Tim Waggoner has done it again and given us another fantastic tale of horror and mystery. Cross County is a strange place with the strangest part being the Cross family. After a particualr murder the sheriff starts looking for the killer as does a memebr of the Cross family. Their objectives are not quite the same and lends to some interesting tension.

This is a good murder mystery which keeps the reader guessing until the end which I especially like. No spoilers here, but if you enjoy HP Lovecraft, you will enjoy Cross County. ( )

I liked this book, went through it rather quickly, I think the problem was it was all so very 'familiar'. Things were explained so I understood them, and I would recommend it. And I have put Tim Waggoner on my '..to read..' list. ( )

My Rating

Couldn't Finish It: Tim Waggoner is one of the mentors in Seton Hill's Writing Popular Fiction Program, and he seems like a cool guy. When this book was offered as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program, I thought I might as well take this free opportunity to read Waggoner's work.

Unfortunately, nothing about this book grabbed my attention. The first chapter reminded me very much of Mary SanGiovanni's The Hollower (and I mean that in a good way), but the whole premise of what appears to be a copycat of an executed serial murderer in a town where a SINGLE FAMILY is pretty much GOD in terms of power, well, it didn't take long for me to tire of it. It's not to say initial core elements weren't interesting: like Sheriff Joanne Talon's mysterious kidnapping as a child that she doesn't remember but somehow came out of it with a kind of psychic power and how reporter Dale Ramsey fits into all of it. But that's pretty much canceled out by the fact that the Cross family is a very cruel family indeed, and their power extends beyond wealth--they too seem to have some kind of psychic/mind-control, of course, they always put it to good use, right? As of page 76, not so much, and I think I've reached the point in fiction where that specific speculative element alone kind of bores me, and that's a personal thing and no fault of the author.

I don't know. It just didn't catch my interest, and the writing style, while fine and clean, wasn't unique enough to really make me pay attention and keep reading despite my lack of interest in the plot, characters, setting, the works.

That doesn't mean I won't try Waggoner's work in the future. I'd like too, but I think I'll go with one of his more popular, critically acclaimed works rather than on something that's brand-new like this and hasn't had a chance to prove itself. ( )

Tim Waggoner's book, Cross Country, was an interesting book to say the least. it starts out as an apparent crime-thriller then turns about half way through into a paranormal science fiction novel. the plot is good and more than appealing enough to keep the reader interested. i particularly liked Waggoner's use of suspense and how he let the reader figure out the killer's next move. the biggest negative was that the story unfolded rather quickly and was too quick a read. despite this, the plot had enough "meat" and allowed the reader to get to know the characters. all in all, the book was fun and well written. i would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good murder mystery and does not have a lot of time on their hands. ( )

Cross Country was superbly written and was interesting as far as plot twists, although a bit predictable. The imagery was well done in both the "real" scenes and the dream-like, supernatural scenes. The characters were disappointing though; they have a great start, but need more developing as they lack any substance, quirks, individuality, or uniqueness, as you learn only parts of their histories as they pertain to the current scene. I found that it reads nothing like Stephen King (as the back claims) and could easily put it down as I wasn't intrigued enough to care what happened next, but I was able to finish it. ( )