Desire Lines: A Novel (P.S.)

Well written....but a slow story. No suspense and too predictable. I can't believe anyone thought this was " a great read.". Once you are introduced , you know immediately ..."who did what." How can a girl be missing 10 yrs and several in the book continually refer to her as "missing?" The implication throughout the book is that she is either missing , didn't want to be found or simply ran away. How can the disappearance of a friend traumatized a person to the point that they barely function? Frankly, If the book was not so well written I would have to say its rather stupid.

I couldn't put this book down. The character development was quite even and well-paced, continually prompting me to want to know more and more of what was happening in this book. The story ties together extremely well, with all locations and characters throughly described. I wanted the book to go on and on and I can't wait for Baker-Kline's next work!

What an engrossing, superbly written story. I felt myself living the story. I was part of the characters. GREAT GREAT book. I read Orphan Train before this one. I was transfixed by that story as well. This author is incredible. I look forward to reading her other books.

Read The Orphan Train, loved it, so wanted to read another book by this author. What a difference! I really didn't care about any of the characters and the plot seemed weak. Very explicit sex scene, like it was just required for any novel. Glad the author has improved greatly.

I enjoyed this story very much. I occasionally got tired of repetition, especially when the author was describing emotions. Overall, a good read. I should've gone to sleep tonight awhile ago, but couldn't put it down towards the end.

I will not be watching the 3rd season. All these folks do is figure out dishonest ways to beat their co workers and any one who gets in the way of making more money. There isn't one redeeming character in the show. Everyone is either yelling or screwing.

A tight-knit circle of friends spends graduation night together, but all wake up to the realization that one of them, Jennifer, never made it home after walking off by herself, vanishing with zero clues. The group splinters as most move away to college and on with their lives to varying degrees, except for one. Kathryn considered herself to be Jennifer’s best friend, and was never able to reconcile how or why Jennifer would have left town so mysteriously on her own, the general theory most seem to believe. After finding herself newly divorced and moving back into to her childhood home with her mom, and with the ten year high school reunion (and anniversary of Jennifer’s disappearance) looming, she stumbles into the task of writing an update on Jennifer’s disappearance for the local paper, of whom one of the friends from her high school group, Jack, is now editor. Her interviews with people in town begin to stir things up, and she soon finds herself unearthing new information that quickly puts her in danger.

I’ve read several of Christina Baker Kline’s books, but this one was a struggle for me. It flowed so slowly and seemed to stall out in the middle. I had to force myself to keep going. My interest didn’t pick back up until the relationship between Kathryn and Jack began to develop. I appreciated his character and how genuine it seemed to have them come together and care for each other. That was the only reason I kept going with this story. Although I didn’t guess the exact ending, the “whodunit” definitely stood out early for me, which is probably another reason this book was tough to get through. It seemed like I was just waiting for Kathryn to catch up.

I just finished reading Desire Lines today. I actually felt some of the pain for Kathryn and her feelings of loss. Not knowing what happens to somebody would have to be one of the worst feelings in the world. The only way I can relate to that is thinking about not ever knowing what has happened to so many of our MIAs from wars. But that is another story in itself. Kathryn finds herself lost after a divorce so she goes home. That's a fairly normal thing to do, I suppose. Things have changed. She has changed. Her relationship with her mother is fragile at times. She can't turn lose of the past. For example, she keeps wearing her wedding band. Her mother attempts to parent her again but it is almost too late for that. Kathryn's father who is divorced from her mother and remarried to his former secretary is not particularly helpful in her situation either. Sometimes people just have to let their grown children find their own way in their own time is one thing I get out of this book. Kathryn's grandmother Alice is a great character. She is charismatic even in a wheelchair in a rest home. I felt like she was the one who really got Kathryn. Closure comes to Kathryn not in a good way but in a satisfactory way and that usually is as good as it gets. This is a book that I will think about for some time.

I feel like I was reading two different books. The first, was about a whiny adult child who comes home and is cranky with her entire world. Maybe it's me because this is the second book I've read with whiny adults coming back home to their parents, but I feel like you don't get to be all mean and nasty to the person who is giving you shelter. Don't bite the hand that feeds you kind of thing. Anyway, after we get through to the late middle of the book things began to pick up and the better story begins. Just a sidenote: the first half is lots of introspection and analysis when we don't even know this person well enough to care. And what we do know so far doesn't make us sympathetic to her - at least not to me.

Once the author gets into the mystery properly this is a much better book. I didn't see the ending coming, but not because there was a twist so much as I really didn't think we'd go with the obvious culprit. That tainted some of the ending for me (my fault, not the authors), but I was mostly satisfied. We're left with some amount of uncertainty and I guess that's true to real life, but I would have preferred to solidly know.

Christina Baker Kline has written a book that will keep you guessing right up to the very end. Kathryn is returning home after 10 years, trying to start off after a divorce. Her 10 year reunion I'd coming up but that is not what is on her mind...the disappearance of her best friend 10 years ago still is a mystery. When asked by Jack, a friend from high school who is now the editor of the newspaper to write an article about the disappearance of her friends Jennifer she doesn't realize what kind of answers she will find out.
This mystery will keep you turning pages. You will think you might have figured out the mystery when a new piece of information comes to light. You will not be disappointed when you read this book.

OK book but could have been about a hundred pages shorter. Way too much angst and second-guessing on the part of the main character Kathryn who questions her life choices ad nauseum but seems reluctant to take steps to fix her life. She has been wondering for years what happened to her supposedly best friend Jennifer but when given the chance to take a second look at the incident that is at the heart of the book, she is reluctant to do so. Spends time watching TV, giving herself pedicures, sleeping late, and generally avoiding the task. Overall, not a very appealing character in a cast of not very appealing characters. Kline's writing is good, but the story is pretty lame.

DESIRE LINES is the story of Kathryn Campbell’s journey to find out what happened to her best friend, Jennifer Pelletier, who disappeared on the night of their high school graduation. Ten years later, Kathryn is a free-lance journalist and moving back home to Bangor, Maine after her failed marriage. Coming home has unlocked a lot of feelings in Kathryn and when she’s given the opportunity to write a follow-up story on Jennifer’s disappearance, she takes her old friend up on the offer. Is Kathryn ready to discover what really happened to Jennifer Pelletier? To me, DESIRE LINES is more about Kathryn than about the mystery of Jennifer. Coming back home to Maine has opened a lot of old wounds for Kathryn and while part of her wants to know the truth, another part just wants to forget. As Kathryn starts investigating, she learns she didn’t know her best friend as well as she thought she did. I liked Kathryn and could sympathize with her to an extent. It’s obvious to everyone Kathryn never moved on from Jennifer’s disappearance and hopefully this search will help her find her own voice. DESIRE LINES has interesting characters and is very well-written. I’ve never read anything by this author previously, but I think I’ll check out some of her other works now.

Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings

An interesting take on a mystery/thriller with a disappearance of a high schooler right near graduation and ten years as they gather for a reunion, there is still no body and no clues as to where she could possibly be. With a tight knit group of friends, they all didn't know the secrets that were between them and as Kathryn tries to find more clues about Jennifer's disappearance some of their secrets will come out into the light and may cause some drama.

I loved that the author used Kathryn's journalistic profession to get her to go looking into the clues from the past and to try to find new ones. It was a perfect avenue to get her into interviewing the players from the past and trying to put the old pieces together with new puzzle pieces. I thought I had a clue as to the truth behind Jennifer's disappearance and I was pleasantly surprised by the real truth and even how it unfolded. I was glad I was wrong in my guessing!

Not this authors best work. Orphan train and Rhe way life should be are both better books.

Chick full of unfortunate stereotypes:

"The blond blue eyed girl that every one either loves or wants to be. Everything a parent would want of a daughter"
"Rachel, The overly intellectual cold Jewish woman"
"Jack, the newspaper editor hero. Rough around the edges."
"The nerdy Jewish man who always wears his belt too tight".
"Two loud Jewish men in yarmulkes who are gestilating wildly with their hands".
"The trampy trophy wife".

The plot line is weak though this is padded down with entertaining writing and sex scenes that come out of no where and seem way to detailed compare to the rest of the book.

Mystery and romance. Set in Bangor, Maine, this novel centers around Kathryn, a young woman, new!y divorced who returns home to Maine to find herself. 10 years ago her childhood friend, Jennifer, disappeared after graduating from high school. Kathryn investigates this for a newspaper article and the mystery begins. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more by this author.

After reading orphan train I wanted to read another book by this author and I am so glad I did! Ms. Kline is a great storyteller. She brings her characters to life, wraps you up in their story making it very difficult to put down the book until the tale has been told and the last page has been consumed. Ms. Kline has an uncanny ability to meld past and present events related to an unexplained disappearance and it's affect on those left behind into an exciting and compulsive read. So pull up a comfortable chair and enjoy!

I really enjoyed this book. While the story is about a best friend's disappearance 10 yrs prior on the night of high school graduation, the real focus of the book is someone coming to terms with themself. Revisiting the disappearance of her friend on that fateful night, with ten yrs life experience and disappointments under her belt, allows the narrator to discover who she is and, ultimately, through this process to unravel the mystery. A worthwhile read that approaches a typical subject matter from a different angle with winning results...

Desire Lines is a hugely enjoyable read for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that it does not fit squarely into any specific genre. I am not at all sure where the Gen-X tag is coming from, to approach the book with that in mind is to begin with an unnecessary preconceived notion. At no point during the book did I find myself pausing to wonder if anyone would actually say that, if anyone would actually do that, if such things could actually take place. The story is eminent and the existential dilemmas are enough to inspire empathy in any person. The scattered bad things I have read about this book seem to have been written by people who didn't actually read it and could not conceivably be more off base. Do yourself a favor, buy two. One for yourself and one for someone you love. Or like.

Well... I don't usually write reviews, but for some reason this book makes me want to, and not because I liked it. I think there's so much hype in the media, and not enough real standards. I bought this book because of the Boston Globe review like another reader but didn't agree at all with the reviewer. I think her writing is really sort of boring, and the story didn't grab me at all even though I kept reading, waiting for the good parts the reviewer had assured me would be there. Oh well -- I'm wiser now. But -- as far as the story goes -- my feeling is basically, SO WHAT? I wasn't moved or involved, and kept noticing how she never gave any real physical detail or made her characters come to life. I want more from books, something more real. I don't recommend this one.

I thought the book was fairly decent. However, I thought it was glaringly obvious as to what happened to her friend. I didn't feel there was a twist - it was clear to me almost immediately after meeting a certain character.