On, Off is the first novel of Colleen McCullough's that I have read, and I enjoyed it very much. The book was interesting from start to finish, with plenty of suspense and romance to keep me captivated.
The one dificulty I had when reading On, Off was keeping all the characters and their respective stories straight. There were the Hug scientists, their wives and families, the Parson family, the police force, the murdered young girls......there were a lot of people. The number of characters might have contributed to the sometimes less than fantastic character development. However, over all most of the characters were intrigueing.
My favorite part of On, Off was the last few pages. All my lingering questions were answered, and in a way I would never have suspected. I'm a big fan of the final ending twist, and this book did not disappoint.
All in all, I was very satisfied with this book and I look forward to reading more from Colleen McCullough. ( )

When this first came out I had every intention of buying it, but I just kept forgetting. Colleen McCullough is one of my favorite writers and even if she was taking a break from the Masters of Rome series that I love, I thought that it would be equally good. Alas, I was bored to tears. I think this was due in part to the narrator who did not vary his tone or range much to accommodate the various characters. And OMFG were there characters. Let me rephrase; there were players. I say players because try as she might to make them quirky and individual, McCullough made them all dry as chalk dust. Even the parts of them that were supposed to shock me (Bob Smith’s treatment of his sons for example) failed to do so. I think the attempt at recreating 1960s atmosphere combined with the sheer number of players foiled her. Reading this on the heels of In The Deep Midwinter by Robert Clark, I am doubly impressed by Clark’s ability to make a similar situation work for him. The 1950s came alive and was made interesting by him in a way that McCullough was unable to do. She attempted to give us a handle on the times with heavy handed bewilderment of people confronted with a multiple murderer and similar clumsy devices.

The most interesting aspect of the story wasn’t the murders or the victims or even the police work; it was the relationship between Carmine and Desdemona. She appeals to him although at first he seems to resent it (we’re constantly reminded of her xenophobia, unattractiveness, largeness of frame and pedantic nature). Eventually she grows on him and he on her and a romance blossoms. But this is very late in the novel and we’ve had to wade through domestic vignettes, workplace vendettas, tedious crime scene investigation and backroom attempts to keep Carmine from discovering anything of import.

After many red-herrings, blind alleys and unexplained, but seemingly important points, we come to a bizarre conclusion, complete with an underground torture chamber. But wait, there’s more! There’s disturbing family secrets, a faked death, a real death and a swapping of identities (and genders). Madness lies at the core of this psychotic swamp, but we’ve received so little preparation for it that it we feel as though we’ve walked into our quiet home only to have a mass of strangers yell “surprise!” at us. It doesn’t work and doesn’t fit with the overall tone or seeming intent of the entirety of what came before. It’s also completely unbelievable. Bah. No more thrillers for you Ms. McCullough! ( )

While this is a solid book, interesting and engaging, it is not McCullough's best work. She does seem to be able to bring her exceptional skills in character development to any genre and, as always, the book is well-researched and very plausible. The ending raises as many questions as it resolves, and leaves the reader with a bit of a chill, thinking, "what if . . .?" If I were recommending a book to a reader unacquainted with McCullough's work, however, this would not be my choice. ( )

An interesting read. Not quite sure what I think about the ending though. ( )