, and I struggled to finish the book. Because of the repetitions, the story is slow to move on and becomes boring!
I enjoyed the banter between Powers and Johnson, which added a touch of humor. The concept for this complicated story is excellent but could have been better executed and needs a professional editor and proofreader to knock it into shape. I found mistakes on most pages, sentences that ran on, spelling errors, and the wrong grammar. Torbert changes his mind on details constantly. For example, on page two hundred and seventy-three, Detective Johnson meets a friend's dog for the first time, and while petting her, he sees her dog tag, which reads Minty, and in the same sentence, Torbert writes that the detective says '"Hey, Monty!" There are also huge mistakes in a chapter entitled 'Saturday, June 25th' where everyone refers to the day as Sunday!
I rate The Face of Fear by R. J. Torbert 1 out of 5. I give it one point because the ending was unexpected, and I was surprised when I discovered who Ghostface was! I have taken four points away due to all the errors I have already mentioned and the fact that many supporting characters are unnecessary. They are very one-dimensional and do not add anything to the story. I also found the main characters very stereotyped and predictable.
Once all the mistakes have been corrected, The Face of Fear will be an engaging and exciting read. But as it stands, I would not recommend it to anyone; however, if you enjoy thrillers involving crime, murder, and detectives and can ignore the errors, then you would enjoy this book. There are swearing and sexual references, so it would be best suited to adults.
July 25, 2024
This is the most heartstopping, mind blowing, terrific, crime novel ever!!
All 455 pages, read without pause, only a few minutes to keep starving. This book is the real deal! I be never read anything so like it! From Deborah’s kidnapping, to a murder, to 5 murders, to a vigilante killing bad people and living the good ones, what!? Too much, this was a great read, nothing less than 5 stars, it had a few grammar errors, but, 5 stars!
All 455 pages, read without pause, only a few minutes to keep starving. This book is the real deal! I be never read anything so like it! From Deborah’s kidnapping, to a murder, to 5 murders, to a vigilante killing bad people and living the good ones, what!? Too much, this was a great read, nothing less than 5 stars, it had a few grammar errors, but, 5 stars!
September 18, 2015
In the R.J. Torbet debut novel, The Face of Fear: A Powers and Johnson Novel, The infamous Ghost mask from the Scream movie franchise is resurrected. Many Long Islanders will recognize the location for this murder mystery. Set in Port Jefferson, the story begins with a kidnapping on the ferry to Bridgeport. When a string of murders occur connected to the case, no one in Port Jefferson, the FBI or the Suffolk County Police is above suspicion. As pressure mounts from the media and FBI to solve the murders before more lives are lost, the Ghost Face murderer continues to kill anyone that may threaten his goal. It seems as though town folk and authorities alike have some link to the crimes committed, keeping us wondering as to what the motive is for the murders. When you think you have the mystery solved, another piece of information will refute your theory, making you analyze the clues all over again. Torbet weaves a suspenseful page-turner; intermingling fictional characters with actual residents and establishments, making the horror seem all too real for the local reader. To break the gruesome tension, there are two budding love stories, involving the two detectives, Powers and Johnson, who are the lead officials on the case. Entrenching their involvement further, is the fact that the Ghost Face mask used to hide the identity of the murderer, came from one of the detectives apartments. The Face of Fear has a little something for every reader; crime drama, murder, romance, humor and local history, set in the backdrop of one of Long Island prettiest port towns. Although we think we get the answers we need in the end, there are still questions and mysteries to be solved. I am waiting for the second installment of this series because, I need to know!
December 7, 2014
A fun read staring my favorite horror movie villain, Ghostface!
May 7, 2015
I wish I could give 0 stars. This is so bad that I can't even finish and I'm only 20 percent in.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews