Customer Reviews

Dead in the Water

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

To criticize a detective novel for being formulaic is a little like criticizing a Biblical movie for being too religious or a Tarantino movie for being too violent. Detective novels are supposed to be formulaic. You're supposed to see the dead body before chapter 3. Everyone expects romantic entanglements that break off as the detective expects the "perfect" guy to be a serial killer. There are supposed to be red herrings. And then 30 pages before the end, the villain reveals him/herself and does the whole muhahaha routine complete with twirling mustache and (ultimately failed) attempt to kill the protagonist.

We read detective novels because the formula is comforting, but still the writer must make the formula feel fresh (even as we know where we are going) and Julie Smith fails in this case. Reading this book feels like suffering through the last 3 or 13 James Bond movies. There are no surprises. No new ways of telling the story. She doesn't even pick very interesting characters to act as victim and murderer. They have the barest sketches of backgrounds and one feels like she picked the murderer out of a hat.

All in all, a light book that doesn't even live up to the light reading bar that it sets for itself.

I was so pleased by Julie Smith's first Rebecca Schwartz book, Death Turns a Trick (see my review), that I bought the rest of this five book series. Books two and three were still in line with the traditional cozy, i.e., no gratuitous sex or violence, but this book, Dead in the Water, number four of the Rebecca Schwartz books, ends with horrific scenes of violence. I don't think this is a spoiler, as I'm not giving away motive or perpetrator: Rebecca, her current boyfriend, and two ten-year-old girls are subjected to physical and psychological torture that will probably give them nightmares -- and daytime shivers, too -- for the rest of their lives. Yes, it's fiction, but if I want to read about the worst human behavior I would prefer to get it from great 19th century English and Russian novels.

I've already sent for the last book in this series, and I will read it. Perhaps it will give me a clue as to why Smith stopped writing about Rebecca and essentially downplays this character on her website. Julie Smith: why not have Rebecca come back older and wiser? You've put on a few years and gained more experience: give us back a decent protagonist with loving mother, father, sister, law partner; a steady boyfriend or husband; a good law practice; perhaps some nice courtroom scenes -- and no noir.

This book was about Mr.Mann, who was kidnapped! His granddaughter Anita was suspecting he was! The Hardy boys,Frank and Joe, were visiting Mann, they are friends. They knocked and knocked but nobody answered. They came back later, and someone answered the door. It was Anita. They heard these weird noises comeing from outside, they looked and Anita's tires were flat! For days weird stuff had been happening to Anita.

My opinion of this book is it was exciting, you didn't know what was going to happen next. I suggest that you read this book to find out what happens at the end of the book.