i was very disappointed with this book because i like Sandra Cisneros a lot. however, this book has no plot whatsoever and i just couldn’t make myself get through the entire thing. the writing itself isn’t bad, it’s very poetic-and in fact, i love Cisneros’s poetry-but the entire first part is a glorified “What I Did on My Summer Vacation.”

actually, i didn’t finish reading this book because i couldn’t. i was looking forward to learning which parts of The Da Vinci Code were real because i’m interested in the history. i thought this book would be a good one because it’s written by an authority on the subject—a religious studies prof. unfortunately, this guy continually references his own work, which leads me to question his credibility. how arrogant can you be? it’s like professors who make you buy their own books for class.

i wanted to like this book because lots of other people do. although the plot is great, with plenty of twists and turns, the storytelling is dull.

with the exception of maybe Teabing, the characters are flat. we don’t really get to know them because Dan Brown relies too heavily on dialogue to tell the story and move the plot, rather than the characters’ actions (in addition to the dialogue). by the end of the book, what do we really know about Langdon or Sophie? have their characters developed during the course of their quest? no.

the characters’ interior dialogue was annoying. i especially found it irksome when Brown has the European characters thinking to themselves in American idioms.

i thought, too, that this was going to be an intelligent story. rather, i felt that my intelligence was insulted. though i appreciated the historical references, the puzzles and clues Langdon and Sophie had to solve were way too simple. i found it hard to believe that these scholars couldn’t figure some of these things out.

i sure hope the movie is a lot better!

i told Brian that he needs to set aside the Lynley novels he hasn’t yet read and immediately read this one, which is the newest. it isn’t supergreat or anything, but if you’re a Lynley fan, then this is a definite must-read.

Lynley and Havers are on the trail of a serial killer whose victims are 12-year-old boys “at risk.” although most of the novel seems to plod along as they track down the perp, the last 100 pages are the most exciting. don’t get me wrong-the plot itself doesn’t drag, and neither does the writing-but…i don’t know. it seems to take forever before you get to the really good part.

however, it’s very possible that it only seems like it plodded along because of the ECT. i’m also thinking that it’s also why it took me longer to finish it than usual.

the actual title of this book is What’s Michael? Michael’s Album, and although it doesn’t say that it’s volume one of the series, it is. it’s confusing because they don’t start numbering the books until the 5th one, i think.

Lynley was barely in this novel and Havers wasn’t in it at all. an American friend of Deborah’s is thrown in jail on the Channel Island of Guernsey. China River is suspected of murdering entrepreneur Guy Brouard. her brother, Cherokee, shows up on Simon and Deborah’s doorstep asking for their help.

the entire novel takes place on Guernsey; Simon and Deborah return to the island with Cherokee to attempt to uncover the truth. as with most of the Lynley mysteries, this one leads readers down wild goose chases before the real killer is finally discovered.

obviously, i’m not a huge fan of Simon and Deborah, which is the main reason i didn’t like this book. i had difficulty following the storyline, but that could be because of the memory problems i’ve had recently. in any case, not being able to remember what i read the previous hour certainly didn’t help.

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i’ve read this once before, but since i just finished reading Outbound Flight, which is sort of a prequel, i’m going to read it again.

ok, i’ve just finished re-reading it. not sure why it took so long this time around. planning to write a review tomorrow.

now, i’m going to read it again!