Tag Archives: sleuth

The Burning Edge by Rick Mofina (2012) – BR00172 (2019) – 🐸🐸🐸⚪⚪

The PolyBlog
November 17 2019

Plot or Premise

A woman witnesses an armed robbery at a truck stop, and as the FBI closes in on the robbers, they worry that the woman saw too much.

What I Liked

The story is told from the perspective of four groups — Lisa, the woman who saw the robbers; Jack, a journalist digging for the story; the robbers themselves; and Frank, the FBI agent hunting them. The story jumps from person to person, which is great for seeing the different aspects of the investigation vs. home life. Short chapters, kind of Patterson-style, keep the action moving.

What I Didn’t Like

The short chapters seem a bit too jumpy in places, and the constant PoV shift isn’t even. The journalist is good, but the backstories for the witness and the FBI agent are overkill. Past losses, current illnesses, everything reads a bit more soap opera-ish than mystery novel. And the final motive for the robbery is ridiculous.

Disclosure

I am not personal friends with the author, but I have met him in person at a writers’ group meeting.

The Bottom Line

Well-written but superficial mystery plot.

The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness (2014) – BR00171 (2019) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸⚪

The PolyBlog
November 16 2019

Plot or Premise

After falling in love (book 1), and hiding in the past (book 2), Diana and Matthew return to the present to start a family and figure out what is in the Book of Life.

What I Liked

This third book recaptures some of the mystery from the first book and tackles head-on the issue of the lineage of demons, vampires and witches. Gone are the long, loving descriptions of places, and instead, there are multiple action scenes, broad moving parts across multiple continents, confrontations with the Congregation, and a reckoning for some wayward players. More importantly, you get to see Matthew and Diana weave all of it into a family. It even rectifies one of the glaring gaps from book 2 regarding a young boy named Jack.

What I Didn’t Like

The true villain of the trilogy is revealed, as is a hidden hero. But while the villain is vanquished, the hidden hero who is around for most of book 2 and is revealed in book 3 ends up disappearing near the end. It left a feeling of incompleteness, as did two other villains who are not really dealt with at all, except politically.

The Bottom Line

An action-packed but not completely satisfying ending

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness (2014) – BR00170 (2019) – 🐸🐸🐸⚪⚪

The PolyBlog
November 14 2019

Plot or Premise

A witch and a vampire hide out in 1590 Europe while she learns to control her powers.

What I Liked

After timewalking from present day, Diana has to learn to live in Elizabethan England, adapt to the customs of the day, and attempt to blend in. Lots of historical figures pop in and out, friends of Matthew in the “School of Night”, and she feasts on the living history. But it is only when she is at Sept-Tours that the book really brings the same sense of place that the first book did. She learns about the nature of her witch powers from a coven, and her family grows in size, including a nephew named Gallowglass.

What I Didn’t Like

The sense of place that was so common in each of the locales in the first book is not as vivid, except in Sept-Tours with Philippe (Matthew’s father). In addition, the book drags on and on in places with hardly anything happening relative to the mystery of magic, rather than just politics of the day, yet there are two fairly important events regarding children that are practically ignored as commonplace (with seemingly no emotional impact at all). There are also major happenings that happen elsewhere in time, and you only hear about them as throwaway news, including the death of a significant character.

The Bottom Line

A slow middle book with no ending.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness (2011) – BR00169 (2019) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸⚪

The PolyBlog
November 13 2019

Plot or Premise

A witch who has ignored her powers feels them re-awaken in Oxford as she does research on alchemy and encounters a vampire interested in the same book.

What I Liked

The story is far removed from the world of young magicians or young love. Instead, we see a budding partnership, collaboration and even romance blossom between Dr. Diana Bishop, hidden witch, and Matthew de Clermont, vampire. But it is the richness of every place and event that overwhelms the senses…Oxford comes alive, his castle in France is a presence all on its own, the changing relationship between Diana the witch and Ysabeau the mother-in-law vampire, and even the life in America with Diana’s aunts. Each segment is visual, sensual, tangible to the reader. Yet at the same time, it combines all the magical elements with DNA tests and the use of science.

What I Didn’t Like

The sheer magnitude of the story is hard to keep straight with all the characters and the various histories that intertwine. There is also not enough info about demons, while an abundance for vampires and witches. And the ending is basically “to be continued”.

The Bottom Line

A fantastic start to a fantasy series.

Blue Moon by Lee Child (2019) – BR00168 (2019) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸⚪

The PolyBlog
November 11 2019

Plot or Premise

Reacher wanders into a town and accidentally flames the fires of a turf war between the Albanian and Ukrainian mobs.

What I Liked

The progression from what Reacher sees at the start to the war with the 2 mobs is awesome, and the almost slapstick element the way the mob interprets what’s happening reminded me of the Remo Williams series. Good escalation throughout.

What I Didn’t Like

The secondary characters were a bit, well, odd. Too ready to jump in and kill bad guys, and the waitress can suddenly figure out battle plans. Plus, Reacher is too violent even for him, regardless of the repeated justification of the shoe being on the other foot. 

The Bottom Line

Still classic Reacher, albeit more violent than usual.