Review: Interesting, but forgettable
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 4, 2013
The premise for Grant McKenzie's debut novel Switch sounded intriguing. Our protagonist Sam White comes home one day to the charred ruins of his entire life. His house is gone and, so he believes, is his family inside the burned wreckage. But then a mysterious phone call changes everything. His family is alive and he must follow instructions carefully if he has any hope of ever seeing them.Although this is A serial killer novel, it's not a serial killer novel. McKenzie focuses on the bizarre elements of this insane act rather than the sheer brutality of murder. White discovers another man who has become a pawn to this madman. They join forces in a desperate attempt to find out what is actually going on. The first victim Zack reveals that White's family was, as the novel's title suggests, switched to save his own. White is given a series of instructions (much like the film Saw) that he must follow to the letter in order to save his family.While the narrative here was interesting, the character development was weak. Sam and Zack often felt like the same character, particularly since their stories were parallel narratives. The dialogue was stilted and did little to create any memorable moments. Lines such as "that was the stupidest ruse I ever heard" fell flat and the characters drifted into one another. The word interesting comes to mind in describing Switch, but forgettable quickly follows.