What do you think?
Rate this book
Death Match
Everyone’s looking for the perfect match, a life-long partner, and Lewis and Lindsay Thorpe have found theirs, thanks to hi-tech matchmaker Eden Inc. But when the happy couple’s life together ends in what looks like a double suicide, Eden Inc. has some explaining to do. So they hire forensic psychologist Christopher Lash to figure out what went wrong. And then another perfect match ends in death...
416 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
About the author
Lincoln Child
153 books4,779 followersLincoln Child was born in Westport, Connecticut, which he still calls his hometown (despite the fact that he left the place before he reached his first birthday and now only goes back for weekends).
Lincoln seemed to have acquired an interest in writing as early as second grade, when he wrote a short story entitled Bumble the Elephant (now believed by scholars to be lost). Along with two dozen short stories composed during his youth, he wrote a science-fiction novel in tenth grade called Second Son of Daedalus and a shamelessly Tolkeinesque fantasy in twelfth grade titled The Darkness to the North (left unfinished at 400 manuscript pages). Both are exquisitely embarrassing to read today and are kept under lock and key by the author.
After a childhood that is of interest only to himself, Lincoln graduated from Carleton College (huh?) in Northfield, Minnesota, majoring in English. Discovering a fascination for words, and their habit of turning up in so many books, he made his way to New York in the summer of 1979, intent on finding a job in publishing. He was lucky enough to secure a position as editorial assistant at St. Martin's Press.
Over the next several years, he clawed his way up the editorial hierarchy, moving to assistant editor to associate editor before becoming a full editor in 1984. While at St. Martin's, he was associated with the work of many authors, including that of James Herriot and M. M. Kaye. He edited well over a hundred books--with titles as diverse as The Notation of Western Music and Hitler's Rocket Sites--but focused primarily on American and English popular fiction.
While at St. Martin's, Lincoln assembled several collections of ghost and horror stories, beginning with the hardcover collections Dark Company (1984) and Dark Banquet (1985). Later, when he founded the company's mass-market horror division, he edited three more collections of ghost stories, Tales of the Dark 1-3.
In 1987, Lincoln left trade publishing to work at MetLife. In a rather sudden transition, he went from editing manuscripts, speaking at sales conferences, and wining/dining agents to doing highly technical programming and systems analysis. Though the switch might seem bizarre, Lincoln was a propeller-head from a very early age, and his extensive programming experience dates back to high school, when he worked with DEC minis and the now-prehistoric IBM 1620, so antique it actually had an electric typewriter mounted into its front panel. Away from the world of publishing, Lincoln's own nascent interests in writing returned. While at MetLife, Relic was published, and within a few years Lincoln had left the company to write full time. He now lives in New Jersey (under protest--just kidding) with his wife and daughter.
A dilettante by natural inclination, Lincoln's interests include: pre-1950s literature and poetry; post-1950s popular fiction; playing the piano, various MIDI instruments, and the 5-string banjo; English and American history; motorcycles; architecture; classical music, early jazz, blues, and R&B; exotic parrots; esoteric programming languages; mountain hiking; bow ties; Italian suits; fedoras; archaeology; and multiplayer deathmatching.
Lincoln seemed to have acquired an interest in writing as early as second grade, when he wrote a short story entitled Bumble the Elephant (now believed by scholars to be lost). Along with two dozen short stories composed during his youth, he wrote a science-fiction novel in tenth grade called Second Son of Daedalus and a shamelessly Tolkeinesque fantasy in twelfth grade titled The Darkness to the North (left unfinished at 400 manuscript pages). Both are exquisitely embarrassing to read today and are kept under lock and key by the author.
After a childhood that is of interest only to himself, Lincoln graduated from Carleton College (huh?) in Northfield, Minnesota, majoring in English. Discovering a fascination for words, and their habit of turning up in so many books, he made his way to New York in the summer of 1979, intent on finding a job in publishing. He was lucky enough to secure a position as editorial assistant at St. Martin's Press.
Over the next several years, he clawed his way up the editorial hierarchy, moving to assistant editor to associate editor before becoming a full editor in 1984. While at St. Martin's, he was associated with the work of many authors, including that of James Herriot and M. M. Kaye. He edited well over a hundred books--with titles as diverse as The Notation of Western Music and Hitler's Rocket Sites--but focused primarily on American and English popular fiction.
While at St. Martin's, Lincoln assembled several collections of ghost and horror stories, beginning with the hardcover collections Dark Company (1984) and Dark Banquet (1985). Later, when he founded the company's mass-market horror division, he edited three more collections of ghost stories, Tales of the Dark 1-3.
In 1987, Lincoln left trade publishing to work at MetLife. In a rather sudden transition, he went from editing manuscripts, speaking at sales conferences, and wining/dining agents to doing highly technical programming and systems analysis. Though the switch might seem bizarre, Lincoln was a propeller-head from a very early age, and his extensive programming experience dates back to high school, when he worked with DEC minis and the now-prehistoric IBM 1620, so antique it actually had an electric typewriter mounted into its front panel. Away from the world of publishing, Lincoln's own nascent interests in writing returned. While at MetLife, Relic was published, and within a few years Lincoln had left the company to write full time. He now lives in New Jersey (under protest--just kidding) with his wife and daughter.
A dilettante by natural inclination, Lincoln's interests include: pre-1950s literature and poetry; post-1950s popular fiction; playing the piano, various MIDI instruments, and the 5-string banjo; English and American history; motorcycles; architecture; classical music, early jazz, blues, and R&B; exotic parrots; esoteric programming languages; mountain hiking; bow ties; Italian suits; fedoras; archaeology; and multiplayer deathmatching.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 606 reviews
October 23, 2018
As I have been asked to hold up on the Pendergast Series so some of my Buddy Reads buddies can catch up *cough*Ginger *cough* Terry *cough* I have needed to find ways to feed the need for Preston and Child. Recently I read a Preston solo – The Lost City of the Monkey God – so I figured it was time for a Child solo. Enter Death Match!
My theory has been that Preston handles the archology and historical aspects of the novels and Child does all the high tech stuff – my two recent selections seem to confirm that. While Lost City was all about an archeological adventure in Honduras, Death Match deals with computer technology, data analytics, and AI self-realization. And, while I have yet to find a Preston or Child solo that holds a candle to the Pendergast series, they do a really good job by themselves, too!
Death Match is a very thrilling Techno-Mystery involving a computer based matchmaking service and the fact that a couple they matched has committed suicide (not really a spoiler, you find that out in the first few pages). From there, not only is there a lot of investigation and mystery based around the data analytics involved in personality testing, but also a lot of cool, theoretical info on how a high tech dating service might operate to come up with what would be considered a perfect match. For some, the computer programming analysis may be a little heavy and not all that interesting, but I think if you enjoy sci-fi and theoretical fiction you will enjoy this story.
Another thing about a story like this is, with all the technological advances over the last decade and the fact that computer based dating seems to be more common and accepted, a story like this seems very possible! Would you let a computer figure out your ideal relationship for you? Maybe you already have? How many times do you see recommendations, advertising, etc. catered to you based on your online activity? The future, and this story, are here now!
If you need a good, stand-alone techno-thriller, I don’t think you can go wrong with Death Match.
My theory has been that Preston handles the archology and historical aspects of the novels and Child does all the high tech stuff – my two recent selections seem to confirm that. While Lost City was all about an archeological adventure in Honduras, Death Match deals with computer technology, data analytics, and AI self-realization. And, while I have yet to find a Preston or Child solo that holds a candle to the Pendergast series, they do a really good job by themselves, too!
Death Match is a very thrilling Techno-Mystery involving a computer based matchmaking service and the fact that a couple they matched has committed suicide (not really a spoiler, you find that out in the first few pages). From there, not only is there a lot of investigation and mystery based around the data analytics involved in personality testing, but also a lot of cool, theoretical info on how a high tech dating service might operate to come up with what would be considered a perfect match. For some, the computer programming analysis may be a little heavy and not all that interesting, but I think if you enjoy sci-fi and theoretical fiction you will enjoy this story.
Another thing about a story like this is, with all the technological advances over the last decade and the fact that computer based dating seems to be more common and accepted, a story like this seems very possible! Would you let a computer figure out your ideal relationship for you? Maybe you already have? How many times do you see recommendations, advertising, etc. catered to you based on your online activity? The future, and this story, are here now!
If you need a good, stand-alone techno-thriller, I don’t think you can go wrong with Death Match.
May 2, 2024
Enjoyable screenplay but not up to his usual standards!
Eden Incorporated is not your run-of-the-mill matchmaking service. For the rather lofty price tag of $25,000, Richard Silver, the company's brilliant and reclusive founder and Liza, the computer and its state of the art artificial intelligence software that is more person than machine, will guarantee to find you a "perfect" lifelong soul-mate. Well ... not quite perfect, but so close mind you that the paired partners certainly aren't complaining. So nobody was more surprised than Silver and Eden's management when Liza, despite overwhelming odds against such a match, found six absolutely perfect pairings.
But when Lewis and Lindsay Thorpe, the first of Eden's starry-eyed perfect couples, are found dead as the result of an apparent double suicide, Eden's corporate alarms sound wildly and Christopher Lash, a former FBI forensic psychologist is hired to quietly investigate the death from the inside. Lash, struggling with demons from his own past and memories that the investigation has brought to the surface, finds himself faced with a situation spiraling completely out of control when another perfect couple is also found dead - a bizarre second double suicide!
DEATH MATCH is first-rate brain candy when it's compared to other plot driven thrillers that seem much more screenplay than novel - James Patterson's and Iris Johansen's recent factory driven voluminous output comes to mind. But by comparison to the rather high standards that have been self-imposed by his own previous work - the Pendergast canon in conjunction with his partner, Douglas Preston, and his first solo effort, UTOPIA - DEATH MATCH falls well short of that mark.
There were so many opportunities for those technical addenda, side-bars and essays that I think of as part and parcel of Child's and Preston's writing - forensics, artificial intelligence, the computer dating and match-making industries, the psychology of suicide, computer security and corporate espionage, for example. But, sadly, all of them (not to mention character development in the bargain) were virtually ignored and the only motive for turning the pages was a plot. Creative and well-crafted, to be sure, but rather naked and lonely!
Well, I enjoyed it and I'll certainly look for more of his work. It just wasn't quite as cerebral a thriller as I had hoped for. Recommended for those looking for a fast-paced lightweight summer read. Three stars and a thumb-and-a-half!
Paul Weiss
Eden Incorporated is not your run-of-the-mill matchmaking service. For the rather lofty price tag of $25,000, Richard Silver, the company's brilliant and reclusive founder and Liza, the computer and its state of the art artificial intelligence software that is more person than machine, will guarantee to find you a "perfect" lifelong soul-mate. Well ... not quite perfect, but so close mind you that the paired partners certainly aren't complaining. So nobody was more surprised than Silver and Eden's management when Liza, despite overwhelming odds against such a match, found six absolutely perfect pairings.
But when Lewis and Lindsay Thorpe, the first of Eden's starry-eyed perfect couples, are found dead as the result of an apparent double suicide, Eden's corporate alarms sound wildly and Christopher Lash, a former FBI forensic psychologist is hired to quietly investigate the death from the inside. Lash, struggling with demons from his own past and memories that the investigation has brought to the surface, finds himself faced with a situation spiraling completely out of control when another perfect couple is also found dead - a bizarre second double suicide!
DEATH MATCH is first-rate brain candy when it's compared to other plot driven thrillers that seem much more screenplay than novel - James Patterson's and Iris Johansen's recent factory driven voluminous output comes to mind. But by comparison to the rather high standards that have been self-imposed by his own previous work - the Pendergast canon in conjunction with his partner, Douglas Preston, and his first solo effort, UTOPIA - DEATH MATCH falls well short of that mark.
There were so many opportunities for those technical addenda, side-bars and essays that I think of as part and parcel of Child's and Preston's writing - forensics, artificial intelligence, the computer dating and match-making industries, the psychology of suicide, computer security and corporate espionage, for example. But, sadly, all of them (not to mention character development in the bargain) were virtually ignored and the only motive for turning the pages was a plot. Creative and well-crafted, to be sure, but rather naked and lonely!
Well, I enjoyed it and I'll certainly look for more of his work. It just wasn't quite as cerebral a thriller as I had hoped for. Recommended for those looking for a fast-paced lightweight summer read. Three stars and a thumb-and-a-half!
Paul Weiss
February 25, 2024
I liked this book... plus it turned me on to Child's series with Douglas Preston (Relic, etc)... but it does make ya think twice about internet hook-ups...
(Reviewed 1/2/03)
(Reviewed 1/2/03)
January 19, 2007
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.
December 14, 2017
It picked up at the end but the first chunk was just so slow I had trouble getting into it. Plus listening to the audiobook made the scenes with all the number data extremely annoying.
February 7, 2017
i was hoping for some action with edmund wyre, but i guess he did his bit
p98: "you didn't bring along any mechanical devices, did you?" mauchly asked. "voice recorder, pda, anything like that?"
p98: "you didn't bring along any mechanical devices, did you?" mauchly asked. "voice recorder, pda, anything like that?"
March 9, 2024
Read this in 2007. Great idea for novel. And you just have to love the wordplay this the title.
August 18, 2017
How do you make a uneventful novel even more boring? Find a monotone audiobook narrator . I'm convinced my GPS has more personality.
Couldn't finish
Couldn't finish
April 6, 2013
*****Spoiler Alert*****
A book that started out well written and engaging but seriously unraveled at the end. I felt like the plot had been lifted from a mediocre 80s movie that was trying to be a cautionary tale about technology. Between "the computer did it" and the conflicted genius/maker who chooses to die with his creation rather than face the consequences, Death Match winds up being a bad cliche. Throw in the fact that the heroes can only be saved because a young woman of today, who understands the geeky minutae of how binary code works (not a far fetched idea), is able to flawlessly use the archaic programming methods of a forty year old computer (think punch cards here people - now we've reached the realm of far fetched), and I just wanted to groan. The worst part, though, had to be the Epilogue. The fact that the computer's "soul" escapes out into the world wide web (however that's supposed to happen) definitely fits in with the 80s movie theme. The fact that she (and of course the computer is a she, what else would a lonely man create) doesn't realize her creator is dead is ludicrous. As omniscient as she's been throughout the entire book, readers are suddenly supposed to believe that she can't read any of the articles that undoubtedly exist on the web about her masters death. The only reason I'm giving Death Match two stars instead of one is because the first half of the book is fairly good. I just wish the end had lived up to the promise of the beginning.
A book that started out well written and engaging but seriously unraveled at the end. I felt like the plot had been lifted from a mediocre 80s movie that was trying to be a cautionary tale about technology. Between "the computer did it" and the conflicted genius/maker who chooses to die with his creation rather than face the consequences, Death Match winds up being a bad cliche. Throw in the fact that the heroes can only be saved because a young woman of today, who understands the geeky minutae of how binary code works (not a far fetched idea), is able to flawlessly use the archaic programming methods of a forty year old computer (think punch cards here people - now we've reached the realm of far fetched), and I just wanted to groan. The worst part, though, had to be the Epilogue. The fact that the computer's "soul" escapes out into the world wide web (however that's supposed to happen) definitely fits in with the 80s movie theme. The fact that she (and of course the computer is a she, what else would a lonely man create) doesn't realize her creator is dead is ludicrous. As omniscient as she's been throughout the entire book, readers are suddenly supposed to believe that she can't read any of the articles that undoubtedly exist on the web about her masters death. The only reason I'm giving Death Match two stars instead of one is because the first half of the book is fairly good. I just wish the end had lived up to the promise of the beginning.
October 19, 2018
See this and many more reviews on Brian's Book Blog
A Riveting Technothriller…
I don’t remember when I first read this but it was way before I was blogging. It was one of those books that continued to stick out in my mind and I couldn’t really remember why. So, I decided to pick it back up for a second read – this time on audio. Man, am I glad that I did. If I liked the book before I loved it more now.
Lincoln Child, known as half of the powerhouse writing duo with Douglas Preston writes of a future where you can be matched to a 90ith percentile of a person who is “perfect” for you. It’s all done with AI and algorithms that are deeply protected. But, suddenly two of the 100% matches (there are only 6 ever in the companies history) commit suicide. Enter Christopher Lash, a gifted former FBI forensic psychologist. He’s called in by Eden Technologies to investigate the suicides to figure out what Eden could have done to prevent them.
For a book published in 2004, this has a lot of forward-thinking technology in it. 63% of Americans had access to the Internet (which remembering back makes sense to me but still blows my mind). AI was in it’s pre-infancy. Child decided that online dating was going to be the next big leap in technology and why wouldn’t you shell out $25,000 for happiness. We pay a lot more for college and that gets us nowhere anymore.
Reading this 14 years after it was published there were a few things that since AI has become more prevalent would make sense to add to this book – but it would have taken some of the legs out of it. I liked reading what Child thought would happen back then and I think he was right more than he was wrong.
A riveting technothriller with surprises around every corner – I enjoyed Death Match in 2018 as much as I did when I first read it 10+ years ago. It’s also a reminder that we need to be careful with technology and not let it run amok.
A Riveting Technothriller…
I don’t remember when I first read this but it was way before I was blogging. It was one of those books that continued to stick out in my mind and I couldn’t really remember why. So, I decided to pick it back up for a second read – this time on audio. Man, am I glad that I did. If I liked the book before I loved it more now.
Lincoln Child, known as half of the powerhouse writing duo with Douglas Preston writes of a future where you can be matched to a 90ith percentile of a person who is “perfect” for you. It’s all done with AI and algorithms that are deeply protected. But, suddenly two of the 100% matches (there are only 6 ever in the companies history) commit suicide. Enter Christopher Lash, a gifted former FBI forensic psychologist. He’s called in by Eden Technologies to investigate the suicides to figure out what Eden could have done to prevent them.
For a book published in 2004, this has a lot of forward-thinking technology in it. 63% of Americans had access to the Internet (which remembering back makes sense to me but still blows my mind). AI was in it’s pre-infancy. Child decided that online dating was going to be the next big leap in technology and why wouldn’t you shell out $25,000 for happiness. We pay a lot more for college and that gets us nowhere anymore.
Reading this 14 years after it was published there were a few things that since AI has become more prevalent would make sense to add to this book – but it would have taken some of the legs out of it. I liked reading what Child thought would happen back then and I think he was right more than he was wrong.
A riveting technothriller with surprises around every corner – I enjoyed Death Match in 2018 as much as I did when I first read it 10+ years ago. It’s also a reminder that we need to be careful with technology and not let it run amok.
December 30, 2010
The last of Child’s solo efforts for me to read, "Death Match" is first-rate brain candy when it's compared to other plot driven thrillers that seem much more screenplay than novel - James Patterson's and Iris Johansen's recent factory driven voluminous output comes to mind. But by comparison to the rather high standards that have been self-imposed by his own previous work - the Pendergast canon in conjunction with his partner, Douglas Preston, and his first, “Utopia” - "Death Match" falls well short of that mark.
There were so many opportunities for those technical addenda, side-bars and essays that I think of as part and parcel of Child's and Preston's writing - forensics, artificial intelligence, the computer dating and match-making industries, the psychology of suicide, computer security and corporate espionage, for example. But, sadly, all of them (not to mention character development in the bargain) were virtually ignored and the only motive for turning the pages was a plot. Creative and well-crafted, to be sure, but rather naked and lonely!
There were so many opportunities for those technical addenda, side-bars and essays that I think of as part and parcel of Child's and Preston's writing - forensics, artificial intelligence, the computer dating and match-making industries, the psychology of suicide, computer security and corporate espionage, for example. But, sadly, all of them (not to mention character development in the bargain) were virtually ignored and the only motive for turning the pages was a plot. Creative and well-crafted, to be sure, but rather naked and lonely!
May 25, 2014
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).
July 7, 2015
Took a while to get going with this and nearly put it down. I stuck with it but I've read better from this author.
April 22, 2019
Great writer with amazing ideas. But this book just didn't do it for me.
June 29, 2020
With the emergence of about a million or so dating websites that promise to find people the perfect match for them, Death Match was ahead of its time. In this novel, Utopia is a massive high tech company that charges $25K to find people their perfect match. They guarantee results and have been so successful that none of their clients have ever asked for their money back. When they can find two people that are a perfect match, they call the resulting couple a “super couple” who are perfectly compatible in every way. When one of these super couples results in a double suicide, the company hires Christopher Lash to investigate. As he digs deep into the inner workings of the company, another double suicide of a super couple occurs.
The premise of the story is an interesting one. It was a neat concept and for the most part it was well-executed. The novel is not without flaws. The biggest of which is that it stretches the realms of believability as the novel unfolds, especially with the unveiling of who is responsible for these deaths. It was a bit hard to swallow. The writing was competent and professional, but it was too steeped in conspiracy theories for me to get really into. An entertaining read but not too deep.
Carl Alves – author of Blood Street
The premise of the story is an interesting one. It was a neat concept and for the most part it was well-executed. The novel is not without flaws. The biggest of which is that it stretches the realms of believability as the novel unfolds, especially with the unveiling of who is responsible for these deaths. It was a bit hard to swallow. The writing was competent and professional, but it was too steeped in conspiracy theories for me to get really into. An entertaining read but not too deep.
Carl Alves – author of Blood Street
August 25, 2018
I really wish Eden was a real thing!
Okay, so, maybe I saw the ending coming from a mile away. And maybe I wasn't a huge fan of the audiobook narrator. But the story pulled me in anyway. I got so into the story that I ended up wishing someone would really make a company like Eden. It's possible right? Things would be ssoooo simple! Anyway, read it! It's suspenseful, exciting, frustrating (a bit predictable) but I couldn't put it down!!! That's why it gets 5 stars from me. I'm recommending it to everyone.
Okay, so, maybe I saw the ending coming from a mile away. And maybe I wasn't a huge fan of the audiobook narrator. But the story pulled me in anyway. I got so into the story that I ended up wishing someone would really make a company like Eden. It's possible right? Things would be ssoooo simple! Anyway, read it! It's suspenseful, exciting, frustrating (a bit predictable) but I couldn't put it down!!! That's why it gets 5 stars from me. I'm recommending it to everyone.
September 3, 2022
Dr. Lash is brought in by a private corporation, to help them. They're the premiere matchmaking company, with impossibly effective "my true one love" type results. And a small group of successful couples are "Super couples". They match in 100% of thousands of cross-referenced typings. They are the perfect matches.
And they start dying. In murder suicides. For no reason.
Lash is a psychologist, ex-Serial Killer analyst. He thinks the suicides are staged. Someone near the top is using the company's quasi-AI to help commit murders.
Fun. I find Child's solo works incredibly easy, fun reads. I don't think I've ever been disappointed.
And they start dying. In murder suicides. For no reason.
Lash is a psychologist, ex-Serial Killer analyst. He thinks the suicides are staged. Someone near the top is using the company's quasi-AI to help commit murders.
Fun. I find Child's solo works incredibly easy, fun reads. I don't think I've ever been disappointed.
December 21, 2022
If it were available I would give it 4 1/2 stars. Simply put a very good and intriguing. The middle drags on a bit more then needed about Christopher’s personal issues. Only to come back with a very exciting final 100 pages.
July 12, 2016
This is going to be quick because I listened to this book a while ago and can’t remember a lot of the details! I do remember that I enjoyed it. I found the concept more interesting than I expected. Basically, couples who are deemed “perfect matches” by the high-tech matchmaking company, Eden, are committing mutual suicide at an alarming rate. Lash, a psychiatrist, is brought in to find out why people who have no known suicidal tendencies would do it. Eden is panicking, desperate to show that their process is not flawed, and therefore, not responsible.
The plot probably could have moved along a little more quickly, but overall I thought it was a good listen. There was one big problem with the audio production – there are parts of the book where Lash is reading various psychological reports and test results, and in the audio they read out every bit, even the multi-digit id numbers and various other numerical data. It grew tedious, and I think they should have altered that a bit for the audiobook.
If you are looking for a thriller that isn’t mired in the military, in espionage, or in the financial district, I think this would be a good choice.
The plot probably could have moved along a little more quickly, but overall I thought it was a good listen. There was one big problem with the audio production – there are parts of the book where Lash is reading various psychological reports and test results, and in the audio they read out every bit, even the multi-digit id numbers and various other numerical data. It grew tedious, and I think they should have altered that a bit for the audiobook.
If you are looking for a thriller that isn’t mired in the military, in espionage, or in the financial district, I think this would be a good choice.
October 23, 2009
Well... read it the seccond time around - and still think it is an OK read. Not the best book out there, not the worst. It might even be a really decent book for a nice sunny, lazy day on the beach, if you are into that kind of fiction.
Granted, there is heaps of psychological mumbojumbo, one dimensional characters that react purely to their environs without any motivation/instincts for themselves and loads of weird computer-science-we-have-to-explain-something-or-make-an-escape-possible reality bending in there, but it is fiction. So I reckon it is supposed to be this way - allthough in this case it is sometimes very badly masked and quite obvious why the author needs it.
The only thing that really got on my nerves is the whole flashback, insane mass-murderer sideline. It is just pointless and hasn´t got any influence on the main plot or the characters themselves. Quite the opposite in fact - I found it hugely distracting and a chore to read. Even more so, when I got to the end of the book and the whole side plot is resolved in the most unsatisfying way possible.
Granted, there is heaps of psychological mumbojumbo, one dimensional characters that react purely to their environs without any motivation/instincts for themselves and loads of weird computer-science-we-have-to-explain-something-or-make-an-escape-possible reality bending in there, but it is fiction. So I reckon it is supposed to be this way - allthough in this case it is sometimes very badly masked and quite obvious why the author needs it.
The only thing that really got on my nerves is the whole flashback, insane mass-murderer sideline. It is just pointless and hasn´t got any influence on the main plot or the characters themselves. Quite the opposite in fact - I found it hugely distracting and a chore to read. Even more so, when I got to the end of the book and the whole side plot is resolved in the most unsatisfying way possible.
March 10, 2013
I listened to the audio version of this. I thought it was pretty good for the genre. I had an inkling early on as to the nature of the killer, but a good number of red herrings made me doubt my conclusion for a while.
*** SPOILER****
My one big gripe with the plot was the fact that Dr. Lash ignored the disruptions and weird things going on with his accounts; that seemed like a pretty big clue. After one or two of these things happened, it seemed extremely suspicious and he kind of blew it off - even though they kept talking about how the Eden systems could get into all of the nooks and crannies of your digital existence. I kept waiting for him to ask someone at Eden to look into it since they would have had access to all of that information. It was also suspicious since it all started after he took the job with them and had given over all of his info, but I guess that would have ruined the fun.
*** SPOILER****
My one big gripe with the plot was the fact that Dr. Lash ignored the disruptions and weird things going on with his accounts; that seemed like a pretty big clue. After one or two of these things happened, it seemed extremely suspicious and he kind of blew it off - even though they kept talking about how the Eden systems could get into all of the nooks and crannies of your digital existence. I kept waiting for him to ask someone at Eden to look into it since they would have had access to all of that information. It was also suspicious since it all started after he took the job with them and had given over all of his info, but I guess that would have ruined the fun.
February 5, 2016
I liked this book very much; but Lincoln Child is one of my favorite authors. Anything written by Child I would like, even if he was to explain the science of tiddlywinks, I would still be interested.
OK, about this story I just read. "Death Match" is a good read, one that I could not put down. It was a book that talked to me, as if the story was written just for me to enjoy.
A brief synopsis of this book: Match-making is big business and Eden Inc. is a good example; for a sum of $25,000, you will be matched with the person of your dreams. Not just on 5 or 10 areas, but a 100% compatibility across the board. Sounds too good to be true? Read this book to find out more!
Oh, there was a movie made that reminded me of certain parts of this book, and it's called "War game" starring Matthew Broderick; why am I using this movie for the comparison? I can't explain any further, else I reveal spoilers. Do yourself a favor and read this book! 5 stars
OK, about this story I just read. "Death Match" is a good read, one that I could not put down. It was a book that talked to me, as if the story was written just for me to enjoy.
A brief synopsis of this book: Match-making is big business and Eden Inc. is a good example; for a sum of $25,000, you will be matched with the person of your dreams. Not just on 5 or 10 areas, but a 100% compatibility across the board. Sounds too good to be true? Read this book to find out more!
Oh, there was a movie made that reminded me of certain parts of this book, and it's called "War game" starring Matthew Broderick; why am I using this movie for the comparison? I can't explain any further, else I reveal spoilers. Do yourself a favor and read this book! 5 stars
October 7, 2020
It started off strong. Like almost all of Child’s solo novels, I was quickly hooked on the set up and direction it was heading. About 1/3 of the way through, I had to make the choice of shelving it and moving on to anything else in my book queue, or pushing through just for the sake of finishing. Ultimately decided to see it all the way to the end (gotta finish that 2020 reading challenge, amirite?) and I can’t say it was worth it. Maybe it was the audiobook version making the long sequences of numbers feel like a personal purgatory, maybe it was the narrators voice, or maybe it was just too predictable. In any case, do yourself a favor and l pick up The Forgotten Room or Deep Storm instead!
October 20, 2012
Eden is a company that specializes in bringing couples together. The matches are nearly perfect and the money-back guarantee has never been invoked. So when one of their six "super couples" - couples who match 100% on all variables - die in what looks like a double suicide, they get worried. They enlist forensic psychologist Cristopher Lash to investigate what could possible have gone wrong.
The biggest downside to this book is that thanks to a blurb from the Washington Post, the real killer is revealed on the cover of my paperback copy. Other than that it is perfect light reading - entertaining, fast-paced, with sympathetic characters.
The biggest downside to this book is that thanks to a blurb from the Washington Post, the real killer is revealed on the cover of my paperback copy. Other than that it is perfect light reading - entertaining, fast-paced, with sympathetic characters.
November 6, 2013
Eden is making the perfect matches for couples. The matches are so happy others are willing the pay the $25,000 for the match. Eden checks all areas of a clients live, health, money, jobs, history, etc. Eden is run by Silver who lives alone with a computer named, Liza in the penthouse of the Eden building. When the perfect matches commit suicide, Christopher Lash, a psychiatrist is called in to find out why the couples committed suicide. Is a murderer coming after the couples? A surprising end to the book.
March 10, 2009
I read this book solely because it was in my bookshelf. English language books find their way there, whether or not I choose them. This one was left behind by a visiting professor. The writing style was poor, the deep glimpse into Lash´s past unconvincing, and the plot thin and predictable. I now feel like I need to read something literary just to redevelop the intellect lost in reading this book.
February 18, 2017
Prolonged exposure to this book will result in naps. It's slow, dull and predictable. If you're having trouble sleeping, attempt to read just ten pages and I guarantee that you will be out cold in less than five pages. I give it five stars for it's melatonin-like effect, but just two stars for the actual content.
March 11, 2019
2 stars = "it was ok" by GR's rating system.
Despite reading some uncomplimentary reviews of this book I decided to read it anyway because I was out of other books to read. I think it's a bit dated because it's a technology book but for some reason I couldn't really get into it. So this isn't really a bad review, just an ok one.
Despite reading some uncomplimentary reviews of this book I decided to read it anyway because I was out of other books to read. I think it's a bit dated because it's a technology book but for some reason I couldn't really get into it. So this isn't really a bad review, just an ok one.
March 20, 2018
It's not that this book is bad. It's that it isn't good when most Lincoln Child novels are reasonably good. This is a variant on the Creator/programmer and his AI creation gone awry. The denouement will be familiar to any Star Trek viewer. I can't recommend this one.
November 22, 2020
I like a fast-paced, well-told story like this. An ex-FBI agent, now psychologist, is called in by a huge computer-run mating agency to explore why perfect couples are committing suicide. Artificial intelligence comes into play in this wild adventure of human versus machine.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 606 reviews