Review of Pariah

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smolbird
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Latest Review: Pariah by Robert C. Swetz
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Review of Pariah

Post by smolbird »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Pariah" by Robert C. Swetz.]
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2 out of 4 stars
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If you could have a superpower, what would it be? Would you want the ability to fly or to be invisible? Pariah by Robert C. Swetz is about Pariah, a homeless and horribly disfigured man with the ability to find anyone on Earth.

FBI Agent Cliff McNair first met Pariah outside his office in Atlanta. Although distrustful and disgusted by Pariah, Cliff finds himself working with the homeless man to solve missing person cases. However, it isn’t easy to work with Pariah because he’s damaged, both mentally and physically. Cliff’s distrust only increases when he finds out that Pariah had been in jail for child molestation, but keeps working with him because he can find anyone dead or alive.

While I’m not a fan of crime thrillers, I couldn’t resist reading this book because of its plot. Swetz captured my interest and held onto it firmly. I didn’t mind that the book had over 400 pages, as the plot progressed fairly quickly, and I could keep up with the story because there were no unnecessary jargons thrown in. While there were many characters, it wasn’t difficult to keep track of them. These characters were well written, and their dialogues were natural.

As much as I loved the plot, I was massively disappointed by the ending. While I’m sure that Swetz had a vision of how the story would end, it wasn’t executed well. About halfway into the story, the focus shifted from Pariah’s mysterious abilities to a police operation, which I did not like. I feel that the story would have been better if it was written as a series instead of a standalone book.

Additionally, one of my biggest gripes about Pariah is Cliff himself. While I like his character, I couldn’t help but become frustrated at his antics. His potential romantic interest, Cynthia, is an accomplished psychiatrist whose job is to treat Pariah. Without fail, whenever Cliff saw Cynthia, he would always complain about not seeing her legs. I felt that it was really unnecessary, and I reckon that the book would be 50 pages shorter if he worked on his cases instead of focusing on her figure.

I found it really difficult to rate Pariah. If I could, I would rate this book 2.5 stars. However, after much deliberation, my final rating for Pariah is 2 out of 4 stars. I don’t believe that the book was professionally edited, as it contained many errors. I would recommend this book to avid fans of crime thrillers. However, it contains descriptions of rape, mental and physical torture, and profanity. Sensitive readers should steer clear of this book.

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Post by Review Writer »

From your summary of the book, the plot is truly an enjoyable one. But I got to regret the inadequacies you came across. Welldone for an honest analysis if the book.
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Balebi Alexis
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Post by Balebi Alexis »

Pariah book tells the story in accordance with homeless man
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Post by Rishi_reviews »

The plot of the book seems really new to me. I haven't heard of a book with this topic and I'm looking forward to reading it. Thanks for the review.
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Raluca_Mihaila
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Post by Raluca_Mihaila »

I appreciate your warnings and the objective presentation of the book. despite its flaws, it seems very appealing! Thanks for your work!
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Post by Ahñ Mèiã »

I would definitely choose to fly 😢 the story seems interesting and new of a kind. The cover also is beautiful. Thank you for the review. I don't like reading the details of rape but maybe someday I will give it a try
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Post by Tanya Torkhani »

Wow! This book should be a X-Men movie, this man even though he was homeless he had a wonderful gift that could help people all over the world! I love this book, won't you make this a movie, I would go see it!
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Post by NetMassimo »

Despite the flaws you pointed out, this seems like an engaging crime thriller, so I hope the author does more editing to correct the errors and improve some parts. Thank you for your honest review!
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Immaculate06
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Post by Immaculate06 »

The author did a good job in the characterization of the book. I love the plot of the book and I would love to read it. Good review.
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Post by Rayah Raouf »

Even though it needs a bit of work, this does sound like an enjoyable read. I personally don't mind if the book is a bit graphic, but I appreciate the warning beforehand. I liked how informative your review is.
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Post by Rwill0988 »

I'd probably steer clear of this if the ending is disappointing. Crime novels really need a solid ending for me to enjoy them. Enjoyed reading your review.
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Post by Jumana Fawmi »

I'd probably steer clear of the book because the ending is disappointing and the amount of mistakes in the book. I believe crime novels need one focus and a clear ending. Thank you for a great review.
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