nf

Scalzi and Wheaton always a win. Silly, but not in

Revisado: 06-05-22

Don't be put off by reviews that are pure as hominem attacks. It's a neat take on Kaiju.

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Some good things, super uncomfortable

Revisado: 04-22-22

I tried to look past adults grooming children for sex, but just couldn't. Too bad because there are some interesting ideas and themes.

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Disappointing after an okay book 1.

Revisado: 03-23-22

I had high hopes after book 1, which generally avoided hard-boiled PI plot potholes. Those it did fall into were offset by a generally well-written story or it subverted the cliche. The first book was included in my Audible subscription, so it was free. This one I had to pay for, and I'm sorry I didn't return it after the first couple of chapters. Sadly, this story was predictable from the start.

I'd say this review has spoilers except no one should be surprised by any plot developments after the first couple of chapters.

The plot starts with a whopper of a coincidence, and piles them on throughout the story. Bean, the PI protagonist, is surveilling a guy when his ex (who lives across the country) comes to visit him (the baddie) to ask about her sister who has gone missing. It transpires that the guy being surveilled just happens to work for the organization that kidnapped the ex's sister, and this organization is the same organization that kidnapped and murdered Bean's friend's wife. Also, this organization is headed by the guy Bean, unsurprisingly, is indebted to. It's like there are only 6 or 8 people in the entire city of Las Vegas. And, only a couple of total amateurs with no authority or legal standing are competent enough to investigate. The fact they don't die from their stupid decisions is only because the plot needed them to live.

The men in the story are one-dimensional heroes, tormented by Events Beyond Their Control or baddies who are evil caricatures who only lack the mustaches to twirl ominously. The sidekicks to the PI, are a tough as nails bounty hunter haunted by the kidnapping and murder of his young wife (a cliche all it's own) and a brilliant hacker who can get into any computer network that the plot needs him to get into (also a sidekick cliche).

As for the women, well...One falsely claimed Bean raped her, Another, his ex, failed to trust Bean without question when the charge is made and he is so offended when she asks him about it that he goes off on a sulk, which is fair because never, ever has there been a woman who was raped but disbelieved by law enforcement, family, and friends. The betraying ex is interfering, shrewish, incompetent and stupid, emotionally manipulative, and makes no positive contribution, only putting the lives of the men at risk. She is written to be so truly irritating and annoying I can only assume Bean is a masochist for helping her in the first place. Another woman is a diner waitress who can be counted on to bring the coffee, and who is kissed by a customer and likes it. Ugh. The rest are one-dimensional victims with no agency, personality, or depth. Would abuse depersonalize a person? Yes. Is that an excuse for an author to further depersonalize them? No. Oh, I almost forgot Bean's debt to the big bad is because he is bravely shielding a woman, not because he has gambling debts. That would have also been a cliche but at least it wouldn't have created yet another female victim unable to protect herself who needs a big, strong, brave man to save her. *sigh*

The misogyny in this story surprised me. In the first book, the baddie was an evil, cruel woman who, true, was deranged about a man, but she wasn't stupid, definitely not a victim, and she was tough and a fighter. The female fed was pretty, yes, of course she had to be and that had to feature in the description of her, and, of course, she and Bean just had to be attracted to each other, but she was also smart, tough, and competent. The story featured generic prostitutes, but one was a more interesting character. She was smart, tough and definitely not a victim. So, while I can't say it was particularly groundbreaking in featuring strong, capable, competent women who weren't victims and who didn't need to be pretty, sexual object of desire of men, it wasn't as misogynistic as this second book.

This review reads like the only problem I have with it is because the female characters suck. No, the real problem is that it's hackneyed and predictable. Trust me, I can read the old-school hard-boiled PIs with no problem. The women in Walter Mosley's stories aren't necessarily super awesome, but they are real people.

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I listened, but I'm not proud of it

Revisado: 09-21-21

Cliched, overwrought narration, guilty of telling not showing, protracted exposition instead of plot, a "reveal" that's not at all surprising, an unearned and unbelievable romance, a protagonist so martyred he's unlikeable, and the absolute worst, confuses Hammett and Chandler. Hammett wrote the Maltese Falcon, not Chandler. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't.

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99% tedious soap opera.

Revisado: 09-05-21

Kept waiting for a mystery to show up. What little mystery was there was mostly tell, don't show. not unusual for EQ stories.

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Absurd, and not in a good way.

Revisado: 08-31-21

I don't mind suspending disbelief, but the set up is ridiculous. Queen should be charged with murder by hubris. In most, if not all, stories someone dies because of his unreasonable assuredness.

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Sudden Irish accent for Insp. Queen

Revisado: 08-22-21

Why in the world was it decided to give inspector Queen an Irish accent? None of the previous collections have had it. Nothing has indicated that he is recently come from Ireland. Very distracting.

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Stories are fine, but some bad audio quality.

Revisado: 05-25-21

a few of the stories are really hard to hear. the last one is absolutely unintelligible.

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Down voting for annoying character

Revisado: 09-06-20

Story okay, but features one the most annoying kinds of characters, Sam. Is she pathologically terrified of the dark, or not? How many times must she interfer with a police investigation, possibly leading to two more victims than necessary, before they just throw her in a cell? Unless the story is about idiots, it seems superfluous.

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Ok. Plot and narration not my favorite

Revisado: 11-17-19

I don't understand why the plot had to take the direction it did. Just to make the culprit have to sit still for interrogation? l can't say more without spoilers. The narration was flat and dragged, imo.

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