Pulse: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Nice premise, annoying characters
Review: I liked PULSE, but I didn't love it. The novel moved at a quick enough pace, and the plot was both original and engaging. Frank Douglas is a main character who intrigues the reader with his various emotions - paranoia, suspicion, lust, anger, concern, and more. The more minor characters in PULSE, however, are a different story.

Frank's wife, Kathleen (who Buchanan intends to portray as the suffering wife), is in reality manipulative, annoying, and whiny. Rory, Frank's heart donor's widow, comes off as being nothing more than a fliratious, helpless ditz who is constantly is need of a male provider. Even Detective Lucca, who shows so much promise in the beginning of PULSE, is nothing more than a shallow character who has a minute role in the story itself. He seems more a character of convenience than anything else.

Don't get me wrong - PULSE was a compelling, satisfying read. But there is much to be desired, and Buchanan definitely leaves room for improvement.

Rating:
Summary: A great non-series Edna Buchanan thriller
Review: Miami CPA Frank Douglas is the classic yuppie, always trying to make a buck at the opportunity cost of spending no time with his family. However, Frank's business world crashes when he becomes desperately in need of a heart transplant. He is fortunate that a donor is found and he vows to change his lifestyle by spending quality time with his wife and children with this second chance.

When Frank learns that his donor was a suicide victim, he decides to help the surviving family members (wife and son) by insuring their financial well-being. However, the widow Rory tells Frank that her husband did not kill himself. Frank does some preliminary investigation and realizes that some strange occurrences, including a missing fortune, do not add up to suicide. Frank and Rory begin to look deeply into the death of her spouse.

Edna Buchannan is a highly regarded mystery writer due to her brilliant Montero who-done-its. However, PULSE may be her best novel to date. Besides an intriguing amateur sleuth story, Ms. Buchannan digs deep into the heart (no pun intended) of what makes a person tick. A frustrated and obsessive Frank, in spite of his efforts to radically change, remains the same work till you drop individual, though he toils in a different and more dangerous arena. It is Frank's inner war that makes PULSE beat at a level of excellence that few amateur sleuth tales obtain.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Pulse
Review: Slow starting and kind of depressing. However, as the plot unfolds, Buchanan traps you into not wanting to put it down. Although a little bizarre and unbelievable, the reader does manage to get caught up in the plot and this well written novel adds stars as it progresses.