The Night Visitor by Dianne Emley
Alibi, 2014
Crime Fiction; 240 pgs
From the Publisher:
Gorgeous and successful, Rory Langtry seemed to have it all. Daughter of a movie star and sister of a supermodel, Rory was engaged to sexy artist, Junior Lara. But her bright future went dark one terrible, bloody night that left her sister dead and the accused murderer—Junior—in an extended coma.
Now, five years later, Rory appears to have put the past behind her. She has a wonderful new fiancé and heads a successful cosmetics company. Yet dark secrets threaten. Across town, Junior lies close to death but before he departs he seeks to clear his name.
It starts with a feeling. It turns into a vision. Soon Rory is having sensations that only Junior could experience—from the horrifying to the erotic. Then she learns details about the awful night that only Junior could know, newfound knowledge with potentially fatal consequences. When another act of violence rocks her family, Rory plunges deeper into the unsolved mystery, led by an inexplicable visitor to a dangerous time and place where all will be revealed at last. But until then, Junior will not let her go.
Sometimes a book is just not a good fit for the reader. I enjoy a good paranormal mystery and was looking forward to reading The Night Visitor since I first heard about it. It sounded different--and it was. It sounded suspenseful--and it was. Some of you may like this one, and I hope you do. It just wasn't for me.
What I did not like: The novel is told in third person, each chapter alternating between characters so the reader gets an overall view of everything that is going on for all the major (and some of the minor) characters involved. While this can be great, I found it created a distance between the characters and me. I never really connected with any of the characters nor did I feel like I got to really know them. I felt like I was watching a day time soap opera the entire time I was reading the novel. I wanted to like the main protagonist, Rory, but I never quite did. Not completely, anyway. As a result, I was not quite as invested in the story or the characters as I wanted to be.
I had other issues with the book: a too predictable plot line in terms of the mystery, which I had figured out almost from the start, and the lack of attention given to a particular character/relationship in the end. It's minor really (the author did a good job tying up most of the loose ends), but to say more would spoil the end of the book. Unfortunately, as minor as it is, it was enough to hurt my enjoyment of the book in the long run. I imagine both of these issues could be more me than the book given what I do for a living (and if that's the case, it's a credit to the author for her accuracy in getting so many of the markers right). I say this because it seems like most others who have read and loved the book were taken by complete surprise and didn't seem to mind the issue I had with the ending.
What I did like: While I thought the story thread in the beginning with Danny was a bit over the top and confusing (you will have to read the book to know what I mean), I thought the author did a good job in building on the possession story line. Possession is probably not the right word, but that's kind of how I interpreted Junior Lara's "visits" to Rory. The possession came on slowly and became all consuming as time went on. Emley's depiction of those moments, how they impacted Rory, and the reactions of those around Rory were extremely believable.
I found Anya's character the most interesting in the novel, and perhaps the most well developed of all the characters. Then there was Tom, Rory's current fiance, who was such a nice guy. It was impossible not to like him.
While overall I was disappointed with The Night Visitor, I liked it enough to finish reading the book. It was compelling at times and quite suspenseful. The book has gotten a number of positive reviews, and high praise from other book bloggers. This was just a case of the book and the reader not being a good fit for each other. Please check out the other reviews on the tour.
What I did not like: The novel is told in third person, each chapter alternating between characters so the reader gets an overall view of everything that is going on for all the major (and some of the minor) characters involved. While this can be great, I found it created a distance between the characters and me. I never really connected with any of the characters nor did I feel like I got to really know them. I felt like I was watching a day time soap opera the entire time I was reading the novel. I wanted to like the main protagonist, Rory, but I never quite did. Not completely, anyway. As a result, I was not quite as invested in the story or the characters as I wanted to be.
I had other issues with the book: a too predictable plot line in terms of the mystery, which I had figured out almost from the start, and the lack of attention given to a particular character/relationship in the end. It's minor really (the author did a good job tying up most of the loose ends), but to say more would spoil the end of the book. Unfortunately, as minor as it is, it was enough to hurt my enjoyment of the book in the long run. I imagine both of these issues could be more me than the book given what I do for a living (and if that's the case, it's a credit to the author for her accuracy in getting so many of the markers right). I say this because it seems like most others who have read and loved the book were taken by complete surprise and didn't seem to mind the issue I had with the ending.
What I did like: While I thought the story thread in the beginning with Danny was a bit over the top and confusing (you will have to read the book to know what I mean), I thought the author did a good job in building on the possession story line. Possession is probably not the right word, but that's kind of how I interpreted Junior Lara's "visits" to Rory. The possession came on slowly and became all consuming as time went on. Emley's depiction of those moments, how they impacted Rory, and the reactions of those around Rory were extremely believable.
I found Anya's character the most interesting in the novel, and perhaps the most well developed of all the characters. Then there was Tom, Rory's current fiance, who was such a nice guy. It was impossible not to like him.
While overall I was disappointed with The Night Visitor, I liked it enough to finish reading the book. It was compelling at times and quite suspenseful. The book has gotten a number of positive reviews, and high praise from other book bloggers. This was just a case of the book and the reader not being a good fit for each other. Please check out the other reviews on the tour.
Rating: 
I hope you will check out what others had to say about The Night Visitor on the TLC Book Tours route!
Many thanks to the TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to be a part of this book tour. The publisher provided me with an e-copy for review.
© 2014, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.
Sorry this didn't work for you. I don't love paranormal so I probably won't try it.
ReplyDeleteKathy - Yes, I imagine this one wouldn't be for you.
DeleteSorry this one did not turn out to be a good fit. Thank goodness there are enough books for the unbelievably wide assortment of readers awaiting his or her own perfectly fitted book. I don't think this one would have worked for me either--but I never know until I read the book, regardless of how much I may have looked forward to it.
ReplyDeleteJenclair - I wanted to like this one better and many people did. I think I'm in the minority. Oh well.
DeleteThis sounds kind of eh and there are more than enough really great books that I don't have to much time for eh books. If I see it at the library I might pick it up but I don't see me searching this one out.
ReplyDeleteKatherine - You might like this. Many did. It just didn't work for me. :-( I'd be willing to try the author's work again though, I think. It could have just been the book.
DeleteI've seen on this several blogs and just can't decide if I would like it. If I stumble across it at the library, I'll try it, but I won't go looking for it.
ReplyDeleteBea - I came across someone else who had similar thoughts as I did today, and that was a bit of a relief to know I'm not alone. I know a lot of people did like it--so maybe you will too if you decide to read it. I hope so!
DeleteThis wouldn't be my cup of tea. Thanks for a thorough and honest review. You have helped many decide whether or not to pick it up. Even though I wouldn't like it there are many readers out there who would.
ReplyDeleteRita - Yes, I think there is definitely an audience who would like this book!
DeleteSorry it did not work out for you. The storyline was a good one but sometimes it is true a story just does not gell for the reader.
ReplyDeleteMystica - I definitely think that was the case here. I am sure there are others who will love this one.
DeleteI'm sorry this book is a disappointment to you, Wendy. Books are subjective matters and plus we readers all have different views and thoughts. This world would be a boring place if we all like the same thing. ;) Hope the next book will be better.
ReplyDeleteMelody - Thank you. I am sorry too. :-( I've moved on to other books and the one I am reading right now is very good!
DeleteAlas I'm not too sure about this one. Straight away I'm put off by the characters who all sound like perfect physical specimens and then there's your review which tells us the story is not only narrated in the third party but alternates between characters. Not usually a successful read for me when written in this way, as I said I think I'll be giving this one a miss.
ReplyDeleteTracy - I find that some third person alternating narratives are done well, without risking character development, but it can be tricky. It just didn't work for me here. Maybe if it hadn't bounced from so many different characters? I don't know. This one just didn't work for me.
DeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts on this book for the tour.
ReplyDelete