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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A GREAT GRITTY CRIME TALE, February 9, 2012
This review is from: Skin Games: A brutal crime drama (Kindle Edition)
Those of you who keep track of my ramblings will remember that I really enjoyed Adam Pepper's take on an urban fantasy novel, The Symphony of Blood. Skin Games, sees Adam shifting genre into the more traditional gritty urban crime novel, full of New York gangsters, hoodlums and dames in need of help. The question is can Pepper make the transition from urban fantasy / horror to crime? Thankfully, much of what I enjoyed about Pepper's previous novel is present in Skin Games as well. One of the strongest parts of Pepper's writing is a sense of identity and location. . A big problem with a lot of novels is when comes to a sense of setting, they are very vanilla, they lack a real sense of location. The characters and the locations of this novel live and breath New York. Skin Games is a novel set in New York filled with New York characters. When reading this book, you hear the characters speaking in a New York accent in your head, which helps to give the book a strong grounding in reality. The story is told through Sean "Shamrock" O'Donnell, a hard nosed, loyal, Irish American. And it is here that the strength of characterisation really kicks in and stops O'Donnell from becoming just another clichéd Irish New York punk. But as everyone knows, you need a bit more than strong characters to make a story gripping and enjoyable. And this is something that Adam Pepper also knows. Skin Games gives you everything you would want in a crime thriller, and more. Love, betrayal, lots of violence, really nasty characters, all held together by a well written first person narrative, that keeps you turning the pages, just to see how far O'Donnell will go for love. With Skin Games, Pepper has built on the solid foundations of his previous novel. This is a very good read that shows a talented author growing and honing his skill. Highly recommended.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Page Turner!!!, January 26, 2012
This review is from: Skin Games: A brutal crime drama (Kindle Edition)
"Skin Games", is an action packed book from beginning to end; I could not put this book down!!! The writer "Adam Pepper" did a wonderful job in telling this story, which is a combination of a modern day Romeo, and Juliet (without the poison) and a mob story. You will not be disappointed in getting this book, it is a great read!!!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Engrossing Mob Tale, January 14, 2012
This review is from: Skin Games: A brutal crime drama (Kindle Edition)
After a couple of thugs burn her families' restaurant to the ground and kill two co-workers, Maria seeks revenge. She locates a mysterious man known as "Skin" but needs to be assured he's the right man for the job. Skin then tells Maria his life story, which takes up the majority of this engrossing mob tale from Adam Pepper. Skin's real name is Sean 'Shamrock' O'Donnell, the son of a tough Irish father and an Italian mother. When his father leaves them, Sean becomes the man of the house and does whatever's necessary to help support his mother. The rough streets of the Bronx lead him to a life of crime, eventually getting him involved with the local gangsters. Trouble starts at a mob party when bull-headed Sean becomes infatuated with Nicole, who happens to be the daughter of head crime boss Mario. They begin dating and quickly fall head-over-heels in love. Mario begins to send Sean out on set-up missions, hoping Sean will get the message to leave his daughter alone or be eliminated. But Sean proves too tough for his schemes. SKIN GAMES is a study of friendship, love, and the power of true self-resolve. Pepper's realistic first-person narrative makes this a compulsive page-turner full of gritty-violence, seedy characters, and a satisfying conclusion that will leave you thirsting for more. Similar to GOODFELLAS yet with its own voice, SKIN GAMES is a fine example of a self-published novel that's on par (or better) than anything in the crime/thriller genre coming from big house publishers. Mob fans DO NOT want to miss this.
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