Here is a review left by a customer on a product. Would you say he was satisfied or dissatisfied?
Title: It started off well, but...
Review: If you've read this far down the page, you don't need more plot synopses. The lead character is fascinating and very well portrayed and the storyline is dark, but I like that, very much.Unfortunately, the book doesn't pay off. There is little external conflict that isn't resolved quickly and with minimal consequences. The characters who stand in opposition to the lead are impotent or too removed from the story to effectively threaten him.And the end is soft. Unbelievably soft. It's not just that the end of the story is the opening for a sequel, with the jerk of the piece promising to do something nasty (finally) in the next book. It's that the conflicts of the book are dispelled with as much effort as a pile of dustballs.The only abiding conflict of the book is an internal one: How can I enjoy committing this brutality; what kind of a jerk am I? A little of this goes a long way.I'll read Susan Matthews again, maybe after she leaves the torturer story behind.
