Reviews for The Other House

The average rating for The Other House based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-01-24 00:00:00 Edward Williams Firstly, I would like to express thanks for having won Dead Center through Goodreads first reads giveaway. I am grateful to have had this opportunity. Dead Center is the story of a family forced to examine itself and its roots as father Ben is on trial for a murder which took place twenty years ago. The catch? Ben is accused of murdering a man who was then married to his current wife, and who is the biological father of his stepchildren. The death has always been deemed a hunting accident, but the district attorney has recently decided to prosecute the death as murder. An author's note states this novel was inspired by true events, but does not say more. A further note insists this is a work of fiction and any similarity to real people, events or places is a coincidence. That's too bad. Had this been a fictionalized account of a real event, I may have been more forgiving. That is, I have low expectations for the writing quality of true crime novels. Apparently Dead Center is not "true crime" so much as it is a study of family dynamics. As a novel it just didn't work for me. Dead Center is told mostly from the perspective of older daughter Laura. We also read the story through middle daughter Linda, mother Karen and father/stepfather Ben. Youngest daughter, Katherine (Ben's only biological child) is for the most part absent. Multiple POV's are so not my favorite. Especially when there is no distinct voice, as is the case here. We aren't privy to many flashbacks or personal memories or interactions. Rather, Dead Center focuses on what each character is thinking and feeling at the moment. And, of course, each character is thinking, "Is this really happening? How do I live with myself, my father, my family once this is all over?" Much of the novel is internal musings. Scenes and circumstances would change and I would have to go back over a paragraph or two to make sure I didn't miss anything. The dialogue was at times confusing, a lot of conversations that had me going back to the beginning of the paragraph because I forgot who was saying what line. Adding to the messiness is the fact that most chapters are only two or three pages long. Dead Center has a lot of potential. But in its current state, it feels incomplete and disorganized. I wish I could wave a magic wand and make older sister Laura the protagonist. Thoughts and actions from parents Karen and Ben, and sister Linda would be revealed through conversation with Laura, actions, and perhaps through eavesdropping. Sister Katherine would be a part of the story (after all, why create her if she doesn't appear but for a few sentences at the end?) Chapters would be chapters not three page annoyances. I realize this novel focuses on the here and now, but there is a reason this death is being investigated now, rather than twenty years ago. That reason is mentioned, but in my version of Dead Center it would be fully explored. Finally, the townspeople are harassing this family. Why? Small town Michigan, okay. But the family moved out of state at some point after the murder. Are people's memories really so long? Why all of the pent up rage? Again, Dead Center has so much potential. But as it is written, it was a chore to finish. I recommend it to lovers of crime fiction, and family drama. But those of you looking for a well written, satisfying read should probably pass this one by.

Review # 2 was written on 2010-12-15 00:00:00 Jeffrey Viale This book is about a father, named Ben, who is being charged with a murder. This "murder" took place 20 years ago and was declared a hunting accident. The book is primarily told from the perspective of his two eldest daughters, Laura and Linda. Actually, they are his stepdaughters. They are, in fact, the daughters of the man is is being accused of murdering... An interesting premise for a story based on that. However this book has too many other focus'. Stray and random thoughts and images. A lot of the book read more like a journal. The book is written much like what I might expect from a true crime courtroom setting book. At first I help a lot of hope. Around halfway through the book, my interest started to drop. The story wasn't moving along. Hints of other situations, gabs in the trial, drug rings and more are mentioned but don't seem well placed or explained. This book has a lot of internal and family drama to it as well, which at times raised my interest, and others (depending how it was written) did not. I received a free copy of this book from the Goodreads giveaway program.