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The Four Stages Of Cruelty: A Novel (2010)

by Keith Hollihan(Favorite Author)

3.37 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0312592477 (ISBN13: 9780312592479)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Thomas Dunne Books

review 1: What's a nice, tough girl doing in a place like Ditmarsh Penitentiary? The unlikely narrative of Kali Williams, a CO (corrections officer) there along with many strange people with hidden agendas and a stark prison that hooked me enough to make this a fast page-turner. While we dont get to know Kali, we get an impression that she's strong-willed enough to work at Ditmarsh and principled just enough to work through some mysterious plots in a prison where the underground guard network may be just as bad as the prisoners. It's an interesting mystery of personalities that have little to loose except their prison reputations and ruling hierarchies that seem to run the place despite being under lock and key in a maximum security prison. Wrap this story around a secret internal i... morenvestigation, coded drawings, secret rooms, and a prison riot and you get four stars of interest from this review. Not the most exciting or clever book but one you're likely to be locked up with once you start reading.
review 2: Joshua Riff, a 19-year-old convict at Ditmarsh Penitentiary, puzzles Kali Williams, a 39-year-old corrections officer, in Hollihan's impressive first novel, a complex and atmospheric thriller. The other COs are protecting Josh by keeping him segregated in the infirmary next to an enigmatic inmate, Jon Crowley. Josh has been helping Crowley illustrate a densely symbolic comic book based on prison life called The Four Stages of Cruelty, which conjures up history from Ditmarsh's dark past. When Crowley disappears, Williams investigates on her own. The clues take her beneath the prison to the long-abandoned isolation chambers that older convicts refer to as "the City," and from there things really get interesting. Hollihan manages to combine a labyrinthine plot, full of intrigue, secret societies, and arcane lore, with a nuanced, character-driven narrative that provides insights into prison life while keeping readers guessing until the last page.Although I really loved the writing, I was still disappointed. Kali let me down as a "detective" probing for the secrets of Ditmarsh. Perhaps she wasn't as strong of a character as I had hoped. All the characters were sad, depressed, dark, and crippled. I was hoping Kali would come out stronger and smarter but I didn't really get that. less

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