3.0 out of 5 stars
Too Much Realism?, August 19, 2011
When a Polish immigrant is found beaten to death on the streets of Dublin, officer Matt Minogue is asked to investigate. Meanwhile, aspiring screen writer, Dermot Fanning, is busily researching Dublin's crime scene. Fanning wants realism in his work, and gets more than he bargained for by witnessing a barbaric dog fight (this will be hard for animal lovers to read), among other things.
I have mixed feelings about this book. Details about the grittier aspects of Dublin are terrific, Minogue's character is well drawn, and the author nicely balances the personal lives of characters with the main plot. The problem was that Fanning's lack of common sense is so annoying that I found myself speed reading through his chapters, hoping to return to Minogue's story. Minogue's investigation became disappointing as well. Too many pages are spent interviewing surly, uncooperative teens who might, or might not, know how the victim died. These scenes slow the pace and, at times, actually diminish the tension with repetitious dialogue. Happily, the action picks up again near the end but, as in real police investigations, it seems to take a long time to get results in this 360 page novel.
Debra
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4.0 out of 5 stars
so glad that Matt Minogue is back! John Brady fans will rejoice!, March 15, 2011
so glad that Matt Minogue is back! John Brady fans will rejoice! Subject matter involving a dog fight with backers to the death hard to read. I'd so much rather read about humans getting killed! ;)
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