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| ** Stars |
Structure of the plot is
really good. I enjoyed this in the movie Gone, Bay Gone as well. The
false ending that wraps up the current action in a nagging yet continuous
manner halfway through the book is great. It makes the third act a lot more
interesting and focused. It also helped escalate the “what’s going to happen
next” factor as well as show that there is more than one way to skin a cat in terms of
plot devices. It shows forethought, care and a genuine interest in
the art of storytelling.
As well as being a well-considered
plot structure I also liked the compactness of the storyline. It did not seem
like you were trying to overreach in this novel, your first published, that you wrote when you were about 29 years
old. Far out, you even one the Shamus Award in 1995 for this one.
You paid homage to genre.
There was the damsel in distress who was also a bit of a femme fatale. There
were all kinds of bad guys and a blurring between where the law began and where
it ended. I enjoyed the headquarters being placed in church. On that note I
think you got some good mileage out of that in terms of alluding to the culture
of Boston as well as giving us a unique and interesting spin on private-dick
conventions.
What else was in the mix?
Deadpan, masculine confidence and dialogue. Check. Shoot outs. Check. Anti-heroes.
Corruption on the mean streets, protagonist living hard while still possessing
an eccentric yet sophisticated
automobile. Check. All likeable, all well considered.You are never under
any threat of being called pretentious.
