Kathy Reviews: Promise Me Eternity by Ian Fox

ASIN #: B004KA9JDK

File Size: 620 KB

Format: Kindle Edition

Book Summary:

(Taken from Goodreads)

Dr. Simon Patterson is a successful and well-respected neurosurgeon at Central Hospital in the town of Medford. Married, though without children, he keeps himself so busy that one day is not much different from another. Until, that is, he saves the life of the powerful mobster Carlo Vucci.

At a dinner in honor of Dr. Patterson, Carlo Vucci introduces him to his alluring wife Christine. Simon is entranced by her beauty.

Three weeks later, Christine shows up at the hospital, complaining of terrible headaches. Dr. Patterson offers to help her, but Christine did not come to see him just because of her headaches. A series of shocking events follow that turn Dr. Patterson's life into a nightmare. Among other things, he finds himself in court being accused of murder in the first degree ...

Author Ian Fox continues to surprise readers with his mysterious, intriguing plots that captivate you from the very first page and leave you stunned long after you've read the book to the end.

Kathy's Review:

This book should really be titled something along the lines of "Really Shallow People and the Things They Will Do for Money." Maybe that was a little bit too long, so the author chose his title instead. I don't know.

In any event, Promise Me Eternity centers around Simon Patterson, a neurosurgeon who likes to do experiments in his basement, his wife Helen who wishes Simon were bringing home more bucks, Patterson's surgical assistant, his girlfriend Anita, Carlo Vucci - a mob boss, his wife Christine, a plastic surgeon who likes S&M, Patterson's housekeeper, some cops, another neurosurgeon, a rabbit named Dorothy, and probably a few more I'm leaving out. Yeah, there are a lot of characters in this book. Too many, in my opinion. Several of these people are suspects in a murder, and the author does a good job of casting suspicion on them, leading the reader to believe someone is guilty. However, a plethora of plot twists and some bad luck decisions bring the real murderer to light.

I would give the plot of this book an A and the writing a C+. It's nothing special. The dialogue drove me crazy with how lame it was. Flat, fuddy-duddy, just not how people talk. It's my #1 complaint about this book. OK, #2, after the character proliferation issue.

Other than that, I'd have to say that this story kept my interest. I wanted to find out who did it, and wanted to see Patterson be vindicated. If you enjoy the mystery and action genre then this is a book for you - just don't be expecting the dialogue to knock your socks off!