James Siegel (1) (1954–)

"We were stopped at a traffic light that was generally acknowledged to be the slowest traffic light in Merrick. Whole days would pass and this traffic light would stay red. Kingdoms rose and fell, presidential administrations came and went, and the light obstinately refused to change.”
― James Siegel, Derailed

Derailed is a dark, dark book. It is also a book I really did not like.

I maybe in the minority here. (Have not looked at the reviews yet). but I did not care for this mystery/thriller. The writing was good but the book was just a bit to much for me.

I read alot of dark literature but even by any regular reader's standards this is some pretty sick stuff. I had a tough time with the movie too.

Derailed is completely devoid of any joy. It is a sort of modern Noir story about a hapless “average joe” who gets involved with an extraordinarily beautiful but very mysterious woman. Both of them are married to other people although this does not seem to bother them greatly.

I won’t go into spoiler territory but an unexpected act of violence will change the lives of both these people.

It’s a really sick story and there were aspects of the book that were completely over the top and not believable in the slightest, particularly toward the end. I felt a strong distaste reading this and it’s not a book I could really strongly recommend.

I did complete the book and it flowed smoothly. I was just turned off by it. The plot twists did not help. One of these occurs at the end and was so over the top that… I’m sorry… I rolled my eyes a bit.

Normally this would be the type of book, I’d gravitate too. I love Noir and I love the concept of ordinary people stumbling into crazy situations.

But not this book. I could not enjoy it. Not a good fit for me.… (altro)

A first-rate thriller. The more I read this, the more I wanted and hoped that the plot would base on a true story, or at least that it would contain a grain of truth. The author spins a fantastic tale of his feverish imagination:

A remote American town is wiped out by a flood as a result of a dam collapse in 1954. A failed reporter in a nearby village is intrigued by the story and opens a deep and passionate Pandora's box.

After I finished reading, I searched the internet for a thread that would lead me to the author's sources. I couldn't find anything. He invented everything of his imagination.
Fantastic!

Highly recommended!!… (altro)