Musing on a Book Description

Amazon.com: Gone Tomorrow (Jack Reacher, No. 13): Lee Child: Books: "In a novel that slams through one hairpin surprise after another, Lee Child unleashes a thriller that spans three decades and gnaws at the heart of America . . ."

I was thking about ordering Gone Tomorrow the other day, so I went over to Amazon and read the review and book description there.  The above sentence, however, didn't do a very good selling job.  I mean, how often have you been surprised by a hairpin?  And have you been surprised by one recently?  I don't even know if they make hairpins now.  I know my grandmother used them, but I haven't seen one in 50 years.  My mother used bobby pins occasionally, but that's different thing.  Or sort of different, and maybe not as surprising as a hairpin.

I like the idea of the novel "gnaw[ing] at the heart of America," but it's a little scary.  Do I want to hold in my hands a book that might start gnawing at my own heart?  Is a carnivorous book a good idea?  I don't think so, but what do I know?  My books, generally non-carnivorous as far as I can tell, don't sell nearly as well as Child's books do.  Maybe the publishers are onto something.  Or maybe they're just on something.  I don't know.

That's pretty much all I have to say.  I need to go into the other room for a while, but I'm going to be careful.  I don't want to be surprised by a hairpin.