Review: Secondary Characters Are Unbelievable
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 01 13, 2014
I'm normally not a fan of murder mystery books. I got the series because at the time they were free. That being said, I really liked them. The murders felt a bit repetitive to me. I understand they were apart of an overarching theme, but there were no other cases for them to work. Each 'big bad' wanted to go one on one with Darc. That's it. Yes, each crime was a bit different, especially the twist about the Freemasons, but they all wanted to test Darc.The secondary characters were completely unbelievable. I can't speak on Darc as I don't know anything about Aspergers, but I would think those who have it would no not to snatch candy from children. (Yes, Darc apparently at some point snatched candy from a child because his blood sugar was low.) Trey is an idiot. It's painfully obvious he doesn't know what he's doing, and it didn't appear that he tried to change that fact. He had his own case to work, and I have to wonder why. The only reason he was forced to be a detective was to babysit Darc. If that's his main goal, why give him any cases on his own? I doubt any other detectives would have kicked up a fuss as he's an idiot. It's known that he's an idiot.Mala is not fit to be anyone's foster parent, and her social worker is right to make her life hell. Ever since she's come into contact with Janey the little girl has been dragged from gruesome crime scene to gruesome crime scene. At one point Janey climbed onto scaffolding at the top of the Space Needle. Any parent worth their salt knows that sometimes you have to put your foot down with children. What would have been so hard for Mala to tell Janey there could be a possibility she could be sent back to the group home? That's exactly what would have happened, and if the series continues, could very well happen. Mala couldn't even stand up to Darc. She could have very well told Darc and Trey the same thing. Mala claimed to love Janey and want the best for her, but from her actions throughout the book that seems highly questionable. Again, any parent worth their salt knows that sometimes the things that make children happy aren't always the best for them. Especially if what makes your child happy is going to see dead bodies, and sneaking out of the house to 'go on a date' with Mala and Darc.The last book expanding on Janey, but it seems like it was crammed to justify Mala taking her to crime scenes in the first place. It took the last book in the series to establish she's also a savant? Wouldn't that have been better served in the first book? At least in little bits and pieces? Instead in the last book she's suddenly Darc lite. It's because of her several puzzles are solved using her version of what Darc does.