This is my second Kevin O'Brien book and I will definitely be back for more. A good thriller with some tense moments. My only grip is that I thought the book took too long to settle into the story of the main characters. While the opening chapters are gripping, I felt like I was floundering, waiting for the story to get started. I wanted a character I could connect with. For that reason I almost stopped reading, but was glad I held on.I also really enjoyed the touch of the paranormal the author employed, and the (secondary) mystery built around that plot thread. 2 AND 1/2 STARS I've read all of Kevin O'Brien's books, but this one didn't really work for me. I never try and predict endings or major plot points, but I knew every swerve and twist before it happened. It didn't help, of course, that the back of the book gave away major story points for the first two-thirds of the book, but even still, Final Breath is one of the weaker titles by Kevin O'Brien, although you'd never know that reading the other reviews. I'm very confused about that, but to each his own, I suppose. I didn't think this book was very suspenseful and the characters were not as likable or as three dimensional as in O'Brien's other books. I suppose my biggest problem was the central story concept of heroes profiled on a television show getting killed off one by one. It just seemed so dull and unimaginative. Some of the character's actions felt forced - like Eli crawling out on the ledge of a four-story building at night for no apparent reason. Also, Sydney's overly suspicious investigations into her husband's police activity also seemed out of character for a couple that has been married for fourteen years. It just didn't feel natural. To cause such a big stink over a few thousand dollars from a bunch of crooks seemed very melodramatic. I also thought the whole supernatural angle didn't fit into the story organically and only served as a distraction. It was as if the author didn't feel he had enough material or ideas by just having only the serial killer storyline. O'Brien's writing here, as always, is smooth and quick, but I felt one could be just as satisfied reading the first 50 pages and then the last 75 and get just as much out of reading it as if they invested themselves in the entire 436 pages. New readers of Kevin O'Brien should skip this and go to his better work such as Make Them Cry, Left For Dead, or One Last Scream.
