Customer Reviews

Tempted by Trouble

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I usually hate when people compare authors, but damn if Eric Jerome Dickey isn't racing toward the "Walter-Mosley-Atmosphere" of writing. Not sure if the term `intelligent-thriller' has been coined or not; but either way Eric Jerome has it on lock! His books are a literary paradox; his writing is so clean that you can't help BUT devour his work, unfortunately if you devour too fast you'll miss the flavor. `Tempted by Trouble' is another high adrenaline rush from the man who lives on the road.

Dmytryk is a man who is asked to sell his soul to the devil. Of course you would never think that the person that begs you to sell your soul to Satan would be an angel. His angel answers to a very common name. Wife. Our tax dollars have financed the salaries of the people who have orchestrated this recession, and Motor City is losing jobs like a Las Vegas stripper slowly loses her soul. If money is the root of all evil, Eddie Coyle is the bush that grows from that root. That would make Bishop and Jackie the rotten branches. Dmytryk would be the gardener trying to prune said bush while getting caught in the vines, and his angel-wife Cora would be the fertilizer.

The predominate question in this book is "how far would you go to protect/save what is yours"? The mental anguish Dmytryk goes would weaken even the strongest cerebral athlete. He's down and out. He has no money. Eddie Coyle tells him that he can make easy money in two minutes. In the time it takes a minute man to put a smile on his face and a frown on his woman's, Dmytryk can become recession proof. At least for a while. At least until the money runs out. Again. Two minutes and you could live your life like it's golden for the next six months. Two minutes and your soul could dissolve into black forever.

As I was reading this book I was thinking how easy it would be to be a wheelman and make a few thousand just for driving. How much fun it would be to spend all that cash. What it would be like to waltz off a deserted island with a nineteen year old nymph. But you know what? I'm bet Dmytryk thought the exact same thing. I'm sure he didn't factor in his wife doing the things she did because of that money. I'm sure he didn't factor in becoming the bloody dispenser of pain to strangers. And I'm damn sure he didn't factor being trapped in an M. Night Shyamalan black hole. While there are shockers throughout `Tempted by Trouble', there is one you won't see one coming.

Trust me, you won't. I actually had to go back and re-read a few pages because I really thought I missed something. I did, but it wasn't anything like I thought. Eric writes on a level that most people dream. Saying that his books are magnificent is just redundant. My admiration of this man goes beyond a fan's infatuation. I'm a booklover who reads these books because Eric has that very, very rare gift of being able to tell a story and not just write a book. I relish the read, I take pleasure in the literary vacation, I hardly breathe on the thrill ride from cover to cover, and what's more, it's a necessity. I'm the junkie and he's the dealer. (just call me Pooky)! And like most junkies, when I find something good I spread the word. So everyone, slap your forearm, find that vein, and O.D. on a drug called EJD

For an author that started out writing from the woman's point of view, Eric Jerome Dickey has certainly evolved. If you've followed his writing career, you'll remember the days when his stories were considered the male answer to Terry McMillan's Waiting to Exhale. They were funny, they were romantic, they were light. I can remember commenting to a fellow reader years ago that he wrote with a woman's voice so well that if I didn't know he was a man, I would have assumed he was a woman.

I've noticed in recent years that he has shied away from romantic lit as a whole and has begun to hide it within darker, sexier novels. Though he started bringing the sexy in 2003's The Other Woman, the first time I noticed him bringing a whole lot of sexy was in 2008's Pleasure. An older relative gave it to me for Christmas and I blushed so much through out it that all I could hope was that she hadn't read it prior to giving it to me.

With the beginning of the Gideon series, 2007's Sleeping with Strangers, Dickey introduced us to the darker, more masculine side of his stories. If I remember correctly, this was really the first time that his lead character was a male. A killer for hire, Gideon is the focus of four books, which is somewhat unusual for the author. He seems to like to utilizing characters for one story and then moving on from them. It would seem that he found his voice within Gideon.

Tempted by Trouble introduces the reader to a new character, Dmytryk Knight. An out of work former executive turned assembly line worker, Dmytryk is struggling to maintain his home, his marriage and his sanity in Detroit. His out of work wife, Cora, has taken to stripping to bring money into the house while Dmytryk picks up odd jobs here and there. A chance encounter in the strip club introduces Dmytryk to a way of life that he never imagined, as the getaway man for a crew of bank robbers.

Dmytryk isn't cut out for the life of a thief, but if it keeps Cora happy, he's willing to do it. When his latest heist goes wrong and Cora disappears, Dmytryk has to decide if this is really the path he wants to continue down. With fast paced writing and several twists and turns, Eric Jerome Dickey has created yet another page turner.

What did you like about this book?
There were quite a few unexpected surprises and I loved that.

What didn't you like about this book?
Dickey never comes out and tells the reader what race Dmytryk is. One could infer from his parents names, as well as his, that his origins are European, but the fact that he was born and raised in Detroit and attended Cass Technical High, a predominantly black school leads you to wonder if he's black. I would suspect that the author wanted to leave it up to the reader to decide. Ultimately it doesn't matter what race Dmytryk is since this isn't a black or white story, but a human story.

What could the author do to improve this book?
Dmytryk is the lead character and so much of the story is built around him. I would have liked more background on the other players though.

I am a huge EJD fan. I've read all of his books and enjoyed them (especially the Gideon series). When I finished reading this book, I wanted to kick myself for wasting my time on it. It didn't feel like I was reading an EJD book at all. The plot dragged on, the characters were not relatable, and it was very predictable. I love EJD, but he really dropped the ball on this one. I hope his next book does not disappoint like this one did.

His main followers have mainly been women because we enjoyed his work. Since he started this Gideon crap, I can not relate to his work anymore. If I wanted to read a book about crime, I can easily pick up Walter Mosley's books which I don't like to read. Until he has a female main character and his book is not about crime, I won't be reading anymore of his books. (Sorry for gramatical,punctuation, and typo errors).

Okay, let me say. I may be the biggest EJD fan there is. This book was not worth the wait. Anytime, the main character is not likable, there is a problem. While I got plenty of background info on Dmytryk, I didn't feel any connection to him or any sympythy. There wasn't 1 character in this story I "liked". I felt like I was reading a rough draft for a rejected version of Gideon. The plot was predictable up until the end. EJD is never predictable. This book was a major fail. The only positive thing I see is the senerio of Dmytryk, Giedeon and Driver working together. Now, if this was the set-up for a second part, I would understand more. Tired of the dissapointment.

Man. Each year I wait in anticipation for EJD's new release & have never been let down until this book. Reading this didn't even feel like reading an EJD book. It possessed his usual stage setting including current events and history of locations in the plot. But something vital to EJD's style was really really absent in this book, perhaps the adrenaline? In fast paced scenes the writing was incredibly dry! Even the writing itself was poor for Eric's standards & ability. I felt like I was reading a rookie's first novel. It's really as though Eric was not really feeling this story & put something out for the sake of putting something out. There were some interesting things he added to the main character/plot, but still this was a major flop. It got so bad I started skimming pages. I've never done that for an EJD book. I read it and felt nothing. Again, never happened for me with this author. Sad. I still LOVE this author, so I guess I will wait patiently for next year's release. :/

I pre-ordered this book back in April and was on pins and needles until it arrived. I have been a fan of EJD for years and it pains me to say that this is by far the worst book he's ever written. I was so disappointed in the character placement, the back and forth situations, and the ending was totally predictable. The plot was lacking and all the characters were lost in translation. I had high hopes that this book would lead into a back story of El Matador and his wife from 'Dying for Revenge', but no luck. Like the old saying, "off the beaten path" and this book is totally that! I know this might be harsh, but... Dmytryk should never return, he has too many psychological issues to be a good character. Bring back Midnight, Driver, or Wolf

Eric Jerome Dickey has officially jumped the shark! This book stinks.. There is no easy way to write this as I have been a fan of EJD since the beginning. Though I didn't like Gideon, I still bought and read and respected the Gideon books. But Tempted by Trouble is just too violent, the characters are so poorly developed even the race of the characters are unknown.



I don't want to go into too many details and ruin the whole book for you.. BUT let me tell you that the ending SUCKS... I mean it is a horrible end to a bad book! It was so bad I wanted to throw it away, not give it to a friend, nor resell it on Amazon. I wanted to find the nearest garbage can and make a deposit.



Also I put this book down when I found out the target of the next big heist. I only picked it back up when I was bored and stuck at the beauty shop for hours on end.



Sorry when the next book comes out EDJ, I will wait for the library to get it in, and I am going to have to delete EDJ from my list of favorite authors.

I love Eric Jerome Dickey! His books are usually wonderful. However, I was greatly disappointed with this work. There was no feeling of connection to the characters, and there is absolutely no desire to see any more of them. I hope Eric Jerome Dickey goes back to writing novels that are not mostly about crime and deviant characters.

After I finished reading Resurrecting Midnight, I ran to the book store to buy Tempted By Trouble shortly after it was released. Other than brief mentions of Scamz and the Man with the White shoes, I was disappointed when I realized that the was not the next installment of the Gideon series. I guess I wasn't paying attention.

I continued to read on since the back drop was the state of the economy in Detroit, the city where I was raised and currently live. My mindset is quite different than many Detroit residents, so I couldn't really relate to the characters feelings of desperation and hopelessness, but I can understand and could see how such a tale could unfold.

I finished the story, so that means it was decent, but I was able to put it down at times, which means it didn't draw me in like many of EJD's stories normally do. I guess I never really felt a connection with any of the characters...not even Dmytryk. I'm interested to see what's next for EJD.