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I just finished reading The Girl Who Knew da Vinci, and while I enjoyed many aspects of the story there is one thing that I felt could have been done better. It seemed to me that Scordato's plan to steal the painting and murder Angela was brought to light much too early in the story; all the way back in Chapter 1. This took a lot of the suspense out the book for me because I knew what was coming. There was no surprise at the end when he ,finally, made his move. I think it would have been more exciting to not know who was after Angela and Alex right from the start. Does anyone else have any thoughts on this?

Yes, it would have been better if we don't know the intent of Scordato. Due to it, there is not much suspense left in the book.

garima597 wrote: ↑23 Jul 2018, 07:02 Yes, it would have been better if we don't know the intent of Scordato. Due to it, there is not much suspense left in the book.

Thank you for replying garima597. I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought so. I definitely think it would have been better to suspect that he might be the bad guy as opposed to knowing for certain the whole time.

I see what you mean, it definitely does reduce the suspense a notch. Though I haven't finished reading the book, I don't really mind knowing who the bad guy was so early; I feel it would simply cause a more focused attention on the character being targeted and the various ways he or she thwarts attacks from the antagonist.

Vickie Noel wrote: ↑23 Jul 2018, 14:20 I see what you mean, it definitely does reduce the suspense a notch. Though I haven't finished reading the book, I don't really mind knowing who the bad guy was so early; I feel it would simply cause a more focused attention on the character being targeted and the various ways he or she thwarts attacks from the antagonist.

Thanks for chiming in Vickie. I would be curious to know if your opinion changes at all once you have finished reading the book. I see the point you are making, but I'm not sure if the antagonist played enough of a role in the bulk of the book to really draw too much attention. He was certainly there at the start and at the finish though.

Yes, I agree 100%! I hated Scordato because he was so one-dimensional and so clear with his intentions from the start - such a bad villian. I wish we got something more from him, but nah, it was all just the same stuff. No ulterior motive, no secret attack, nothing. It was really disappointing, especially because it seems Ami spent a lot of time rounding out the other characters.

I do see Vickie's point, though. This way we could just focus on the story between Alex, Angela, and the past lives without having to obsess over who and what was going to hurt them.

sarbearah wrote: ↑25 Jul 2018, 00:29 Yes, I agree 100%! I hated Scordato because he was so one-dimensional and so clear with his intentions from the start - such a bad villian. I wish we got something more from him, but nah, it was all just the same stuff. No ulterior motive, no secret attack, nothing. It was really disappointing, especially because it seems Ami spent a lot of time rounding out the other characters.

I agree, Ami did a great job with the other characters in this book. The lack of development with Scordato made him seem kind of out of place the few times he did show up in the middle of the story.

I too have a feeling that Scordato was brutal and his intention are know right from the beginning. however how Ami developed the characters is very exceptional.

I do believe that Scordato's plan could have been kept secret a little while longer even with letting us know about him watching her as she zoned out in front of the painting. I believe had it had been left out earlier on it would have come as a major shock or added more suspense as in who was after Angela and Alex and why

JHuschle519 wrote: ↑23 Jul 2018, 02:28 It seemed to me that Scordato's plan to steal the painting and murder Angela was brought to light much too early in the story; all the way back in Chapter 1. I think it would have been more exciting to not know who was after Angela and Alex right from the start. Does anyone else have any thoughts on this?

I can see your point, but I think it would have had better suspense if there were more close encounters like the incident in the alley with Alex.

I think Scordato's intent was revealed too early. It would have been better to keep the suspense going.

Being a mystery and suspense, sure the idea of knowing his intent at the start of the book is sort of a spoiler. As you suggest, the author should just have portrayed him as the bad guy, but left his intentions hidden so that the reader is left to discover just how bad he is as the book goes on.

Yssimnar wrote: ↑28 Jul 2018, 03:24

JHuschle519 wrote: ↑23 Jul 2018, 02:28 It seemed to me that Scordato's plan to steal the painting and murder Angela was brought to light much too early in the story; all the way back in Chapter 1. I think it would have been more exciting to not know who was after Angela and Alex right from the start. Does anyone else have any thoughts on this?

I can see your point, but I think it would have had better suspense if there were more close encounters like the incident in the alley with Alex.

That is definitely another way the author could have gone. That one incident seemed kind of out of place without any others like it. Even just having some additional evidence that they were being followed would have helped build up some more suspense.

chelhack wrote: ↑26 Jul 2018, 09:45 I do believe that Scordato's plan could have been kept secret a little while longer even with letting us know about him watching her as she zoned out in front of the painting. I believe had it had been left out earlier on it would have come as a major shock or added more suspense as in who was after Angela and Alex and why

Thanks for the reply chelhack, and yes, that major shock would have been great. I really liked the book, but that would have put it on a whole different level for me. I believe it was v i n in an earlier reply that mentioned how well Ami developed the other characters, and it would have been great to see that type of development with Scordato.

JHuschle519 wrote: ↑23 Jul 2018, 02:28 I just finished reading The Girl Who Knew da Vinci, and while I enjoyed many aspects of the story there is one thing that I felt could have been done better. It seemed to me that Scordato's plan to steal the painting and murder Angela was brought to light much too early in the story; all the way back in Chapter 1. This took a lot of the suspense out the book for me because I knew what was coming. There was no surprise at the end when he ,finally, made his move. I think it would have been more exciting to not know who was after Angela and Alex right from the start. Does anyone else have any thoughts on this?

Yes, I agree. I think the problem comes from the fact that this was really a paranormal romance.

In my review, I made a point of stating that this was not a thriller. Thrillers are really fast-paced and the main characters are always chasing the next clue to find out who is behind the plot. Sometimes things are so convoluted, you don't find out until the very end who is behind the crime. Also, there is a lot of tension, running, hiding, plotting, tactics. There was none of that here. Unless you consider long soapy showers suspenseful.

So I guess you needed Scordato around to have some suspense.