What do you think?
Rate this book
Cold Black Earth
When Rachel Lindstrom fled from her rural hometown in western Illinois to join the State Department and see the world, she never expected to return with her life in tatters. But after the horrors of war and a painful divorce, the only place where she can rebuild is the town she once escaped.
At home, however, there is little comfort. Her brother, still reeling from his wife’s suicide, struggles to run the family farm and handle a hell-raising son. Rachel’s arrival also draws a pair of rival her brother’s handsome friend and a rough-hewn sheriff’s deputy who pined for her in high school. Romance is the last thing on Rachel’s mind, but a little comfort would be nice—except for the complications.
When a deranged killer escapes from a local prison, the far-flung farmsteads go on high alert—especially when the bodies start turning up. And in a county where the miles outnumber the people, it soon becomes clear that the madman is close behind Rachel.
At home, however, there is little comfort. Her brother, still reeling from his wife’s suicide, struggles to run the family farm and handle a hell-raising son. Rachel’s arrival also draws a pair of rival her brother’s handsome friend and a rough-hewn sheriff’s deputy who pined for her in high school. Romance is the last thing on Rachel’s mind, but a little comfort would be nice—except for the complications.
When a deranged killer escapes from a local prison, the far-flung farmsteads go on high alert—especially when the bodies start turning up. And in a county where the miles outnumber the people, it soon becomes clear that the madman is close behind Rachel.
274 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 28, 2015
532 people are currently reading
2580 people want to read
About the author
Sam Reaves
24 books69 followersAka Dominic Martell.
Sam Reaves has written ten novels, most set in Chicago, and co-authored the true crime memoir Mob Cop. Under the name Dominic Martell he writes a European-based suspense series featuring Pascual Rose, and ex-terrorist trying to go straight. Reaves has traveled widely in Europe and the Middle East but has lived in the Chicago area most of his life. He has worked as a teacher and a translator.
Sam Reaves has written ten novels, most set in Chicago, and co-authored the true crime memoir Mob Cop. Under the name Dominic Martell he writes a European-based suspense series featuring Pascual Rose, and ex-terrorist trying to go straight. Reaves has traveled widely in Europe and the Middle East but has lived in the Chicago area most of his life. He has worked as a teacher and a translator.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 308 reviews
February 12, 2017
Two stars. A perfectly average thriller with a frustrating ending.
There's nothing great or terrible about it. It's readable, but predictable. There's nothing exciting or memorable in the plot or characters. It passes the time, but that's about it.
This was a KindleFirst freebie.
There's nothing great or terrible about it. It's readable, but predictable. There's nothing exciting or memorable in the plot or characters. It passes the time, but that's about it.
This was a KindleFirst freebie.
July 24, 2015
Mid-western Illinois. Much of this book takes place near where I grew up, much of it takes place just miles from where my wife grew up and today it is where I go when I visit family. Perhaps that is why I liked it so much. Perhaps it is the hitting-it-on-the-nail clarity that Mr Reaves nails down the exact feeling of life out there. Things move slower, people are friendly, they speak with first names. So, that could be one reason I am partial to this novel.
With that out of the way, Mr Reaves does a stellar job displaying the feeling of leaving a combat zone and returning to a small town. He nails the feelings, the loss, emptiness and dread of inaction and quiet that those of us that have been through that experience. The story is well written and easy to follow. The handful of twists at the end surprised me, I was actually dreading the author would pull some crazy twist out of the blue but here he was able to surprise me without doing something truly odd and off kilter in the story. My one complaint would be near the middle of the story when I wanted to scream "Stop going out on the roads in the dark! Duh!" but it worked out and in the end it made complete sense.
I really liked the character of Rachel and was easily able to connect with her as she struggled to deal with her past, her families past, and the long dead connections she had with her hometown.
All in all, a solid story, a good mid-western murder mystery (don't get much of those), and a good read.
With that out of the way, Mr Reaves does a stellar job displaying the feeling of leaving a combat zone and returning to a small town. He nails the feelings, the loss, emptiness and dread of inaction and quiet that those of us that have been through that experience. The story is well written and easy to follow. The handful of twists at the end surprised me, I was actually dreading the author would pull some crazy twist out of the blue but here he was able to surprise me without doing something truly odd and off kilter in the story. My one complaint would be near the middle of the story when I wanted to scream "Stop going out on the roads in the dark! Duh!" but it worked out and in the end it made complete sense.
I really liked the character of Rachel and was easily able to connect with her as she struggled to deal with her past, her families past, and the long dead connections she had with her hometown.
All in all, a solid story, a good mid-western murder mystery (don't get much of those), and a good read.
July 13, 2015
Fine
The book offered much as far as emotional depth, activity, suspense. It lacked good dialogue, with many sections simply block monologue as a part of a conversation. "Token" laughs, obligatory remarks... readers don't need to be told that these things are dictated by society... we live in that society. I didn't like that it was so self aware in such a literal way. It's one thing to show a character believes the interaction is forced. It's another to tell the reader in so many words. Same thing with any mention of feminism. It felt like the author made a casual-but-not nod toward this big idea of "feminism", but with little action that portrayed something more than the author's making a mention because society is trending that way now. I think subtext was lacking. Instead of feeling things through the book, telling happened a lot, and it often took me out of the story.
Felt like the book could have been constructed better so that some of the block information was integrated into the telling of the story.
I did, however, really enjoy the concluding action. I didn't suspect the ending whatsoever.
The book offered much as far as emotional depth, activity, suspense. It lacked good dialogue, with many sections simply block monologue as a part of a conversation. "Token" laughs, obligatory remarks... readers don't need to be told that these things are dictated by society... we live in that society. I didn't like that it was so self aware in such a literal way. It's one thing to show a character believes the interaction is forced. It's another to tell the reader in so many words. Same thing with any mention of feminism. It felt like the author made a casual-but-not nod toward this big idea of "feminism", but with little action that portrayed something more than the author's making a mention because society is trending that way now. I think subtext was lacking. Instead of feeling things through the book, telling happened a lot, and it often took me out of the story.
Felt like the book could have been constructed better so that some of the block information was integrated into the telling of the story.
I did, however, really enjoy the concluding action. I didn't suspect the ending whatsoever.
July 24, 2015
Messes with My Head
This book is messed up. I mean that in the best way possible. It starts as a sad story of a middle aged woman returning to her hometown to find you can't go home again, then a mystery starts creeping in around the edges, bodies start piling up, and it ends with me switching back and forth between a bunch of characters because I can't figure out who the killer is and time is running out. It's rare that a book can pleasantly surprise me like this. Well worth the read.
This book is messed up. I mean that in the best way possible. It starts as a sad story of a middle aged woman returning to her hometown to find you can't go home again, then a mystery starts creeping in around the edges, bodies start piling up, and it ends with me switching back and forth between a bunch of characters because I can't figure out who the killer is and time is running out. It's rare that a book can pleasantly surprise me like this. Well worth the read.
July 25, 2018
A very good read!!
Well written, great characters, and the story unfolded so nicely. You actually felt like you were there in the room when folks were standing/sitting around talking.
Fast paced and it never gives the plot away. I had an "idea" of one or two characters the enemy might be, but the ending caught me completely off guard. The drama and suspense were very well done.
Well written, great characters, and the story unfolded so nicely. You actually felt like you were there in the room when folks were standing/sitting around talking.
Fast paced and it never gives the plot away. I had an "idea" of one or two characters the enemy might be, but the ending caught me completely off guard. The drama and suspense were very well done.
March 27, 2018
GAB Kindle Unlimited Sam Reaves brings us another very interesting mystery in Cold Black Earth. This is a coming of middle age tale - Rachel Lindstrom, world traveling employee of the Federal Government, is just weeks from front line problems in the Middle East - with a still wet divorce decree and currently among the unemployed - returns to the small Illinois farming town she fled after high school in an attempt to find some kind of closure and the hug of home town before she decides how to begin the next chapter in her life.
The nicest thing about small farming communities is the very fact that most things stay the same. You can't go to the grocery store without running into half your High School Senior class. You can still drive from hither to yon without even thinking. The local deputy was your prom date.
And some things change too much. Rachel's older brother, farming the land they grew up on, has had a rough time of it. His wife of many years commits suicide, leaving him to raise their belligerent, hurting teenager Billy as a single parent. And as is often the case, the very fact that they are both hurting keeps them from seeking support and a helping hand from each other.
But that all ceases to be important when a deranged killer escapes from the local prison and begins to whittle down the far-flung residents. And Rachel and her brother Matt may be next.
Sam Reaves always writes a tight, exciting and well-crafted tale. This one in particular resonates with my farmer roots
The nicest thing about small farming communities is the very fact that most things stay the same. You can't go to the grocery store without running into half your High School Senior class. You can still drive from hither to yon without even thinking. The local deputy was your prom date.
And some things change too much. Rachel's older brother, farming the land they grew up on, has had a rough time of it. His wife of many years commits suicide, leaving him to raise their belligerent, hurting teenager Billy as a single parent. And as is often the case, the very fact that they are both hurting keeps them from seeking support and a helping hand from each other.
But that all ceases to be important when a deranged killer escapes from the local prison and begins to whittle down the far-flung residents. And Rachel and her brother Matt may be next.
Sam Reaves always writes a tight, exciting and well-crafted tale. This one in particular resonates with my farmer roots
July 19, 2015
I found this as a Kindle First and honestly, the reviews intrigued me nearly as much as the description did. They're all over the place so I had to find out for myself. One thing I really dislike is wasting precious reading time on poorly written books so I pay attention to the lower reviews.
Perhaps I liked it because I grew up on a farm near small town USA right smack dab in the middle of the country and experienced the scenery and people that were very similar to this story (obviously, without the killer aspect). I could relate to Rachel's return after such an extended period of time. You remember the people as you saw them last, but now they're grown with families and lives of their own and it can be very weird.
Yeah, there probably was too much whining about the failed marriage and it did get depressing reading about all the abandoned buildings and everyone failed marriages. Not to mention all the people who sold out to big agri business or died for whatever reason. But that's kind of real life and readers don't necessarily want to read about. Albeit, there was an inordinate amount of bad stuff happening to these people.
The story itself was different, there were a number of unexpected twists and I really liked Matt. It did get tedious at times so I skimmed a bit. Thanks to some of the reviews (not) I had an idea of who the killer was, but even then I didn't want to believe it.
Perhaps I liked it because I grew up on a farm near small town USA right smack dab in the middle of the country and experienced the scenery and people that were very similar to this story (obviously, without the killer aspect). I could relate to Rachel's return after such an extended period of time. You remember the people as you saw them last, but now they're grown with families and lives of their own and it can be very weird.
Yeah, there probably was too much whining about the failed marriage and it did get depressing reading about all the abandoned buildings and everyone failed marriages. Not to mention all the people who sold out to big agri business or died for whatever reason. But that's kind of real life and readers don't necessarily want to read about. Albeit, there was an inordinate amount of bad stuff happening to these people.
The story itself was different, there were a number of unexpected twists and I really liked Matt. It did get tedious at times so I skimmed a bit. Thanks to some of the reviews (not) I had an idea of who the killer was, but even then I didn't want to believe it.
April 11, 2016
An okay thriller
I wanted to like this more than I did. It's a decent setup but I found it just lacked something. The attempt to create an atmosphere of fear just didn't burn right: it started out super slow (disappearing hitchhiker) and then continued that way until the inevitable oh-no-the-killer-is-after-her chase out of left field. And I agree with other reviewers who found Rachel a little whiny. She went on an on about how her home didn't feel like the idyllic home of her childhood anymore which seemed more a function of growing up than a serial killer on the loose. So it's hard to just attribute her whiny-ness to PTSD (which she most certainly has from her job in a war zone) which I think was the author's intent.
The end chase was pretty good and I'll admit I didn't figure out the whole of what was going on. But the rush of reveals at the end followed by an abrupt ending to the book was a letdown. I at least wanted a few more pages...get a little more into Rachel's thoughts.
So overall an okay read (got it for free on Kindle First) but not as enjoyable as I had hoped.
I wanted to like this more than I did. It's a decent setup but I found it just lacked something. The attempt to create an atmosphere of fear just didn't burn right: it started out super slow (disappearing hitchhiker) and then continued that way until the inevitable oh-no-the-killer-is-after-her chase out of left field. And I agree with other reviewers who found Rachel a little whiny. She went on an on about how her home didn't feel like the idyllic home of her childhood anymore which seemed more a function of growing up than a serial killer on the loose. So it's hard to just attribute her whiny-ness to PTSD (which she most certainly has from her job in a war zone) which I think was the author's intent.
The end chase was pretty good and I'll admit I didn't figure out the whole of what was going on. But the rush of reveals at the end followed by an abrupt ending to the book was a letdown. I at least wanted a few more pages...get a little more into Rachel's thoughts.
So overall an okay read (got it for free on Kindle First) but not as enjoyable as I had hoped.
July 18, 2015
I really enjoyed this book! It was a little slow to get going, but it also helped to build how you felt about the characters as you went through the book. I did not see the end coming at all, it was a little too neat at the end, but it was unexpected.
Rachel Lindstrom feels like she doesn't have a home anywhere anymore. Coming home to Illinois, she finds herself worried and scared about an escaped inmate from the prison. As she keeps being directly or indirectly involved with the people who are being killed, she gets more and more scared. She learns that as people change and grow, so does a town and you really can't go home again.
I received this book as part of Kindle First.
Rachel Lindstrom feels like she doesn't have a home anywhere anymore. Coming home to Illinois, she finds herself worried and scared about an escaped inmate from the prison. As she keeps being directly or indirectly involved with the people who are being killed, she gets more and more scared. She learns that as people change and grow, so does a town and you really can't go home again.
I received this book as part of Kindle First.
July 22, 2015
I thought I had this all figured out. Then I find out I sent the wrong man to the chair. What a great read. This book has a protagonist over 40 that's just trying to come home and feel the safety that enveloped her as she grew up on the farmlands of the Midwest. Instead, all she finds is fear. One of those books that is a real page turner and you can't put down and then you are at a loss when its over because you know another book of this caliber will take a while to find.
September 24, 2018
Cold Black Earth
By Sam Reaves
2015
Amazon Prime
Rachel Lindstrom left her hometown in rural Western Illinois 8 years ago to pursue her dreams. After 3 years in Iraq and a failed marriage, Rachel returns home in late November to consider her options moving forward. She needed a rest. Her timing for a homecoming could not have been worse. An oddball assortment of old High School friends and old suitors are fun....until Otis Ryle escapes from a psych unit at a nearby correctional center. Otis has a past in this rural town and is returning to heal, as well.....
Suspenseful, sinister, with an ending you won't see coming.Recommended.
By Sam Reaves
2015
Amazon Prime
Rachel Lindstrom left her hometown in rural Western Illinois 8 years ago to pursue her dreams. After 3 years in Iraq and a failed marriage, Rachel returns home in late November to consider her options moving forward. She needed a rest. Her timing for a homecoming could not have been worse. An oddball assortment of old High School friends and old suitors are fun....until Otis Ryle escapes from a psych unit at a nearby correctional center. Otis has a past in this rural town and is returning to heal, as well.....
Suspenseful, sinister, with an ending you won't see coming.Recommended.
January 25, 2019
I think I'd call this a whodunit masquerading as a thriller. When Rachel Lindstrom returns to rural western Illinois after a painful divorce and resignation from her State Department career, she is looking for peace and healing. Instead, she finds her brother and nephew still hurting from their wife and mother's suicide, and the news of an escaped convict terrorizing the area. As she encounters old friends and acquaintances, and horrific murders begin happening, this woman who faced war and insurrection in the Middle East finds that her home town is more frightening than anywhere abroad. Rachel does not really behave as an amateur sleuth; detecting is left to local law enforcement in the person of her long-ago prom date. There were numerous red herrings and the conclusion, besides being full of edge-of-your-seat action, was full of surprises to the point that I wasn't sure of all that was happening until the last few pages. Highly recommended, not least for the sense of place Reaves puts into his story.
March 10, 2019
It's hard to tell through most of this book whether it's a thriller or a whodunnit. 40-something Rachel Lindstrom has returned to her small-town Illinois home having spent the last twelve years in the middle East working for the State Department. She is recently divorced, recently unemployed (fired or quit is not clear) and an emotional mess. She did not make it home for her parents's funerals, but her older brother welcomes her back to the family farm. Then a psychotic killer escapes from a nearby prison, and all the king's horses and men can't find him. Three people are brutally murdered over the next several nights, and everyone is advised to stay home with locked doors and company. Of course Rachel repeatedly finds herself alone on dark roads late at night. The inevitable confrontation finally occurs. The best part of this novel is the accuracy with which the author presents the speech patterns of the locals. My wife grew up in a small town about 60 miles from where this is set, and her relatives all sound exactly like the characters here.
July 25, 2015
This book, ugh. I know you get what you pay for and yeah, I borrowed it for free from Amazon, but boy I finished it last night and still felt like I was robbed.
The last two chapters were like the explanation part of every Scooby Doo mystery. But this didn't have the redeeming talking dog character.
Pass!
The last two chapters were like the explanation part of every Scooby Doo mystery. But this didn't have the redeeming talking dog character.
Pass!
October 3, 2016
Ok y'all, the Clinical Mental Health Editor is back with a new red Sharpie....
First off, the escaped convict who dismembered and ate his family could not have had a primary diagnosis of Schizoid Personality Disorder because (a) it's a personality disorder, not a mental illness; and (b) to quote a wise man, "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." Schizoids have NOTHING to do with schizophrenics. Nada. You may still want to hit them in them in the head with a bust of Shakespeare in the hope that some compassion seeps through via osmosis, but they aren't schizophrenic--just self absorbed asshats like my ex (who fortunately ducked, causing Shakespeare to miss him but hit the plasma TV head-on, therefore teaching him "loss"). And anyway, the DSM-V did away with the diagnosis of Schizoid Personality Disorder, so now former schizoids are today's guys who you mistake for "deep," but are really still trying to understand how blinking works.
As to schizophrenics, of all the mentally ill, schizophrenics are the most likely to be assaulted, and LEAST likely to assault (they're more likely to kill themselves than someone else). But that's a moot point, since our escaped convict was apparently schizoid (they live in bubbles, work in IT, and play Call of Duty) and not schizophrenic.
Finally, the conclusion of the diagnosis reads: delusional disorder, multiple paraphilias, and psychopathic narcissism. Let's break this down (yay)!
Delusional disorder is VERY rare and is usually the SYMPTOM of another disorder. Paraphilias are a huge group, and can be anything from foot fetishes to men wearing thongs. Since this was not a Paraphilia Disorder, this means that whatever out convict's paraphilias were, they were not a danger to him or others.
Next. There is NO SUCH THING as Psychopathic Narcissism. None. Nada. You can have Narcissistic Personality Disorder, and you can be a Psychopath, but you can't have Psychopathic Narcissism BECAUSE IT DOESN'T EXIST.
But let's talk more about this dude who dismembered and ate his family. And got caught right away. That is NOT the trademark of a psychopath. A psychopath is intelligent, can fake emotions and social norms, and is incredibly difficult to catch. A psychopath who ate his family would have been able to tell everyone they went on a trip to Norway and were trampled to death by reindeer, their remains eaten by wolves. And you would've believed it because his emotions would've been spot-on, and you'd never find a piece of evidence (this "trip" would've been well-planned).
A sociopath would've been caught right away (even with a plausible story) because he wouldn't have been able to pull off the "humanity" necessary. Evidence would be everywhere because he'd be a poor planner, and his crime would've been disorganized. From the descriptions in the book, THIS is what we're dealing with.
And I'm not breaking this down to drive you (pardon the pun) crazy; you need to keep the definitions of psychopaths and sociopaths in mind when reading this book, otherwise the ensuing events won't make sense.
Finally, Rachel talks of malevolent transformation. "I remember reading somewhere that severe abuse of a child, at a certain point, around six or so, produces what they call the 'malevolent transformation,' and after that the child is lost."
Uhm... Yeah. That's why we child therapists only work with the under-six crowd (I have yet to find an appropriate eye-rolling emoji). I think that the author's editor may have thought that the author's one undergrad Abnormal Psychology class taught by Methuselah was the equivalent to a Doctorate, so s/he decided not to fact check. Yes, Harry Stack Sullivan coined the term "malevolent transformation" in relation to abused children in the 1950's, but the malevolent transformation is what occurs when the abused children (whose minds can't cope with the idea that the people who are supposed to be their protectors are their abusers) turn their perception of their parents from malevolent to benign, no matter the level of abuse suffered. The children DO NOT transform into evil, malevolent humans who cannot be helped. Anyone who believes that might as well stop the world and jump off now.
And FINALLY, as a former army brat whose mother worked on a "communications base" (i.e., those cute "bunny ears" on the mountain ain't there for decoration, and the rooms the interpreters work from are locked and have signs letting you know that if you attempt to open the door without proper access you will be shot on site, but have a nice day), interpreters are military personnel, so KNOW HOW TO SHOOT GUNS. Rachel looking at the gun like it was a rubix cube just wouldn't have happened.
SIDENOTE: If you're a smart-ass 8-year-old Girl Scout on a "communications base" in the 80's, and your troupe is on a tour of the "classified" areas, when the colonel tells your troupe that a certain area is where the "top secret" stuff happens (and winks, because you'll all be pregnant by time you're 17 anyway), you might want to casually say, "Oh, I thought this was where the interpreters spied on Lybia," and walk on...
Minus 2.5 stars for crappy fact-checking and a predictable killer.
The 2.5 stars left are for adequately describing the Midwest so that readers understand the reason no one wants to live there.
First off, the escaped convict who dismembered and ate his family could not have had a primary diagnosis of Schizoid Personality Disorder because (a) it's a personality disorder, not a mental illness; and (b) to quote a wise man, "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." Schizoids have NOTHING to do with schizophrenics. Nada. You may still want to hit them in them in the head with a bust of Shakespeare in the hope that some compassion seeps through via osmosis, but they aren't schizophrenic--just self absorbed asshats like my ex (who fortunately ducked, causing Shakespeare to miss him but hit the plasma TV head-on, therefore teaching him "loss"). And anyway, the DSM-V did away with the diagnosis of Schizoid Personality Disorder, so now former schizoids are today's guys who you mistake for "deep," but are really still trying to understand how blinking works.
As to schizophrenics, of all the mentally ill, schizophrenics are the most likely to be assaulted, and LEAST likely to assault (they're more likely to kill themselves than someone else). But that's a moot point, since our escaped convict was apparently schizoid (they live in bubbles, work in IT, and play Call of Duty) and not schizophrenic.
Finally, the conclusion of the diagnosis reads: delusional disorder, multiple paraphilias, and psychopathic narcissism. Let's break this down (yay)!
Delusional disorder is VERY rare and is usually the SYMPTOM of another disorder. Paraphilias are a huge group, and can be anything from foot fetishes to men wearing thongs. Since this was not a Paraphilia Disorder, this means that whatever out convict's paraphilias were, they were not a danger to him or others.
Next. There is NO SUCH THING as Psychopathic Narcissism. None. Nada. You can have Narcissistic Personality Disorder, and you can be a Psychopath, but you can't have Psychopathic Narcissism BECAUSE IT DOESN'T EXIST.
But let's talk more about this dude who dismembered and ate his family. And got caught right away. That is NOT the trademark of a psychopath. A psychopath is intelligent, can fake emotions and social norms, and is incredibly difficult to catch. A psychopath who ate his family would have been able to tell everyone they went on a trip to Norway and were trampled to death by reindeer, their remains eaten by wolves. And you would've believed it because his emotions would've been spot-on, and you'd never find a piece of evidence (this "trip" would've been well-planned).
A sociopath would've been caught right away (even with a plausible story) because he wouldn't have been able to pull off the "humanity" necessary. Evidence would be everywhere because he'd be a poor planner, and his crime would've been disorganized. From the descriptions in the book, THIS is what we're dealing with.
And I'm not breaking this down to drive you (pardon the pun) crazy; you need to keep the definitions of psychopaths and sociopaths in mind when reading this book, otherwise the ensuing events won't make sense.
Finally, Rachel talks of malevolent transformation. "I remember reading somewhere that severe abuse of a child, at a certain point, around six or so, produces what they call the 'malevolent transformation,' and after that the child is lost."
Uhm... Yeah. That's why we child therapists only work with the under-six crowd (I have yet to find an appropriate eye-rolling emoji). I think that the author's editor may have thought that the author's one undergrad Abnormal Psychology class taught by Methuselah was the equivalent to a Doctorate, so s/he decided not to fact check. Yes, Harry Stack Sullivan coined the term "malevolent transformation" in relation to abused children in the 1950's, but the malevolent transformation is what occurs when the abused children (whose minds can't cope with the idea that the people who are supposed to be their protectors are their abusers) turn their perception of their parents from malevolent to benign, no matter the level of abuse suffered. The children DO NOT transform into evil, malevolent humans who cannot be helped. Anyone who believes that might as well stop the world and jump off now.
And FINALLY, as a former army brat whose mother worked on a "communications base" (i.e., those cute "bunny ears" on the mountain ain't there for decoration, and the rooms the interpreters work from are locked and have signs letting you know that if you attempt to open the door without proper access you will be shot on site, but have a nice day), interpreters are military personnel, so KNOW HOW TO SHOOT GUNS. Rachel looking at the gun like it was a rubix cube just wouldn't have happened.
SIDENOTE: If you're a smart-ass 8-year-old Girl Scout on a "communications base" in the 80's, and your troupe is on a tour of the "classified" areas, when the colonel tells your troupe that a certain area is where the "top secret" stuff happens (and winks, because you'll all be pregnant by time you're 17 anyway), you might want to casually say, "Oh, I thought this was where the interpreters spied on Lybia," and walk on...
Minus 2.5 stars for crappy fact-checking and a predictable killer.
The 2.5 stars left are for adequately describing the Midwest so that readers understand the reason no one wants to live there.
August 23, 2016
I received this book free from a Goodreads Giveaway, and I managed to read about 9 pages before I had to throw in the towel. It has the potential to be a good story, but the errors and excessive amounts of useless information weigh it down to the point that I find myself not able to /care/ what happens next.
I feel like it would benefit greatly from some reworking/rewording, someone sitting down with the author and asking him why we should care about specific information. Will it be relevant later? If not, why is it relevant now? If those questions can't be answered satisfactorily, or the answer to the first question is 'no', then the reader really doesn't need to know about it.
What little I read of this story felt.. like it was being forced upon me and the author felt I, as the reader, am too dumb to connect dots or imagine things on my own. The entire time I felt like they were trying too hard to TELL me what happened and not just show me a scene unfolding.
There were too many grocery list of actions or objects. Rachel went to the shower, turned on the water, set the temperature, stepped in, grabbed the soap-- Not specifically that, but in the first chapter alone I had enough being give a breakdown of how to do something that it was already boring. It's as simple as saying Rachel reached in the shower, set the taps and stepped in-- or hell for that matter, Rachel took a shower. Fuck it. Right?
I wouldn't mind giving this book another try sometime down the road, but there is going to need to be a lot of work done to it to make it worth my time. As it stands, it has taken me something like 5 days to read 9 pages because I feel compelled to edit as I go. I shouldn't have to do that when I reading, and if I do? It should only be /may/be one or two things in the entire book, and not so much red ink in the first few pages you have to wonder if an 8th grader wrote it.
I feel like it would benefit greatly from some reworking/rewording, someone sitting down with the author and asking him why we should care about specific information. Will it be relevant later? If not, why is it relevant now? If those questions can't be answered satisfactorily, or the answer to the first question is 'no', then the reader really doesn't need to know about it.
What little I read of this story felt.. like it was being forced upon me and the author felt I, as the reader, am too dumb to connect dots or imagine things on my own. The entire time I felt like they were trying too hard to TELL me what happened and not just show me a scene unfolding.
There were too many grocery list of actions or objects. Rachel went to the shower, turned on the water, set the temperature, stepped in, grabbed the soap-- Not specifically that, but in the first chapter alone I had enough being give a breakdown of how to do something that it was already boring. It's as simple as saying Rachel reached in the shower, set the taps and stepped in-- or hell for that matter, Rachel took a shower. Fuck it. Right?
I wouldn't mind giving this book another try sometime down the road, but there is going to need to be a lot of work done to it to make it worth my time. As it stands, it has taken me something like 5 days to read 9 pages because I feel compelled to edit as I go. I shouldn't have to do that when I reading, and if I do? It should only be /may/be one or two things in the entire book, and not so much red ink in the first few pages you have to wonder if an 8th grader wrote it.
July 13, 2015
I received this book as part of the Kindle First program. A thriller set in small Illinois town, the story followed a woman coming home for the first time in twenty years and then promptly getting swept up in the mystery of a serial killer plaguing the small farming community. I wanted to love this book, and I really did enjoy many parts of it, but I didn't like it as much as I wanted to. It started out slow, but the author did a great job of building up the suspense and tension to the point where I couldn't put the book down. The ending also had a twist which I didn't expect. I'm not sure it was entirely believable, but it was a surprise to me and I enjoyed that.
Unfortunately, the biggest issue for me was how the characters were developed. Rachel was fairly well developed, but everyone else felt a bit flat. It's probably why the ending was surprising, but not entirely believable.
Unfortunately, the biggest issue for me was how the characters were developed. Rachel was fairly well developed, but everyone else felt a bit flat. It's probably why the ending was surprising, but not entirely believable.
August 11, 2015
Once or twice a year in the hundreds of books I read each, is a book that consumes me. This is one of those books! It takes almost half of the book to get to the mystery, but that first half is as riveting as last half of book. All of the quirky characters and small town background place you in the story. When the murders begin you are in the story.
The murders begin seemingly random and quickly engulf the Linstrom family and the community of a small farming town in Illinois. Sam Reaves give you an accurate picture of Small town American! A mystery that will not be understood until the final pages.
The murders begin seemingly random and quickly engulf the Linstrom family and the community of a small farming town in Illinois. Sam Reaves give you an accurate picture of Small town American! A mystery that will not be understood until the final pages.
July 11, 2015
Rachel Lindstrom goes back home after divorce, and leaving her career behind in hopes of finding peace and connecting with family. Instead she finds FEAR. A psycho is loose in her hometown.
I have to say this read kept me going to the end I had totally pinned the crime on the wrong man. I was up and down with my feelings about the book over all. In some ways I found the story line to depressing but then I in other ways I found it well written. I can usually figure out who the bad guy is before the end of the book.
I have to say this read kept me going to the end I had totally pinned the crime on the wrong man. I was up and down with my feelings about the book over all. In some ways I found the story line to depressing but then I in other ways I found it well written. I can usually figure out who the bad guy is before the end of the book.
July 24, 2015
Cold Black Earth is a sleeper: it starts out slow, becoming a nail biting thriller at the very end. After the halfway point, the book was almost impossible to put down, but I had to force myself to continue reading the book until I made it that far. Call me impatient, or someone who doesn't appreciate character development, but slow moving drama is not for me. Still, the ending does make up for the beginning - I give Cold Black Earth 3 stars.
July 11, 2015
Rachel ends her Middle Eastern government job with a failed marriage and returns home, to the middle of no where. After she returns a murder escapes the prison and dead people start to turn up. Follow the exhilarating and scary story through the back roads in the dead of night...not knowing who is watching. Excellent read and interesting twist. I'm looking forward to reading other Sam Reaves books.
August 8, 2015
Cold, Black Earth by Sam Reaves was a Kindle Unlimited book.
It was free, which is a blessing because it was pretty tedious with a whiney and unsympathetic protagonist. Some murder and mayhem and then... I whined about why I wasted my time. Admittedly, the final third of the book was mostly skimming to see if my thoughts about the murderer were correct.
Crime. Aug. 1, 2015. Print version: 274 pages.
July 11, 2015
Good mystery…Rachel's character was very well developed , but I thought the rest of the cast was a little weak. I was drawn in on the suspense, and even felt Rachel's fear in moments of the story. I didn't like the ending…I felt it came out of no where and was too neatly tied up. I don't want to say too much, as I don't want to give it away.
July 14, 2015
I enjoyed reading this (Amazon Prime monthly pick) book. Good writing style, imagery, character development and it's pretty easy to see the author grew up in the rural Midwest. Add to that a suspenseful murder-mystery thriller of a plot and the pages start to turn quickly, right up to the "didn't see that coming" ending. It's a long shot, but I wouldn't be surprised if Hollywood picks this up.
July 16, 2015
Sex, suspense, and very real characters
This is a very realistic story of the heartlands. This story could have happened in many Midwestern states. The events and characters are in almost every small town in these areas. They talk of chances lost in life, sports and love just like the people in Cold Black Earth.
Thank you Sam Reaves for a very good book.
This is a very realistic story of the heartlands. This story could have happened in many Midwestern states. The events and characters are in almost every small town in these areas. They talk of chances lost in life, sports and love just like the people in Cold Black Earth.
Thank you Sam Reaves for a very good book.
July 20, 2015
Criminal Minds in the middle of nowhere
Sick and twisted psycho killer on the loose in the middle of nowhere. Taking place in a tiny town with a lot of down on their luck farmers. It's a great page turner filled with lots of suspense. The author did a great job painting the scenes.
Sick and twisted psycho killer on the loose in the middle of nowhere. Taking place in a tiny town with a lot of down on their luck farmers. It's a great page turner filled with lots of suspense. The author did a great job painting the scenes.
July 25, 2015
Really good story
My jaw hit the floor with that ending I never seen coming. I once again thought I knew who the killer was and at one point I was like ha I knew it then out of left field came the link.... Great read Loved how Sam brings the reader into the stories world. You really feel like you are on the farm with Matt and Rachel.
My jaw hit the floor with that ending I never seen coming. I once again thought I knew who the killer was and at one point I was like ha I knew it then out of left field came the link.... Great read Loved how Sam brings the reader into the stories world. You really feel like you are on the farm with Matt and Rachel.
August 5, 2015
Decent read about mystery in small town.
Started slow. Main character was well developed and others were not as vivid. Rachel, the protagonist would do some things that were questionable and head scratching to say the least. Overall, it was a quick read, good mystery, and nice twist that felt just a tad hasty.
Started slow. Main character was well developed and others were not as vivid. Rachel, the protagonist would do some things that were questionable and head scratching to say the least. Overall, it was a quick read, good mystery, and nice twist that felt just a tad hasty.
September 2, 2015
It was very suspenseful and made me nervous to sleep every night I read it. If you like suspense you will like this. If you are like me and find suspense to be too much to handle while reading at night then maybe not the book for you.
November 15, 2015
Twisted
Well I didn't see that coming. For a moment I thought maybe the good guy was the bad guy but then it hits you all at once and you are like "Oh Sh#t" Yeah I'd let my kids read it they know how life works. My son would talk about this at the dinner table.
Well I didn't see that coming. For a moment I thought maybe the good guy was the bad guy but then it hits you all at once and you are like "Oh Sh#t" Yeah I'd let my kids read it they know how life works. My son would talk about this at the dinner table.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 308 reviews