Rating: 
Summary: The Boy
Review: This book is definitely my favourite of the Ripley novels. Patricia Highsmith has an incredible ability to detail the touching relationship between Tom Ripley and Frank Pierson. Ripley remains a murderer who sees his dark deeds not as crimes but as necessary steps or precautions. His regret, for instance, when recalling his murder of another character in a previous book is cold-hearted and very funny: he remembers murdering the man by hitting him on the head with some wine. He then recalls that the wine was a good quality product, and he regrets having chosen that particular bottle to commit the deed.Oh how I love Tom Ripley novels!
Rating:
Summary: Another Great "Ripley" Adventure
Review: This was definitely a favorite book of mine out of the Ripley books. Highsmith created a character that you can't help but love - and hate - at the same time. If you loved The Talented Mr. Ripley- read all of them, it is definitely worth the ride.
Rating: 
Summary: And I thought this was going to be a GOOD one...
Review: What a shame that a better work has not "followed" in the footsteps of Highsmith's first three Ripley novels. While the setup is intriguing and has great potential, the entire premise is marred by poor pacing; do we really need to have page after page of (what amounts to) a Berlin travelogue, as Tom Ripley and Frank visit the zoo...and then have a light lunch....and then go for a drive...and then take a walk in the forest. The kidnapping is the most engaging section of the novel - what a pity that it takes nearly half the book to even reach it. Though some may find Frank Pierson an interesting character, I was soon disappointed to see that he was reduced to a maudlin mass of ennui. There is nothing exciting or dramatic (or even interesting, for that matter) in a character who essentially "mopes" his way through the entire novel, brooding on the boorish notion that his girlfriend has gone off with another boy because he has travelled to France. Of all the Ripley books, this was the one I had the highest hopes for, and I was sorely disappointed; read it if you intend on reading all of them, but know that it's a flawed work at best.
Rating: 
Summary: Highsmith fails to deliver on a great premise...
Review: While folks reading this review have probably read the first three Ripley novels and will probably read the fourth (The Boy Who Followed Ripley) regardless of what I write, let me just say a few words on what to expect. Having read some 20+ Patricia Highsmith novels I have alternated between being a raving fan and a semi-harsh critic of her work. When she is good, she is very good indeed. When she has an off day, her material is just ho-hum. I'm afraid The Boy Who Followed Ripley falls into the latter category. The Boy Who Followed Ripley has just an interesting premise. A sixteen year-old American rich lad seeks out our rogue Tom Ripley and befriends him. We discover the boy has a dark secret, which he shares exclusively with Ripley. The boy's friendship extends into something like hero-worshipping. At this stage Highsmith could have used some clever homo-erotic angle, which would have been an interesting twist back to the original The Talented Mr Ripley novel, or at least made the boy into some sort of threat to Tom Ripley (..a man with many secrets). But no, the author merely injects some rather unoriginal mystery/criminal handy-panky which involves with boy and Tom Ripley. The only curious bit is that Tom Ripley is the good guy here, which is a bit of disappointment for the fans of the Ripley series. On a much more minor note, I was unfortunate enough to read a 5-6 year old UK version of this novel. The publisher took liberties in translating many expressions into British slang, which is really appalling since the two main characters in this novel are Americans. It is downright bizarre to read a book where Americans use words like loo (toilet), pissed (drunk) and fag (cigarette). This is the first time I witnessed this in a UK edition Highsmith novel; I hope the most current edition of The Boy Who Followed Ripley is spared from this nonsense. Bottom line: a very readable, but very mundane Ripley book. Disappointing and, sadly, not recommended.
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