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Danibrarian
Sep 06, 2014Danibrarian rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
The book opens with a tense and frenetic race to escape an unseen predator who can take the form of anyone -- leaving Hannah Wilde, her young daughter and her bleeding husband in a state of terror and adrenaline. When the book moves on to other characters: a shapeshifter in 19th Century Hungary, and a pompous professor meeting a sassy and secretive French woman at 1970s era Oxford University, the tension gradually lessens until the story is no longer frightening. While this is an intriguing read, the horror aspects drain away quickly, until it is merely dramatic rather than terrifying. This would make a good horror movie, in the hands of a director who knew what to cut. As for the ambitious time-layered story, Stephen Lloyd-Jones' book is good, but Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian does every bit of it better -- including a more suspenseful and fulfilling ending.