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The Mask Collectors
An investigation into murder becomes a dance with the devil in a breakthrough novel of illusion, conspiracy, and belief.
The alumni of an international boarding school have gathered at a campground in rural New Jersey when a scream breaks the silence of the woods. Classmates are shocked to find journalist Angie Osborne suddenly dead. The medical examiner’s report isn’t what anyone expects. Oddly, the death scene reminds anthropologist Duncan McCloud of a thovile, a Sri Lankan ritual he’s spent years studying.
When Duncan’s new employer, a pharmaceutical giant, sends him overseas under shadowy pretenses, and his wife, Dr. Grace McCloud, starts to receive anonymous warnings to doubt everyone and everything, the threads of a sweeping conspiracy begin to unravel. Risking more than their own lives, Duncan and Grace embark on a treacherous journey through occult ceremonies and their own hidden pasts to discover a secret worth killing for.
In taut, precise language, Ruvanee Pietersz Vilhauer’s debut novel The Mask Collectors tells a story about deception, the power of belief, and what is left unspoken between husbands and wives.
The alumni of an international boarding school have gathered at a campground in rural New Jersey when a scream breaks the silence of the woods. Classmates are shocked to find journalist Angie Osborne suddenly dead. The medical examiner’s report isn’t what anyone expects. Oddly, the death scene reminds anthropologist Duncan McCloud of a thovile, a Sri Lankan ritual he’s spent years studying.
When Duncan’s new employer, a pharmaceutical giant, sends him overseas under shadowy pretenses, and his wife, Dr. Grace McCloud, starts to receive anonymous warnings to doubt everyone and everything, the threads of a sweeping conspiracy begin to unravel. Risking more than their own lives, Duncan and Grace embark on a treacherous journey through occult ceremonies and their own hidden pasts to discover a secret worth killing for.
In taut, precise language, Ruvanee Pietersz Vilhauer’s debut novel The Mask Collectors tells a story about deception, the power of belief, and what is left unspoken between husbands and wives.
348 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 152 reviews
April 18, 2019
Assigned. 4 stars-
Unusual, but tense and thought provoking.
Unusual, but tense and thought provoking.
dnf
July 2, 2019DNF 10%
I usually try to read more than 10% before abandoning a book but in this case I struggled to read the very first few pages, and I know that my opinion of the book won't improve further along the way so I am calling it quits.
I love the cover, the title, and the summary is intriguing enough. My 'issue' is the writing style. What should have straightforward scenes or observations seemed to be written by Yoda. The opening chapter is needlessly confounding almost as if the author equates lack of clarity with a suspenseful atmosphere.
I doubt that the writing style will drastically change so I am doing myself a favour by putting this book on the side.
I usually try to read more than 10% before abandoning a book but in this case I struggled to read the very first few pages, and I know that my opinion of the book won't improve further along the way so I am calling it quits.
I love the cover, the title, and the summary is intriguing enough. My 'issue' is the writing style. What should have straightforward scenes or observations seemed to be written by Yoda. The opening chapter is needlessly confounding almost as if the author equates lack of clarity with a suspenseful atmosphere.
I doubt that the writing style will drastically change so I am doing myself a favour by putting this book on the side.
May 7, 2019
Misleading Title
This is a weird medical mystery. It is NOT a suspenseful thriller about strange dark ritual ceremonies using masks, exorcism of demons and “spirits,” although it refers to them. In addition, the intriguing masks 🎭 are only hanging on an office wall in the USA and are clues that appear in a photograph. Really? What a bait and switch. The title is so very intriguing. The author writes a gorgeous travelogue of Sri Lanka; however, that’s not quite the book I was expecting.
This is a weird medical mystery. It is NOT a suspenseful thriller about strange dark ritual ceremonies using masks, exorcism of demons and “spirits,” although it refers to them. In addition, the intriguing masks 🎭 are only hanging on an office wall in the USA and are clues that appear in a photograph. Really? What a bait and switch. The title is so very intriguing. The author writes a gorgeous travelogue of Sri Lanka; however, that’s not quite the book I was expecting.
May 1, 2019
From my editor's letter:
What if you were told that in the very near future, you could take a pill from a doctor, and any ailments you may have will disappear with no side effects? When anthropologist Duncan McCloud is hired by a pharmaceutical giant, that’s exactly what he’s told he’ll be working toward. But how can an anthropologist—especially one specializing in a Sri Lankan healing ritual—help with this ambitious project? As Duncan dives further into his research, his wife, Dr. Grace McCloud, starts receiving anonymous messages warning her about ambiguous dangers around this company, including some about the traditional masks involved in her husband’s research. And then, people she knows start mysteriously dying.
Reading Ruvanee’s debut novel had me turning the pages faster than any book in recent memory. Just like Grace, I too wanted to get to the bottom of this mystery. But what kept me in awe was not only the vast conspiracy that Ruvanee masterfully spins in this delightful literary suspense, but also that in her writing she allows us to spend time in the quieter moments—of the bonds a husband and wife have and the secrets they may keep from each other. In the end, this book weaves a compelling story from New Jersey to Sri Lanka, all the while tackling with ease huge issues like our trust in Big Pharma and how our cultural backgrounds can play their own part in our belief systems.
What if you were told that in the very near future, you could take a pill from a doctor, and any ailments you may have will disappear with no side effects? When anthropologist Duncan McCloud is hired by a pharmaceutical giant, that’s exactly what he’s told he’ll be working toward. But how can an anthropologist—especially one specializing in a Sri Lankan healing ritual—help with this ambitious project? As Duncan dives further into his research, his wife, Dr. Grace McCloud, starts receiving anonymous messages warning her about ambiguous dangers around this company, including some about the traditional masks involved in her husband’s research. And then, people she knows start mysteriously dying.
Reading Ruvanee’s debut novel had me turning the pages faster than any book in recent memory. Just like Grace, I too wanted to get to the bottom of this mystery. But what kept me in awe was not only the vast conspiracy that Ruvanee masterfully spins in this delightful literary suspense, but also that in her writing she allows us to spend time in the quieter moments—of the bonds a husband and wife have and the secrets they may keep from each other. In the end, this book weaves a compelling story from New Jersey to Sri Lanka, all the while tackling with ease huge issues like our trust in Big Pharma and how our cultural backgrounds can play their own part in our belief systems.
May 6, 2019
This was my choice for the Amazon Prime First Reads for May 2019.
This is an oddly complicated story that moves between the USA and Sri Lanka, kicking off with the reunion of a group of people who studied together at the international school in Kandy. When one of them dies, Grace and her husband Duncan get sucked into an increasingly complex web of lies and deceit.
Duncan has a great new job for a pharmaceutical company but he's not a pharmacist, he's an anthropologist. Apparently, he's supposed to be helping them with their 'marketing strategy'. I work in marketing, I work on strategy and this part of the storyline is laughably poor. Even once I'd finished the book, it still made zero sense to me that they had done this.
People love to believe that 'big Pharma' is evil and this book plays into that but the plot is ludicrous. Placebos and anti-placebos (nocebos, I think they called them) are just too far fetched as a plot driver that justifies killing lots of people. I also found it bizarre that a US pharmaceutical company could have been inspired by Sri Lankan rituals.
There are a lot of gaps in this story. People come and go without really being properly introduced. The whole Kandy International School pre-story is never really explained. How could a group of people who met as kids in Kandy still be in touch all these years later? It's too far-fetched. My friend who lives in Colombo has his two teen boys in an International School there and there's no way the fleeting relationships of an international school would support such a plot line.
I liked being 'taken' to Sri Lanka, to places I knew and have visited, but the whole thing just didn't 'gel' for me. On a Facebook book club that I use, somebody said they'd picked it because they wanted to learn more about Sri Lanka. Sorry but this book really isn't going to help anybody with that particular ambition.
So aside from not believing the relationships between the KIS group, not finding the plot in the slightest bit feasible, not liking the emphasis on Sri Lanka as some kind of mumbo-jumbo backward country, and being professionally offended by what the author thinks 'marketing strategy' is about, the book shows a lot of promise and I might well read this author again.
This is an oddly complicated story that moves between the USA and Sri Lanka, kicking off with the reunion of a group of people who studied together at the international school in Kandy. When one of them dies, Grace and her husband Duncan get sucked into an increasingly complex web of lies and deceit.
Duncan has a great new job for a pharmaceutical company but he's not a pharmacist, he's an anthropologist. Apparently, he's supposed to be helping them with their 'marketing strategy'. I work in marketing, I work on strategy and this part of the storyline is laughably poor. Even once I'd finished the book, it still made zero sense to me that they had done this.
People love to believe that 'big Pharma' is evil and this book plays into that but the plot is ludicrous. Placebos and anti-placebos (nocebos, I think they called them) are just too far fetched as a plot driver that justifies killing lots of people. I also found it bizarre that a US pharmaceutical company could have been inspired by Sri Lankan rituals.
There are a lot of gaps in this story. People come and go without really being properly introduced. The whole Kandy International School pre-story is never really explained. How could a group of people who met as kids in Kandy still be in touch all these years later? It's too far-fetched. My friend who lives in Colombo has his two teen boys in an International School there and there's no way the fleeting relationships of an international school would support such a plot line.
I liked being 'taken' to Sri Lanka, to places I knew and have visited, but the whole thing just didn't 'gel' for me. On a Facebook book club that I use, somebody said they'd picked it because they wanted to learn more about Sri Lanka. Sorry but this book really isn't going to help anybody with that particular ambition.
So aside from not believing the relationships between the KIS group, not finding the plot in the slightest bit feasible, not liking the emphasis on Sri Lanka as some kind of mumbo-jumbo backward country, and being professionally offended by what the author thinks 'marketing strategy' is about, the book shows a lot of promise and I might well read this author again.
July 8, 2019
Interesting concept about placebo drugs and a shady drug company but the core mystery lost focus with side plots and unnecessary characters.
Why does Grace, the wife, study the ovaries of flies? We hear about her fly dissections numerous times throughout the book and the author creepily mentions “she needs the ovaries” but we never learn why or how this even relates to the story. The characters of Marla and the neighbor, Gordon, are annoying and don’t really advance the plot—several paragraphs are wasted on interactions with them. One of the main mysteries we, as the reader, are faced with is a voicemail Grace receives from Angie, the woman who dies at the beginning of the book. We finally hear the voicemail more than halfway through the book and it is so stupid and isn’t really helpful to figuring out why she got murdered. The storyline in Sri Lanka is far fetched and the ending is too conveniently wrapped up.
Why does Grace, the wife, study the ovaries of flies? We hear about her fly dissections numerous times throughout the book and the author creepily mentions “she needs the ovaries” but we never learn why or how this even relates to the story. The characters of Marla and the neighbor, Gordon, are annoying and don’t really advance the plot—several paragraphs are wasted on interactions with them. One of the main mysteries we, as the reader, are faced with is a voicemail Grace receives from Angie, the woman who dies at the beginning of the book. We finally hear the voicemail more than halfway through the book and it is so stupid and isn’t really helpful to figuring out why she got murdered. The storyline in Sri Lanka is far fetched and the ending is too conveniently wrapped up.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 11, 2020
While this book has some interesting information about Sri Lanka, I find the writing style to be lacking (for example, there are many instances where a full paragraph is just a character asking themselves questions) and the plot confusing rather than mysterious, though still easy to figure out once you're about 2/3 of the way through. Lots of misdirection that doesn't really pay off plotwise. For example, there is a plot point based around a character being Muslim that doesn't seem to really serve a purpose in the story, and it's forgotten as quickly as it's brought up.
Janie is 9 years old, but talks and acts like a much younger child. I found it unrealistic that a child of her age would remain completely oblivious to the fact that she's been kidnapped and that every adult around her is on a serious edge. Many conversations throughout the book are over explanatory and feel like they only exist to advance very specific plot points that are resolved unsatisfactorily (looking at you airplane conversations). The end of the book seems to suggest that you can will away infertility, and Grace ending up pregnant almost immediately after realizing she'd willed herself into six miscarriages was not only far-fetched, but too neat a bow.
I did not connect with either Grace or Duncan. They each spend the majority of the book being absolutely clueless about everything that's going on until about 90% through despite the many, many clues heaped into their laps. Duncan is especially guilty of this, given that Bent acts suspiciously from the start, but he doesn't do much more than wonder what's going on and ask himself the same questions over and over. Grace's internal monologue is insufferable and her big secret is overall a letdown plotwise. Bent gives away all his and Cinasat's secrets in the last few pages of the book with little resistance.
I give this two stars because I made myself finish it, and I found the information about Sri Lanka interesting. I also enjoyed the glossary at the end that explains some of the terms used.
Janie is 9 years old, but talks and acts like a much younger child. I found it unrealistic that a child of her age would remain completely oblivious to the fact that she's been kidnapped and that every adult around her is on a serious edge. Many conversations throughout the book are over explanatory and feel like they only exist to advance very specific plot points that are resolved unsatisfactorily (looking at you airplane conversations). The end of the book seems to suggest that you can will away infertility, and Grace ending up pregnant almost immediately after realizing she'd willed herself into six miscarriages was not only far-fetched, but too neat a bow.
I did not connect with either Grace or Duncan. They each spend the majority of the book being absolutely clueless about everything that's going on until about 90% through despite the many, many clues heaped into their laps. Duncan is especially guilty of this, given that Bent acts suspiciously from the start, but he doesn't do much more than wonder what's going on and ask himself the same questions over and over. Grace's internal monologue is insufferable and her big secret is overall a letdown plotwise. Bent gives away all his and Cinasat's secrets in the last few pages of the book with little resistance.
I give this two stars because I made myself finish it, and I found the information about Sri Lanka interesting. I also enjoyed the glossary at the end that explains some of the terms used.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 17, 2019
Thank you, Netgalley, for providing me with a copy of this book!
3 stars
Honestly, I think I’m being a little generous with giving this book a three-star review, considering I marked it as DNF at 24% completed.
I had such high expectations for this book specifically when I found out I had been approved for it. It sounded like something I would really enjoy! Dark, mysterious—I sort of got Mara Dyer vibes off of it in the beginning, when I began reading! It talks about how the book was researched and accurate when discussing different cultural practices that are alluded to within the plot.
What made me want to stop reading was the writing style. It may work for some people, don’t get me wrong! I just found that the author struggled to focus on one plot and jumped around a lot, which left me confused as to what the main story-line was supposed to be. I settled on murder/mystery and then it turned to some sort of business deal and then it dappled with some secrecy?? I don’t know, it left me confused, but it may work for some people! I’m sure all of it was supposed to tie together, but I just ended up losing patience with it.
As for the characters, I had a hard time connecting with any of them. None of them seemed unique, none of them seemed interesting enough to leave an impression on me, they all seemed kind of bland to be completely honest.
Like I said, it had a lot of potential! I just wound up losing patience. Too little time to spend on books you’re not totally invested in!
3 stars
Honestly, I think I’m being a little generous with giving this book a three-star review, considering I marked it as DNF at 24% completed.
I had such high expectations for this book specifically when I found out I had been approved for it. It sounded like something I would really enjoy! Dark, mysterious—I sort of got Mara Dyer vibes off of it in the beginning, when I began reading! It talks about how the book was researched and accurate when discussing different cultural practices that are alluded to within the plot.
What made me want to stop reading was the writing style. It may work for some people, don’t get me wrong! I just found that the author struggled to focus on one plot and jumped around a lot, which left me confused as to what the main story-line was supposed to be. I settled on murder/mystery and then it turned to some sort of business deal and then it dappled with some secrecy?? I don’t know, it left me confused, but it may work for some people! I’m sure all of it was supposed to tie together, but I just ended up losing patience with it.
As for the characters, I had a hard time connecting with any of them. None of them seemed unique, none of them seemed interesting enough to leave an impression on me, they all seemed kind of bland to be completely honest.
Like I said, it had a lot of potential! I just wound up losing patience. Too little time to spend on books you’re not totally invested in!
August 18, 2020
I chose to read this because I live in Sri Lanka and this is the first book I have seen on Amazon that refers to the thovil. I was intrigued.
The book is subtitled "A Novel" rather than a murder mystery, but I thought the mystery element was not strong enough. It was obvious from the beginning where it was headed, and who was responsible for the murders. The research into thovil was interesting, though...
Anyway, I do not believe in thovil etc and that may have coloured my judgement. So, don't read this book if you think thovil are superstitious nonsense!
The book is subtitled "A Novel" rather than a murder mystery, but I thought the mystery element was not strong enough. It was obvious from the beginning where it was headed, and who was responsible for the murders. The research into thovil was interesting, though...
Anyway, I do not believe in thovil etc and that may have coloured my judgement. So, don't read this book if you think thovil are superstitious nonsense!
May 16, 2019
Wow fast paced
The mystery kept the story moving. The whole book was well put together with two separate beliefs and worlds intertwined. It's amazing what a thought and belief can really accomplish.
The mystery kept the story moving. The whole book was well put together with two separate beliefs and worlds intertwined. It's amazing what a thought and belief can really accomplish.
May 14, 2019
The Mask Collectors
I'm not quite sure on my rating yet. I read this rather quickly as my Amazon First Reads pick of the month. The story is interesting though for me the ending was very abrupt. I feel I should say more but think I will leave it well enough until I receive my physical copy and give it a re-read.
January 24, 2020
A standard, low-key, just-fine mystery thriller, the kind that would make a pretty decent Netflix/Amazon Prime movie.
The title fooled me on this one. I thought there would be a lot more artifact hunting, different parties stealing masks away from each other, clues hidden inside ancient art, shamans vs. scientists--a bit of Raiders of the Lost Ark, without the Nazis. It wasn’t that interesting. Instead, it was academics vs. Big Pharma villains, with just a hint of “maybe curses DO work!!” thrown in. So here are my thoughts, in no particular order:
I’d already forgotten the main characters’ names and had to look them up. Oh yeah--Duncan and Grace. They’re both Ph.D.s, and smart enough people; he’s nice and a little laid back, good with kids; she’s thin and very driven by her experiments, which involve cutting up fruit flies for their ovaries.
Which is evocative or ironic or something, because Duncan wants kids and she keeps having miscarriages, which is in turn tied to some mysterious meeting years ago when she and the dead reporter met in Chicago and something happened that Grace doesn’t want Duncan to find out about and keeps thinking about without actually explaining to us what’s going on, which I find extremely annoying in a point-of-view character. Neither of them are particularly memorable; they’re reasonably competent, and don’t do anything stupid or cringe worthy, but that’s about it.
The other good-guy characters follow suit. The nine-year-old kid, Janie, is actually not annoying, which is nice. The dead reporter sounds like she was pretty obnoxious as a teenager, but doesn’t have any particular personality traits as a grown up, besides being mysteriously dead in the woods. The grief-stricken, emotional adulterer Mo is more of a plot engine than a hero. Detective Mortensen is a big guy who’s smarter than he appears, but we don’t get to know him at all. The plucky Sri Lankan reporter is the most fun person we meet.
The villains are villains: megalomaniacal head honcho who inexplicably does his own dirty work; right-hand henchman who may or may not be in on the whole thing but definitely does bad stuff (with daddy issues thrown in as an attempt at character development?), monosyllabic guards, and native-servants-with-good-hearts who turn on the evil bad guys at the last minute. No actual shamans or exorcists make an appearance other than on video.
The real standout in this story is the absolute school of red herrings swimming everywhere. Which drug company is the real villain? Who’s actually behind the kidnapping? Is everybody in on the plot? What really killed all these characters who turn out to be connected to the development of a new, mysterious drug? How does that drug actually work? When did the reporter start figuring this out, and why for the love of rationality didn’t she back up her notes? How does a murder method that relies on the victim’s intense attention to video and sound to kill through hypnotic suggestion work on a wary and suspicious victim out in a forest? OK, that last wasn’t a red herring, it was an annoying lapse of logic … or a hint that curses actually work! Dum, dum, DUMMMM!!! And kind of dumb, too.
But hey, the tourist-photo glimpses of Sri Lanka were interesting, and the author did give me a nice (if superficial) feel for the place she knows very well, so points for using an under-used locale.
The title fooled me on this one. I thought there would be a lot more artifact hunting, different parties stealing masks away from each other, clues hidden inside ancient art, shamans vs. scientists--a bit of Raiders of the Lost Ark, without the Nazis. It wasn’t that interesting. Instead, it was academics vs. Big Pharma villains, with just a hint of “maybe curses DO work!!” thrown in. So here are my thoughts, in no particular order:
I’d already forgotten the main characters’ names and had to look them up. Oh yeah--Duncan and Grace. They’re both Ph.D.s, and smart enough people; he’s nice and a little laid back, good with kids; she’s thin and very driven by her experiments, which involve cutting up fruit flies for their ovaries.
Which is evocative or ironic or something, because Duncan wants kids and she keeps having miscarriages, which is in turn tied to some mysterious meeting years ago when she and the dead reporter met in Chicago and something happened that Grace doesn’t want Duncan to find out about and keeps thinking about without actually explaining to us what’s going on, which I find extremely annoying in a point-of-view character. Neither of them are particularly memorable; they’re reasonably competent, and don’t do anything stupid or cringe worthy, but that’s about it.
The other good-guy characters follow suit. The nine-year-old kid, Janie, is actually not annoying, which is nice. The dead reporter sounds like she was pretty obnoxious as a teenager, but doesn’t have any particular personality traits as a grown up, besides being mysteriously dead in the woods. The grief-stricken, emotional adulterer Mo is more of a plot engine than a hero. Detective Mortensen is a big guy who’s smarter than he appears, but we don’t get to know him at all. The plucky Sri Lankan reporter is the most fun person we meet.
The villains are villains: megalomaniacal head honcho who inexplicably does his own dirty work; right-hand henchman who may or may not be in on the whole thing but definitely does bad stuff (with daddy issues thrown in as an attempt at character development?), monosyllabic guards, and native-servants-with-good-hearts who turn on the evil bad guys at the last minute. No actual shamans or exorcists make an appearance other than on video.
The real standout in this story is the absolute school of red herrings swimming everywhere. Which drug company is the real villain? Who’s actually behind the kidnapping? Is everybody in on the plot? What really killed all these characters who turn out to be connected to the development of a new, mysterious drug? How does that drug actually work? When did the reporter start figuring this out, and why for the love of rationality didn’t she back up her notes? How does a murder method that relies on the victim’s intense attention to video and sound to kill through hypnotic suggestion work on a wary and suspicious victim out in a forest? OK, that last wasn’t a red herring, it was an annoying lapse of logic … or a hint that curses actually work! Dum, dum, DUMMMM!!! And kind of dumb, too.
But hey, the tourist-photo glimpses of Sri Lanka were interesting, and the author did give me a nice (if superficial) feel for the place she knows very well, so points for using an under-used locale.
June 9, 2019
There are some books that layer compelling narrative with subtle, deeper meaning, that deliver characters so alive that you miss them when the book ends; whose prose delights the mind and dances on the tongue.
This is not one of those books.
All respect to the author who, by all accounts, is quite talented, but I found this book -- not forgettable, but dreadful. The plot was preposterous -- an evil drug company invents a drug that does nothing -- essentially a placebo -- and then decides to convince people that the placebo effect is real and this new do-nothing drug actually can cure anything by mirroring the neurotransmitters generated by placebos. THEN, they create special TV ads using Sri Lankan devil magic that will convince people they're sick so they go to the doctor and ask for the drug. [NOTE: I give this two stars instead of one because, honestly, that plot isn't too far off from how Big Pharma operates today.]
The plot was also predictable. You know from the second chapter who the villain is and, essentially, how it's going to play out. I kept reading in the hope that it was all a feint -- that the obviousness was going to end in a twist at the end I didn't see coming. Nope.
The protagonists? Ach! For most of the novel, they're clueless morons who insist on denying the evidence that's piling up in front of them, oblivious to the threat. Until, that is, the story reaches an inflection point -- where they turn into decisive, committed, action heroes - slapping guns away and fleeing the police. And the villains? Equally bad (which is a cardinal sin in my book). CEOs don't go around threatening people with guns. I've met a lot of CEOs and they all have people to do the dirty work.
And don't get me started on the writing. It was passable, but, in places too descriptive, too expository. Points added for the pacing, which was pretty good; Points deducted for the layout of the narrative, which, for most of the book, was utterly confusing.
If you want a can't-put-down suspense story in another country, check out Dan Simmons' Song of Kali. That one will never leave you.
The Mask Collectors is not the worst book I've ever read. That honor goes to Alan Folsom's The Day After Tomorrow, but it was pretty bad. At least it didn't end with Hitler's head in a hat box...
This is not one of those books.
All respect to the author who, by all accounts, is quite talented, but I found this book -- not forgettable, but dreadful. The plot was preposterous -- an evil drug company invents a drug that does nothing -- essentially a placebo -- and then decides to convince people that the placebo effect is real and this new do-nothing drug actually can cure anything by mirroring the neurotransmitters generated by placebos. THEN, they create special TV ads using Sri Lankan devil magic that will convince people they're sick so they go to the doctor and ask for the drug. [NOTE: I give this two stars instead of one because, honestly, that plot isn't too far off from how Big Pharma operates today.]
The plot was also predictable. You know from the second chapter who the villain is and, essentially, how it's going to play out. I kept reading in the hope that it was all a feint -- that the obviousness was going to end in a twist at the end I didn't see coming. Nope.
The protagonists? Ach! For most of the novel, they're clueless morons who insist on denying the evidence that's piling up in front of them, oblivious to the threat. Until, that is, the story reaches an inflection point -- where they turn into decisive, committed, action heroes - slapping guns away and fleeing the police. And the villains? Equally bad (which is a cardinal sin in my book). CEOs don't go around threatening people with guns. I've met a lot of CEOs and they all have people to do the dirty work.
And don't get me started on the writing. It was passable, but, in places too descriptive, too expository. Points added for the pacing, which was pretty good; Points deducted for the layout of the narrative, which, for most of the book, was utterly confusing.
If you want a can't-put-down suspense story in another country, check out Dan Simmons' Song of Kali. That one will never leave you.
The Mask Collectors is not the worst book I've ever read. That honor goes to Alan Folsom's The Day After Tomorrow, but it was pretty bad. At least it didn't end with Hitler's head in a hat box...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 19, 2019
Kind of a bizarre story, all the way around...involving Sri Lankan healing rituals, exorcisms, and big pharma. Which is what intrigued me. I wanted something that was not derivative and did not include an unreliable female narrator who is also an alcoholic who has witnessed or suspected a murder! WAY too many "Girl on a Train" books on the market right now. But I digress.
As for this book, I was ready to shelve it as "did not finish" at about 10%. The first chapter included so many characters and red herrings I felt like I needed an excel spreadsheet to keep up. And none of the characters were that interesting. But...I didn't feel like hunting down a new book (which is always a challenge for me) so I kept with it.
Basically, the story is told from the point of view of a married couple, Duncan (an American anthropologist) and Grace (his Sri Lankan scientist wife). They become embroiled in a mystery involving the pharmaceutical company Duncan works for, where employees keep turning up dead.
Honestly, at 25% the engines kicked in, and it was a wild ride that had me turning pages. So that was a plus. Also, the descriptions of Sri Lanka were intriguing. Plot twists kept on coming, but I was able to stay on track.
I think there are two main flaws with this book. The author tends to tell and not show, and this happens frequently. We learn about events that happened after the fact, as when one character tells another. Secondly, I feel like the main plot point (which I won't reveal) is kind of a letdown. Actually...maybe there is a third flaw. There are some identical details that happen with each of the murders that are never explained or cleared up. I won't ruin it for you by discussing them, but it bothered me that these oddball details were never brought into the resolution of the story. I thought it was to be a clue that I wasn't getting, but no. Maybe just for atmosphere?
I probably won't read another book by this author but I was happy to have something truly original to sink my teeth into.
As for this book, I was ready to shelve it as "did not finish" at about 10%. The first chapter included so many characters and red herrings I felt like I needed an excel spreadsheet to keep up. And none of the characters were that interesting. But...I didn't feel like hunting down a new book (which is always a challenge for me) so I kept with it.
Basically, the story is told from the point of view of a married couple, Duncan (an American anthropologist) and Grace (his Sri Lankan scientist wife). They become embroiled in a mystery involving the pharmaceutical company Duncan works for, where employees keep turning up dead.
Honestly, at 25% the engines kicked in, and it was a wild ride that had me turning pages. So that was a plus. Also, the descriptions of Sri Lanka were intriguing. Plot twists kept on coming, but I was able to stay on track.
I think there are two main flaws with this book. The author tends to tell and not show, and this happens frequently. We learn about events that happened after the fact, as when one character tells another. Secondly, I feel like the main plot point (which I won't reveal) is kind of a letdown. Actually...maybe there is a third flaw. There are some identical details that happen with each of the murders that are never explained or cleared up. I won't ruin it for you by discussing them, but it bothered me that these oddball details were never brought into the resolution of the story. I thought it was to be a clue that I wasn't getting, but no. Maybe just for atmosphere?
I probably won't read another book by this author but I was happy to have something truly original to sink my teeth into.
May 6, 2019
The Mask Collectors is an elaborate novel that's kind of all over the place.
The story is highly plot-driven, but the plot goes in too many directions. Rather than feeling complex, it feels convoluted. Some of the storylines include secrets between a married couple, secrets between friends, the murders and the ongoing investigations, a major conspiracy within a pharmaceutical company, infertility, and Sri Lankan rituals. It's all too far-reaching and scattered.
The heart of the story, which revolves around the pharmaceutical company, stretched plausibility too far for many reasons. I can't explain why, because I don't want to give spoilers. To buy into it all, I first had to believe Duncan's role at the company was a necessary risk for them to take. I didn't buy into that, and it went downhill from there.
The characters aren't well developed. I felt they were stiff and stereotypical.
I never enjoy being the voice of doom here, but this story just didn't work for me.
*This was my Amazon First Reads choice for May.*
The story is highly plot-driven, but the plot goes in too many directions. Rather than feeling complex, it feels convoluted. Some of the storylines include secrets between a married couple, secrets between friends, the murders and the ongoing investigations, a major conspiracy within a pharmaceutical company, infertility, and Sri Lankan rituals. It's all too far-reaching and scattered.
The heart of the story, which revolves around the pharmaceutical company, stretched plausibility too far for many reasons. I can't explain why, because I don't want to give spoilers. To buy into it all, I first had to believe Duncan's role at the company was a necessary risk for them to take. I didn't buy into that, and it went downhill from there.
The characters aren't well developed. I felt they were stiff and stereotypical.
I never enjoy being the voice of doom here, but this story just didn't work for me.
*This was my Amazon First Reads choice for May.*
July 1, 2019
I really struggled with this book. I wanted to put it down and not pick it up again but I forced myself to finish it. I felt like I had no idea what was going on for the first half of the book, I had a very hard time liking the characters, at the beginning they totally bored me but as I got through more of the book and the writing started to flow better I didn’t mind them as much. The title The Mask Collectors is very misleading the book doesn’t have anything to do with masks. I wanted to try and give a brief preview of the book but I honestly don’t know what to write or how to explain what the storyline is for this book.
The book did eventually pick up and things started to make a bit of sense but then I found the chapters were ending abruptly and I felt like I was missing parts of the story when the next chapter would begin in a completely different scene.
I would not recommend this book I was very disappointed at the end of it.
I received an ARC from the publisher for an honest review.
The book did eventually pick up and things started to make a bit of sense but then I found the chapters were ending abruptly and I felt like I was missing parts of the story when the next chapter would begin in a completely different scene.
I would not recommend this book I was very disappointed at the end of it.
I received an ARC from the publisher for an honest review.
November 4, 2019
Tore through this book on a few hours because I couldn't put it down. I suspended my disbelief regarding the part of the premise that seemed a bit unrealistic or outlandish, because I prefer creativity to staleness and I thought the plot was worth it. If I had to list cons, it would be a) the use of other characters as an excuse to explain background to the reader; b) that I didn't feel particularly attached to any one character. Despite the introspection the main characters engaged in and the rich background stories they had, they felt a little detached as people. Anyways, Vilhauer writes in a way that keeps you curious. As I recently read a wannabe mystery that withheld details to the point of boring me, I appreciated her ability to maintain the intrigue, as well as the research and inclusion of her heritage that made the story unique.
May 23, 2019
I had to drag through this, with novels there is a certain suspension of belief that is needed but this pushes that to the extreme. The plot was too unbelievable and the characters were either boring, stupid, or caricatures. Like the villain, he might as well have been a mustache twirling bad guy from Scooby Doo. There's also a heavy influence that all pharmaceutical companies are evil and that they make up all diseases to push pills that don't do anything.
I do think that there were the bones of a good story here but nothing about the way that it was presented or how the story went was enjoyable. I got this as a free Kindle First Read and for anyone that also picked this one I recommend skipping it.
I do think that there were the bones of a good story here but nothing about the way that it was presented or how the story went was enjoyable. I got this as a free Kindle First Read and for anyone that also picked this one I recommend skipping it.
June 18, 2019
I LOVE a good mystery novel and was genuinely intrigued when I selected this book as my May Kindle First Pick. Who wouldn't love a suspenseful medical mystery with a dash of fascinating ritualistic belief?!?! Unfortunately this turned out to be anything but suspenseful. Within the first few chapters the entire premise is laid out for you and then it just drags from there. It felt more like reading an outline with disjointed filler interspersed throughout. I can usually finish a book this length within a day or two - this one took me 2 weeks because I kept getting bored and putting it down. Additionally, I could not connect with the main characters, how could two people be so gullible? Overall, the concept of this book had excellent potential but the execution is greatly lacking.
July 18, 2019
I almost DNF'd this one. I was drawn to this book because of the cultural aspects intertwined in a murder mystery. I was expecting to learn more about the Sri Lankan masks and the symbolism, rituals, and beliefs. I was disappointed by the lack of buildup; there was little descriptive language, and the interaction between characters was dry. I didn't feel the pull of what was at stake, and the tidbits as clues were seemingly meaningless. It was basically everyone asking "what's going on" until the full explanation at the very end. This book was just okay. Three stars because the plot was there, but the execution was lacking in my opinion.
May 17, 2019
A SIMPLE MAN'S REVIEW:
If I'm to read a mystery, I want it dripping with supernatural elements. This one? Not so much.
The story is quite dull and is moved along by using two mechanisms: 1) Characters acting without any common sense, and 2) "We don't have time - I'll explain later".
Not that the whole thing is bad - there are exciting moments and it's fun to learn about Sri Lanka. But overall, this was not a great read and the "payoff" was only mildly interesting.
Skip it!
If I'm to read a mystery, I want it dripping with supernatural elements. This one? Not so much.
The story is quite dull and is moved along by using two mechanisms: 1) Characters acting without any common sense, and 2) "We don't have time - I'll explain later".
Not that the whole thing is bad - there are exciting moments and it's fun to learn about Sri Lanka. But overall, this was not a great read and the "payoff" was only mildly interesting.
Skip it!
September 30, 2019
This book is not for me
Seldom do I rate a book 1 star but i have to in this book.
Is it just me or the plot is all over the place? There is a murder, a pharmaceutical issue, miscarriage, beliefs and rituals. It was confusing to read.
Seldom do I rate a book 1 star but i have to in this book.
Is it just me or the plot is all over the place? There is a murder, a pharmaceutical issue, miscarriage, beliefs and rituals. It was confusing to read.
June 2, 2019
Interesting read, however the continuous writing in questions drove me a bit crazy as well as how clueless the two main characters were throughout the book.
July 16, 2019
The author needs to trust the reader and not ask so many questions. I barely made to the end as her characters asked question after questions in a story predictable to the end.
October 10, 2019
The story kept me interested, but I was left wanting so much more. The ending was rushed and the "huge secret" throughout the book was ridiculous.
June 30, 2019
I would like to thank Little A Publishing and NetGalley for sending me a copy of this riveting book to review.
Wow. Wow, wow, wow. This book is everything. It is filled with mystery, suspense, a whodunnit storyline, conspiracies, spirits & demons, belief systems.
I’m a huge fan of the suspense/thriller genre, but this book takes it to another level. I’m pretty sure I suspected each of the characters of being the murderer at least once while reading the book.
Ata class reunion for a Sri Lankan boarding school, Angie Osborne, a journalist, is found dead by her former classmates. The medical examiner rules the death to be due to natural causes, but the other alumni are suspicious. Meanwhile, Duncan McCloud, an anthropologist who was laid off from his academic job, begins working for a large pharmaceutical company called Cinasat. What is an anthropologist doing working for a drug company? Duncan’s questions about his job description are answered by deflection and vague replies. He knows it has something to with his past work studying devil dancing ceremonies (Sri Lankan exorcisms), but can’t figure out what that has to do with the drug that Cinasat is in the midst of trying to market. When other people connected to Cinasat start dying, Duncan and his wife Grace get swept up in a vortex or conspiracy, deceit, and murder.
This story is told from the alternating points of view of Duncan and Grace. It contains a surprise at every corner; I couldn’t put it down. I kept guessing what would happen next – but I was always wrong. The story contains a lot of talk about the thovil, devil dancing ceremony used to cast out demons in Sri Lanka, but the author describes it in a way that is easy for the reader to understand.
The characters’ personalities honestly weren’t largely developed and I found myself hating each of them at some point during the story. Together, however, in the context of the full story, their faults worked and the story flowed succinctly. This book would make an awesome movie. If you love a good conspiracy, I urge you to pick this up and give it a read.
Wow. Wow, wow, wow. This book is everything. It is filled with mystery, suspense, a whodunnit storyline, conspiracies, spirits & demons, belief systems.
I’m a huge fan of the suspense/thriller genre, but this book takes it to another level. I’m pretty sure I suspected each of the characters of being the murderer at least once while reading the book.
Ata class reunion for a Sri Lankan boarding school, Angie Osborne, a journalist, is found dead by her former classmates. The medical examiner rules the death to be due to natural causes, but the other alumni are suspicious. Meanwhile, Duncan McCloud, an anthropologist who was laid off from his academic job, begins working for a large pharmaceutical company called Cinasat. What is an anthropologist doing working for a drug company? Duncan’s questions about his job description are answered by deflection and vague replies. He knows it has something to with his past work studying devil dancing ceremonies (Sri Lankan exorcisms), but can’t figure out what that has to do with the drug that Cinasat is in the midst of trying to market. When other people connected to Cinasat start dying, Duncan and his wife Grace get swept up in a vortex or conspiracy, deceit, and murder.
This story is told from the alternating points of view of Duncan and Grace. It contains a surprise at every corner; I couldn’t put it down. I kept guessing what would happen next – but I was always wrong. The story contains a lot of talk about the thovil, devil dancing ceremony used to cast out demons in Sri Lanka, but the author describes it in a way that is easy for the reader to understand.
The characters’ personalities honestly weren’t largely developed and I found myself hating each of them at some point during the story. Together, however, in the context of the full story, their faults worked and the story flowed succinctly. This book would make an awesome movie. If you love a good conspiracy, I urge you to pick this up and give it a read.
September 20, 2019
A murder investigation becomes a dance with the devil in a breakthrough novel of illusion, conspiracy, and belief.
The alumni of an international boarding school have gathered at a campground in rural New Jersey when a scream breaks the silence of the woods. Classmates are shocked to find journalist Angie Osborne suddenly dead. The medical examiner’s report isn’t what anyone expects. Oddly, the death scene reminds anthropologist Duncan McCloud of a thovile, a Sri Lankan ritual he’s spent years studying.
When Duncan’s new employer, a pharmaceutical giant, sends him overseas under shadowy pretenses, and his wife, Dr. Grace McCloud, starts to receive anonymous warnings to doubt everyone and everything, the threads of a sweeping conspiracy begin to unravel. Risking more than their own lives, Duncan and Grace embark on a treacherous journey through occult ceremonies and their own hidden pasts to discover a secret worth killing for.
In taut, precise language, Ruvanee Pietersz Vilhauer’s debut novel The Mask Collectors tells a story about deception, the power of belief, and what is left unspoken between husbands and wives.
It's not often I leave a negative review of books but I am afraid on this occasion I have to which is diappointing as I had high expectations.
I found The Mask Collectors a struggle to read, the language didn't really flow and I found the characters quite confusing. I am sorry to say I didn't finish the book.
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.
The alumni of an international boarding school have gathered at a campground in rural New Jersey when a scream breaks the silence of the woods. Classmates are shocked to find journalist Angie Osborne suddenly dead. The medical examiner’s report isn’t what anyone expects. Oddly, the death scene reminds anthropologist Duncan McCloud of a thovile, a Sri Lankan ritual he’s spent years studying.
When Duncan’s new employer, a pharmaceutical giant, sends him overseas under shadowy pretenses, and his wife, Dr. Grace McCloud, starts to receive anonymous warnings to doubt everyone and everything, the threads of a sweeping conspiracy begin to unravel. Risking more than their own lives, Duncan and Grace embark on a treacherous journey through occult ceremonies and their own hidden pasts to discover a secret worth killing for.
In taut, precise language, Ruvanee Pietersz Vilhauer’s debut novel The Mask Collectors tells a story about deception, the power of belief, and what is left unspoken between husbands and wives.
It's not often I leave a negative review of books but I am afraid on this occasion I have to which is diappointing as I had high expectations.
I found The Mask Collectors a struggle to read, the language didn't really flow and I found the characters quite confusing. I am sorry to say I didn't finish the book.
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.
August 24, 2024
I'm not sure how I stumbled across this novel a few years back, but I've finally gotten around to reading it. It was written by a woman who had grown up in Sri Lanka and who now lived in the US, and surprise - she set her debut novel in both locations.
Grace and Duncan are a married couple - Grace came from Sri Lanka, and Duncan is an American born and bred. The novel starts at a reunion camping event for Grace and a few of her fellow students who went to an international high school in Sri Lanka some twenty years earlier. One of her old acquaintances turns up dead. As the book goes on, there will be other deaths here and there.
Duncan starts a new job two days after the death. He had been an anthropology teacher at a small college, but now he was to work for a giant pharmaceutical company. They want his expertise and his research abilities into the thovil ceremonies in Sri Lanka which are used to drive demons from individuals and thus cure them of their illnesses. The company has a new drug coming to market that will supposedly cure many illnesses.
The plot of this meandering but fast-paced story is intricately detailed, with very few red herrings. But, man, I never knew what was coming next, and found myself suspicious of almost everybody until it finally becomes clear in the resolution who was doing what nefarious thing. It's very solidly written, and the two main characters are drawn well, as are some auxiliary characters both important and unimportant to the plot. Definitely a well-done mystery with some thriller elements.
Grace and Duncan are a married couple - Grace came from Sri Lanka, and Duncan is an American born and bred. The novel starts at a reunion camping event for Grace and a few of her fellow students who went to an international high school in Sri Lanka some twenty years earlier. One of her old acquaintances turns up dead. As the book goes on, there will be other deaths here and there.
Duncan starts a new job two days after the death. He had been an anthropology teacher at a small college, but now he was to work for a giant pharmaceutical company. They want his expertise and his research abilities into the thovil ceremonies in Sri Lanka which are used to drive demons from individuals and thus cure them of their illnesses. The company has a new drug coming to market that will supposedly cure many illnesses.
The plot of this meandering but fast-paced story is intricately detailed, with very few red herrings. But, man, I never knew what was coming next, and found myself suspicious of almost everybody until it finally becomes clear in the resolution who was doing what nefarious thing. It's very solidly written, and the two main characters are drawn well, as are some auxiliary characters both important and unimportant to the plot. Definitely a well-done mystery with some thriller elements.
March 26, 2022
I rather enjoyed this novel. At heart it is a corpotate thriller but the Sri Lankan setting for much of the novel and their customs and practices which are so integral to the plot mean that it is fresh enough to keep on the interesting side of things. At the start one is dropped straight into a narrative with a feeling of uncertainty as to what is going on, who these people are and what are they talking about. This is exactly what one wants from a thriller and rather than rush with heavy handed exposition Vilhauer drip feeds us over the first third of the novel so that we slowly build a picture of what is happening.
At times I find myself thinking of Soylent Green as I read and though there is an obvious corporate corruption link between the two stories what I thnk they share more is an atmospheric link making this feel as much like a 70s sci-fi thriller as it is a modern corporate one. Which more than anything says how the outrageous practices of 70s sci-fi dystopias now appear commonplace in modern day corporations. One also can't help feeling that whatever shady practices are on display here they are nothing compared to the actual marketing strategies of certain pharmaceutical companies.
As a thriller this zips along, has chacaters for whom you wish to root, those you want to boo and those about whom you are just not sure - what more do you want in a thriller?
At times I find myself thinking of Soylent Green as I read and though there is an obvious corporate corruption link between the two stories what I thnk they share more is an atmospheric link making this feel as much like a 70s sci-fi thriller as it is a modern corporate one. Which more than anything says how the outrageous practices of 70s sci-fi dystopias now appear commonplace in modern day corporations. One also can't help feeling that whatever shady practices are on display here they are nothing compared to the actual marketing strategies of certain pharmaceutical companies.
As a thriller this zips along, has chacaters for whom you wish to root, those you want to boo and those about whom you are just not sure - what more do you want in a thriller?
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