I’m looking at how I rated Kostova’s “the Historian” 3/5 and can’t possibly allow Gideon to make it to the 4/5 mark. In my opinion, both books are 4/5 material. Maybe “the Historian” more so.

“Gideon” is a thriller. It says so on the very front cover. Actually, my version is entitled “gideon: a thriller”.

If you’re not into suspense, mysteries, whodunit, etc. don’t bother with this book. Also, if you get easily annoyed with how far a writer will go in order to keep the element of surprise alive, again, don’t bother with this book. There’s a couple of “WTF” moments, even more so towards the end, that will maybe leave you hanging, expecting something less staged.

All in all, it was an enjoyable ride, it takes effort and time (as in, lots of pages in) to realise where the story is going and who’s behind what (please, reviewers of the I-knew-that-from-the-very-beginning, you don’t fool nobody, and all in all, the characters feel vibrant. Maybe they don’t come out alive, and yes, maybe they will not feel as part of your life, but they are definitely nowhere near flat or uninteresting. They all have a short background (even characters that only make it for a couple of pages, they too get a short introduction) and this adds to the credibility of the story.

Which, as I hinted earlier on, is betrayed by the extends to which the writer went to give a “WOW” moment and ended with a “WTF?!?” moment. But, as they call it, this is a high-profile thriller. OK! Agreed. You can’t go much higher profiler than this.

Yeah, before I forget, there’s a couple of inconsistencies in the story. Nothing major (you can read about it in the updates below) but they make you feel like you need to go back and make sure you remember correctly. Having said that, there is one occasion that might mount to a major screw-up, but, although I said I’d go back and check, I never did. The Juggler being lazy.

What follows is the list of my GoodReads updates while reading the book.

Rate and Review: 3/5

page 120: I don’t know what to make of this yet. I had started it when I was younger but had given up. I’m now finding some interesting elements in the book. Like how every character, no matter how short lived, gets just the perfect little introduction, be it physical or not. I like that.

page 406: funny how the details about the books I read are not correct on GoodReads. First Masterton’s omnibus & now this, which has apparently 0 pages. Anyway, two things: 1. definite page turner. 2. there might be a fundamental error in the story.

page 521: it’s been some cases where I found the book inconsistent. like this: a char keeps running forward, gets shot, stops in his/her track &… "his/her back to the cliff". What? Did the cliff suddenly rose there? Where did it come from? Anyway. As for the fundamental error I talked about earlier, I’m 90% sure but I’ll go back & make sure. Something about the closer’s car.

page 571: just finished. I’m not writing a full review yet. there’s plenty to be said about the story, the characters, the writing, other reviewers, etc. If I were to write a review now, on a mobile phone -as I am- I would just not do it right. I can definitely and safely say that it is a page turner, with action scenes and plot progression and character development, all in balance. "Gideon: a thriller" is a thriller indeed.