Review: Far-fetched but intriguing
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 25, 2011
Very odd, different, and well written.  Kind of reminded me of a plot in one of Stephen King's books: "The Dark Half" but lighter and totally different in writing style. Dawkins dialogue is often humorous even in what is a serious situation, making this an unusual read for me.  It grabbed me right off, but when the main character takes on an unexpected dark side I almost stopped reading it.  It just seemed unrealistic, and so out of character for the main character, who is also named Dan Dawkins, like the author. I wondered about that, anyone know why?  ... I certainly hope it is not an autobiography... yikes!  The main character often ponders how differently his life would've turned out if he had taken different forks in the road, but yet he never asked himself why he was so determined to unload his guilty conscience onto his wife, and immediately too.  He sneaks out of a hotel room and rushes home to confess. If he had kept quiet none of what transpired would have happened and altered his life to this degree... but then this novel wouldn't take place.Slight spoilers ahead:  Actually, I'm glad I chose to continue with the story even though I found it far-fetched that he Jekyll/Hyded us. Apparently it can happen, but rarely.  I liked the writing style.  The characters are well developed. I especially liked the old couple he stayed with after leaving town and settling in Oklahoma. You felt like you know these people, could almost smell the scents in the kitchen as all the cooking and baking took place.  Dan really seemed to like them also, making this even more conflicting emotionally for Dan and the reader. The remainder of the story, even though it had some gruesome scenes, kept me interested in the outcome.  I was surprised the outcome didn't come around sooner.  I expected the guy who issued him his fake I.D. to anonymously report the name to the police after it was broadcast all over the local news, or for someone in town to recognize him.I found it hard to believe that the Dan we get to know initially, before losing his wife, can actually flip on us and take on the Jackson persona, with no conscience or regrets for his choices, when his conscience was so prevalent in the beginning, that's what got him in this mess to begin with.  Otherwise I might have given this a 5 star rating.  A more descriptive title might have been "Jackson Whole" or "The Making of a Murderer."  I certainly thought the 99 cents I paid for the kindle version gave me more than my money's worth for this read.