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Death Match (2006)

Death Match (2006)

Book Info

Author
Genre
Rating
3.73 of 5 Votes: 1
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ISBN
0307275566 (ISBN13: 9780307275561)
Language
English
Publisher
anchor books

About book Death Match (2006)

Can you imagine paying $25,000 to find your perfect match? There are so many online dating websites like okCupid, eHarmony, POF, and only lord knows what else out there. In Death Match, Dr. Richard Silver is the owner of the company Eden, Inc. While the work of Eden is nothing less than extraordinary, something strange is starting to happen -- 2 of the supercouples have died by double suicide. Dr. Lash, an ex-FBI agent, is brought as support to try and figure out why these couples committed suicide. The longer Dr. Lash is on the case, he realizes that it is much more than just a suicide; he believes that the couples were murdered. He has no idea what to expect while he is on the hunt to find answers.**Mild Spoiler**As this is not my usual type of genre I choose, I can honestly say that I did not go into this book expecting to like it. It was a pretty quick read for me and it kept my attention through most of the book. I do believe that it could have ended a lot sooner than it did, but no harm done in reading a little bit more I suppose. As this was a new genre for me to look into, I didn't know what to necessarily expect. I did enjoy the idea of artificial intelligence - it's definitely something that is interesting to read about. The only thing that really bothered me through the book was, as another user said, was how oblivious Dr. Lash was to all of the coincidences that were happening to him involving his personal life. Eden had so many resources, so I don't see why he didn't think of just asking one of the employees to do a check and see what was going on. Other than that, I did really enjoy the book. I don't think it's quite 5 star worthy, but I think it was well worthy of 4 stars.

Eden is a high-priced match making service where, for a mere $25,000, you will go though a grueling matching process to find your perfect life-mate. Thousands of testimonials proves it is well worth the money, and in fact, the rigorous process has yielded several PERFECT matches...couples who are 100% compatible. There's a serpent in Eden, however, or at least that is the fear when one of the perfect couples commits suicide. Enter forensic psychologist Christopher Lash. Eden wants to know why a couple with everything chooses death. It doesn't take long for Dr. Lash to discover that there are no indicators for suicide in the couple and graciously bow out, but he doesn't get far before yet another perfect match ends in bloody death. There is something more nefarious than suicide here, and it is up to Lash to figure out what, but he may be ill prepared for the job given his jaded past and the fact that Eden's board of directors is less than cooperative. Did the couples really commit suicide or is there a murderer using Eden as his playground? Is Eden's match making to blame? Can Lash solve the mystery before the next couple dies? It's hard to figure out who the bad guy is, although I had my suspicions about a third of the way through. This is a good read with just enough breadcrumbs to keep you following along. Lots of cyber-talk that I mostly zoned out on is well-complemented by an intriguing look at the match-making phenomenon. An interesting subplot or two keeps this novel moving along at a pretty good clip. Worth the read.

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Predictable. Agonizing slow plot. When done, I felt like I wasted my time. Unsatisfying. I figured out who did the murders very early in the book, way before learning the motive. This is a techno-thriller. The author uses 1980s computer technology, garbed in 1990s language, and it's clear he has read about some AI stuff, but has a shallow understanding of AI and neural networks. He throws the buzz words around in a semi reasonable fashion, but the gaps are humorous. Lots of standard techno adventure formula of crawling through duct work to different floors to escape detection (amazing how fictional duct work is always big enough to just accommodate the hero).
—Chuck Noren

Okay, maybe I am a bit too excited about this novel; maybe it should have received a 'Very Good' rating from me, instead of my highest. But it was one fun ride. Eden Inc. is a matchmaking company that makes every other one in the business look downright primitive. Their candidates are thoroughly analyzed physically, genetically, as well as psychologically, and then their data is input in a super supercomputer which is powerful enough to shame even the computing prowess of NASA. The supercomputer then finds the soulmate for each candidate and then it is happily everafter. But there is trouble in paradise as couples matched by Eden Inc. start to commit double suicides.An engaging novel of psychological suspense and terrific brain candy of a techno-thriller, Child has penned this novel mostly in stylish corporate-speak which is also very effective at maintaining the brisk narrative drive without getting in the way. The detailed descriptions of the psychological analyses of Eden's candidates provide very entertaining side bars, as do the insights into the company's fearsomely long technological arms which it uses to dip into the huge digital data reservoirs mining out every detail of their candidates' lives in order to draw up as accurate a personality profile of them as possible. Delicious techno-babble aside, a lot of good old-fashioned detective work helps in unravelling the mystery behind the deaths of the matched couples. While the revealing of the real culprit would not come as a surprise to most readers, nevertheless, this is a great psycho-techno thriller that is sure to please fans of several genres. Sleek, sophisticated, timely entertainment from the hugely-talented Mr. Child.
—Farhan

I generally pass on novels with multiple authors. However, the Douglas Preston/Lincoln Child partnership is a mystery to me. Together, their trashy airport thrillers are actually not bad at all for the genre. Yet on their own, these guys deserve a special section in the Dan Brown wing of the Museum of God-Awful American Writing. I assumed after Douglas Preston's word-poop "The Codex" (listened to this driving up to Yosemite) that Lincoln Child was the decent author in the Preston/Child partnership. "Death Match", about a super-computer that optimizes online dating, disproved this theory in a big way. The book started out OK but devolved, Stephen King-like, into a trite, completely predictable mess toward the end. Much of "Death Match" was suspiciously similar to the earlier, also weak Preston/Child collaboration "Mount Dragon". At least Child is safe from plagiarism charges on this one, though his crimes against people stuck on a Southwest Airlines flight with only one book (ie. me) remain unanswered.
—John G

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