Death by Sarcasm by Dani Amore (2011) – BR00210 (2022) – 🐸🐸🐸⚪⚪

The PolyBlog

October 22 2022

Plot or Premise

A private investigator in L.A. investigates the death of her uncle, an old stand-up comic.

What I Liked

The main character, Mary Cooper, is an unfiltered voice in a world of serious investigators. Every line out of her mouth is practically a one-liner, and while that SHOULD grate on the nerves, it doesn’t. Just about everyone in the book is a comic, and the lines come fast and furious at different points. Once you buy into the premise, it’s quite enjoyable. I originally tripped over this story when it was shared online in a newsgroup, and I had no way of knowing at the time it was actually a nom de plume for Dan Ames.

What I Didn’t Like

There is a scene right in the middle where a bunch of guys basically go to rape Mary while wearing masks. Except their identity is relatively obvious to everyone except Mary, before and after the attempt, and the reason for their behaviour doesn’t even make any sense, at least not towards Mary. No to mention some stupid interactions with a police sergeant that keeps escalating, even though the cop is really ambitious and it’s going to blow up in her face, more Keystone Kops than by the book.

The Bottom Line

Funny dialogue, a couple of plot holes

Line of Control by Jeff Rovin (2001) – BR00209 (2022) – 🐸🐸🐸⚪⚪

The PolyBlog

October 20 2022

Plot or Premise

There’s a crisis on the Pakistan-India border and Op-Center sends in Striker, their military arm.

What I Liked

The tensions between the two countries and most of the action scenes are done well.

What I Didn’t Like

The emotional angst between members of Op-Center read almost like a soap opera, and any subterfuge is telegraphed so early it’s hard to believe they are intelligence agents. On top of that, the battlefield has bunkers seemingly pop up out of nowhere, with zero indication of how they could have been built without anyone noticing.

The Bottom Line

Okay story, would prefer it without the soap opera scenes

The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon (2002) – BR00208 (2022) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸

The PolyBlog

October 20 2022

Plot or Premise

The story is set in an unspecified future world where most diseases and disabilities are eliminated or “fixed” at birth. A high-functioning autistic man who was born too late to benefit from the advances is navigating life and challenges at work and with friends until he is presented with a unique opportunity to potentially fix his autism as an adult.

What I Liked

Living inside his mind is awesome, seeing all the rituals he performs to get through his day, and seeing shades of everyone in some of the behaviour. Lots of relatable behaviour where if I was just 10% more anal, maybe I would act the same way. I’m an analytical introvert, and watching the way he learns to evade some of the questions that his therapist throws at him is quite entertaining. I mentioned the book to a friend who was a fantasy/sci-fi lover, and when I mentioned the base premise was hard to classify, she said it was clearly sci-fi. Then she read it and said, “Okay, you’re right, it’s NOT sci-fi, but I don’t know what else to call it”. It wasn’t a dystopian setting or anything, just a future “what if” scenario.

What I Didn’t Like

The book is unique in that as you follow the character, and see his strengths and weaknesses, you see him get to the point where he’s debating whether or not to take the “cure”, so to speak. And the question itself is quite polarizing as it is presented — regardless of which way you think the character should go, the choice is guaranteed to be unsatisfying. This may be an argument in favour of reading it, but it does mean the ending leaves a bit of a gap in terms of closure.

The Bottom Line

Fantastic journey with a polarizing ending

The Mill River Recluse by Darcie Chan (2014) – BR00207 (2022) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸⚪

The PolyBlog

October 18 2022

Plot or Premise

A romance perverted by possession creates the basis for a long isolated life for a widow in a large house on a hill above a small town.

What I Liked

I liked the dual story near the start — the current life in the town of Mill River and the past when the story of the resident of the house on the hill began. The initial opening — that of a suicide — set up a semi-mystery of “Who is she? Why is she killing herself?” that added some gravitas to the plot.

What I Didn’t Like

The novel was nominated for numerous awards, and all of them touted the book as a mystery. As I said above, “Who is she? Why is she killing herself?”. So you expect the story to somehow pay off as you see all the characters in the town below her mansion. I was disappointed in the ending that in fact, most of the town really has nothing to do with her. There’s no real “mystery” per se, nor payoff in terms of connections. The ending is solid, albeit a bit schmaltzy, but I had to deduct a point for the fact that it is not better connected to the opening and there’s no real sense of “mystery solved”.

The Bottom Line

Solid story, light on mystery

The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer (2006) – BR00206 (2022) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸⚪

The PolyBlog

October 17 2022

Plot or Premise

Mycroft and Sherlock have a dead father, an aging mother who banished them, and a much younger sister. When Mom goes missing, Mycroft and Sherlock arrive to take charge, but Enola has things well in hand, thank you very much.

What I Liked

The matter-of-fact explanation of why the two brothers are long absent, and the brief overviews of both Mom and Dad’s tendencies and personalities go a long way in explaining the origins of both Mycroft and Sherlock. Both appear as caricatures of their own literary selves, literally in one sense, but Enola herself is quite charming as a young teen venturing out on her own for the first time. It has a bit of a part Holmes/part Nancy Drew feel to it, not quite as structured as a Holmes story with a bit of adventure a la Nancy Drew. One habit she has seems more Hercule Poirot than Sherlock, however. While the story is written for the young adult market, it is quite readable for an adult.

What I Didn’t Like

The explanation of what happened to Mom is quite basic, a mere hint from Sherlock in another conversation, but with little to explain the timing. And there are things that are “afoot” at two distinct places in time for a number of weeks each where Enola is doing something, all summed up in a short 2-3 paragraphs, but leaving out much of the “character” growth that would go with those activities.

The Bottom Line

A good story, but not quite Holmesian