Wednesday 23 April 2014

A.J. RICCIO - ONLY THE STRONG SURVIVE


Synopsis/blurb......

A murder mystery that takes place at a Greyhound race track.'Private eye, Jay Stock, uncovers a plot to sabotage the greyhound racing industry. Who is stealing racing dogs? Follow Stock as he weaves his way through the elaborate world of greyhound racing. Murder resulting.

The author was kind enough to send me a copy of this in return for an honest review.
I replied to him by e-mail earlier today with my thoughts on the book......(spoiler alert)

Alfred,

Thanks for your patience, I finally finished yesterday and to be honest whilst there were some aspects of the story I enjoyed I wasn't really engaged by the novel. Apologies if this isn't what you hoped to hear but I'm guessing you would prefer a bit of honesty rather than me blowing smoke up your ass.

It kind of seemed caught between two places whether it was an investigation into missing greyhounds or an investigation into who killed Harry. The greyhound aspect had some decent elements but I didn't especially care about what happened in truth. When the casino/betting aspect was introduced it improved things, but it was a bit late in the day for me.

The murder of Harry perhaps would have been a more interesting story but it didn't have enough prominence for me. Not knowing the victim when he died meant I didn't particularly care for him. If I didn't care for him, I then needed to be interested in whoever was investigating the crime. There was no portrayal in depth of the police inquiry which didn't particularly realistic, but then if the story was primarily about greyhounds that might explain it, in which case Harry's murder was a distraction for me. I know the two tied in together, but who is going to care about dogs when someone has been killed. Donovan's character had mileage but we didn't see enough of him for my liking. 

Our main man Jay, suffered in my opinion from the lack of a back story and history, as a result he didn't really have much depth or substance for me.

Most interesting element was the initial animosity between Jay and Donovan which would have added some tension to the tale if this aspect had been developed. By the end though the relationship had appeared to have changed totally which didn't seem that plausible to me as there was no real explanation for why Donovan's opinion of Jay had mellowed.

Sorry to be so downbeat about the book, but I can't kid on that it was fantastic when in my opinion it wasn't. Far from the worst book I have ever read, as I was minded enough to see how you resolved things, but like I say not great. 2 from 5. 

Best wishes,
Col

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A bit of an awkward e-mail, but at the end of the day it's only my opinion. I open up every book hoping to be blown away and it doesn't always happen, even when reading established authors. I hope my criticisms can be viewed as constructive as opposed to negative. Do I regret reading this book? Not really, you never know how things will turn out unless you give them a chance.

There's 3 reviews for this up on Amazon.com. 

5 star - Well developed characters and awesome plot.
5 star - A book where the dogs get rescued by humans
3 star - Clever plot, This author shows Promise.

They could be right and I could be wrong.

12 comments:

  1. Col - It is awkward when one's asked for an honest review and one really wasn't thrilled with a book. But I respect your candor. If a book doesn't blow you away, it doesn't.

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    1. C-est la vie! But like I say I've read an awful lot worse........step forward Leonie Swann and Bret Easton Ellis, err Martin Amis, Stephen Graham Jones.......

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  2. Col, I think this is the first time I've read an epistolary review of a novel, and a candid one too. Now there's an honest reviewer.

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    1. Prashant, I hoped I liked it more, but hey, it wasn't to be.

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  3. I appreciate critical reviews like this (or in this case an email) because like you said, it's just an opinion and we are not going to love everything we read. It's an awkward situation for sure but honesty trumps the rest where credibility is concerned.

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    1. Thanks, it would have been much easier to have been more positive but I couldn't be, unfortunately.

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  4. I was torn. Read the review, with a spoiler? So I skipped to the end. Since you didn't care for the book, I will just wait and see if further reviews show up. If not, it probably wouldn't have been on my radar anyway.

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    1. Tracy, I had a response from the author. I think part of the problem is that not enough people have read it for him to get sufficient constructive criticism back to enable him to address - some of what I regard as the flaws.
      In truth it probably wouldn't have been on your radar be it good, bad or indifferent. Hope the trip if it has commenced is going well! Will it interrupt your blogging? Hopefully not.

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  5. Col, I am in Alabama, my mother is in bad health, so not a lot of free time. I may have some time to blog, and getting some reading done.

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    1. Tracy, I'm sorry to hear that. Best wishes to you both.

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  6. I admire your honest email, and it should be something the author appreciates or at least finds helpful, but most of us don't find it easy to take criticism... I'm curious, what did he say in his response?

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    1. Moira - I hate criticism (and arrogance), but fortunately I haven't suffered too much of it in my life so far! Haha - I also dislike people who laugh at their own jokes.

      Sorry - he was disappointed........Thank you for taking the time to read it. While I would have rather had a positive review from you it is what it is.
      Unfortunately for me, not enough people have read it to give me any opinions. I am thankful, however for your insight and I shall start a rewrite quickly. Hopefully addressing issues you have elaborated on.
      Sorry to have wasted your time.
      Thank you again

      A.J.

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