Review: Fast paced and action packed
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 10, 2014
The novella format certainly fits this author's writing style. I do like taking long, leisurely reads with classic books (some of which can be quite thick), but what I don't like reading are 100,000-word plus books which have a bigger word count to give the perception that there is more value for the reader's buck. To me the value is in the content, not an inflated word count.That is why poetry, flash fiction, short stories, and novellas can be so fun to read--because they showcase the storyline and themes in a straightforward fashion. "Bloody Mess" lives up to its title, without turning into some mindless violent or gore fest. The contrast between the main character's persona at work versus who he's like at home was a nice touch (sincere and believable). There was certainly A LOT going on in the story, with snappy dialogue that isn't weighed downed with unnecessary descriptions in between.What I liked best about this story were some of the twists and turns I did not see coming, and that the story was full-bodied with a 3-dimensional protagonist. There are so many popular books out with lead characters who have rather shallow or boring personalities, and it is always a great thing to find a book that doesn't resort to Mary Sue / Garry Stu love triangle prototypes in order to keep the story going (whatever the genre). There was a slight psychological or reflective aspect in "Bloody Mess," which puts it above many run-of-the-mill books where characters completely lack any imagination or the slightest drop of introspection.