Kill Again (A Claire Waters Thriller)
By: Neal Baer and Jonathan Greene
Rating: 3 of 5
While I think that the writing style of this book is very good, I have a hard time accepting much of the action. I am a reader of mysteries who wants them to make sense. I want to feel that the characters could be real and that I can follow their actions. Unfortunately, that wasn’t true in this story.
It seemed as if no one in the book did anything approaching reality. The police were constantly breaking rules. If someone was told not to do something, on the next page, that is exactly what they did. I can take a little rule breaking but this went beyond that.
I also find it inconceivable that a character can know their life and their loved ones life is in danger but instead of acting responsibility, sends the loved one out to buy eggs for breakfast – leaving both of them exposed to the life threat. Seriously, eggs? Unfortunately, this is a representative sample of the implausible actions that occurred throughout the story.
There were also inconsistencies in the story that were a little too much to ignore. At one point, Rosa complains to Claire that she can’t see her children until she is off probation and then later in the story, it appears that Rosa has been living in the same apartment with her children. Also, there is a discrepancy the time a rape occurred – in one part of the story, it is in 1977 and a few pages later it is 1982. A parole is out after 17 years and a couple of pages later, it is changed to 10 years. I was given an Advance Reader Copy and these, as well as some other problems may have been cleaned up in editing by the final release.
Given all of that, the writers have a real flair for dramatic storytelling. That part of the book was enjoyable. It kept me reading a book that I might otherwise have given up on half way through. This isn’t a book that I would recommend to anyone who wants reality based mystery or crime stories. If you are looking for real escapist reading and don’t mind that it doesn’t make sense or is even consistent, you might enjoy this book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book via the publisher.
While I think that the writing style of this book is very good, I have a hard time accepting much of the action. I am a reader of mysteries who wants them to make sense. I want to feel that the characters could be real and that I can follow their actions. Unfortunately, that wasn’t true in this story.