Cloudy with a chance of murder
I'd torn between giving Cloudland a 3.5 - 4. I was compelled to finish it, because I was invested and curious as to the identity of the murderer. Yet by the time "he" was revealed, I felt a little deflated, and I'm not sure why. I found Olshan's writing to be very good...descriptive, evocative and with great imagery...his dialogue and even storytelling, not so much. I imagine it must be difficult to write from the perspective of the other sex, but I think he succeeds quite nicely. I liked Catherine very much...appreciated her candor and self-awareness. I didn't find the other characters to be as fleshed out, particularly Paul, Breck, Prozzo and Matthew. I did, however, like Henrietta and Hiram. Overall, a good read but not sure I would recommend. And I feel bad about that, if it makes sense! Thanks for the opportunity to review.
Rated of 5
by Gerald R. (pompton lakes, NJ)
Slow Moving Rural New England Murder Mystery
If you're looking for a fast paced, action filled and non-stop suspense thriller, look elsewhere. At times this book moves as slowly as Vermont maple syrup in the Winter. The only things that kept me hanging in there were the seemingly accurate depiction of the down home flavor of New England life, and the desire to see how it all ended up. If you're in the mood for a laid back, easy-going serial killer mystery, this would work for you. It didn't work for me.
Rated of 5
by Anne
Cloudland
When I read this book was described as a psychological thriller I was drawn to the story. However, I found it to be more of a traditional who-dun-it. The reader follows the investigation through the narration of Catherine Winslow who writes a household hints column and who, in the book's opening sentence, has discovered a woman's body near her home. The body is only one of a series of women who are believed to be victims of a serial killer. There were quite a few things about this novel that just didn't work for me. Foremost among them was the way Catherine was involved in the investigation. I wanted to like it but sadly it just didn't grab my interest.
Rated of 5
by Carole R. (Burlington, WI)
Cloudland
What could have been a great plot with intriguing characters couldn't make up for a rather disjointed story with too many sidetracks. I just never got the "thriller" part of the story.
Rated of 5
by Sue Z. (Mooresville, NC)
Cloudland
Cloudland is beautifully written with evocative and elegant descriptions of the Maine countryside in winter. One can almost smell the air. Where the book fails is in the characters, who are just not fully developed nor are they, or their actions, believable. People do not behave like they do in this book, some being too saintly, some being entirely too sinful or stupid. I found myself wanting to smack some sense into them!
Rated of 5
by Judy G. (Carmel, IN)
Cloudy Read
I agree with the comments several other readers have made that rated this a 3 read. It was disjointed, not a page-turner, confusing, slow paced and a book I had to struggle to finish. Clearly not a book for all of the "psychological thriller" fans out there. My rating is 2.75 overall.
Rated of 5
by Deborah D. (Newark, CA)
Superficial characters; implausible plot
I wanted to love this book, but found myself putting it down several times before finishing it. Joseph Olshan does set the scenes well. Having been brought up in snow country, I could feel to cold of many winters in his description of Vermont. His prose elevates the book beyond what is expected of the average "pot boiler," however, the plot is thin and rather disjointed. I found the characters superficially drawn and the end to be implausible This was not a page-turner, but a rather cumbersome attempt to rise to the level of a psychological thriller.
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of 5
by Kathy H. (Richmond, VA)
