Well I'm almost done...I have to say that unfortunately this one will never go down as one of my favorites, I can already tell, nonetheless a decent read.
I'm getting thrown off by him mentioning his own other works I think. It was one thing when you read in a book something that hints of a plot line or character in another (think DT) but quite another to just straight up mention a book in another book. It kills it for me and it's hard to explain why.
Let me try. I believe he is doing this to give the story a more real to life feeling. People talk about Stephen King books and movies all the time no? And he talks about other people's work as well. But for me it takes me from being wholly immersed in the story he has created and instead goes "hi I'm Stephen King I wrote this!!" Does that make any sense whatsoever??
That unsettling feeling aside, it's a decent story and I like that I'm not sure how it will end. Doesn't feel predictable in any way. I mostly like the characters although our Det.Ret. sure does feel similar to a lot of older male leads with a younger love interest (Bag of Bones anyone?). Also the group of people that hardly know each other becoming incredibly familiar with each other right off the bat and having inside jokes? So strange to me (Cell did that too).
Le sigh. I so don't want to become disenchanted with Sai King's work. I think after I finish this one (and Catch 22, and game of thrones - I read a bunch of stuff at once), I'm gonna go back for a re-read of some of his older stuff. Onward to the finish line my friends! Thanks for letting me gab on and on forever