Carsten Stroud is a discovery for which I can thank a Toronto Star review when his first book came out. A Canadian by birth he was a law enforcement officer before writing became his full time profession. His first book, as I recall was Lizardskin. He continues to write police procedurals and his style has only improved with time. Highly recommended and highly readable. Not a genre I regularly frequent but I'll read anything that's well done.
His choice of place names and surnames: Niceville and Crossfire? This book has a dark tinge of the occult, paranormal about it. Old resident evil haunts hair-raising corners of the tale. There is demon possession. Like a lot of modern prose this book is wordy, filled with descriptions and atmospherics that do nothing to move the story along. The storyline is riddled with plots and cross-plots that make hefty demands of the reader challenging one to remember where it all began.
Further research shows that this is book 2 of a trilogy set in Niceville. The actual crime at the base of this tale was described in detail no doubt and committed in book 1. As I complete this volume I’m about to discover how much resolution is given is book 2 or if the reader is forced to buy book 3 to get the answers. Methinks a taut editing could have put the whole in one volume.
No comments:
Post a Comment