Dust to Dust

By C.N. Bean

When 12-year-old Angela Robles is kidnapped on her way to the school bus in suburban Texas, FBI special agent Kathryn Stone receives intelligence linking the captors to military terrorists, while she herself suspects the child's parents are involved.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451408047
• ISBN13: 9780451408044
• Release Date: May 1998
• Publisher: Onyx Books
• Length: 364 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Excellent!

Admittedly, the only reason that I read Carl's first book is because his daughter Jessica is a good friend of mine, and they were very excited about it. While it was a good book, I didn't think it was particularly extroardinary. Then, when Dust to Dust came out, I read it again for the same reason. Except this book was even better. It really made me think, and question certainties that I've always held as true without giving them a second thought. I enjoy his writing style, and know him to be very dedicated and committed to his work. He truly writes from experience, and I can tell you that "Wendy" and "Gordon" are actually real people, and the experiences in the book are definitely related to them. This book was amazing, and I encourage everyone to be on the lookout for his next novel, "With Evil Intent".

Worth a second read

I was amazed when I read Dust to Dust. I read it once and found myself rereading. I never do that. If I get confused by a book, I throw it aside. In this case, I reread the entire book a second time. That never happens. This is a great book! Deep with plot twists. Deep with meaning. Separates the seasoned reader from the child.

A FIVE-STAR BOOK

This is the second time I've written a review of Dust to Dust, primarily because I think it's an underrated book, and I don't understand why you would decide not to print a positive review. This is a novel in which the author astutely portrays the world we live in. You say, I don't want to read more about the world I live in and hear about each day. Fine. But when a writer can capture that world and make an insightful social statement at the same time, it's rare. In this book, people are going all sorts of different directions. Even when they're talking together, there's tension and distance between them, so there really is no such word as "they" in the novel. Characters are never reconciled with each other. Like the world. Dog eat dog. In the middle of everything is this cool Kathryn Stanton, who is trying to make sense of the absurd. How many days have I felt like Kathryn at the end of the day--drained, disoriented, stunned by the absurdity of my surroundings (especially by the lying, cheating, arguing, finger-pointing and manipulation by a world of Bill Clintons and Ken Starrs in our government). Yes, C.N. Bean is a writer to keep your eyes on! Great book, despite it being a challenging read. Deep!

The best in a long time

"DUST TO DUST is a book that's bound to stir up mixed reviews. I liked it especially because of the message at the end of the book. The ending reminded me of Melville's MOBY DICK, where Ishmael is the only survivor, and he's floating on a piece of driftwood out in the middle of the ocean. Obviously the big fish has gotten away, but does that make the reader like the novel any less? No, instead it causes the reader to rethink what the novel, and hence life, is really about. Similarly, in DUST TO DUST, FBI Agent Kathryn Stanton finds that the big fish, a government conspiracy, has eluded her, and she figuratively ends up clinging to a piece of driftwood in the middle of an ocean. No, this is not a cheap-thrill novel for the superficial reader who insists that a thriller has to have a lot of bullets flying and a neat wrapping up of all the action at the end. This is an Iran/Contra-type novel in which the reader realizes something major and complex has been happening, and that even the shrewdest individual is helpless to do anything about it. The ending of DUST leaves the reader with all the frustrating and typical questions we all have when something like this really happens: Who knew? How far up did the conspiracy go? Why couldn't someone have done something? You mean, we don't have an agency of superhero, crime-fighters like we see on television and in the movies? The plot of DUST TO DUST is as intricate as that of any spy thriller, and the setting is American soil. No, this is not a novel for a reader who brings to it generic expectations of what one is supposed to find in a generic mystery/thriller. Not an escape/entertainment book either. Instead, DUST TO DUST is a novel that reminds the reader that "fiction" has the power to show us something important about the world of fact. Are there similarities between fact and faction? C.N. Bean seems to think so. He brings fiction right to the brink of sounding factual. A good read, but don't bring along any preconceived notions of what a thriller/mystery is all about."

Loved It!

When I read that a teacher had assigned DUST TO DUST to a student, I figured this new novel must be a potentially important work, so I got a copy right away. To my surprise and contrary to what the student wrote in your review section, the novel is quite good. Just like a student to shirk the assignment and trash the book. The easy way out. DUST TO DUST turns out to have a complex plot that is indeed "multi-dimensional" as one reviewer put it. Not only that, but all the sub-plots fit together. This is a writer who can handle narrative. Granted, there are things I didn't like, but it wasn't the narrator's fault. For example, I didn't like the first chapter in which Angela Robles is kidnapped. I was enraged by how the kidnappers treated her. Having read the book, I suspect that's probably what C.N. Bean had in mind. The narrator probably wanted the reader to hate what happens to that little girl. I did. There are a few misspelled words too. Who cares? The best eye can miss a misspelled word. All I care about are the things I liked immensely. I liked the writing. It was quite good. I liked reading a story where the author tells it like it is. C.N. Bean pulls no punches. This is not a fantasy, fairytale book, or a "student," children's book. I like a story that shoots from the hip. Who cares if the bullet hits where you don't want it to hit? Sometimes a bullet at the heart of the target is what it takes. That brings me to the final point. I liked the social message. C.N. Bean hints that we all are responsible for what happens to the Angela's of the world. I recommend this one.