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February 11, 2008 11:16 AM
MORE ON MONDAY: Dirty Martini by JA Konrath
I've heard great things about JA Konrath, but fewer than 50 pages in I had to stop reading. There were poisoned nails set as booby traps ... fear, carnage ... *shudder* ... I had to stop reading. So I gave it to my husband to review...
Reviewed by David Stainton
Forgive me, but when I inevitably discovered that 'J A' stood for Joseph Andrew, meaning the sexy, kick-ass Lieutenant Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels was created by a nerdy-looking forty something bloke, it put me off the book before I'd even given it a chance. Irrational I know, but I can't put it out of my head. It's probably what Victorian readers of Middlemarch felt when they discovered George Elliot wasn't a forty-Woodbine-and-ten-pints-of-ale-a-day fella.
That apart, I was left feeling unsatisfied as a whole at the end of the book. Putting aside my wavering suspension of disbelief about the whole plot, which revolves around a mad sociopath poisoning half of Chicago, and Daniels apparently having to solve the whole case by herself, it just wasn't thrilling enough for a thriller, suspenseful enough for a mystery, or funny enough for a comedy.
The writing is sharp enough, and if Konrath had concentrated on the investigation, without throwing in cliched hokum around ex-partners, both professional and personal then I could have cared more about the outcome. Unfortunately I didn't care enough to overlook the fact that once more than a dozen people had died horribly then the city would have been shut down till the murderer was caught.
As it is, Daniels lurches from one near-fatal encounter with her nemesis to the next, leaving a trail of dead cops and civilians in her wake. And the fact that she didn't see the blindingly obvious link to the killer which is revealed in order to lead her to the final showdown offends me as a fellow member of the law enforcement community. Sorry, but Jack Daniels left a funny taste in my mouth...
Rating: 2/5
Like this? Try One For the Money by Janet Evanovich
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Posted by Keris on February 11, 2008 in American Authors, Crime / Mystery, Rating: 2/5, Series | Permalink
Comments
I LOVE the Jack Daniels series. Personally, I'm impressed by Konrath's ability to write a female character so well considering, you know, he's a dude. The sex of the author doesn't really affect their ability to write for the opposite sex if they are talented enough. It's too bad that was an issue for David. It's got to be the first time I've heard that!
I'm just flabbergasted that it fell so flat for him! This is the fourth book in the series, maybe that had something to do with it? I'm glad he gave it a chance though, even though there was the whole gender thing. :)
Uh, Konrath isn't 40 something. Yet. We were born in the same year and I really don't need the extra couple of years tacked on, thanks!
Posted by: Terri | February 12, 2008 2:45 AM
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