Review: Kelly spins a good tale BUT...
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 07 8, 2014
I have to say, it's the plot and not the writing that kept me reading this book to the end. I stopped about halfway through and read the reviews. This is something I've never done before, but I was having qualms and wanted to see what my peers thought.So, I'll weigh in with one thing that others have said as well.Way too many metaphors, many of them corny at that.I didn't mind the explicit violence, and as a rule I don't mind well-placed sex references. I'm a big fan of wit inserted in fiction and only if it's done right. First of all, it has to be truly witty, and second of all it has to be judiciously sprinkled throughout. Just like to much salt on food, too much silliness in the thriller makes the whole thing hard to swallow.The entire character of Natalie from beginning to end was a distraction from the beautifully crafted storyline. I enjoy books where the civilian is involved in an investigation, but the probability that two serious detectives working on a lethal case, would have Natalie as their third detective through the entire book detracts from the entire thing... Also, her incessant potty mouth adds nothing to the book. In fact, we don't really get to know her. It is possible for a writer to take someone who begins the tale as a dingbat and through the story redeem and rehabilitate her so that we begin to understand and appreciate what she brings to the story. But even the part she plays at the end is not enough... I still saw just a very dumb, very crude, one dimensional character.My final thought is that some of the dilemma in this book might be caused by the author trying, unsuccessfully, to blend a cozy mystery with a hard-boiled police procedural thriller. I think he will produce a better book if he chooses the police procedural thriller and leaves the silliness out. But this is one opinion. I have read mysteries and thrillers of various types exclusively for over 45 years. There were plenty of people who absolutely loved this. I am no prude, but the rhetoric has to be smarter. This was slapstick.I may read another of Kelly's books because I do believe he will grow as an author. Telling a good story is art, and not everybody has it in them.