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Unpretty
The city of Lehigh, West Virginia, faces the insidious threat of a sadistic cult bent on eliminating all "unpretty" things in the world.
A bomb goes off at the Conklin Art Gallery, killing eight people associated with a unique Michelangelo exhibit being shown there. The only person who may have seen the bomber is Hummingbird Collins, an aspiring artist who works down the street from the gallery. But she soon starts receiving ominous cassette recordings of a rambling madman who reveals his plan to rid the world of "unpretty" things.
This madman -- known only as Number 26 -- leads a cult known as the Michelangelus Movement, which has kidnapped and tortured people for use in their bizarre artistic experiments over the past dozen years.
When Hummingbird breaks her frightened silence, she enlists the help of Detective Buck Barnes, her brother, and an old family friend, Ready Robinson, a former pro-football player who entered the priesthood after ending his NFL career. But when Hummingbird is abducted by the cult, her friends must discover where she's been taken before she becomes another addition to the leader's horrific replication of Michelangelo's masterpiece -- Last Judgment.
320 pages, Paperback
First published September 9, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
May 26, 2015
This was a book that seemed so interesting until I started reading it. I mean it was still good buy it kept jumping around to everyone else's POV that didn't seem even remotely important. I was waiting for Farmer Johns POV 3 states away at this rate. I only got to page 36 but I had to put it down. I need to solely focus on 1 persons POV, not 20 of them. Who's this again? Wait, who's that one now? Those kept running through my head. Maybe I'll try this book again in the future.
June 14, 2016
An interesting and exciting thriller.
January 5, 2015
Picked up for less than a dollar at one of the local Goodwill thrift shops, I mainly bought this book because of it’s cover image. My attention was grabbed and I pulled the book from it’s shelf and dusted it off.
The novel itself is the second written by Sharon Rogers. It covers a small suburb that is fraught with disappearances, and a seemingly increasing drug problem. An unassuming household in the burbs holds a cult faction who reveres the work of Michelangelo as perfection. The leader of this group is capturing individuals and torturing them to get models for a reproduction of one of Michelangelo’s lesser works. It is a non-standard book of good vs evil, with the cultists on one side pitted against secretive urban monks and police on the other.
I actually rather enjoyed this book. It is a nice standalone thriller/suspense novel with well fleshed out characters and an interesting premise. Give it a shot. It surprised me and though not best-seller quality, it did not disappoint.
~~
This brings me to my main complaints on the book, neither pertain to the novel itself, but instead to the marketing and presentation of it…
First – Publishers should be more careful about categorization of books. The book was published by Howard Books / Simon and Schuster, and is marketed as a Christian book. This should not deter folks from reading it. There were some very “Goddy” moments in the book, but it was not preachy. In fact, the sections which were heavy handed were directly in character.
I know of at least three individuals who will enjoy this book, once I can get them past the tagging as a “Christian” book. You are doing a disservice to the author by pigeon holing their work like this. Let it stand for itself.
Second – Previously stated, the cover of this book caught my attention. It was gritty and well photoshopped. In writing this review, I found that the stock imagery for this cover has been used on at least 3 other books, minus the grit. A German audio book, and multiple paperback novels use a base/stock version of the cover art. One of them even carries the tag line “a novel of suspense” as does ‘Unpretty’. You would think they would have straight up bought the image rights or otherwise paid more attention to the market. Do you even realize that this has happened?
Some of the books listed here were published before Unpretty and others afterward, so I will let you do your own research, but seriously, I think this was lazy and backwards. If you didn’t want to buy the rights but liked the idea, why not just reshoot the image? Hell, are you sure you even had the rights to use this considering other books used it on novels years before you did? Just thinking aloud here..
By the way publishers, I would love a job, even sweeping floors which is where the above critique would likely land me. Thanks.
--
xpost RawBlurb.com
The novel itself is the second written by Sharon Rogers. It covers a small suburb that is fraught with disappearances, and a seemingly increasing drug problem. An unassuming household in the burbs holds a cult faction who reveres the work of Michelangelo as perfection. The leader of this group is capturing individuals and torturing them to get models for a reproduction of one of Michelangelo’s lesser works. It is a non-standard book of good vs evil, with the cultists on one side pitted against secretive urban monks and police on the other.
I actually rather enjoyed this book. It is a nice standalone thriller/suspense novel with well fleshed out characters and an interesting premise. Give it a shot. It surprised me and though not best-seller quality, it did not disappoint.
~~
This brings me to my main complaints on the book, neither pertain to the novel itself, but instead to the marketing and presentation of it…
First – Publishers should be more careful about categorization of books. The book was published by Howard Books / Simon and Schuster, and is marketed as a Christian book. This should not deter folks from reading it. There were some very “Goddy” moments in the book, but it was not preachy. In fact, the sections which were heavy handed were directly in character.
I know of at least three individuals who will enjoy this book, once I can get them past the tagging as a “Christian” book. You are doing a disservice to the author by pigeon holing their work like this. Let it stand for itself.
Second – Previously stated, the cover of this book caught my attention. It was gritty and well photoshopped. In writing this review, I found that the stock imagery for this cover has been used on at least 3 other books, minus the grit. A German audio book, and multiple paperback novels use a base/stock version of the cover art. One of them even carries the tag line “a novel of suspense” as does ‘Unpretty’. You would think they would have straight up bought the image rights or otherwise paid more attention to the market. Do you even realize that this has happened?
Some of the books listed here were published before Unpretty and others afterward, so I will let you do your own research, but seriously, I think this was lazy and backwards. If you didn’t want to buy the rights but liked the idea, why not just reshoot the image? Hell, are you sure you even had the rights to use this considering other books used it on novels years before you did? Just thinking aloud here..
By the way publishers, I would love a job, even sweeping floors which is where the above critique would likely land me. Thanks.
--
xpost RawBlurb.com
October 24, 2019
Goes down in history as one of the most uninteresting, unengaging, non-suspenseful reads I have ever laid my eyes upon. I am so disappointed and unhappy with this book I can't even express how little I cared for most of the characters. You barely get any POV from the main character and Kinseth, arguably one of the more interesting characters in the book, is given almost no spotlight till the end when he's kind of needed. Though, even if Kinseth weren't there the story would have had no difficulty progressing.
There are so many POVs that you would think that there would be at least something interesting to say in at least one of them. But nope, after the excitement of my first "thriller" was sadly cut off there wasn't a single interesting sentence in this book to keep my attention long enough.
And I understand this is supposed to be Christian, but I fail to see how that kept the plot going at all besides the characters praying a few times. The cult that this story circles around makes it clear they don't believe in a god (not a spoiler, you find this out in the first few chapters). The only connection this book needed with religion was the church and the painting. Other than that the study guide in the back of the book was pointless and the praying throughout this book got excessive since halfway through the book it came out of no where. Since, till about halfway through there wasn't much mention of Christianity or any religion besides the paintings in the museum. And then its all prayers and Psalms and *SPOILER* some cheesy bible scene thrown in at the end to make our hearts happy.
There are so many POVs that you would think that there would be at least something interesting to say in at least one of them. But nope, after the excitement of my first "thriller" was sadly cut off there wasn't a single interesting sentence in this book to keep my attention long enough.
And I understand this is supposed to be Christian, but I fail to see how that kept the plot going at all besides the characters praying a few times. The cult that this story circles around makes it clear they don't believe in a god (not a spoiler, you find this out in the first few chapters). The only connection this book needed with religion was the church and the painting. Other than that the study guide in the back of the book was pointless and the praying throughout this book got excessive since halfway through the book it came out of no where. Since, till about halfway through there wasn't much mention of Christianity or any religion besides the paintings in the museum. And then its all prayers and Psalms and *SPOILER* some cheesy bible scene thrown in at the end to make our hearts happy.
August 26, 2010
This book is amazing if you like a good twist and turn book.
November 20, 2018
I couldn’t give this book away. It’s for Christian teen readers only who want blood and drugs and some violence but don’t cross THAT LINE into reality. Ie nobody has sex. And everyone gets forgiven even the serial killers. Throw up in my mouth.
December 3, 2016
So good. Unfortunately, this is the only SCR book my library has in its system... Here's hoping I can find the other ones, cheap! :)
August 21, 2017
This book made no sense to me. I don't understand what was goi g on in the book. The tapes were crazy & made the story even more convoluted to me. I was not impressed
February 4, 2017
Creepier than most.
January 12, 2012
I feel like this book tried to fit too many ideas in, and so all of them ended up being shallow.
Just- pick *one* secret society, okay, pick one weird name that no one comments on. (I actually like the name 'Hummingbird Collins', but I can't believe no one would mention that it's *weird*.) Pick *one* dude with a folksy nickname. I tried not to be turned off by the name Buck Barnes, despite the unfortunate similarity to two of the most annoying characters in Left Behind ("Call me Buck!") except then we got the 'all the good people are Christians or become Christians and all the bad people are atheists. I guess Buck doesn't explicitly become a Christian.
Another unfortunate similarity with Left Behind is that the characters are mostly told, not shown. Like, the kid with MPD- this is another shallowly explored idea, and- look, at one point someone asks him, "Are you Robbie, the kid, or Seth, the rebellious one?" Or kenny, the, uh. other one? Look if you have to *tell* us, more than 2/3rds of the way into the book what the personalities are supposed to be, that isn't good. I never got a sense of separate personality from any of them- it seemed like he was all of them, all the time, and that really just consisted of him talking to himself.
But the real problem was, I was never really convinced of the secret society's purpose- okay, they kill people to... use as models. For a painting they are *copying*, and so really don't need models for, but whatever. Why? This is a pointless, awful thing to do. I believe people will do pointless, awful things if they have a) a charismatic leader and/or b) believe it is somehow necessary. But their leader was, well. dead basically the whole time, and I could buy the son as a true believer, but over 60 other people? Why were they doing this? The whole 'unpretty' concept never really gelled for me, which, as it's the title, is probably a problem.
And then there's the epilogue with a Van Gogh splinter group. Okay, one, from Michelangelo to Van Gogh? What? That's a *huge* style difference. If this was a better book, I might be intrigued by that, but as it was, it felt like the author just picked another famous artist out of a hat, and then threw in the ear thing, because oooh, creepy. But what are these cultists going to do- kill sunflowers?
I could go on, but it seems kind of overkill, because I didn't 100% hate the book? I read the whole thing, it was an okay way to kill time during a power outage, but. Not impressed, shall we say?
Just- pick *one* secret society, okay, pick one weird name that no one comments on. (I actually like the name 'Hummingbird Collins', but I can't believe no one would mention that it's *weird*.) Pick *one* dude with a folksy nickname. I tried not to be turned off by the name Buck Barnes, despite the unfortunate similarity to two of the most annoying characters in Left Behind ("Call me Buck!") except then we got the 'all the good people are Christians or become Christians and all the bad people are atheists. I guess Buck doesn't explicitly become a Christian.
Another unfortunate similarity with Left Behind is that the characters are mostly told, not shown. Like, the kid with MPD- this is another shallowly explored idea, and- look, at one point someone asks him, "Are you Robbie, the kid, or Seth, the rebellious one?" Or kenny, the, uh. other one? Look if you have to *tell* us, more than 2/3rds of the way into the book what the personalities are supposed to be, that isn't good. I never got a sense of separate personality from any of them- it seemed like he was all of them, all the time, and that really just consisted of him talking to himself.
But the real problem was, I was never really convinced of the secret society's purpose- okay, they kill people to... use as models. For a painting they are *copying*, and so really don't need models for, but whatever. Why? This is a pointless, awful thing to do. I believe people will do pointless, awful things if they have a) a charismatic leader and/or b) believe it is somehow necessary. But their leader was, well. dead basically the whole time, and I could buy the son as a true believer, but over 60 other people? Why were they doing this? The whole 'unpretty' concept never really gelled for me, which, as it's the title, is probably a problem.
And then there's the epilogue with a Van Gogh splinter group. Okay, one, from Michelangelo to Van Gogh? What? That's a *huge* style difference. If this was a better book, I might be intrigued by that, but as it was, it felt like the author just picked another famous artist out of a hat, and then threw in the ear thing, because oooh, creepy. But what are these cultists going to do- kill sunflowers?
I could go on, but it seems kind of overkill, because I didn't 100% hate the book? I read the whole thing, it was an okay way to kill time during a power outage, but. Not impressed, shall we say?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 17, 2008
Unpretty was about a madman who likes the rid the world of unpretty things. He is a insane artist who works with a cult called the Michelangelus Movement. Hummingbird Collins works in a bookstore near a art gallery and when the madman enters the wrong store things get complicated for Hummingbird. She witnesses the bombing of the art gallery and now has a madman threatening her to keep quiet. She is scare and doesn't know what to do. Detective Barnes knows she is hiding something thought he doesn't think she is involved. He really needs her to help him with this case and he gets his break when she decides to break her silence and enlist the help of her brother T.W Collins and a long time football friend Ready Robinson.
Breaking her silence as dire consequences when she is abducted by the madman and it is up to the detective, her brother and long time friend to find out where he has her before she becomes a permanent work of art.
It was a great book and it kept me well entertained, the only thing I have bad to say was that I thought the ending was dragged out a little to long, sort of like when you think a movie is about twenty minutes to long. I kept thinking it should be about over but it wasn't, but other than that it is a very good suspense novel and I look forward to more of Sharon C. Rogers books.
Breaking her silence as dire consequences when she is abducted by the madman and it is up to the detective, her brother and long time friend to find out where he has her before she becomes a permanent work of art.
It was a great book and it kept me well entertained, the only thing I have bad to say was that I thought the ending was dragged out a little to long, sort of like when you think a movie is about twenty minutes to long. I kept thinking it should be about over but it wasn't, but other than that it is a very good suspense novel and I look forward to more of Sharon C. Rogers books.
July 5, 2016
I checked out Sharon Carter Rogers as she came up when I Googled "gritty spiritual suspense" as this is the genre my adult novel in progress fits into. What I loved about the book was that there were characters I could root for, an intriguing premise of a cult-like group whose leader is an artist with a twisted side and once I started the book was hard to put down as I did want to find out what happened next. My main reason for not giving the book five stars was that there was often "too much telling and not enough showing" as there were quite a lot of viewpoint characters to shift between for a novel just under 300 pages. That being said, I will definitely try another book by this author and I would hope to see perhaps a follow-up story to this novel.
July 30, 2011
It didn't take me long to read because it was so interesting. It was a suspenseful page turner. It had elements of art and of God in it so be forewarned. I love it just for those reasons.
It is about Hummingbird Collins, an artist who can identify a madman who has blown up 8 people in a bomb attack against a museum. All over the place are these advertisements with UNPRETTY written on them. A crazy cult has these crazy plans to follow in the footsteps of Michelangelo's Last Judgement using live yet unwilling models while destroying people and causes that are against their beliefs.
It is about Hummingbird Collins, an artist who can identify a madman who has blown up 8 people in a bomb attack against a museum. All over the place are these advertisements with UNPRETTY written on them. A crazy cult has these crazy plans to follow in the footsteps of Michelangelo's Last Judgement using live yet unwilling models while destroying people and causes that are against their beliefs.
January 21, 2012
The plot was entertaining, but this book was pretty poorly written. (Seriously, I pulled out my old writing from 8th grade, and I think I was almost at the same level as this author. If I had some writing samples from 9th or 10th grade, it would be comparable to this author's level of writing.) That aside, there were a few sloppy mistakes like mistaking character names, etc. I feel like if this author had handed off this plot to a much better writer, this would be a fantastic book. But alas, this author needs to go see a writing coach.
November 9, 2013
Unprety: A Novel of Suspense
by Sharon Carter Rogers
I liked the non crazy characters in Unpretty - like Hummingbird, T.W., Ready, Kenseth etc. I did not like the crazy psycopaths. The underying moral of the story very much appealed to me. This book was different than most books that I have read. There wasn't any part of this book that was dull or boring. I was always wondering what was going to happen next.
by Sharon Carter Rogers
I liked the non crazy characters in Unpretty - like Hummingbird, T.W., Ready, Kenseth etc. I did not like the crazy psycopaths. The underying moral of the story very much appealed to me. This book was different than most books that I have read. There wasn't any part of this book that was dull or boring. I was always wondering what was going to happen next.
February 12, 2009
I would give this novel a strong 4.5 if I could. It was a very good and creative book!!
I really liked the characters (including thier names), and also the non-typical plot. With most thrillers I find myself figuring out the ending within the first several chapters, but this one kept me guessing and it also left the door open for another one!
Definite page turner!
I really liked the characters (including thier names), and also the non-typical plot. With most thrillers I find myself figuring out the ending within the first several chapters, but this one kept me guessing and it also left the door open for another one!
Definite page turner!
September 17, 2011
This was a book that I couldn't put down. It's details are descriptive enough to make you feel as if you are there. I love mysteries and crime novels but find that so many have a very superficial and simple story line. This is not one of those. The story is well spun and you will get caught up in its web!
November 23, 2015
I really liked this book. Quite the intrigue throughout. It was one of those kind of slow chugging starters at first then picked up the pace really fast and was a good read. Enjoyed the twists and turns as things were uncovered during the investigation.
June 16, 2009
As the title says, it is a novel of suspense. It is an amazing read! I didn't want to put it down!!
July 8, 2009
It was slow getting started but had enough twists and unexpected turns to hold my interest and keep me reading. It was not bad for Christian suspense.
January 17, 2011
This is one book that I WISH was 600 pages long! Amazing read!
May 2, 2017
Was okay, took a long time to finish
August 30, 2013
Not the best read alound book. It was a better book to read to an advanced group of students.
October 24, 2013
This book started out slow but got better. Not one of my favorite books but it was a good book.
January 16, 2014
I felt like I had seen this in a movie ... I could anticipate every scene but not feel a thing. It was just too familiar although it was so evilly (really evil) twisted.
April 11, 2016
I loved this book! It was kind of strange and creepy but it kept me wondering what was going to happen next and I felt real connection to the characters.
November 13, 2010
Something a little different. Really enjoyed the characters. Hoping there's a sequel.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews