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Kathryn Dance #4
Solitude Creek
Jeffery Deaver, "the master of manipulation" ( Associated Press ) and "the most creative, skilled and intriguing thriller writer in the world." ( Daily Telegraph , UK) returns with the new, long-awaited, Kathryn Dance thriller.
A tragedy occurs at a small concert venue on the Monterey Peninsula. Cries of "fire" are raised and, panicked, people run for the doors, only to find them blocked. A half dozen people die and others are seriously injured. But it's the panic and the stampede that killed them; there was no fire.
Kathryn Dance--a brilliant California Bureau of Investigation agent and body language expert--discovers that the stampede was caused intentionally and that the perpetrator, a man obsessed with turning people's own fears and greed into weapons, has more attacks planned. She and her team must race against the clock to find where he will strike next before more innocents die.
A tragedy occurs at a small concert venue on the Monterey Peninsula. Cries of "fire" are raised and, panicked, people run for the doors, only to find them blocked. A half dozen people die and others are seriously injured. But it's the panic and the stampede that killed them; there was no fire.
Kathryn Dance--a brilliant California Bureau of Investigation agent and body language expert--discovers that the stampede was caused intentionally and that the perpetrator, a man obsessed with turning people's own fears and greed into weapons, has more attacks planned. She and her team must race against the clock to find where he will strike next before more innocents die.
664 pages, Hardcover
First published May 5, 2015
892 people are currently reading
5410 people want to read
About the author
Jeffery Deaver
509 books11.7k followers#1 international bestselling author of over thirty novels and three collections of short stories. His books are sold in 150 countries and translated into 25 languages. His first novel featuring Lincoln Rhyme, The Bone Collector, was made into a major motion picture starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. He's received or been shortlisted for a number of awards around the world.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 791 reviews
April 23, 2019
This was not entertaining. It's my first and last story featuring this character. 2 of 10 stars
December 13, 2017
Kathryn Dance, CBI agent and an expert on reading the body language of criminals (and most everyone else!) was shocked when she was sent to the site of a concert which had been held the night before. The calls of “fire” throughout the venue and the subsequent scramble and panic of the patrons to escape had caused a catastrophe not often seen outside sporting venues. But the bigger shock was to discover that it was no accident – someone had caused the panic deliberately…
Racing against the clock, Dance and her team frantically investigated every small lead they had – they just knew he would do it again – and again. Would they locate the psychopathic killer before more died? And would they discover what motivated this person to kill in the manner he did?
Solitude Creek by Jeffery Deaver is the 4th in the Kathryn Dance series and once again, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. Mention is made a couple of times of Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs, (from Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme series) which I’ve also enjoyed, who Kathryn has worked with in the past. Nicely blended 😊 Fast-paced, intense and gritty, I have no hesitation in recommending Solitude Creek to thriller fans.
Racing against the clock, Dance and her team frantically investigated every small lead they had – they just knew he would do it again – and again. Would they locate the psychopathic killer before more died? And would they discover what motivated this person to kill in the manner he did?
Solitude Creek by Jeffery Deaver is the 4th in the Kathryn Dance series and once again, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. Mention is made a couple of times of Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs, (from Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme series) which I’ve also enjoyed, who Kathryn has worked with in the past. Nicely blended 😊 Fast-paced, intense and gritty, I have no hesitation in recommending Solitude Creek to thriller fans.
November 21, 2019
I don’t enjoy books that SHOUT at me. This one opens with a mom and daughter attending a gig at the roadhouse in Solitude Creek on the Monterey Peninsula, where the audience at a music venue are trapped between a non-existent fire and emergency doors blocked by a haulage truck. Next we switch to an informant on the billion dollar industry of the “pipeline” - trucks and warehouses where drugs head north and armaments head south between California and Mexico. Drawn into both these cases is California agent Kathryn Dance, a widow raising two near-teen children, at her house with a large deck where she and the new boyfriend, an indeterminate number of family/friends, and miscellaneous kids hangs out.
This would have been a fairly good thriller if it restricted itself to the chilling sociopath who uses psychology to stage-manage terror and fear through stampeding his victims - throwing in the odd murder to cover his tracks - paid for by an unknown client, to feed the hunger of his own inner-demon “The Get”. The narrative suffers from an overdose of extraneous detail. Clothes. Shoes. Food. Music. As if the author was receiving product endorsements. Or is this how Monterey works? (I admit I would make the worst eye-witness as I never pay attention to what people wear, let alone shoes).
The obvious happens when, with Dance on his tail, the sociopath targets her and the (extended) family. Just as obvious she gets on top at the end. I ploughed on, hoping that Stemple would dice Foster, unaware of the sting operation that gave this an extra star. But I feel no inclination to read any more of the author’s work.
Verdict: cluttered.
This would have been a fairly good thriller if it restricted itself to the chilling sociopath who uses psychology to stage-manage terror and fear through stampeding his victims - throwing in the odd murder to cover his tracks - paid for by an unknown client, to feed the hunger of his own inner-demon “The Get”. The narrative suffers from an overdose of extraneous detail. Clothes. Shoes. Food. Music. As if the author was receiving product endorsements. Or is this how Monterey works? (I admit I would make the worst eye-witness as I never pay attention to what people wear, let alone shoes).
The obvious happens when, with Dance on his tail, the sociopath targets her and the (extended) family. Just as obvious she gets on top at the end. I ploughed on, hoping that Stemple would dice Foster, unaware of the sting operation that gave this an extra star. But I feel no inclination to read any more of the author’s work.
Verdict: cluttered.
February 22, 2018
Solitude Creek is book four of the Kathryn Dance series by Jeffery Deaver. Kathryn Dance was making a routine insurance check at a truck company after a roadhouse fire when she was involved in an incident at the company. However, during the conflict, Kathryn Dance found out something that changed the whole investigation into the roadhouse fire. The readers of Solitude Creek will continue to follow the twist and turns in Kathryn Dance investigation into the roadhouse fire to find out was it accident or murder.
Solitude Creek is the first book I read in this series. For me, Solitude Creek is not as fast moving as the books in the Lincoln Rhyme series. However, it is still an enjoyable book to read. I like Jeffery Deaver portrayal of his characters especially Kathryn Dance and the way they all intertwine with each other throughout Solitude Creek. I love Jeffery Deaver writing style and the way he describes his settings.
The readers of Solitude Creek will learn the importance and the benefits of being able to read people's body language for law enforcement officers. Also, reading Solitude Creek, you see another side of law enforcement corporation with each other.
I recommend this book.
Solitude Creek is the first book I read in this series. For me, Solitude Creek is not as fast moving as the books in the Lincoln Rhyme series. However, it is still an enjoyable book to read. I like Jeffery Deaver portrayal of his characters especially Kathryn Dance and the way they all intertwine with each other throughout Solitude Creek. I love Jeffery Deaver writing style and the way he describes his settings.
The readers of Solitude Creek will learn the importance and the benefits of being able to read people's body language for law enforcement officers. Also, reading Solitude Creek, you see another side of law enforcement corporation with each other.
I recommend this book.
July 22, 2015
So, I like Jeffery Deaver. I've read most of his books and I still keep up with and enjoy Lincoln Rhyme. But I've never loved the Kathryn Dance books. There are two major things and one minor thing that bother me about Kathryn Dance. The minor thing is the super specific details. I don't care if the daughter is wearing a Phineas & Ferb t-shirt, just say t-shirt, it's enough. But I can get over that... The major things are more difficult. The first one is that Dance is presented as this perfect parent and it does nothing for the story. Sometimes I feel like Deaver is just reciting parenting rules to us to show how much he knows about parenting a child. It's annoying and unnecessary. The other thing that really bugged me was that Dance is presented as this big feminist, but she is not a feminist in any way at all and it drives me nuts. I don't know if Jeffery Deaver just doesn't understand women or feminism or what. It would be better to just not bring it up at all and let the reader identify with the character and reflect those traits on to her than to try to point it out. I mean, "the Gal's wing"? If someone came into my office and called where I work the gal's corner I would tell them to f off and then I'd forget about it. I wouldn't adopt it as a nickname. It's ridiculous. And who even uses the word "gal"? Ninety year old men probably. Then the daughter comes home and says she's not a feminist, she's an equalist and Dance glows with pride? Seriously? I'm also pretty sure that Dance sees a 10 year old and thinks "she's going to give her husband trouble some day". None of these are things that feminists think or do. Kathryn Dance is not a feminist. And it's okay that she isn't, she can just be a woman detective and I would read the book and read her as a feminist because I am one. But now I just think she's pathetic and stupid. I enjoyed the plot of the book and the police work and all that, I just didn't enjoy the holier than thou bullshit about feminism and parenting. Just write a book about crime. (Oh, and she is just a detective in this book, almost none of it has to do with being a kinesics expert.) So, after all that, I just want to say, please Jeffery Deaver, kill off Kathryn Dance and give us a new series that isn't trying so hard and just has a good story.
May 14, 2015
The 4th book in the Kathryn Dance series by author Jeffery Deaver.
I enjoy reading Jeffery Deaver books and in particular the Lincoln Rhyme and Kathryn Dance series so I was a little surprised and disappointed that I only rated this book a solid 3 star rating. Admittedly the lower rating is more due to the previous high standard set by the author rather than judging this book on its merits alone which is probably misleading and slightly unfair. It is still a good novel with lots of suspense and surprises, so I wouldn't like to put readers off as it is still a decent read.
I enjoy reading Jeffery Deaver books and in particular the Lincoln Rhyme and Kathryn Dance series so I was a little surprised and disappointed that I only rated this book a solid 3 star rating. Admittedly the lower rating is more due to the previous high standard set by the author rather than judging this book on its merits alone which is probably misleading and slightly unfair. It is still a good novel with lots of suspense and surprises, so I wouldn't like to put readers off as it is still a decent read.
December 18, 2016
Solitude Creek is the fourth book in the Kathryn Dance series by popular American author, Jeffery Deaver. Kinesics expert and CBI Agent, Kathryn Dance is a skilled interviewer, but when her assessment of a witness to major gang crime goes wrong, she is relegated to Civ Div, weaponless and checking on regulatory compliances. On a routine check after a fire at a concert at Solitude Creek, Kathryn discovers that the tragic deaths and injuries are not the result of an unfortunate accident, but rather, due to the deliberate actions of an unknown perpetrator.
Before her investigations progress far, a similar situation involving crowd panic at another venue results in more injuries and deaths. As Kathryn and MCSO officer, Michael O’Neil try to track down this clever killer, Kathryn also stays involved in the crime gang case, under her boss’s radar. O’Neil has other cases to monitor as well: a missing farmer, a dead Jane Doe in a motel room and a spate of racially-motivated graffiti and vandalism.
Once again, Deaver gives his readers an original plot with plenty of twists and red herrings. His tale graphically illustrates the potential dangers faced at crowded venues and the power of social media to effect a mob mentality leading to stampede in the face of panic. He also highlights the plight of Americans of Japanese ancestry interned in “Relocation Centres” during World War Two, the unfairness of certain land acquisition laws and the existence of on-demand snuff films.
This instalment includes lots of action, a sting, a marriage proposal, and a bit of computer hacking by Kathryn’s man, Jon Boling. There’s a bit of brand soup going on, with a generous sprinkling of clothing, shoe and accessory labels: perhaps the intention is to attract more female readers, but it does nothing for the story. Given his upbringing, the involvement of Dance’s son, Wes in racist activities is somewhat less than credible. Nonetheless, a page-turner.
Before her investigations progress far, a similar situation involving crowd panic at another venue results in more injuries and deaths. As Kathryn and MCSO officer, Michael O’Neil try to track down this clever killer, Kathryn also stays involved in the crime gang case, under her boss’s radar. O’Neil has other cases to monitor as well: a missing farmer, a dead Jane Doe in a motel room and a spate of racially-motivated graffiti and vandalism.
Once again, Deaver gives his readers an original plot with plenty of twists and red herrings. His tale graphically illustrates the potential dangers faced at crowded venues and the power of social media to effect a mob mentality leading to stampede in the face of panic. He also highlights the plight of Americans of Japanese ancestry interned in “Relocation Centres” during World War Two, the unfairness of certain land acquisition laws and the existence of on-demand snuff films.
This instalment includes lots of action, a sting, a marriage proposal, and a bit of computer hacking by Kathryn’s man, Jon Boling. There’s a bit of brand soup going on, with a generous sprinkling of clothing, shoe and accessory labels: perhaps the intention is to attract more female readers, but it does nothing for the story. Given his upbringing, the involvement of Dance’s son, Wes in racist activities is somewhat less than credible. Nonetheless, a page-turner.
September 2, 2017
Kathryn Dance agent at the CBI [Californian Bureau of Investigation] makes a horrible mistake and somebody goes free when he should not have been and she gets demoted to Civilian Division in which she gets involved in a stampede in a roadhouse {whose name is the Title] with a deadly result.
It find Kathryn facing a deadly predator than any she has before and he starts noticing her. At the same time Kathryn finds that her children's lives are becoming interesting and surprising enough for her.
Fear is the Mindkiller
Frank Herbert - Dune
The theme of the book and the weapon being waged again average people for a cause that is both dark and unsettling.
As always Deaver brings us an original idea in this thriller that will leave you feel uncomfortable after reading. With this book comes Deavers' specialty which is that he will make sure that the story will twist and turn and nothing is as it seems. And returning to the formidable Kathryn Dance and incredible smart and wicked lady who makes you believe that in the police force there are a lot of professionals who are no part of the shooting culture that currently seems to dominate the headlines and feelings. To be honest I prefer Dance over his other creation Lincoln Rhyme whose partner Emilia Sachs makes his books better and more grounded.
Well worth your while and quite a thrill-ride of a book.
It find Kathryn facing a deadly predator than any she has before and he starts noticing her. At the same time Kathryn finds that her children's lives are becoming interesting and surprising enough for her.
Fear is the Mindkiller
Frank Herbert - Dune
The theme of the book and the weapon being waged again average people for a cause that is both dark and unsettling.
As always Deaver brings us an original idea in this thriller that will leave you feel uncomfortable after reading. With this book comes Deavers' specialty which is that he will make sure that the story will twist and turn and nothing is as it seems. And returning to the formidable Kathryn Dance and incredible smart and wicked lady who makes you believe that in the police force there are a lot of professionals who are no part of the shooting culture that currently seems to dominate the headlines and feelings. To be honest I prefer Dance over his other creation Lincoln Rhyme whose partner Emilia Sachs makes his books better and more grounded.
Well worth your while and quite a thrill-ride of a book.
March 10, 2016
1,5 Stars. I loved the previous books about Agent Dance but this one was boring, sorry to say. Too many characters, too many false leads, too many descriptions of clothes and shoes. But most of all it annoyed me that Katherine Dance always pulled the solutions out of a magic hat and I, the reader, had no chance at all to come to the same conclusion. And what was that "showdown" at the end supposed to be? There was no hint whatsoever all through the book in THAT direction. To me every plot and sub-plots seemed overdone, constructed and empty. Would not recommend it.
May 23, 2015
This is Deaver's fourth novel featuring Kathryn Dance, a California Bureau of Investigation agent and kinesics expert, but only the second I've read (with the exception of her initial appearance as a consultant in Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme/Amelia Sachs novel Cold Moon). I wish Dance were a more appealing character, but so far, I just haven't been able to warm up to her much.
I haven't figured out why. Although I didn't follow that career path, I do have a bachelor's degree in psychology, so specialties like kinesics, neuro-linguistic programming and such are not only familiar to me, but subjects of substantial interest. But maybe the devil is in the details; explanations of how she interprets behavior somehow sound simplistic at best, to-wit:
"Dance knew in her heart...that there was no way there would be any prints from the man who'd intentionally blocked the club doors. She knew instinctively he would be meticulous." Well duh - I knew that instinctively myself, and I'm not a trained behavioralist. Besides that, even though the situation she describes did involve a super-large truck, why would Dance, of all people, assume the perpetrator is a man?
Also at issue, I think, is that too many investigations are going on at once. The first happens at a small concert arena named (are you ready for this??) Solitude Creek, where concert-goers become aware of a fire and the ensuing panic (and the blocking of exit doors) results in death. Subplots involve racial graffiti and identifying the culprits and finding who's behind a drug-running pipeline. Oh, and sandwiched in between are issues involving a couple of Dance's romantic interests. I would have been happy with just one (or maybe two) of these storylines; this many smacks of overkill, so to speak, and a mad rush to bring all of them to conclusion that to me, at least, seemed contrived. That said, I'll give Deaver points for not turning any of them into one of those cliffhangers that other popular authors seem to think are necessary to guarantee sales of their the next books.
In the end, I'd give this one 3.5 stars out of 5. But mostly because it's a Deaver book (he's one of my favorite authors) - and half-stars aren't possible here - I'll round that up to 4 stars rather than rounding down to 3. He's still a favorite author, and yes, I'll read his next Kathryn Dance novel (and anything else he writes, for that matter). Who knows? Maybe one of these days, the character will grow on me.
I haven't figured out why. Although I didn't follow that career path, I do have a bachelor's degree in psychology, so specialties like kinesics, neuro-linguistic programming and such are not only familiar to me, but subjects of substantial interest. But maybe the devil is in the details; explanations of how she interprets behavior somehow sound simplistic at best, to-wit:
"Dance knew in her heart...that there was no way there would be any prints from the man who'd intentionally blocked the club doors. She knew instinctively he would be meticulous." Well duh - I knew that instinctively myself, and I'm not a trained behavioralist. Besides that, even though the situation she describes did involve a super-large truck, why would Dance, of all people, assume the perpetrator is a man?
Also at issue, I think, is that too many investigations are going on at once. The first happens at a small concert arena named (are you ready for this??) Solitude Creek, where concert-goers become aware of a fire and the ensuing panic (and the blocking of exit doors) results in death. Subplots involve racial graffiti and identifying the culprits and finding who's behind a drug-running pipeline. Oh, and sandwiched in between are issues involving a couple of Dance's romantic interests. I would have been happy with just one (or maybe two) of these storylines; this many smacks of overkill, so to speak, and a mad rush to bring all of them to conclusion that to me, at least, seemed contrived. That said, I'll give Deaver points for not turning any of them into one of those cliffhangers that other popular authors seem to think are necessary to guarantee sales of their the next books.
In the end, I'd give this one 3.5 stars out of 5. But mostly because it's a Deaver book (he's one of my favorite authors) - and half-stars aren't possible here - I'll round that up to 4 stars rather than rounding down to 3. He's still a favorite author, and yes, I'll read his next Kathryn Dance novel (and anything else he writes, for that matter). Who knows? Maybe one of these days, the character will grow on me.
November 22, 2015
Seems I'm been waiting for this one forever. I've followed this particular series of Deaver's for several years. And while I have extremely enjoyed the series, this one seems to be a little short of the snap, crackle, pop that the previous books had.
There are multiple plots that begin solitarily and then intertwine until the end. One man is barricading exits from events where there are many people attending and scaring them with smoke to see them literally crush each other to death trying to get out. There doesn't seem to be any connection between the venues, or the victims.
Kathryn makes a mistake and lets a hit man for a particular nasty drug dealer go free. She loses her gun and is relegated to desk work, more or less. But that doesn't seem to stop her from continuing to investigate.
There are a number of hate crimes being committed. Jewish people, black people are having their homes and businesses spray painted with racial epithets that are quite disturbing.
A lot of the book is of her personal life, which has been up and down since Book One. Her daughter might be getting bullied at school. Her son has stopped hanging with what was his best friend and is now part of a group of newer friends he's made. Kathryn's husband was killed a few years earlier and she is now back in the dating game .... she's very careful to make sure the kids are accepting of this. However, Kathryn's new boyfriend is not the man she really loves.
All plots and subplots are tied up neatly. Kathryn's personal life is sorted out. There's just not a whole lot of tension that usually accompanies Deaver's books. That being said, it was still a good read ... just not a great one.
There are multiple plots that begin solitarily and then intertwine until the end. One man is barricading exits from events where there are many people attending and scaring them with smoke to see them literally crush each other to death trying to get out. There doesn't seem to be any connection between the venues, or the victims.
Kathryn makes a mistake and lets a hit man for a particular nasty drug dealer go free. She loses her gun and is relegated to desk work, more or less. But that doesn't seem to stop her from continuing to investigate.
There are a number of hate crimes being committed. Jewish people, black people are having their homes and businesses spray painted with racial epithets that are quite disturbing.
A lot of the book is of her personal life, which has been up and down since Book One. Her daughter might be getting bullied at school. Her son has stopped hanging with what was his best friend and is now part of a group of newer friends he's made. Kathryn's husband was killed a few years earlier and she is now back in the dating game .... she's very careful to make sure the kids are accepting of this. However, Kathryn's new boyfriend is not the man she really loves.
All plots and subplots are tied up neatly. Kathryn's personal life is sorted out. There's just not a whole lot of tension that usually accompanies Deaver's books. That being said, it was still a good read ... just not a great one.
July 14, 2015
I can't decide if I like Kathryn Dance. She should be more interesting than she is. She is a detective who is an expert in body language. She is widowed with two children who are going through difficult phases. She has an almost obsessive interest in indie music, and music in general, which only served to annoy me in this novel.
In Solitude Creek, Dance has been delegated to making routine insurance checks when her gun is taken away after an incident in an interrogation. Instead of an accidental fire, she finds out that she is tracking a serial killer who kills by trapping people in enclosed spaces and causing deadly stampedes.
She is also involved in a major investigation to track down a gun-smuggling operation, but Steve Foster, head of special investigations in the CBI, does not want her there.
The two stories should be perfect for a Deaver masterpiece, but he ruins it by revealing at the end that Dance has been undercover in one of the plots the entire time. It felt like a bad case of 'waking up to find it was all dream.'
In Solitude Creek, Dance has been delegated to making routine insurance checks when her gun is taken away after an incident in an interrogation. Instead of an accidental fire, she finds out that she is tracking a serial killer who kills by trapping people in enclosed spaces and causing deadly stampedes.
She is also involved in a major investigation to track down a gun-smuggling operation, but Steve Foster, head of special investigations in the CBI, does not want her there.
The two stories should be perfect for a Deaver masterpiece, but he ruins it by revealing at the end that Dance has been undercover in one of the plots the entire time. It felt like a bad case of 'waking up to find it was all dream.'
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 3, 2021
Solitude Creek is the fourth - and possibly final - book in the Kathryn Dance series about a kinesics (body language) expert who is an agent with the CBI (California Bureau of Investigation) based in Monterey. I’d read and quite enjoyed the previous books, but not for some time, then a friend passed this one on and it was a good place to start as I’m on a mission to read some treebooks. I think you could enjoy this as a stand-alone as you get all the background you need. Lincoln Rhyme is mentioned a couple of times but doesn’t appear.
Kathryn, a 40-something widowed mother of two pre-teens who pursued a career in law enforcement after realising she couldn’t be a professional musician, interviews a potential witness in an anti-gang task force operation, but things so wrong and she is demoted to the civilian division. Sent to look into a fatal crowd incident during a concert at a local roadhouse, she discovers that it wasn’t an accident - someone set a fire and blocked the exits to trigger a panic - and he’s just getting started: this killer uses the power of fear to cause mayhem, and is always one step ahead...
Deaver is the master of cunning twists, and when you’ve read a lot of his books, as I have, they can start to seem familiar, but he still managed to surprise me every time I thought I knew what was happening. We learn the identity of the twisted manipulator early on, but the reason for his terror speee is not revealed until the end - and it’s a shocker. There are subplots about the gang investigation and a string of senseless hate crimes, and Kathryn’s relationship and parenting dilemmas, so there is a lot going on, but it all comes together satisfactorily. March’s cold-blooded scheming made for sometimes uncomfortable reading, but this one is not that gory and the body count isn’t as high as you think it’s going to be, which was a relief.
On the negative side, I found there were too many descriptions of what everyone was wearing, a LOT about music that wasn’t very interesting, and the minor characters are not well developed. This was published in 2015, and the resolution suggests that this could well be the end of this series; I’m behind on the Rhyme books too, so don’t know if Dance appears there again either. Somehow she’s just not that appealing or intriguing a character so I’m not sad about this. While the idea of a human-lie-detector is fascinating, he’s rather run out of ways to use her talents. 3.5 rounded up for good writing, clever plotting, and an original premise.
Kathryn, a 40-something widowed mother of two pre-teens who pursued a career in law enforcement after realising she couldn’t be a professional musician, interviews a potential witness in an anti-gang task force operation, but things so wrong and she is demoted to the civilian division. Sent to look into a fatal crowd incident during a concert at a local roadhouse, she discovers that it wasn’t an accident - someone set a fire and blocked the exits to trigger a panic - and he’s just getting started: this killer uses the power of fear to cause mayhem, and is always one step ahead...
Deaver is the master of cunning twists, and when you’ve read a lot of his books, as I have, they can start to seem familiar, but he still managed to surprise me every time I thought I knew what was happening. We learn the identity of the twisted manipulator early on, but the reason for his terror speee is not revealed until the end - and it’s a shocker. There are subplots about the gang investigation and a string of senseless hate crimes, and Kathryn’s relationship and parenting dilemmas, so there is a lot going on, but it all comes together satisfactorily. March’s cold-blooded scheming made for sometimes uncomfortable reading, but this one is not that gory and the body count isn’t as high as you think it’s going to be, which was a relief.
On the negative side, I found there were too many descriptions of what everyone was wearing, a LOT about music that wasn’t very interesting, and the minor characters are not well developed. This was published in 2015, and the resolution suggests that this could well be the end of this series; I’m behind on the Rhyme books too, so don’t know if Dance appears there again either. Somehow she’s just not that appealing or intriguing a character so I’m not sad about this. While the idea of a human-lie-detector is fascinating, he’s rather run out of ways to use her talents. 3.5 rounded up for good writing, clever plotting, and an original premise.
May 5, 2018
I decided it was time to read one of my much loved authors books again. I read THE BLUE NOWHERE and I honestly couldn’t stop turning the pages. The Blue Nowhere is one the stories that have stayed firmly in my mind.
Now reading Solitude Creek Jeffery Deaver has planted another story in my brain that I will never forget. It will haunt readers long after you have finished reading it. When an author can never make you forget a story you know that author is one of the best at telling stories.
About Solitude Creek A mother and daughter are at The Roadhouse for a night of music to watch boy bands sing live on stage. Solitude Creek attracted a varied clientele of the young and old. As a boy band began to perform on stage a dreadful nightmare happens every one started to evacuate as the smell of smoke was pouring into the Solitude Creek club, causing a stampede where people were being crushed. Some thing was blocking the fire exit which caused panic within the crowd. Katherine Dance of the California Bureau of Investigations is going to find out what blocked the fire exit doors and why.
I can promise Jeffery Deaver fans this story is packed with his trademark suspense, with rich characters and a rollercoaster plot twist. Fans and new reader will be delighted with Solitude Creek.
Now reading Solitude Creek Jeffery Deaver has planted another story in my brain that I will never forget. It will haunt readers long after you have finished reading it. When an author can never make you forget a story you know that author is one of the best at telling stories.
About Solitude Creek A mother and daughter are at The Roadhouse for a night of music to watch boy bands sing live on stage. Solitude Creek attracted a varied clientele of the young and old. As a boy band began to perform on stage a dreadful nightmare happens every one started to evacuate as the smell of smoke was pouring into the Solitude Creek club, causing a stampede where people were being crushed. Some thing was blocking the fire exit which caused panic within the crowd. Katherine Dance of the California Bureau of Investigations is going to find out what blocked the fire exit doors and why.
I can promise Jeffery Deaver fans this story is packed with his trademark suspense, with rich characters and a rollercoaster plot twist. Fans and new reader will be delighted with Solitude Creek.
October 7, 2022
I like this author's Lincoln Rhyme series. I like this series too and the new MC. Is it great literature? Um, no. It keeps me entertained though and sometimes that is exactly what I'm looking for.
I like the intricacies in the plot. Sometimes they have that manipulated feel as the author departs from reality. But even then, I'm thinking, "That's creative!" Now I will say that this one felt a little too long. It was a lot of the same thing in the middle.
Overall, I liked it. So 3 stars.
I like the intricacies in the plot. Sometimes they have that manipulated feel as the author departs from reality. But even then, I'm thinking, "That's creative!" Now I will say that this one felt a little too long. It was a lot of the same thing in the middle.
Overall, I liked it. So 3 stars.
May 15, 2017
Once again, if not for Booklikes-opoly I would have DNFed this thing. I wanted the page count though so I put up with it. FYI, this book is awful.
I gave this book half a star since it doesn't even deserve a full star. The entire book from start to finish was nonsensical and just insulting to anyone that has been reading this series. I honestly am baffled at how Deaver writes Kathryn Dance since he manages to write Amelia Sachs (The Lincoln Rhyme series) as a well developed character. Dance is written so terribly in this book, one wonders how the heck she even has a job. I also don't get why she has one man, let alone two wanting to be with her. You never get to see what is so great about her.
Dance is busted down in this one due to the fact that due to her reading a suspect wrong, he manages to get away. That segues over into Dance being asked to go over the insurance/documentation at at place called Solitude Creek. There was a recent incident at Solitude Creek that left several people injured and dead. That doesn't really matter though, the big issue is that Dance is not supposed to be investigating due to her new status, but does so anyway and you keep reading Dance having asides to herself about the fact she's not supposed to be investigating. When Dance's colleague Michael O'Neill is called in to help, she feels annoyed because she doesn't get why he's mad at her (probably because she's not supposed to be investigating a thing and is also not carrying a gun and that could lead to other people being hurt).
Between Dance trying to force herself back into the investigation that has a suspect on the run and trying to figure out what is going on at Solitude Creek the book already felt full. But nope, Deaver throws in some issues with Dance's two kids who still read like robots come to life. Then there's the question of Dance and her relationship with her boyfriend that she has been seeing for maybe a year book timeline wise.
The POVs were Dance, the bad guy in this one and then for some odd reason we go into a POV of a friend of Dance's as well as Dance's boyfriend. At that point I wanted to scream that just because the guy works with computers does not mean that he speaks to himself in freaking programming language.
And what's sad is that the most important part about Dance's character, ie her skills with kinesiology are not displayed at all. For some weird reason Deaver does some freaking cut aways and then you have other character remark at how awesome Dance was and how she was able to get information from a witness/suspect. Um are you serious? Why in the world wouldn't you show that?
The writing was really poor as was the flow. Deaver tries to throw some red herrings in here and there and I was actively rooting for her or her kids to end up dead in this one since that meant the series may be coming to a close. That's not a good thing to admit, but I was just sick of reading about Dance and her whole family by the time the final page was turned.
The ending was a joke and a half. We had someone propose to Dance (whatever man) and someone else saying goodbye to her romantically.
I gave this book half a star since it doesn't even deserve a full star. The entire book from start to finish was nonsensical and just insulting to anyone that has been reading this series. I honestly am baffled at how Deaver writes Kathryn Dance since he manages to write Amelia Sachs (The Lincoln Rhyme series) as a well developed character. Dance is written so terribly in this book, one wonders how the heck she even has a job. I also don't get why she has one man, let alone two wanting to be with her. You never get to see what is so great about her.
Dance is busted down in this one due to the fact that due to her reading a suspect wrong, he manages to get away. That segues over into Dance being asked to go over the insurance/documentation at at place called Solitude Creek. There was a recent incident at Solitude Creek that left several people injured and dead. That doesn't really matter though, the big issue is that Dance is not supposed to be investigating due to her new status, but does so anyway and you keep reading Dance having asides to herself about the fact she's not supposed to be investigating. When Dance's colleague Michael O'Neill is called in to help, she feels annoyed because she doesn't get why he's mad at her (probably because she's not supposed to be investigating a thing and is also not carrying a gun and that could lead to other people being hurt).
Between Dance trying to force herself back into the investigation that has a suspect on the run and trying to figure out what is going on at Solitude Creek the book already felt full. But nope, Deaver throws in some issues with Dance's two kids who still read like robots come to life. Then there's the question of Dance and her relationship with her boyfriend that she has been seeing for maybe a year book timeline wise.
The POVs were Dance, the bad guy in this one and then for some odd reason we go into a POV of a friend of Dance's as well as Dance's boyfriend. At that point I wanted to scream that just because the guy works with computers does not mean that he speaks to himself in freaking programming language.
And what's sad is that the most important part about Dance's character, ie her skills with kinesiology are not displayed at all. For some weird reason Deaver does some freaking cut aways and then you have other character remark at how awesome Dance was and how she was able to get information from a witness/suspect. Um are you serious? Why in the world wouldn't you show that?
The writing was really poor as was the flow. Deaver tries to throw some red herrings in here and there and I was actively rooting for her or her kids to end up dead in this one since that meant the series may be coming to a close. That's not a good thing to admit, but I was just sick of reading about Dance and her whole family by the time the final page was turned.
The ending was a joke and a half. We had someone propose to Dance (whatever man) and someone else saying goodbye to her romantically.
May 16, 2015
I always enjoy Deaver's books -- they're great airplane reads -- but this one was somehow weird. It had a whole lot of stuff that felt like product placement, a weird swipe against feminism -- the story was interesting enough, but the "I will never have a major character turn out to be evil" thing that Deaver has held to has stopped being an effective piece of restraint and started to make everything more predictable. What a shock! It was again this secondary character you never liked! And in this kind of thriller, you're expecting something more interesting in plotting.
August 3, 2015
Katherine Dance series is not as well known as the Lincoln Rhyme series,but I it as enjoyable and entertaining!
October 20, 2021
Un ultim volum al seriei (?) plin de surprize, pana la sfarsit, o bucurie sa citesc aceasta carte, dupa cateva dezamagiri, chiar si din partea lui Jeffery Deaver, cu finalul altei serii. Cazurile la care Kathryn lucreaza sunt interesante, dar mai palpitanta mi s-a parut viata ei persoanala, de aceasta data. De aceea si banuiesc ca autorul se va opri aici cu aceasta serie, cel putin pentru moment.
August 19, 2017
Ok, la fine delle indagini non mi ha entusiasmato, ma questo libro è stato come una calamita. Si becca, quindi, quattro stelline, soprattutto per essere stato TANTO coinvolgente.
May 31, 2015
I love Jeffrey Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme series. Love the characters, love the storylines, love it all. I just can't get the same satisfaction from the Kathryn Dance series. For me, Kathryn is not nearly as compelling a character and the plots and secondary characters are not as richly detailed and suspenseful. I think the body language angle is very interesting, but it barely comes into play in this story and when it does, Kathryn boggles it badly. (Yes, it isn't a precise science, but it is her specialty and she doesn't even seem to consider what later seems obvious). The best part of the story for me was a secondary plot line involving her children.
January 29, 2016
REVIEW: SOLITUDE CREEK by Jeffrey Deaver
I've not read a lot of Jeffrey Deaver' s books (yet) . I read THE OCTOBER LIST for review, and now SOLITUDE CREEK (for review but also as a choice for the Good Tales Book Tours June Readathon). Good choice! Compelling, engrossing, with a really " different" kind of villain (well, with the secondary plot line, there is also an unusual--and very dangerous--villain). Mr. Deaver really delves into character, which is a high point for this reader-reviewer.
I've not read a lot of Jeffrey Deaver' s books (yet) . I read THE OCTOBER LIST for review, and now SOLITUDE CREEK (for review but also as a choice for the Good Tales Book Tours June Readathon). Good choice! Compelling, engrossing, with a really " different" kind of villain (well, with the secondary plot line, there is also an unusual--and very dangerous--villain). Mr. Deaver really delves into character, which is a high point for this reader-reviewer.
May 19, 2015
Trite
Boring and formulaic. Had to keep skipping through it to get to the end. Real decline for this author. Too bad.
Boring and formulaic. Had to keep skipping through it to get to the end. Real decline for this author. Too bad.
January 11, 2023
Ecco che ritrovo il migliore Deaver che conosca. Anche se in realtà, anche quando non è proprio al top, non mi delude mai davvero.
Il sosco di questo caso è un tipo molto molto particolare perché gioca con la psiche dei gruppi di persone e sul modo in cui reagiscono quando vanno nel panico.
Ma c’è di più: esplora le peggiori ossessioni dell’animo umano, quelle di gustarsi il terrore e la morte, e lo fa dal punto di vista di chi è coinvolto in prima persona perché si scopre tale egli stesso, e quindi quale persona migliore per ricreare scene del genere da vendere al migliore offerente.
Vengono così toccati numerosi aspetti molto attuali e che solleverebbero una accesa discussione: eventi di scene di tragedie collettive a causa di falsi allarmi, come nel caso dello sparo di petardi che fa pensare a terroristi (e chi tifa Juve sa di cosa parlo); siti e film che vendono il macabro e il perverso; il sottilissimo confine che esiste tra il serial killer e le persone “normali”, che in realtà, nonostante quanto ci si affanni a voler credere per il bisogno di certezze, è molto molto labile e consiste solo nel desiderare per gli uni e nel farlo per gli altri.
Però non c’è solo questo, nonostante sia il caso principale.
C’è anche un secondo caso con le indagini su Serrano e le gang del sudamerica, che diventa il primo grande errore di Dance, e la mette di fronte all’estromissione dal caso.
E poi c’è anche la famiglia di Kathryn, come sempre.
Solo che stavolta non sembra la famiglia perfetta da Mulino Bianco ma vengono fuori una serie di problematiche legate alla gestione dei figli, in cui la donna finalmente non risulta perfetta.
Purtroppo però una viene risolta in un modo che non mi è stato del tutto congeniale.
E poi ovviamente, come sempre, ritroviamo la difficoltosa gestione della vita sentimentale della donna.
E dalla conclusione sembra lampante che Deaver cercasse una soluzione per chiudere definitivamente il capitolo Dance, quindi tanti saluti, ma con gran dispiacere dopo questo capolavoro.
Il sosco di questo caso è un tipo molto molto particolare perché gioca con la psiche dei gruppi di persone e sul modo in cui reagiscono quando vanno nel panico.
Ma c’è di più: esplora le peggiori ossessioni dell’animo umano, quelle di gustarsi il terrore e la morte, e lo fa dal punto di vista di chi è coinvolto in prima persona perché si scopre tale egli stesso, e quindi quale persona migliore per ricreare scene del genere da vendere al migliore offerente.
Vengono così toccati numerosi aspetti molto attuali e che solleverebbero una accesa discussione: eventi di scene di tragedie collettive a causa di falsi allarmi, come nel caso dello sparo di petardi che fa pensare a terroristi (e chi tifa Juve sa di cosa parlo); siti e film che vendono il macabro e il perverso; il sottilissimo confine che esiste tra il serial killer e le persone “normali”, che in realtà, nonostante quanto ci si affanni a voler credere per il bisogno di certezze, è molto molto labile e consiste solo nel desiderare per gli uni e nel farlo per gli altri.
Però non c’è solo questo, nonostante sia il caso principale.
C’è anche un secondo caso con le indagini su Serrano e le gang del sudamerica, che diventa il primo grande errore di Dance, e la mette di fronte all’estromissione dal caso.
E poi c’è anche la famiglia di Kathryn, come sempre.
Solo che stavolta non sembra la famiglia perfetta da Mulino Bianco ma vengono fuori una serie di problematiche legate alla gestione dei figli, in cui la donna finalmente non risulta perfetta.
Purtroppo però una viene risolta in un modo che non mi è stato del tutto congeniale.
E poi ovviamente, come sempre, ritroviamo la difficoltosa gestione della vita sentimentale della donna.
E dalla conclusione sembra lampante che Deaver cercasse una soluzione per chiudere definitivamente il capitolo Dance, quindi tanti saluti, ma con gran dispiacere dopo questo capolavoro.
August 28, 2019
A solid thriller with an interesting and chilling plot. Jefferey Deaver never disappoints!
March 15, 2020
So, here I am, two months after finishing this book, only now just getting around to reviewing it. To be honest, I just forgot. But with the state of the world at the moment (and yes, I'm talking about you, Coronavirus), I got to thinking about how in situations like this, fear can kill. Not at all ironically the tagline for this novel.
This book is based on our most primal emotion: fear. How in perfectly normal situations, the slightest hint of something untoward can cause mass hysteria. And that hysteria can kill. I thought it was an excellent premise: killer on the loose, but he doesn't actually do any of the killing himself, he just lets the panic he creates do the job for him. I hadn't read anything like it before, and I thought it was a really wildly philosophical look at the human race as well as being an excellent crime and mystery novel. Sadly though, this book was released some years ago and there's not another in the series. And that's a huge bummer, because if there's anything Jeffery Deaver knows how to do it's creating characters that can span decades of books and still be intensely exciting to read. Nevertheless, I luckily still have a ways to go before finishing all of his books, but when I finally do, I have no idea what I'll do with myself.
Oh, and wash your hands, people.
This book is based on our most primal emotion: fear. How in perfectly normal situations, the slightest hint of something untoward can cause mass hysteria. And that hysteria can kill. I thought it was an excellent premise: killer on the loose, but he doesn't actually do any of the killing himself, he just lets the panic he creates do the job for him. I hadn't read anything like it before, and I thought it was a really wildly philosophical look at the human race as well as being an excellent crime and mystery novel. Sadly though, this book was released some years ago and there's not another in the series. And that's a huge bummer, because if there's anything Jeffery Deaver knows how to do it's creating characters that can span decades of books and still be intensely exciting to read. Nevertheless, I luckily still have a ways to go before finishing all of his books, but when I finally do, I have no idea what I'll do with myself.
Oh, and wash your hands, people.
January 7, 2017
Didn't have much expectation when started but turned out to be reallygood. Was somewhat disappointed with the last Lincold Rhyme series so this came as a surprise. Starting to like Dance's series more now. The twists and turns were there as usual but more subtle and unexpected. She still seemed to have a somewhat idyllic life but it wasn'ta negative mark against her character. Thoroughly enjoyed the book.
The theme is scary. It definitely makes me a bit morr scarex about going to concert and crowded places. It's amazing how easy it is to create panic with rumours and cause stampede. In panic, a crowd ceased to be collections of humans but one big mass of a creature.
The idea of violent video games cause change in behaviour have been discussed by many researchers and it was put into the story in this book. Like the parallel theme between the real case and the one involving Dance's son.
The theme is scary. It definitely makes me a bit morr scarex about going to concert and crowded places. It's amazing how easy it is to create panic with rumours and cause stampede. In panic, a crowd ceased to be collections of humans but one big mass of a creature.
The idea of violent video games cause change in behaviour have been discussed by many researchers and it was put into the story in this book. Like the parallel theme between the real case and the one involving Dance's son.
August 24, 2021
Dies ist mein erstes Buch von Jeffery Deaver, hier nun mein Leseeindruck. Mir gefällt das Cover sehr gut. Es wird etwas düster und lässt keine Rückschlüsse auf den Inhalt zu.
Das Buch ist in Kapitel aufgebaut, diese lassen sich flüssig lesen, auch wenn die Handlung ab und an ins Stocken kommt. Trotzdem ist das Buch schlüssig von Anfang bis Ende.
Es ist sehr spannend geschrieben und überzeugt durch unerwartete Wendungen. Das gefällt mir sehr gut. Der Autor schafft es interessante Charaktere mit eine tollen Handlung zu verbinden, auch das finde ich sehr schön.
Zum Ende hin wird das Buch wieder sehr temporeich und die Spannung steigt, man muss einfach wissen wie es aus geht.
Alles in allem ein sehr gelungener Thriller auch wenn es ab und an etwas langatmig wurde, daher nur 4 Sterne für dieses Buch. Trotzdem war es toll das Buch zu lesen.
Fazit
Das Buch bekommt 4 Sterne, es ist spannend lässt aber zwischendurch auch mal nach.
Das Buch ist in Kapitel aufgebaut, diese lassen sich flüssig lesen, auch wenn die Handlung ab und an ins Stocken kommt. Trotzdem ist das Buch schlüssig von Anfang bis Ende.
Es ist sehr spannend geschrieben und überzeugt durch unerwartete Wendungen. Das gefällt mir sehr gut. Der Autor schafft es interessante Charaktere mit eine tollen Handlung zu verbinden, auch das finde ich sehr schön.
Zum Ende hin wird das Buch wieder sehr temporeich und die Spannung steigt, man muss einfach wissen wie es aus geht.
Alles in allem ein sehr gelungener Thriller auch wenn es ab und an etwas langatmig wurde, daher nur 4 Sterne für dieses Buch. Trotzdem war es toll das Buch zu lesen.
Fazit
Das Buch bekommt 4 Sterne, es ist spannend lässt aber zwischendurch auch mal nach.
July 26, 2016
Thank you to the author and publisher for my free copy of Solitude Creek by Jeffery Deaver. It has always been a pleasure to read a Deaver book. However, this time, I felt that I was missing too much of the story because I had not read the previous K.Dance books. The book does not seem to stand alone at all. This said, the plot of the novel was very original. The murder method was ingenious and developed in an interesting manner. I found the resolution of the crime spree slightly anti-climactic because the author simply dealt with it and quickly went on to another subject. In the future, I will read the previous novels to better situate myself into the storyline and I look forward to the next K. Dance novel as well. A Deaver novel is always something to look forward to.
June 28, 2015
I found the crimes in this one to be horrifying. I think what made it so bad was that you could see this happening and how the mob mentality would kick in and people would do worse if they could think rationally. I liked that Katheryn. worked towards figuring things out, that she didn't let things alone.
The other crimes had me shaking my head. Things seemed cut and dry at first, but with both of them the twists at the end had me shaking my head. I don't know what to think of the one that hit close to home for Katheryn.
I loved the change in Katheryn's relationship. It seems like this was a long time coming, glad that she finally woke up to what was right in front of her.
The other crimes had me shaking my head. Things seemed cut and dry at first, but with both of them the twists at the end had me shaking my head. I don't know what to think of the one that hit close to home for Katheryn.
I loved the change in Katheryn's relationship. It seems like this was a long time coming, glad that she finally woke up to what was right in front of her.
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