Eleven Hours

A pregnant woman (actually, a VERY pregnant woman, just a couple of weeks away from giving birth). A psycho kidnapper. A frantic husband. A black, competent & cool cop. Helicopters. Stolen cars. A climactic scene in the end (I won't specifically mention what happens but it's easy to guess from about page one).
Remind you of anything? Yes, you guessed it. "Eleven hours" reads exactly like a screenplay, & a very predictable & boring one, too. I'm not saying it's not a suspenseful, quick read. It is, if you happen to be one of those people that haven't seen this kind of thriller in the movies (a thousand times, too) & thus if you're likely to be surprised by any of it. I wonder what Paullina Simons was thinking. I remember reading somewhere that this book was written quickly. Well, I'm not surprised: if it was indeed written quickly, it's equally quickly read & even more quickly forgotten. She probably was hoping "Eleven Hours" might be turned into a movie, & I wonder if it has or if it will...
If I sound bitter, it's simply because "Tully" has been one of my favourite books for many years, I've read it & reread it & always felt it is an extremely well written & very emotional book, with strong characters. I also quite liked "Red Leaves". So this third book was a big disappointment from an author I've grown to like & admire. Comparing "Tully" to "Eleven hours" is like comparing a good, elaborate, lovingly made home-cooked meal to a quick, greasy, unhealthy hamburger. Both serve their own purpose I guess, but there really is no comparison.

Paullina Simons set a high standard when she wrote Tully and Red Leaves. Both books were excellent and I could not put them down until I finished them. I was disapointed with Eleven Hours as it did not enthrall me as did her previous books. It was an average book to read. If you have not read any of Simons' other books I suggest you buy her other two books rather than this one.

I ordered this off Amazon.Com a while ago, with another kidnapping story, and read the other one first, then took a break from that type of story when I finished the first book and decided I'd hold onto Eleven Hours until another time. Finally, I started it a few weeks ago and was immediately pulled in by Didi's charming personality, and the growing suspense in the first few pages.
The story flows well, and manages to build suspense and turn the whole book into, what one critical acclaim noted, a ticking time bomb. I was far more interested in Didi's story than Rich's, and was much more enthralled by it. The search for Didi seemed a bit thin at times, as if Paullina Simons didn't know how to leave clues of where Didi was, and what happened to her. And for the most part, Rich and FBI officer Scott's search for her was one of those "been there, done that" sort of things. Yet Didi's story was absolutely terrifying. Some of my favorite parts included the early parking lot scenes, because you could just imagine that in a movie, with wild camera movements and menacing background music. Also, towards the end, I could barely breathe, I was so terrified. The scenes in the graveyard and the park were shocking and compelling, and I almost wanted to read ahead to make sure everything would be okay. The book had an interesting final few pages. You wouldn't expect the pattern that Simons used. I don't want to give anything away, so I'll leave it at that.
One funny thing, while I was reading this, it was late May, early June, and it was REALLY hot out. And I'd be reading this, where the setting uncluded 100 degree weather, and I could really feel the heat, partially because Simons expressed different aspects of the heat very well, but also because it was so hot when I was reading the book! Just as Didi was so thirsty, I started to get really thirsty. It was really bizarre. So, I'd recommend this either on a cold winter day to warm you up, or a hot summer day to get the full effect. In any event, I do recommend this, and though we've all heard the kidnapping tale before, this one throws in a few twists and angles that really make it a unique and exciting read.

The only good thing about this book was the premise: a 9-months pregnant woman goes missing from the mall. In the hands of a more gifted writer, it could've been a really compelling read. In the hands of Ms Simon, it is forgettable and a waste of time.
There is so much wrong with this book, I don't know where to start. Thinly drawn characters. Improbabilites (the husband would NOT be allowed to actively participate in the actual investigation of his missing wife). A lead character (the pregnant woman) so completely dense that she doesn't figure out what the kidnapper wants until he tells her towards the very end(it took every ounce of willpower for me not to scrawl a huge "DUH!" on the page his intent is revealed). Finally, the worst 'sin' committed by Paulina Simons is that this should have been a suspenseful book and it simply was not. It was an absolute yawner.

Please Ms Simons don't try and write crime & thriller fiction anymore. 'Red Leaves' was bad enough but this is terrible, I could have written better myself. For those of you who are expecting another 'Tully', you will be sorely disappointed. This is basically a story about preganant Didi (ready to give birth) who gets kidnapped by a young man in a shopping centre. For the next 11 or so hrs, he takes her for a drive, killing a few people along the way and the reader tries to work out WHY he took HER. But towards the end of the book, it is clear why and I am amazed it takes Didi so long to work it out. Meanwhile, her frantic husband teams up with the FBI to locate his missing wife and strangely enough, the distraught husband seems to know exactly where this psycho has taken her, but the FBI, don't have much of an idea. Didi, in the meantime, is trying to work out her kidnapper, pretend she is not in labour (she doesn't want him to know - can you hide that???) and reason her kidnapping with the Almighty.
I am sorry Ms Simons, but this is truly a very badly written book, the characters are terrible and the plot is totally unbelievable. The ending, with a lovely bow tied around religious reasons, as to why her kidnapping took place is so disappointing, I couldn't wait to finally finish this book.
If you want GOOD crime fiction, with excellent characters and real page-turners, try ANYTHING from Michael Connolley or Dennis Lehane.

Perhaps PS has found the right style with this fast paced thriller. I found this book more gripping than her earlier two and unlike them it held my attention to the end.
The simplicity of the plot - the nightmare scenario of an ordinary decent woman (who happens to be 8 1/2 months pregnant) kidnapped by a maniac, and her husband's desperate attempts to trace her - works well and remains convincing. It is particularly frightening because it could happen to anyone - what woman hasn't felt nervous of a stranger who seemed to be paying too much attention to her? The way it all begins to escalate out of control seems all too believable and hence terrifying.
The only flaw I found in the novel was the depiction of the FBI agent and the police in the scenes with Rich - I would have expected them to be a bit more professional in their behaviour. However the scenes with Didi and Lyle are always convincing, and Lyle manages to remain a terrifying figure with unscrutable motives who nevertheless comes across as a real human being and never becomes a cariacature ...
I'm not sure if fans of "Red Leaves" and "Tully" would enjoy this book because it is such a departure in style and is also (in my opinion) much more violent and frightening but I'm sure that anyone who loves fast-paced thrillers would enjoy it. I'm looking forward to PS's next book after this one ...

There are numerous problems with this novel. One of the more minor flaws is the way Simons portrays the FBI agent and his handling of the husband. It is extremely unrealistic. The dialog is fairly inane throughout (although I have seen worse). While not truly cardboard characters, the characters' motivations are thinly drawn. And considering this is supposed to be a novel of suspense, it drags in way too many places.

But the biggest offense of this book is the author's religious subtext that runs the course of the book and is verily shoved down the reader's throat - typically espoused in the protagonist's thoughts. If I want a sermon, I will go to church. If it was done well, she might have been able to thread it seamlessly throughout. Instead, the second half of the novel is a constant barrage of:

Oh, God ... Thank, God, thank, God.

Not even God can help you now. It rang in Didi's ears.

I don't fear God, only his silence, Didi thought.

God help anyone who's here, Didi thought.

Give rest, Oh Christ, to Your servant, where sorrow and pain are no more...

I could continue but I am actually boring myself to death. Those sentences were derived from only two pages. There's plenty more. Nothing against religion or God - just don't write a poorly written suspense novel and force me to wade through your voluminous and dubious religious views.

At least the Bible is interesting. Save your money on this tripe.

As always she gets you hooked pretty well strait away. This is a small book perfect for a flight or if you have a couple of hrs to spare. Good suspence,

I discovered Paulina Simmons through the Bronze Horseman series. I love those books and I consider them on my list of the best I've read. But this book yeech ! I'll try another because I have faith in this author but skip this one.

It has been a long time since I read a book that had me turning the pages quite so frantically as this one. I had to force myself not to skip to the end because the suspence left my nerves in shreds!

The novel focusses on the kidnap of Didi Wood, a heavily pregnant woman in her early 30s, from a shopping mall in Texas. When Didi's husband realises she is missing, he contacts the police and so begins a cat and mouse chase as the FBI struggle to trace Didi and her kidnapper before it's too late. The action covers an eleven hour period, and things become more and more tense as time goes on and Didi's captor becomes more unstable.

The storytelling in this book is really impressive. Although Didi and her husband Rich are not exactly my ideal characters, I was completely swept up in their story. As other reviewers have mentioned, certain religious views feature prominently and some of them seemed, to me at least, to be rather odd. Didi talks about bad things happening to 'other people', people who are not 'God fearing', as if certain people have a right to expect never to be hurt while others don't. Furthermore, Didi also prays to God (which I liked) but then when she isn't saved she sort of blames God for forgetting her. I was perplexed by this viewpoint, because there are so many people suffering in the world, it seems rather closeminded to think that God has a duty to rescue YOU above everyone else.

Overall, this is a great book if you want to read something that will drag you along for 300 pages at break neck speed. Perhaps some of the action (particularly the way Didi's husband is allowed to participate in the police investigation) is not entirely realistic, but the novel doesn't suffer for it. It is a rare breed - a suspence thriller that is genuinely terrifying and compulsive.