Cloudland Reviews
"In this refreshingly cliché-free serial killer tale, Olshan tries his hand with a female narrator/heroine, whom he handles just as deftly as his sensitive male heroes." - Kirkus Reviews
"Unlike the more common, adrenaline-fueled serial-killer thrillers, this is literary, character-driven fiction with remarkable empathy not only for those whom murder leaves behind but also for the perpetrator. Another fine performance from a critically acclaimed author." - Booklist
"Olshan (The Conversion), known for his literary fiction, delivers a crime novel more likely to satisfy mainstream than genre readers." - Publishers Weekly
"Cloudland is a beautiful and original novel. Murder, darkness and snow – we immediately felt at home. The depth is painted with precise brushstrokes. The language is as light as snowflakes swirling across a frozen field. The characters are alive, constantly interesting and very cleverly drawn. The murder mystery is deep and intricate. It was genuine and moving. As readers, we'd love to linger in this book, but the story forces us forward. This is true quality crime fiction." - Lars Kepler, author of The Hypnotist
"In Cloudland, Joseph Olshan has written a truly involving thriller with the bones and brain of a serious work of literature, which gives great depth and resonance to the well-wrought thriller plot. This is so difficult an accomplishment that to my knowledge it has been managed only once before in this century. Cloudland could also be thought of as a tribute to Wilkie Collins, as much one of Olshan's grandfathers as he is of mine. It's a lovely knockout, this book." - Peter Straub, author of Ghost Story and A Dark Matter
"A thriller in the widest sense of the word - where not only does the reader wonder what happens next, they wonder why it will happen. Written in consistently elegant prose, with memorable psychological acuity, Cloudland is both exciting and compelling and will keep readers turning pages energetically." - John Katzenbach, author of The Wrong Man
"Cloudland is Joseph Olshan's best work since Clara's Heart, a novel of high suspense that's written in prose as lyrical as The Lovely Bones." - Author Steven Gaines
The information about Cloudland shown above was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's online-magazine that keeps our members abreast of notable and high-profile books publishing in the coming weeks.
In most cases, the reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication.
If you are the publisher or author of this book and feel
that the reviews shown do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available,
please send us a message with the mainstream media reviews that you would like to see added.
Cloudland Reader Reviews
Write your own review
Rated 
of 5
by
Suzanne Z. (Highland Park, Illinois)
Flying in the Clouds
The mystery plot for about a third of the book was somewhat confusing but did evolve to be somewhat clever, the setting chilling but the characters were boring. The main character's love affair with a younger man was always teasing the reader. Actually I didn't really care about the characters though the twist at the end gave the book a boost.
Rated 
of 5
by
Dorothy T.
More than an ordinary crime novel
I liked this book for a number of reasons: It is a mystery that let me think I had the answers to who and why--but, then again, maybe not; it sparked my interest to read more by Wilkie Collins (I love it when one author turns me on to other writers!); the characters are engaging and well-written, especially Henrietta the pot-bellied pet pig; and the prose is much more literary than the run-of-the-mill crime novel—although, as is often my complaint when reading contemporary fiction, I don’t see the need for the vulgar language.
Rated of 5
by
Mary L. (Madison, MS)
Average
I agree with most the the other reviews. I struggled to complete this novel. I often had to go back to sections to understand what was happening or to remember who the character was. Sorry! It had good potiential.
Rated of 5
by
Kelly H. (Chagrin Falls, OH)
A mysterious mystery
"Cloudland" has all the ingredients for a terrific murder mystery. The ingredients, however, do not mix well. The storyline has the potential to be terrific. Instead, it merely average due, in large part, to poorly-developed, flat characters. Very few of the characters It is necessary to re-read sections of a number of the chapters because a number of the characters are fungible. As an avid reader of psychological thrillers, I expected subtle clues sprinkled randomly throughout the story to throw the reader off course and to make the reader want more.
Rated of 5
by
Zonetta G. (Winter Springs, FL)
Cloudland
The characters in this book come to life and become the reader's friends and neighbors. All of them, from Nan, the clairvoyant, to Hiram, the knacker, to Henrietta, Catherine's pet pig, are intriguing. The book rides on Olshan's descriptions of winter in Cloudland and the murders that occur and the personalities involved--a real page turner. I'll definitely read more of his books.
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.
Rated of 5
by
Therese X. (Calera, AL)
Cloudland becomes a dangerous place
Narrator Catherine Winslow, former journalist and adjunct professor, now writes a Household Hints column, after testing suggestions from her readers. She lives alone with her two dogs and a 250 pound potbellied pig named Henrietta, in Cloudland, New England, where only three other people live nearby. On a trek through the snow one day in March, she sees a woman lying against a tree, dead. Stabbed. The crisp, winter countryside of Cloudland now held a brutal secret: a serial killer has returned to the area. The dead woman, Angela Parker, was found in an apple orchard, with religious tracts in her pockets although her husband claimed she was an atheist. Previous murders had had the same style of slaughter: women, stabbed after being strangled, killed near a fallen tree, tracts from the Seventh Day Adventists in their pockets.
This reminds Catherine of an unfinished novel of one of her favorite writers, Wilkie Collins--The Widower's Branch-- which sends her on her own trail of inquiry. When the news breaks that Catherine found the body, she worries someone might find her in the sparsely populated area. Yet, she has faced other fears in her life. Her involvement with a former student Matthew Blake in her professor days, resulted in her job loss and a violent breakup after the obsessed Michael who could not face losing Catherine, placed his hands around her neck, nearly strangling her. She did not report it; she loved him. He then left the country. Her current volunteer work teaching writing to prisoners shows her the violent side of youthful humanity, but she seems to take it all in stride.
Accepting possibly dangerous people keeps the reader wondering how brave she really is. Catherine is a strong character in some ways, as when she wants to inject her own theories and findings into the investigation, but heedless of any danger when her former lover returns to Cloudland and becomes a possible murder suspect. The reader may want to like Catherine, but some of her actions seem a bit naive considering her previous experiences. As the State police investigate possible suspects, a new murder occurs, with a different style. Tension rises, suspects change, and eventually the killer is unmasked after a deathless encounter.
This is an engaging mystery novel. Interesting characters and amusing household hints make this a good read for a nice, long weekend. Pulling the readers’ emotions back and forth with lyrical writing interspersed with brutal descriptions of life and even of nature keep the reader trying to balance emotions as if on a rocky boat anchored in the harbor.
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
Stacey B. (Lancaster, PA)
Rural New England crime novel
Cloudland was an enjoyable pleasure read. Labeled a “crime novel,” its plot is a bit light on gore and heart-racing scenes to be considered a true thriller, but the literary quality, especially in the area of characterization, is more substantial than many titles in this genre. Author Joseph Olshan’s tale of a New England writer and her ties to a presumed serial killer, did keep me guessing, and therefore, turning pages. The rural Vermont setting is an important element from start to finish and the characters who live near protagonist Catherine Winslow seem just as shaped by their remote, but beautiful physical surroundings as they are by their personal histories. Cloudland is a good pick for readers looking for the kind of intelligent suspense that is still light enough to read on a beach or in a bedroom.
Rated of 5
by
Susan S. (Salem, OH)
Cloudland
I enjoyed Cloudland very much..Mr. Olshan transported me to a relatively isolated rural Vermont area where a murder victim is discovered as the snow slowly melts with the season change.. I was instantly taken in by the writing style. The main character is Catherine Winslow and she is the person who discovers the body. She lives alone in that rural area. The tension builds as Catherine begins to piece together clues...This psychological thriller will appeal to men and women who enjoy an involved, more literary work.
more...
