14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good story, bad writing, December 30, 2008
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Fans of Spindler are going to get and love this book no matter what I say, which falls under that 'to each his own' category. Please allow me to say my opinion, and enjoy the novel! I'll address readers who may not have read any of her earlier MC Riggio novels and are wondering if they should jump in.
You can pick this up and not be utterly lost as to what's going on in the larger arc of the series. Spindler gives plenty of trackback comments that allow you to figure out what had happened in previous cases.
The actual plot is pretty good.
The policework and the writing, however, killed this for me. For a police-procedural, there's almost no understanding of 'procedure' beyond the lame stereotypes--the angry detective lieutenant, the forensic geek with the long memory, and interagency rivalry. Chain of custody? This case would be impossible to try in any court because of the main character's complete inability to follow police procedure.
The heroine lacks any empathy for her friend, who sacrificed her own chance at reconciliation with her husband to help out MC. There's nothing that makes MC stand out from any of a dozen police-detective heroines on bookshelves today, other than the fact that she's completely unlikeable. I cringed as Ed McBain's police characters made dumb moves, but I somehow still liked them. MC is impossible to like. She lies, cheats, throws temper tantrums, and treats her partner unforgivably badly. She witholds evidence due to petty jealousy and the inability to believe that her cousin could be...not so perfect. Corpses keep showing up around her, and yet, she's never even cursorily suspected of the crimes.
Older readers may be familiar with the host of offensive Italian goombah stereotypes that comprise MC's family--newer readers might be dismayed. Yes, every Italian 'big family, mangia mangia, Catholic, overemotional where's my grandbabies' stereotype appeared in this book. All that's missing is the knitting black-clad grandmother. (Aha! Spindler isn't Italian enough to know that one, I guess).
The writing is execrable. We hear three times about a young man that 'he had his whole life before him.' Verbatim, in three successive chapters. Dullsville. And when I came across this little gem, I almost threw the book agains the wall and gave up. From page 97, "You're twenty-one. You're a guy. And you're Italian. Being a screwup is practically a requirement." What?!(This, from our heroine--I told you she was pretty unlikeable, didn't I?)
The murder plot is okay, and peopled with enough twisted and devious types to hold your interest and not be instantly solveable, which I liked. The codebreaking could have been handled better (not just in a more professional, police-like way that could be prosecuted in a court of law), and the climax has plenty of suspense. If you can drag yourself through the thin writing, and summon up any empathy for MC (honestly, I didn't care if she made it out alive or not), it's a decent read. But for readers looking for a compelling detective, accurate police procedure, or any originality whatsoever in character or dialogue, this, you can take a pass on.
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not convinced, December 31, 2008
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
This was an OK book that missed the mark. The story started off well with the author making an honest effort to create suspense and complexity. As it progressed however, it was as if Spindler lost her direction. The demise of the characters felt predictable, choppy, implausable and redundant, the interpersonal relationships distracting and lifeless and I simply did not care much about anyone. Too many words were spent on a rather pedantic/technical presentation of cyber-crime and red herrings were awkward rather than genuinely misleading. In short, do not break your neck to read this one.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Don't break your neck getting this one..but its good!, January 17, 2009
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
This was a really good thriller. The cyber-theft ring was interesting and at least in my reading world, it hasn't been overdone. The killer was interesting and perfectly cold-hearted. Although some people were turned off by the short chapters, I thought it was different and worked ok. I like M.C. best of the two main characters and I think Kitt is okay. I felt horrible watching as the murder victims start to fall, and M.C. knows some of them. I agree with what other reviewers have said about police procedure. I am NOT involved in any aspect of law enforcement but I knew that there was no way some of that would have unfolded that way...but I can see that Spindler had to do things the way she did or her story wouldn't work. I thought this book was very entertaining and I only realized who the killer was a few moments before they did. However much I praise this book, I do acknowledge that this book wasn't nearly as good as Spindler's earlier works. "Forbidden Fruit", "Shocking Pink", "Cause For Alarm" and "Fortune" were just amazing. Those are the books I most recommend that you go and grab.
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