Paradox By Douglas Preston and Aletheia Preston
Review by Maria Antokashttps://link.amazon/B039khKl3
I really wanted to love Paradox by Aletheia Preston. And I did like it. Sort of. But this one took me a while to finish because every time the story started moving, we seemed to stop and smell the flowers. And look at the trees. And contemplate the scenery. And possibly admire a shrub. Meanwhile, I’m sitting there thinking, Can we please just get on with it? This is a thriller. I’m ready to be thrilled.
The story begins with the gruesome murder of a reclusive man in the Colorado wilderness, bringing CBI Agent Frankie Cash and Eagle County Sheriff Jim Colcord together for another investigation. What initially appears to be an isolated crime quickly turns into a tangled mystery involving bizarre murders, suspicious money transfers, and a fanatical secret society. Meanwhile, the resurrected “Neanders” who disappeared into the Colorado mountains seem to be preparing for something big. As the investigation unfolds, the connections become increasingly complicated, and the danger continues to grow.
The story itself has plenty going on: a mystery that keeps expanding, a rather large cast of characters, secrets piled on top of secrets, and enough twists to keep you wondering exactly where all of this is headed. There were references to previous books and characters I hadn’t read, including “the Neanders”. Neanders? What the heck are Neanders? Clearly, I had missed a meeting. Eventually I stopped worrying about what I was supposed to know and just kept reading.
What surprised me most was that Douglas Preston co-authored the book. I’m a fan of his writing, and I associate him with straightforward, well-edited storytelling that knows how to keep things moving. So I expected Paradox to be a much easier ride. Instead, there are lots of characters, lots of twists, a fairly complicated plot, and quite a bit of descriptive wandering between the action. There’s a good thriller buried in here. I just occasionally wanted someone to take it by the hand and hurry it along.
And then…the ending. I won’t spoil it, but by the time I got there, I wasn’t gasping so much as thanking the heavens that I had finally arrived.
Paradox isn’t a bad book. It simply asks for more patience than I generally like to bring to a thriller. If you enjoy complicated plots, lots of characters, leisurely descriptions and a story you can put down and pick back up again, this might be exactly your thing.
In fact, I think it would be perfect for a long flight: read a few chapters, take a nap, wake up, read a few more. Eventually, you and the book will both get where you’re going.
A Little Note to My Fellow Bookaholics…
My apologies for the brief disappearing act! I finally took a long-awaited overseas vacation, and while I did plenty of reading, I decided that sitting behind a computer was not on the itinerary. There were places to see, things to do, and absolutely no reason to open my laptop. Sometimes even a Bookaholic needs to go off the clock!
But I’m back, well-rested, and ready to catch up on all things bookish. Thanks for sticking around!
