I think I've skipped a couple reviews here. Will have to check out my book room when I get off my recliner. In the meantime, I finished the latest by C.J. Box and it's sitting right next to me, so I'll go with that.
A rogue grizzly bear has gone on a rampage—killing, among others, the potential fiancé of Joe’s daughter. At the same time, Dallas Cates, who Joe helped lock up years ago, is released from prison with a special list tattooed on his skin. He wants revenge on the people who sent him away: the six people he blames for the deaths of his entire family and the loss of his reputation and property.
Using the grizzly attacks as cover, Cates sets out to methodically check off his list. The problem is, both Nate Romanowski and Joe Pickett are on it.
He definitely thought outside the "box" here (see what I did?) but mostly just ended up jumping the shark. I recently realized some people aren't familiar with that phrase. It comes from an old episode of "Happy Days" when Fonzie jumped a tank full of sharks with his motorcycle. It basically means the writers of the series have run out of ideas and do a goofy episode that isn't in character with the previous episodes or series of books.
I can't really tell you the specifics in Box's book without spoiling it for you, but it appears relatively early in the book and becomes a significant portion of the plot. It's out there and silly.
Also, this book had a plethora of pretty unbelievable coincidences that made me shake my head and think "Seriously? Come on. Don't insult me."
"Far-fetched" was probably the most used term among the 3-star reviews on Amazon, and that about sums it up.
I've read probably a dozen in this Joe Pickett series and enjoyed them all. This one was, I guess, also entertaining but not really in a good way. I hope Box puts a little more thought into his next book, because while I like entertaining fiction, I also like his books when they are more realistic.
I gave it a 7 of 10. Goodreaders a 4.4 of 5 and Amazonians a 4.5.
No comments:
Post a Comment