Connecticut Books
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On OffReview Date: 2008-03-29
Somewhat grisly...not very intriguingReview Date: 2008-02-01
The only thing I would say about this book is that it is quite GRISLY. VERY GRISLY. Some of the scenes and explosions of blood left my own blood like ice. It was very disturbing.
The part that I would say left me a bit bored was the total and complete void of the thoughts or exploration of the murderer. What was his motivation? Why did he do it? What is the deal? We found out who the killer was, but we knew NOTHING about him. Not a thing. Why did he choose a certain outfit to kill in? **********SPOILER********* Why did he change his dump site location for the body disposal? Why was he dumping body parts at the Hug? What is the reasoning here?
I must say that the last few pages were written SO POORLY. The author was really trying to scramble to explain her reasoning and why she made certain decisions in her scenes and character development. I think the final thoughts of the last character portrayed at the end were jumbled and just wrong. I realize it was to reflect the disorganized and cluttered thinking of a crazed mind. However, it just WAS NOT clear. A VERY poor and mundane ending. I would expect this from a second-rate horror flick - not from a very long novel with excellent scenes.
My last thought it this: If the lead detective on this case was ever so clever, how could he completely miss the real murderer? The author went through such precarious steps to try and set up a LONG list of characters (WAY too long...too much interference). She made an attempt to really try and go in depth into her story. Why not let us into her thought process in making the detective end up looking like a simpleton? It is really quite unfortunate. Plus, the extra characters were really quite superfluous. Lets stick to the main chunk of the story here - please.
Otherwise, not a bad read. I would not expect too much on this one. Its like a roller coaster ride - fun, but it gives you little time to think.
An ill-fitting genre change for McCulloghReview Date: 2008-03-16
The main character in On, Off is Carmine Delmonico, a police lieutenant in 1965-66 Connecticut, who is called on to lead an investigation in what soon turns out to be a serial killer. The Connecticut Monster, later known as the Ghost, is a clever killer who is kidnapping teenage girls who fit a certain type: nice, innocent and typically of mixed race. There aren't many clues, but Delmonico does figure the killer is somehow linked to a local neurological institute nicknamed the Hug.
The problems with On, Off are apparent from its long and awkwardly written first chapter which introduced too many characters, almost as if McCullough is running through the whole dramatis personae. After that, things do improve, but the story is never as engaging or suspenseful as most mystery novels. Partly, this is because there is only one other really substantial character, the Hug's manager, Desdemona Dupre, who develops something of a relationship with Delmonico.
While McCullough is obviously talented enough to keep the book from being truly bad, she is clearly outside her specialty. While it is not a complete waste of time, this book is likely to be a disappointment to both her fans and those of the thriller genre.
A fairly good read that sadly loses momentum.Review Date: 2008-02-06
The story was interesting. Very grizzly and compelling, and I really felt for the families of the victims, full well knowing they aren't real people, although in a sense they are. My biggest issue with the story is it really does start to lose momentum. I could empathize with the police, as I felt like I was just sitting around waiting for something to happen as well.
0/1 Characters:
I have a mixed opinion on the characters. Some of them I felt were very well rounded and interesting, some were just reprehensive without any apparent reason for being so, and some were so shallowly developed that I just really didn't care one way or the other. My biggest problem is that I didn't see an obvious motivation behind quite a few of the characters actions. I think the story would have been better had there been fewer characters to develop and keep track of.
1/1 Representation:
Although the title doesn't seem to have any sort of connection to the story until the end of the book, it does fit and I think it was appropriate. The back cover synopsis is a good one, and I don't feel is misleading.
0/1 Readability:
This was the worst part of the book in my opinion. I realize that this is somewhat a period piece, but the language and terminology doesn't serve to enhance the story. I just found it annoying.
1/1 Opinion:
I would reccommend this book, but don't pick it up expecting it to be a "life-altering" read. It is however an enjoyable escape.
On, Off is Awful, AwfulReview Date: 2008-01-01
I have enjoyed several of Colleen McCullough's novels in the past, and I'm an avid detective novel reader, so I was excited to see this book at the bookstore. I can't find it in my heart to forgive the author for ever having this book published. The story was lame, the ending ridiculous, but the objection I have that nobody else has covered is that the grammar is atrocious! I had to reread sentences just to figure out subject and verb. Numerous times there weren't even sentences. The fragments made the story difficult to follow. Did the author need the money? I'm sorry to say she got mine.
I donate my used books to charity to allow the next person to read and enjoy them. I threw this book away.

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This was okayReview Date: 2007-03-01
BoringReview Date: 2006-12-31
I thought the ending was just as bad, and it obviously reads as a sequel--but no thanks. I'll pass.
A fun, light readReview Date: 2008-03-11
Highly amusing parody of "A Connecticut Yankee"Review Date: 2007-04-23
Some of these have been very good (I particularly like the song "Busy Doing nothing" which came from the first film version) while others have been less so.
Marianne Mancusi's book is definately one of the most amusing of the genre.
The heroine, Katherine (Kat) Jones, an associate fashion editor straight out of "Sex and the City" compelte with $400 Manolo Blahnik shoes, is attending a mock medieval carnival called "King Arthur's Fayre. She manages to annoy a fortune teller who threatens to cast a spell on Kat. Nobody else takes this seriously, but a few minutes later Kat is watching a simulated joust when the lance breaks, and a fragment flies towards her and strikes her on the forehead, knocking her out. She recovers in Camelot ...
Of course there is the obligatory serious of jokes as Kat initially assumes she is still in the 21st century among people pretending to be medieval knights and ladies. But eventually she realises that she really has gone back to a time where decent clothes and shoes, not to mention a decent cafe latte, are more than a thousand years away. How to get home?
The style in which the story is told is a delight, and it is a funny, entertaining romp with a lot of surprises and shock twists. Strongly recommended.
To resolve the chaos created by the hilarious surprise ending, Marianne Mancusi has written a sequel, which is called "A Hoboken Hipster in Sherwood Forest."
Wanted to like the book. Couldn't get past the flaws.Review Date: 2006-01-26
While Kat had some good moments, I couldn't empathize with her. Since the book was told in first person, I found getting that deep inside her head made her seem whiny and vapid. It was very difficult to empathize with her as a character.
Secondly, she didn't seem realistic, and the reason why - protection! She's having nightly sex with Lancelot. Lots and lots of nightly sex, and not one mention of condoms or protection. She's there long enough that her birth control pills would have run out, and frankly, considering that she mentions medieval hygiene several times in the book, I would have thought that she would have mentioned condoms, especially since we're given a detailed inventory of what's in her purse. One item (or several items, like tampons) are conspicuously absent.
I tried to like this book. I really did. I wanted to like and enjoy it. Sadly, the protection issue and the fact that many times Kat came across as self-absorbed and shallow, ruined the story for me, and by the time I got to the ending, all that was left was to try and sell the book on ebay and try to recoup my losses.

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Ill conceived and poorly writtenReview Date: 2008-07-07
wonderful readReview Date: 2008-01-06
SandcastlesReview Date: 2007-08-15
I love Luanne Rice, But...Review Date: 2007-04-20
Slow to grab my interestReview Date: 2007-08-02

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Good portrayal of a rich boy and his escape from his pastReview Date: 2000-07-06
My brother was there; with this book, I felt like I was.Review Date: 1999-03-17
Very Interesting AccountReview Date: 1999-11-19
Why doesn't she just say it???Review Date: 2002-01-15
She may do everything else right in the steps to writing a good book, but she needs to step away from the high school level writing style; she needs to write as if she's have a personal conversation with her readers...quality comes from that.
Wonderful Summary of the StoryReview Date: 2000-07-30
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Terrible, horrible! Not worth your money!!Review Date: 2004-07-07
it should have stayed in the basement!Review Date: 2004-12-31
DARK, DEVILISH AND DISAPPOINTINGReview Date: 2001-04-16
The eight friends in this book have been friends for years; they are all rich and seem to have little in life to worry about. The main character, Myra Ludens, has had an unhealthy fear of her basement for years and decides the best thing to do is to renovate it, and hopefully banish all her fears. Even her friends who come over for bridge every week don't like the basement---even after the $30,000 renovation job!
Myra's sleuthing reveals that the body of a woman hanged as a witch in the late 1600's is buried right underneath Myra's basement. The renovator admits later that they even found the woman's bones but didn't want to tell anyone in fear of losing business. (I'm not sure about that one?).
At any rate, Myra is then "possessed" by the witch's spirit or has gone mad, or perhaps even has her own paranormal talents. This is something Ms. Wood never fully reveals, thus leaving the reader unsure of the real reason behind the deaths seemingly caused by Myra's "wishes."
It's got some good points---excellent characterizations, some real suspenseful scenes and a few original twists---but overall, "The Basement" is a novel in search of a better ending.
Very interesting story, but the ending didn't make itReview Date: 1998-07-09
A fascinating read.Review Date: 2000-07-05
Cindy Penn Reviewer

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not so thoroughly researchedReview Date: 2003-06-04
not for new yorkersReview Date: 2003-08-24
A Monument to Love in a Few Hundred PagesReview Date: 2000-11-18
Ms. Elise Proulx, Ms. Hamburg -- Thank you.Review Date: 2000-09-27
Everything You Need To Know- I Already Knew...Review Date: 2001-05-31
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Yale and the paragonReview Date: 2007-09-12
Middle of the Road--but worth a read.Review Date: 2002-06-14
The ParagonReview Date: 2001-05-23
disappointing endingReview Date: 2000-10-13
A Look at Life and Its CharactersReview Date: 1999-10-30


Great book! Too short!Review Date: 2007-07-24
But why was this book so short?
The face in the window on the cover of the book was very interesting.
James Kelly
No No No ,pretty much about everything in this bookReview Date: 2006-06-03
Come on now, time to tell the truth so here goes... Do not buy this book not even if it is on sale !!! I'm a person with a pretty vivid imagination and though I looked pretty hard at the cover picture and I guess one could see a nose kind of, sort of. Even in the pictures of scenery it was hard to see anything resembling anything except what I was looking at.. Well, this is my first review and sorry it is a negative one but really , is this person promoting himself or what?
78 Pages?!Review Date: 2007-03-17
But here's the thing. First of all, the entire book comprises reprinted stories. There's nothing new! OK, if they were all great accounts, then it would be worth it, but at least in my opinion a couple of the accounts were very cursorily covered. The account of Connecticut's Village of Voices for example, didn't impress me at all as solid research. If the photos reprinted are as high quality as the originals I have to say that the "faces" and "dagger" Eno points out are dubious at best. Old stories, not many of them, and some are less than substantial. Here's the thing that really gets me, though. On top of everything else, the total page count is 100, and that's including what I feel to be "padding"; an index, a section on "disappearing ships of New England" (sorry, ships hit by rogue waves aren't ghosts, and even reading the author's review of the occurrences, only one of the disappearances even seemed that mysterious), and a two-page "glossary" containing a grand total of ten words. You get less than 78 pages of actual ghost stories!
Not to be overly denigrating, but I have a very strong feeling I just bought something the author threw together from old research to get a little more publicity and another "book" under his belt. Seriously, there's a reason why larger publishers won't touch a manuscript under 80,000 words, and this has to be barely half that. I'm really not at all happy with this book, and I'd recommend you pass on this one. There are a ton of great books out there on the subject, keep looking.
Incredible page-turnerReview Date: 2001-01-27

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Not Comprehensive - A DreamerReview Date: 2000-01-03
A "must" for all Connecticut homesReview Date: 1999-10-09
An excellent guide to Connecticut for the whole familyReview Date: 1998-08-03
Skip itReview Date: 2000-10-25

It's a good book; not a great book.Review Date: 2007-09-24
Not to badReview Date: 2006-02-03
some of the reading can be offensive Review Date: 2007-01-26
Very insightfulReview Date: 2006-04-17
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