Carolyn Lee Adams

Wow. I'm messed up right now. This book drew me in and spit me back out. I liked Ruth. Yeah she could be thoughtless and a bit of a bitch but she also owned it and was motivated in part by her love for her family. I could relate to that. I liked her friendship with Caleb and I liked the back and forth between Ruth and Wolfman. For a thriller, it was also surprisingly funny. Ruth kept up a snarky sarcastic and inane commentary that had me amused. But then I'm dark and twisted like that.

I do wish she was a little more ruthless and had of killed him or severely injured him when she had the chance. Honestly, I would've killed him ten times over. Plus when he had the handcuffs - why didn't she use them instead of the shoelaces?

On reflection it was a little tedious the amount of times she escaped and then he found her but I didn't particularly take much notice while reading - I was too fully engrossed.

But for the most part I found the story riveting - Ruth is a strong heroine who for the most part makes strong, smart decisions even when confronted by extremely difficult circumstances. Her faith in herself and her family and her pure will to survive is amazing. Yeah, she's not perfect but she also recognises her flaws and that balance drives the story perfectly.

I will say the ending was extremely abrupt. I would've liked it to be a bit longer and flesh out what happened when she got to safety - what her interactions with her family would be like, what happens to Wolfman, does she sue the Logans, her interviews with the police, etc. - and reactions of the other girls families and discussion of how Wolfman came to target her. I actually think there could easily be (and I would love to read) a sequel of some sort. There is easily enough left over material and Ruth is such a captivating heroine. … (mehr)

When Ruth gets abducted, so she can be "purified" by her captor, a serial killer who's killed six girls before her, she decides she will fight, and survive. Her captor plays mind games with her, making her realize things she should probably do differently, if/when she makes it back home. Getting away, figuring out where she is, surviving being shot, dehydration, and lack of food and clothing, all make her task harder.

I had a few kids read Ruthless last year at school, and I'm pretty sure it will check out fairly frequently this year, also. There are some hard to believe parts, but I didn't mind them. I think it would make a cool movie.… (mehr)