Painted Truth / / 2000-03-30

I sent all three of Lise's Alix Thoresson books to the avid readers on my Christmas list. Everyone responded with positive comments - "let me know when her next book comes out", "they are like the early Hillerman books, which are among my favorites", "she's a very entertaining writer. I was so glad to have the next book right there to continue the adventures"... As the gift giver, I was pleased that the recipients enjoyed Lise's mysteries as well as I did. Lise has the skill to keep the mystery alive throughout the book, keep the reader intrigued with the relationships among the characters, and throw in interesting educational tidbits about the settings. I look forward to more of her stories.

Terrific book! / / 1999-04-17

Lise has created a wonderful character in Alix. She runs an art gallery with her friend and former lover, Paolo. Alix's friend's art gallery is burned, and she is called upon to put a value on the art burned in the fire. The mystery begins when the police find a body in the destroyed gallery. The story twists and turns, and she had me totally baffled as to who and why. The writing is delicious, and I highly recommend this book (which I thought was even better than Bluejay Shaman).

Fascinating! / / 2006-08-25

At first I thought this book was going to focus on the psychological thriller genre, but it goes way beyond that. The book is about "psychological science fiction," and it analyzes the ways that movies use psychological ideas in their plots and characters. I found it very easy and enjoyable to read. It's not a text book, nor is it a heavy academic study. It's a light read on a very interesting subject. I think that anyone interested in film - especially film and media studies students - will find this book fascinating. I found the book very useful as a film grad student doing research on horror, thriller, and sci-fi genres. Highly recommended!

Customer Review is not available for this book

Death at Sea / / 2010-02-09

The mystery story was pretty well written and thought out. The 3-D images weren't particularly artistic, and as far as I could tell, they didn't give clues to the solution as was promised on the cover. The binding was awful. The pages just fell right out. But I enjoyed the story.

Wide-ranging and thoughtful / / 2005-12-17

As Martin Rubin notes, "thriller" is a very diffuse term that can cover anything from private eye films to horror movies. This excellent book tries to offer a way of thinking about this wide genre.

The first part of the book searches for a definition of the thriller. Rubin basically decides that a thriller has an extradorinary danger emerging in an ordinary setting. Thus westerns, swashbucklers and Gothic horror films, while exciting and thrilling, don't fit.

The second part of the book is an examination of how the thriller developed from silent days to the end of the 20th century. This is the best part of the book, as Rubin touches on many different types of film, even including Harold Lloyd's comedies. His comments on horror films and film noir are very thought provoking.

The final part of the book looks at key films that represent important thriller subgenres: The Big Sleep (private eye), Strangers on a Train (psychological suspense) The French Connection (police film). Again, Rubin's comments here are all very sound.

I found this a very useful and enjoyable book that made me think about familiar films in a new way.

Thrillers, best book on the subject / / 2000-01-01

Martin Rubin is an excellent writer who has crafted a superb analysis and historical overview of the thriller story. He tracks the evolution of the thriller from Gothic tales to modern motion pictures. The focus on the thriller's structure and history gives this text substatial merit. Rubin covers a great deal of film history. All aspiring screenwriters should have a copy of this book on their shelf.

Customer Review is not available for this book

Customer Review is not available for this book

Customer Review is not available for this book

Customer Review is not available for this book

Customer Review is not available for this book