The Weatherman

by Steve Thayer

Book Overview

It's the dead of winter, and a serial killer has frozen a city in fear...Television newscaster Andrea Labore sees it as a career-making story...He's called The Weatherman. And he's going to make... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670849588
• ISBN13: 9780670849581
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: Viking Books
• Length: 452 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Riveting

I've just finished reading this book for the third time, and generally by the time you read something that often the impact of it on you lessens. With the really good books, however, it doesn't, and it doesn't happen with The Weatherman. It's not a comfortable read and if it bothers you to read about state executions then this might not be the book for you, but it simply is a book that's very hard to put down. I finished it this time at 2:30 AM and when you have to work in the morning this is not exactly smart, but that's the kind of hold this book can create when you get deeply into the later chapters. Reading the other reviews there is a lot of variation on what people like and dislike about this novel. Some like the plot, others think it's weak, some like the characters and some don't. It seems to pull people different ways more than most other books and that in itself is interesting. No matter what way you look at it, it's excellent writing and that is another reason to take a look at it. Someone else mentioned The Green Mile. To me it brought up the memory of Dreiser's An American Tragedy. There are definitely some powerful and emotional scenes here. If you want light and cozy, don't touch this one with a ten foot pole. If you want something that makes you think long after the book is closed, then this might be something you want on your bookshelf. This one is on my own keeper shelf and in another three or four years I'll probably lose another night's sleep over it. :)

I really enjoyed it-couldn't put it down.

There are two main reasons why I picked up this book to read. One being that I enjoy thrillers. The other being, it's set in my home state. This is my first Steve Thayer novel and I'll be sure to pick up his others. From the beginning I figured out who it was. Which was a disappointment in a sense but as I read the book, Thayer made me second guess my opinion. Which is what, indeed, made it an excellent book. I was getting worried and frustrated towards the end, as I felt that the killer wasn't going to be identified. But at least, he was in a creative ending. Overall I felt that I got to know the characters as well as the setting. The ropes of newscasting & the weather-Thayer researched a long time about the roles to be informed of what he was writing about. Which gives him 5 out of 5 stars!

Hauntingly magnificent

This is the kind of book that sticks with you. I finished it three days ago, and I've thought back to it many times since, and even dreamed about it!Thayer does a wonderful job here. He spent five years on this book, and it was well-worth the effort. The depth of the book comes from the depth of the characters...Dixon Graham Bell, Rick Beanblossom, Andrea LeBore...which are finely drawn, intimate portraits of people so real that you feel you can reach out and touch the page and feel their hands pushing back from the other side.The Minnesota weather is another character in the book, and just as finely drawn as the human characters are...obviously, Thayer knows the state well. Another non-human character is the television news business, and Sky-High News in particular. Thayer worked at a TV station in order to research the book, and his knowledge of the ins and outs, highs and lows of the TV news game is obvious.And the plot is full of twists and turns, more than enough for the most adventurous thrill-seekers. And then it comes to an end in such a way that it leaves you breathless, satisfied and yet hungry for more, almost to the point of going back to the beginning to read the whole thing again, in your thoughts and dreams if not in reality.This is a great read. It is my first book by this author, but I will seek out even more of his work.

Wow! Steve! Do it Again!

I picked this book up in the airport and found myself drawn in from page one. This is an outstanding, original thriller. Just the creative thought of a possibly murderous Willard Scott-like "Weatherman" is worth the cover price. The character of Rick is incredible. I thought odd and disturbing, but, unlike one of the masterful Dean Koontz' recent books, here is a character with problems that might outweigh the plot or the other characters; but he works anyway! I don't know what it is about the frozen North that spawns these fantastic thriller writers, like Chuck Logan, also, but whatever it is - snowshoes, beer, brats . . . the weather? . . . I hope it keeps up. This is tightly-written and above all, constructed, with plot twists that astonished me - all rooted in these twisted, bizarre, yet ultimately compelling characters. It's not a "nice" book. We've all seen the guys fry at the movies in THE GREEN MILE, but if you've got a weak stomach, probably this isn't for you. However, if you're strong of stomach and heart: buy it and read it now. From one writer to another - Steve, you've got the goombah. Thanks for an original and humane book.

One of my all-time favorites

If anything makes a great novel, it's character development. The Weatherman has the most interesting cast of characters I've come across in a while. It's also a hell of a story. Someone is committing a murder once a season before a major weather event. Very well done, keeps you guessing until the end, and the suspense is relentless. A MUST READ! I can't wait for Thayer's second novel!