This was ramble-y, with an inordinate amount of run on sentences.

Dustin Tillman is a psychologist in Ohio; he's married with two sons and rarely even thinks about the horrific incident of his childhood, when his adopted brother, Rusty, murdered Dustin's parents and his aunt and uncle. Dustin was just a child then, and his brother was arrested largely on the testimony of Dustin and his cousin Kate and the 1980s' fears over satanism. But now Dustin learns that Rusty is being released from prison; his appeal has been granted, and his verdict overturned based on DNA evidence. Meanwhile, Dustin is struggling with one of his patients, Aqil, a former police officer who believes there is a link among a group of drunken college boys who have died by drowning. As more and more things start going wrong in Dustin's life, he gets drawn into Aqil's paranoia-- and he threatens to bring down his family with him.

This book had an interesting premise: linking two sets of crimes in the past and present, but I felt like that premise was a little forced/falsified, and I never got into the book, or the characters. As a reader, you'll probably find the way it's written either brilliant or incredibly irritating, and I fell squarely into the irritating camp. There are very abrupt chapter switches between the present and the past that are quite annoying, making it difficult to tell exactly where you are in time. The changes in point of view aren't as bad, allowing you to hear from Dustin, his son, and others, but it still gets confusing quickly. (Sidebar: doesn't anyone just tell a linear story from one person's point of view anymore?)

Even more, the story is written quite like the characters think--which is fine in theory--for instance, this includes Dustin's tendency to just stop mid-sentence, something his family teases him about. After a bit you get somewhat used to the random sentences that end mid-thought, or the weird white spaces, but it's still strange. Other parts are the story are split into two or three parts on a page and told almost in parallel, causing you to flip back and forth to read each set. I never was quite sure of the point of that. Yes, people in the novel are going crazy and on drugs. I could get that concept and not have to flip back and forth constantly to read chunks of the story. It's one of those storytelling devices that, to me, could be amazing, but just winds up driving you slightly insane.

This novel is also very dark. Again, that's fine. I just finished The Roanoke Girls, which was incredibly dark, and loved it. But this one: I just didn't find it that interesting. I found myself finishing it more out of a vague curiosity and duty than anything else. I figured out one of the main plot points pretty on and wasn't engaged with any of the characters. Then, after all of this, the ending is awful and vague, and there's no resolution, and I found myself just throwing the whole thing down in disgust. Definitely not one of my favorites. I can see the potential for others, but it wasn't for me.

ILL WILL by Dan Chaon was written in a very different, but addictive, style than I normally read. In fact, I'm not sure why I pulled this novel off the shelf, other than to say that the author's prior awards drew my interest to his work. The subject matter is uncomfortable: boys and a tingling of homosexuality, other odd sexual circumstances, friendships by ill happenstance, satanic cults, booze, drugs, cancer, death, murder, etc. Mr. Chaon effectively created a world I do not want to live in, not even for the length of a well-written novel. His is an awful world and it is hard for me to understand how two lives—mine and theirs—can be so vastly different. With that said, I believe his is a world based on reality far more than mine, which opened my eyes.

There is no denying that Dan Chaon is an impressive writer, because as uncomfortable as his subject matter was to me, I could not leave his book for too long without coming back to it and turning the page to find out what might happen next.

The place where Mr. Chaon failed to impress was, unfortunately, the story's ending. I gave my all to his novel and he let me down when it counted most. Maybe he thought that I, as a reader, was simply smarter than I am.

If you're looking for a novel to grab you and shake up your world, try this one. Maybe you're smarter than me, too, and your interpretation of the ending will bring you the reward I sought for myself.

Overall, a reader can't help but be impressed with Dan Chaon. This was the first novel of his that I've read and I now have a clear understanding of why his earlier work received almost unattainable acclaim.

Ill Will is not a pleasant book to read, but it is compelling. I wanted to stop reading it, but I could not.

Ill Will is a story about psychologist Dustin Tillman and his family: a normal happy family until his wife dies of cancer and he withdraws, leaving his sons, Dennis and Aaron to find their own way. One succeeds, the other doesn't.

Ill Will is a story about children knowing their parents use recreational drugs, using themselves at home and some becoming addicts. The parents permitting their children's drug use or being totally oblivious.

Ill Will is a story about the devastating, lifelong effects on Dustin of being abused as a child--both sexually and mentally (being manipulated by his older cousins and adopted brother) and finding his parents murdered. Who did it? Rusty, the adopted teenager? Dustin who found the bodies? Someone else? Was it a murder suicide?

If you are getting the message that Ill Will is bleak, it is. The characters have some happy memories, but their present lives are largely unhappy. But it is also strangely interesting.

The author alternately tells his tale from the perspective of several of his characters. It was not always clear to me who was speaking.

I did not find the ending satisfying. Seemed like the author just wanted to end it. Me too, but I also wanted closure.

Based on the description of this book, I thought it would be exactly what I like. I was looking forward to a good murder mystery/psychological thriller. Maybe it's because this was an ARC instead of the final version, but I found this hard to follow and sometimes the dialog or paragraphs just ended without punctuation. The premise was interesting, and I think sometimes the confusion was purposeful and tried to add to the story line. I almost didn't finish this book, but I hate to stop a book halfway through.

I'm not sure how to review this book. There were sometimes when this book was down to earth and readable. Then there were times when it was out there and it was like reading psycho babble from someone who was on some really heavy drugs. Of course, one of the characters was really eff'd up, so I guess during those times, we were seeing the world from Aaron's eyes. I've never done H, but he was talking like he was doing acid or something.

Anyways, for the most part, I did enjoy this book. It was crazy at times. The ending was really ccccccrrrrrrazy. I definitely did not see it coming. I still have some questions about some of it. Like why was Aaron's car in Chicago? I guess I will never get an answer to that question.

Believe me, this was an out there book. It definitely held my interest while I was trying to figure out exactly what was going on. For the most part, I didn't start to question things until towards the very end. Then it started getting really weird. I mean it was weird throughout the whole book. Three teenagers (two twin sisters and their boy cousin) whose four parents were shot to death in the house while they slept in the camper/RV while they slept right next door. The girls 17 and the boy 13. That sounds morbid, but I'm not telling you about the kids. (Hiding the spoilers)

I'm just going to say that I didn't put this book once I got into it. It was a strange one, however I was mesmerized, entertained, shocked, curious, and like a trainwreck - I could not turn away.

Thanks Random House - Ballantine for approving my request and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars

I have one word for this book: FRUSTRATING!!!!

I finished this 2 days ago, and the frustration is still strong, probably due to the fact that I still have so many unanswered questions.

The problem wasn't with the storyline, as that held my interest. 2 different murder plots-one taking place in present time, and one that took place back in the 1980's. I was really intrigued with how the past and the present were going to collide.
I think the author did a great job of creating memorable characters as well. I can't say that I liked them all, but I don't think I was supposed too...

Where he lost me was with all the chaotic editing, or lack of. Sentences half finished, (this was prevelant throughout, so I am aware the majority were left this way intentionally) complete words missing, and the worst where chapters that were put into a column format of 3 sections per page. You had to read each section long ways, then go back to read the 2nd column, etc. Very confusing and frustrating to no end.

There is a lot of promise here, but the delivery was just too muddled to make this a good read for me. Maybe others will have better luck than I did, but based on the few reviews I did read, I don' think I'm in the minority here.

ARC provided by Netgalley

Ill Will is the latest story by Dan Chaon. There were times I was eagerly turning pages to see what happened next and then there were the other times when I would have liked to have thrown my Kindle against the wall as the writing felt like useless page fillers and it was a struggle to continue reading the book. I was given an early copy of Ill Will for an honest review and if not for that fact I would have never finished this story.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of this novel.

This book definitely does deal with some heavy themes & I would turn away from my Kindle, process, & go back. The story didn't go in the direction I expected it to go, but was a good read nonetheless. The characters were interesting & the story was full of surprises as more & more is revealed.

Did not finish due to problem with galley and size of text.

I really wanted to love this book, as I've heard so many great things about Dan Chaon's previous novels. The early reviews/descriptions of ILL WILL sounded right up my alley, including an experimental narrative structure and the intertwining of two potentially related crimes committed decades apart. Because I've never read Chaon before, I realize it's possible that all of his books are akin to ILL WILL, and therefore if you've loved him before, you'll love this one - hence my somewhat line-toeing 3 star review. Personally, I found the multiple points of view distracting not because of the device itself, but because the voices of some of the characters felt a bit "off" (especially Aaron) - and although the book kept me turning its pages because I wanted to find out what happened, I found the resolution (or lack thereof) of the various plot threads less than satisfying. There's no question that Chaon is a fine writer and that ILL WILL is a complex, ambitiously conceived novel. Whether it delivers on that conceit is, perhaps, as open to interpretation as the events of the novel itself.

Suspenseful, exciting and thoroughly disturbing novel. Not my normal genre. It was thought provoking The plot was well developed and the characters interesting. Having multiple narrators gave a much broader picture of what the events that were "remembered".

What a strange, creepy and dark book this is. I really enjoyed it - don't get me wrong, but man, as the reader I was left tracing my way back to try and figure out what the heck happened. I raced through it, though, since it kept leaving me needing to know more. Was it Rusty? Dustin? One of the parents? Someone else? Will we ever know?

Brilliantly written, with characters you feel you know at the end of it. I wished we could have had more from Wave. I wished there was a reliable narrator, anywhere, in this tale. But overall? I loved it.

** spoiler alert ** **I received a Kindle edition of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

Dustin is a Cleveland psychologist with an interesting past. When he was younger his parents, aunt, and uncle were murdered and his adopted brother Rusty was charged with killing them. Now, 30 years later Rusty is being released from prison after DNA analysis proved his innocence. Dustin and his cousin had a huge part in why Rusty was charged with the killings and he isn't sure if Rusty will try to contact him when he is released.

Dustin is distracted further due to one of his patients involving him in a theory about a serial killer targeting college boys. A number of boys have been found drowned in rivers after disappearing after drinking at night. The police have so far chalked it up to suicide or accidental drowning from being drunk, however Dustin's patient provides a convincing theory about why a serial killer could be responsible. Pretty soon Dustin is devoting all his free time to investigating the killings and finds the relationships around him start to suffer.

I really wanted to like this book. It had a lot of promise and got started right away. I thought it would hold my interest the whole time but about 1/3 of the way through it completely lost me. There was too much jumping around between the time and the characters. The time periods jumped all over the place. Sometimes it would take me a minute to realize who's perspective the author was writing from. There were also a lot of incomplete sentences. At first I thought it was bc this is an ARC edition and might still be unfinished, however I read the same thing from another review on Goodreads. The sentence would just stop right in the middle and you would have to come up with the ending all on your own. There was some drug use in the story which made the character confused and out of it, and made me even more confused. Not knowing the time of day, people around you, or even where the story was taking place. Much more of that towards the second half of the book. I was totally confused as to what was happening at certain points.

What bugged me: One of the main characters goes missing towards the end and that's the last you hear of him. I could tell there were things going on where he was being held which tied to other parts of the book (the giant tub like thing filled with water was the Ultrasound that Dustin received?) but I really can't even be sure. I need a more definitive resolution. What happens to the person who was taken?? Also, if the DNA that cleared Rusty was mentioned I missed it.

This book got my hopes up at the start, let me down in the middle, and totally confused me at the end.

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Dan Chaon, and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for providing me with a copy of this book, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

In my first attempt to decipher the writing (ramblings?) of Dan Chaon, I was left with a bitter taste I am unable to mask. This novel, set in both the early 1980s and 2012-14 tells of two sets of unsolved murders, which sounds interesting enough. The first centres around a young Dustin Tillman, who spends much of his time with his cousins and adopted older brother, Rusty. Being much younger than the other three, Dustin is not privy to their drinking, drug-addled states, or promiscuity as they explore one another. He is, however, able to see an odd nature in Rusty, whose previous foster placement ended when the house caught on fire and the entire family died. Recounting events that include Satanic Worship (an apparent buzz word in the early 80s), Dustin lays the groundwork for horrific possibilities. On the morning before a family trip, the youths discover that their parents have all been murdered, though the killer is not immediately apparent. Chaon has the reader meander through the story to learn that Dustin did, eventually, testify against Rusty, who was sentenced to thirty years in jail for the crime. Fast-forwarding to a more present time, Dustin is now a psychotherapist who has done some work with Satanic worship, but was eventually drummed out of that and now does some run-of-the-mill hypnosis and projection exercises. When a patient brings an elaborate theory about a serial killer who chooses young men as his victims, Dustin cannot help but scoff. But, the more they talk, the more the idea germinates and soon Dustin is out on the road trying to piece it all together. Dustin's wife and two sons are left to wonder and go through their own tribulations, as the reader witnesses the evaporation of the family unit due to illness and drugs. With these two narratives running parallel, the reader is forced to make sense of what is going on, though there is little of a sensical nature. The premise is there, but the delivery, as strong as an over-boiled noodle. Beware readers who get caught up in the dust jacket summary, as I did. You are in for a flop!

I have always found author first impressions to be very important. If I cannot find a groove with an author after reading one of their books, I am usually leery to give them a second chance. This book has left me so confused with its lacklustre delivery that I am forced to question if Chaon's past literary awards were delivered in error. As I mentioned above, the premise is sound, or at least it could be. Two narratives telling of two sets of crimes; a protagonist who lives through both sets of crimes at different points in his life; the struggle to determine if that past accusation was an error and who might have committed the crime. All in all, Chaon is sitting on a potential thriller goldmine. He creates some interesting characters and surrounds them with a few plausible scenarios. But then, he pulls out all the stops to ruin a good thing. Paragraphs and chapters that end in the middle of a sen (note: purposefully done to prove a point), chapters that appear as columns on the page with each stretching over four or five flips (in which the reader must then return back the pages to begin the next column), transition between 1983 and 2012-14 between parts of the book, but not flowing seamlessly. One might presume that Chaon used his past acolytes to publish this, knowing that his reputation would allow sales to skyrocket (the James Patterson Syndrome). Some who loved it may troll on this review and comment that if I could do better, why don't I write a book. Alas, I am not being paid to write a book (or for this unbiased review), so I can hold those who do make a living of this to a higher standard. All around, a literary train wreck with toxicity spewing from all sides. Fair warning with flashing lights, bells, and blaring horns. Steer clear and find a better pick!

Oh, Mr. Chaon, one can only hope this was an one-off gaffe. That said, you surely did some literary bed defecation with this one.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:

Loved this book! Would love to see it as a movie if they stuck to the story correctly. I read this in one sitting.

Ill Will was okay...
There are things I loved about it and things I didn't like at all.
The book was hard to get through at times because the plot line was too disjointed at certain points and it did not flow enough to sustain the reading of the book.
I also basically hated all of the characters in the book. They were all HORRIBLE people! It reminded me of The Girl on the Train in that sense. And while I appreciated Choan's ability to show the dark side of everyone, I guess the optimist in me had a hard time finding all of the characters believable.
I did appreciate Choan's unique sense of organization in some of the parts but it was hard to read and follow two or three different threads of the plot line (at least it was hard to read the tiny font on my Kindle).
I did like some aspects of the book. The disjointed plot did have me hooked throughout most of the book because I wanted answers.
When I finished reading the book though, I couldn't believe that that was the end. It seemed like pages were missing. I wanted a little bit more resolution.
I haven't read anything else by Choan, but I love psychological thrillers like this. So, I would probably read another one of his books.

Thank you NetGalley for my advanced reader copy!

Really enjoyed this book. Very well written and keeps you guessing until the very end. I look forward to more books from this author

Do you like dark and gritty suspense novels that threaten to make even the strongest of constitutions a little faint? How would you feel if satanic cults were blamed to be involved as one disturbed ward of the system is witnessed killing his foster parents? What if the witnesses were young teens, traumatized and unsure of what they witnessed? Were they having a mass episode of hysteria? Were they truly watching a satanic ritual in progress or were they so confused, they were unable to differentiate fact from fiction?

Feel something vile crawling under your skin, feel morbid curiosity and dread fear that this could really happen in a society as lost and unstable as ours can be.

Dan Chaon will take us into a world beyond our control, beyond our comfort zones and into the world of ILL WILL where the villain is actually a victim himself and may truly NOT be the villain after all. As this tale is told, oen man will relive the times he remembers as a horror, after he hears his foster brother will be released from his life sentence, because guess what, he didn’t do the crime. So who did? Will Dustin’s brother Rusty seek revenge?

As Dustin gets roped into another cold case by one of his patients, he finds himself tumbling headlong into the dark abyss of murder, mystery and strange tie-ins to his brother’s case. A Psychologist be trade, has Dustin’s own fear of his brother’s return set him on a path of discovery that will reveal more than he bargained for?

Very dark, with a heavy and ominous feel, this chaotic read will send you into a twisted world where fact and fiction become stuck in a murky quagmire that threatens to never let you go.

I received an ARC edition from Ballantine Books in exchange for my honest review.

Publisher: Ballantine Books (March 7, 2017)
Publication Date: March 7, 2017
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Print Length: 480 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
For Reviews & More: http://tometender.blogspot.com

4.5 Stars

"We are always telling a story to ourselves, about ourselves."

Ill Will is infused with a dark aura, an atmosphere of hazy confusion, a sense of an impending tragedy. Dread, a mysterious presence that is woven throughout this novel, like an insidious fog creeping under the doorway, into the home and the lives of those inside. So subtle, at first, that they never notice how much has changed, that they are no longer seeing things as they are, or maybe even as they were.

Dustin is a psychologist, his parents died along with his Aunt and Uncle when he was thirteen, thirty years ago. Killed. His adopted brother Rusty has been in prison ever since, convicted of their murder, but has recently been released. They have DNA proof that he is not the murderer, and with the help of The Innocence Project, he has been exonerated.

Dustin and his cousin Kate testified against Rusty, with wild tales of sacrifices and satanic rituals. Kate’s twin sister Wave did not, believing Rusty innocent. Needless to say, this has created some tension in the years following, but with Rusty out of prison, tensions rise even more. Adding to this is the fact that Dustin’s wife, Jill, mother of his two sons, is dying.

As the news sinks in, old memories are revisited, again and again. Questioned. Transformed over time so that now the lines of what was once clear are softer, hazy. Like an unreliable dream.

This is only the beginning.

Every time I felt I was starting to believe I knew where this was going, I would be pulled in another direction, leaving me to recalibrate, as though the ground had slowly gone a bit off-kilter.

Narrated from multiple perspectives, this will frustrate those who like every detail of a mystery neatly wrapped up for them. It doesn’t always happen, in life or in novels. There is, in fact, more than one mystery to solve - however like a puzzle being pieced together with 480 pieces out of a 500 piece puzzle, you’ll know what you can see, and have to imagine what goes in those blank spaces.

This novel will frustrate those who don’t like writers experimenting with writing structure… Chaon allows sentences drift off into nothing, following Dustin’s speech patterns that his family finds… amusing, annoying. They have become used to finishing his sentences for him. You really feel this rather than just being told this – his incomplete thoughts seemed to add a sense of his detachment to everything. There’s several sections where there are narratives written in a side-by-side format, appearing almost as if they were newspaper columns clipped and entered as comparisons. These may lead you down certain paths, thinking perhaps you know what’s happened in the past, what will happen in the future, and who, really, is responsible. But, really, whose memory can be trusted?


Pub Date: 07 Mar 2017

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Random House - Ballantine