Review: Solid, but not stunning
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 01 3, 2011
When I read THE TROPHY HUNTER by J.M. Zambrano, I wanted to like the book quite a bit. After downloading a sample, I was sure I would.The concept is intriguing, after all; a hunter who hunts humans? Sounds action-packed. Sign me up. Right?Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to like the novel - which possesses a clean prose style and slick, short, easy-to-read chapters ala James Patterson - I found the book to be slow going. And for a while, I wasn't even sure why.After all, Zambrano does some great character work in the book, and she has a decent ear for dialog. There's a lot to like.But I finished the novel a while ago and was determined to either not review this book until I could pin down what prevented me from being enthralled, or I'd simply not review it at all if I couldn't. Because I don't enjoy writing reviews that aren't helpful in some way.I finally nailed it down, though. With time to think back on the story and my reaction to it, I think for the most part, the reason I didn't get caught up in the novel in quite the way I hoped had more to do with plot pacing than anything else.When one reads that this is a book about a hunter hunting humans, I came to expect a bit more concentration on that key concept. I wanted to see the protagonists threatened, running for their lives, doing whatever it took to survive a relentless onslaught from a guy with a gun determined to put a bullet in them.That's not what THE TROPHY HUNTER delivers, at least not in large part. The climactic scene near the end comes closest to fulfilling these expectations, but ultimately this is not a novel that will give you that sort of thrill ride.What THE TROPHY HUNTER is, however, is laudable. It's more of a private-eye procedural. The character work, as I've said, is solid; in fact, about the only aspect of the character work I had any reservations about was that sometimes I got confused which of the two female friends' minds I was in at a given point. Their almost-feud over the romantic focal-point of the novel seemed a bit forced at times, and his main appeal to each of them sometimes eluded me.Those elements aside, there's a lot here that's done well. What was needed, I think, was either a slightly greater payoff on action, or perhaps a description that clarifies the novel is more of a character-driven procedural than an action-focused thriller.In the end, I believe Zambrano has many of the tools to develop into a fine writer; this debut shows promise, but unfortunately still displays some unfulfilled potential. I expect to keep an eye out for the next one, to see how this writer grows over time. And I expect good things.