Tag: cop

Fiction/Science Fiction · Mystery/Crime · Thriller/Horror

Ragdoll – Daniel Cole

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30259893| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: William Fawkes, a controversial detective known as The Wolf, has just been reinstated to his post after he was suspended for assaulting a vindicated suspect. Still under psychological evaluation, Fawkes returns to the force eager for a big case. When his former partner and friend, Detective Emily Baxter, calls him to a crime scene, he’s sure this is it: the body is made of the dismembered parts of six victims, sewn together like a puppet–a corpse that becomes known as “The Ragdoll.”

Fawkes is tasked with identifying the six victims, but that gets dicey when his reporter ex-wife anonymously receives photographs from the crime scene, along with a list of six names, and the dates on which the Ragdoll Killer plans to murder them.

The final name on the list is Fawkes.

Baxter and her trainee partner, Alex Edmunds, hone in on figuring out what links the victims together before the killer strikes again. But for Fawkes, seeing his name on the list sparks a dark memory, and he fears that the catalyst for these killings has more to do with him–and his past–than anyone realizes.

With a breakneck pace, a twisty plot, and a wicked sense of humor, Ragdoll announces the arrival of the hottest new brand in crime fiction.

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My thoughts: I’m so freaking tired of the same crap over and over again when reading crime/thriller books. Is that genre so used up and impossible to create something new with? Why do you always have to go in the same track over and over again? This one was so hyped up and I saw so much good about it that I’m actually surprised that people have not reacted over how bland and badly written it is.

Here we have all the clichés, crammed onto 380 pages, which may I say, trees gave there life for. We have the unjust system of the government, politically large characters you hate, that dead beat cop who is an alcoholic and breaks every rule in the book. The falsely accused, the skeptical colleges, the ex-wife, the career driven people and off course in the middle, there is that one serial killer with a “personal” vendetta.

I’m so frustrated. All I wanted was a good crime book, that was not predictable and used up. I wanted something exciting with deep and interesting characters without all those stupid clichés you have literally read a couple of hundred times by now.

The story, plot and characters are just unpleasant and unlikable. There is nothing there for a crime lover like me. It is messy with too many POV and a cold, unimaginative setting. There was nothing warm. Nothing that I liked, could connect to or feel that it will get better. It is certainly not worth the hype.

Fiction/Science Fiction · Mystery/Crime · Thriller/Horror

The Devil’s star – Jo Nesbø

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25214258.jpg| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: A young woman is murdered in her Oslo flat. One finger has been severed from her left hand, and behind her eyelid is secreted a tiny red diamond in the shape of a five-pointed star – a pentagram, the devil’s star.

Detective Harry Hole is assigned to the case with his long-time adversary Tom Waaler and initially wants no part in it. But Harry is already on notice to quit the force and is left with little alternative but to drag himself out of his alcoholic stupor and get to work.

A wave of similar murders is on the horizon. An emerging pattern suggests that Oslo has a serial killer on its hands, and the five-pointed devil’s star is key to solving the riddle.

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My thoughts: Another excellent, complex thriller from the Norwegian author Jo Nesbø. As I probably said before, I was not a big fan of his two first books about Harry Hole. I absolutely loved the third and the fourth was a little mediocre. Now this. This is the book I would refer to when talking about Jo finding his “sound”, his writing style. I found it meticulously and selective in its plot, yet exciting and full of suspense. The alcoholism story is a lot bigger than in the earlier books. A lot more raw, emotional and there is sometimes you wonder if Jo is writing from a personal experience. That is how vivid and sentimental I found it.

Harry Hole is an character I can’t decide if I love or hate. He’s a loner, he’s prickly, he drinks. He does not like authority, yet he is a cop. He’s a broken man who for some reason never gives up even though he certainly tries. He can’t keep a normal relationship with anyone, he has almost no friends and he is down in the deep, trying to drink his sorrows away that you can’t help but wonder, where is this going to end.

Besides all that, it is a good book. I do love a good serial-killer plot even though I did find it was more of a side plot to the story than the actual main story-line. In fact in the mist of it all, there is dark secrets finally surfacing to the light. Even though I did not find the end as satisfying as I would like, it is certainly the perfect end if the series would stop here. I do however know that there is 6 more books about Harry Hole and the great thing is that you do not know where Jo will take us. It is impossible to foresee and he is that unpredictable.

Fiction/Science Fiction · Mystery/Crime · Thriller/Horror

Liar Liar – M.J. Arlidge

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24422342| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: Detective Helen Grace has never seen such destruction. Six fires in twenty-four hours. Two people dead. Several more injured. It’s as if someone wants to burn the city to the ground…

With the whole town on high alert, Helen and her team must sift through the rubble to find the arsonist, someone whose thirst for fire—and control—is reducing entire lives to ashes.

One misstep could mean Helen’s career—and more lives lost. And as the pressure mounts and more buildings burn, Helen’s own dark impulses threaten to consume her…

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My thoughts: I’m thinking I’m done with this series. I do not feel the enthusiasm anymore and I’m quite sick of the whole “all against Helen” mentality that have such a big part in the books. And there is something suspect with the a new character since him/her (not going to tell you) are not on the “I hate Helen Grace” bandwagon. It is just starting to get to much and nothing of it is intriguing or challenging. I do see how Arlidge is building up to this huge explosion of happenings in a future book but the road forward is just boring me out.

The crime story however is fascinating as always and especially disturbing this time around. I felt it more authentic than usual which left me with a sense of unease and discomfort in my own home. Fire is so destructive and I think it is easy to forget how fire shows nothing or no one mercy while it ravaging over everything you hold dear. There is a high pace and small development in the story with some neat twists and a satisfying ending and if you are looking for something easy for the brain, this is a good alternative for you.

Mystery/Crime · Thriller/Horror

The murder bag – Tony Parsons

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18332155| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: Twenty years ago seven rich, privileged students became friends at their exclusive private school, Potter’s Field. Now they have started dying in the most violent way imaginable.

Detective Max Wolfe has recently arrived in the Homicide division of London’s West End Central, 27 Savile Row.

Soon he is following the bloody trail from the backstreets and bright lights of the city, to the darkest corners of the internet and all the way to the corridors of power.

As the bodies pile up, Max finds the killer’s reach getting closer to everything – and everyone – he loves.

Soon he is fighting not only for justice, but for his own life …

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My thoughts: Never read anything by Parsons before and I’m pleasantly surprised. I like the book, unfortunately I didn’t love it. Probably because of the slightly diluted plot and the typical English settings. And I don’t mean typical in a good way. This book has a somewhat tame and watered topic, which I have read over and over again before. Why do you have to have that slanted balance of power in crime thrillers, specially English crime? I’m getting tired of it and quite frankly, is the genre done? Is there nothing more to write about? I feel English crime books are a complete genre by itself since they often are the same specially with the work relationships in the police house. Still I do love English Crime.

This gritty thriller is about a rebel cop (Max Wolfe) who’s only goal in his job, is to do the right thing and find out the truth. Perhaps even save a couple of lives along the way. He is following the questions and evidence no matter where it will lead and even if his bosses are against it or try to stop him. Wolfe is a great character to follow. He is a rebel yes, but he is not that typical kick ass cop you often read about. He feels more human, can get hurt as easily as anyone else, struggles with stuff and I love how real he feels. He is a single dad with a daughter and a dog. This little family is the center of the book and makes it warm and real in the chill of the crimes.

The plot was interesting and the mystery wasn’t that predictable. I do want to try the next book in the series. Book two actually have a higher rating on GoodReads and the first book so I’m kind of curios.