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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
*Special thanks to the author for giving me this book via Kelsey @bookpublicityservices, in exchange for an honest review.*
This was incredibly binge-worthy and I enjoyed every minute of it, even though I wasn't a huge fan of the story. I enjoyed the pace and I enjoyed the events that were happening. However, I also felt like there were very unnecessary plot enhancements, although it seemed perfect as a whole for the book. The plot-twists were also quite shocking and I loved the fact that the story wasn't fixated on a specific theme, since there were many interesting characters to be explored. For the length of a book, it will definitely hype you up for the second and third book.
This was purely a recreational read. I found myself reaching for it more than the permitted time I allow myself to read for the day. Very light and fast-paced.
This was incredibly binge-worthy and I enjoyed every minute of it, even though I wasn't a huge fan of the story. I enjoyed the pace and I enjoyed the events that were happening. However, I also felt like there were very unnecessary plot enhancements, although it seemed perfect as a whole for the book. The plot-twists were also quite shocking and I loved the fact that the story wasn't fixated on a specific theme, since there were many interesting characters to be explored. For the length of a book, it will definitely hype you up for the second and third book.
This was purely a recreational read. I found myself reaching for it more than the permitted time I allow myself to read for the day. Very light and fast-paced.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have mixed feelings about this book.
I found the main character, Rico, to be ridiculous and extremely unlikeable until the last couple of chapters. This didn’t feel like a book or story where we should be rooting for him and wanting him to succeed.
With that being said, I loved the two characters that he was on a mission to kill, and I loved the way this story was built out with all of the side plots and side characters.
This was a fun (if absurd) crime chase novel.
*** thanks to Book Publicity Services for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review ***
I found the main character, Rico, to be ridiculous and extremely unlikeable until the last couple of chapters. This didn’t feel like a book or story where we should be rooting for him and wanting him to succeed.
With that being said, I loved the two characters that he was on a mission to kill, and I loved the way this story was built out with all of the side plots and side characters.
This was a fun (if absurd) crime chase novel.
*** thanks to Book Publicity Services for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review ***
Big thanks to the author and publisher for the copy in exchange for my honest review!
This crime thriller follows a hit man who is hired to retrieve a ruby, but things go horribly wrong and this Chicago based killer finds himself in Honolulu. PIGEON - BLOOD RED by Ed Duncan is a very fast paced and quick read. If you like crime thrillers, then this will be one you want to pick up.
Richard "Rico" Sanders is a hit man out of Chicago. He's hired for a job like any other, he needs to retrieve a pigeon blood red ruby necklace that was stolen from his boss. His mission? Get the ruby back and make the double-crosser pay for what he did. However, the chase quickly goes horribly wrong and Rico finds himself going from Chicago out to Honolulu to find this guy.
As the cat and mouse game continues, an innocent couple, Evelyn and Paul, find themselves tangled up in everything. As Rico gets closer and closer to getting his target, he must decide if he is going to follow his orders and kill all of those involved (including Evelyn and Paul) or will he refuse and risk the life of the woman he loves?
I will say, off the bat, this is a good mafia and crime thriller. The reader is thrust into the action right away and that can be a little confusing for the first portion of the book. I feel like there wasn't a lot of connecting with the characters. I cared about them, but I wasn't invested in them (if that makes sense). Don't let that discourage you from reading this quick thriller though. Duncan was able to pack in a lot of action into this shorter book (just under 300 pages). There wasn't a huge twist or loose ends, Duncan did a nice job of bringing everything together for the reader.
Overall, this is a great mafia/crime thriller. It was a solid 4 stars from me when it came to the story and action. It wasn't lacking those thriller elements. However, I took off a little from there because I wanted more of a connection to the characters. If just felt like something was missing - maybe a little more background would have helped.
I give this one 3.5/5 stars!
This crime thriller follows a hit man who is hired to retrieve a ruby, but things go horribly wrong and this Chicago based killer finds himself in Honolulu. PIGEON - BLOOD RED by Ed Duncan is a very fast paced and quick read. If you like crime thrillers, then this will be one you want to pick up.
Richard "Rico" Sanders is a hit man out of Chicago. He's hired for a job like any other, he needs to retrieve a pigeon blood red ruby necklace that was stolen from his boss. His mission? Get the ruby back and make the double-crosser pay for what he did. However, the chase quickly goes horribly wrong and Rico finds himself going from Chicago out to Honolulu to find this guy.
As the cat and mouse game continues, an innocent couple, Evelyn and Paul, find themselves tangled up in everything. As Rico gets closer and closer to getting his target, he must decide if he is going to follow his orders and kill all of those involved (including Evelyn and Paul) or will he refuse and risk the life of the woman he loves?
I will say, off the bat, this is a good mafia and crime thriller. The reader is thrust into the action right away and that can be a little confusing for the first portion of the book. I feel like there wasn't a lot of connecting with the characters. I cared about them, but I wasn't invested in them (if that makes sense). Don't let that discourage you from reading this quick thriller though. Duncan was able to pack in a lot of action into this shorter book (just under 300 pages). There wasn't a huge twist or loose ends, Duncan did a nice job of bringing everything together for the reader.
Overall, this is a great mafia/crime thriller. It was a solid 4 stars from me when it came to the story and action. It wasn't lacking those thriller elements. However, I took off a little from there because I wanted more of a connection to the characters. If just felt like something was missing - maybe a little more background would have helped.
I give this one 3.5/5 stars!
Pigeon-Blood Red by Ed Duncan is a crime thriller that will suck you in and not let you go until the very last page. I absolutely loved every second of this book and would highly recommend it to others.
Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.
The writing style was fantastic! It's easy to read and very realistic. The action and suspense was so well done that I struggled to put it down! There are many cases where I absolutely could not have guessed what was coming next. On page 77, I actually said out loud "Wait what?!" And had to re-read that paragraph because I couldn't believe it.
The pacing and the plot were both excellent! I loved that while the main focus was on crime and suspense, there were also elements of love, marriage and second chances, which I am a total sucker for!
Needless to say, I was totally engrossed in this story!
I loved all of the characters, even the "bad" ones. I really enjoyed how we were introduced to all of them, and how their storylines met up with one another. I cannot wait to (hopefully) see some of them in book two!
My favorite passages:
The truth was that she could never be absolutely certain what was in Rico's mind. Yet, as a flower is drawn to the sun, she was drawn to him by a force she could neither explain nor control. Perhaps more importantly she knew that, in his own way, he was drawn to her as strongly as she was to him. Of that she was certain.
He wasn't a happy drunk and when he'd had too much, his frustration spilled out of him in an angry torrent of false bravado. More than once in one bar or another he narrowly escaped getting his head handed to him because of some stupid comment bathed in liquor.
... he realized too late how important a few words were.
My final thoughts:
I would definitely recommend picking this one up if you like crime thrillers! I loved every second of it. I'm so excited to get my hands on the other two books in this trilogy.
Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.
The writing style was fantastic! It's easy to read and very realistic. The action and suspense was so well done that I struggled to put it down! There are many cases where I absolutely could not have guessed what was coming next. On page 77, I actually said out loud "Wait what?!" And had to re-read that paragraph because I couldn't believe it.
The pacing and the plot were both excellent! I loved that while the main focus was on crime and suspense, there were also elements of love, marriage and second chances, which I am a total sucker for!
Needless to say, I was totally engrossed in this story!
I loved all of the characters, even the "bad" ones. I really enjoyed how we were introduced to all of them, and how their storylines met up with one another. I cannot wait to (hopefully) see some of them in book two!
My favorite passages:
The truth was that she could never be absolutely certain what was in Rico's mind. Yet, as a flower is drawn to the sun, she was drawn to him by a force she could neither explain nor control. Perhaps more importantly she knew that, in his own way, he was drawn to her as strongly as she was to him. Of that she was certain.
He wasn't a happy drunk and when he'd had too much, his frustration spilled out of him in an angry torrent of false bravado. More than once in one bar or another he narrowly escaped getting his head handed to him because of some stupid comment bathed in liquor.
... he realized too late how important a few words were.
My final thoughts:
I would definitely recommend picking this one up if you like crime thrillers! I loved every second of it. I'm so excited to get my hands on the other two books in this trilogy.
adventurous
fast-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I received this book from bookpublicityservices in exchange for an honest review. It's billed as an action thriller, and since I've been known to read a few of those I said, yes please! It's also by a Black author and I've been on the lookout for genre fiction with more diverse casts of characters so I was excited.
In the end, the book wasn't really for me but I am sharing my notes on things I liked about it, and things that didn't work for me.
This is my opinion only and I hope this review can help people decide if it's up their alley!
What I liked:
I liked learning about the term "pigeon-blood red" and why the most valuable rubies are called that. It was interesting history and I had never heard of that before!
I liked the history of the lawyer character's parents. They had moved north to Chicago during the great migration from the south. I have been learning more about this in other (mostly nonfiction) books so it was cool to see it brought up in an action thriller.
I liked that the main character Rico told his girlfriend that it didn't matter that she was a sex worker and that it didn't change his feelings for her. Pretty open-minded! Though he may have said it because she told him she didn't care that he was a killer for hire... ?
The main thing that didn't work for me:
The female characters didn't have much agency in my opinion. Mostly they were on the page to be shown off, murdered, or saved by a man. They did have some personality but often they were discussed as secondary to a man's plotline.
The book is also in the noir genre and I think it goes with the old-fashioned aspects of noir that have very hardened male characters and somewhat one-dimensional female characters, that also fulfill very stereotypical gender roles.
I've been reading so many incredible books recently that have turned gender roles and norms fully on their head and torn them apart, that I think it influenced my reading of this hard-boiled hit man's story.
I know that the author has two more books in the series and I believe we'll get more backstory and character info for all of the characters, which will be great. I like the lawyer and I like the main female character Evelyn and want to know more about how they move forward.
Rico is on the hunt for a man who stole a priceless necklace from his boss who happens to be a loan shark. It seems like an easy mission for this hit man, get the necklace back and everything will be fine, right? Wrong. Amidst cheating scandals, secrets, and past lovers, Rico botches his job. Will he be able to finish the job he set out to do or will his conscience prevail?
The style of this book almost reminded me of The Pelican Brief with how different stories were intertwined to create one novel. The novel also reads very well as a movie (which I could see it being adapted to at some point.) With the fast pace, it felt like it was over all too soon but the novel wasn't lacking anything.
I thoroughly enjoyed every second of reading this book. It had everything I wanted in it, a likable main character, witty dialogue, and twists at every new chapter. Although some were predictable, others were not.
I was given this book in exchange for an honest review by Ed Duncan after Kelsey, his publicist, reached out to me.
The style of this book almost reminded me of The Pelican Brief with how different stories were intertwined to create one novel. The novel also reads very well as a movie (which I could see it being adapted to at some point.) With the fast pace, it felt like it was over all too soon but the novel wasn't lacking anything.
I thoroughly enjoyed every second of reading this book. It had everything I wanted in it, a likable main character, witty dialogue, and twists at every new chapter. Although some were predictable, others were not.
I was given this book in exchange for an honest review by Ed Duncan after Kelsey, his publicist, reached out to me.
The Cover: Without the dark, ominous cover and spatter of blood, I probably would have no idea what this book is about. Maybe something about pigeon raising and their red blood.... Turns out that Pigeon-Blood Red is a type of ruby necklace. Really great cover.
The Plot: Even though a lot happened in “part one”, there was nothing unexpected and I found the pace quite sluggish. It just didn’t grab me the way I wanted. Things looked up though in the second part when I became very intrigued, particularly by the characters. It had the potential for a thrilling end but the suspense just wasn’t there.
The Characters: Without the in depth characters, this book would have failed. The main character appears to be Robert, an unfaithful husband who steals the ruby necklace from his loan shark, but in actual fact as the story progresses I was deeply enthralled by Rico. That guy is a mystery and a masterpiece. If this was a movie, I could see Sylvester Stallone playing him. You never really get to know him but from his actions and POV you can see glimpses of a good guy underneath all that muscle. Secondly, Robert’s wife Evelyn was another character that was essential. She brought the normal too it. It can be hard to relate to a thief and murderer but with her an Paul, I felt it grounded the story for me.
Why should you read it? It's a classic story and the characters are intriguing. Thinking about why characters do things and what kind of moral conscience they have will keep you captivated.
Why shouldn't you read it? It lacks the suspense it needs to make it brilliant. I wasn't up all night thinking about the ending.
Overall it had potential but never achieved what I was looking for. When I closed the last page, it didn’t leave me hanging or in shock. It will be interesting to see what is in store for the next two books.
I give this book 3stars
The Plot: Even though a lot happened in “part one”, there was nothing unexpected and I found the pace quite sluggish. It just didn’t grab me the way I wanted. Things looked up though in the second part when I became very intrigued, particularly by the characters. It had the potential for a thrilling end but the suspense just wasn’t there.
The Characters: Without the in depth characters, this book would have failed. The main character appears to be Robert, an unfaithful husband who steals the ruby necklace from his loan shark, but in actual fact as the story progresses I was deeply enthralled by Rico. That guy is a mystery and a masterpiece. If this was a movie, I could see Sylvester Stallone playing him. You never really get to know him but from his actions and POV you can see glimpses of a good guy underneath all that muscle. Secondly, Robert’s wife Evelyn was another character that was essential. She brought the normal too it. It can be hard to relate to a thief and murderer but with her an Paul, I felt it grounded the story for me.
Why should you read it? It's a classic story and the characters are intriguing. Thinking about why characters do things and what kind of moral conscience they have will keep you captivated.
Why shouldn't you read it? It lacks the suspense it needs to make it brilliant. I wasn't up all night thinking about the ending.
Overall it had potential but never achieved what I was looking for. When I closed the last page, it didn’t leave me hanging or in shock. It will be interesting to see what is in store for the next two books.
I give this book 3stars
Note: Thank you to the author and his publicist for sending me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I actually read the second installment of this series before reading this one, so I had a bit of an idea of what I was going into. I discovered that I liked this story line more than the second book!
Duncan has a really unique way of writing that I think takes getting accustomed to, but it tells the story in a way that helps create the images in your brain. I once again felt like this story line belonged on some crime TV channel. It reads much like an episode of a mob story (though this isn't a mob story) gone wrong (or right, I guess, depending on how you see it).
Now that I've gotten to know these characters across two books, I like them much more. Especially Rico. I know that not everyone goes for the anti-hero, but that's kind of one of my favorite tropes in crime novels. It keeps it interesting.
The story was split into three parts and I thought it was planned very well. It's all written in third person, and the author takes advantage of that to give us insight into several different characters and situations without making things jumpy. It all transitions pretty smoothly.
Overall, it's an interesting series that anyone with a love for crime and dark romance to check out!
I actually read the second installment of this series before reading this one, so I had a bit of an idea of what I was going into. I discovered that I liked this story line more than the second book!
Duncan has a really unique way of writing that I think takes getting accustomed to, but it tells the story in a way that helps create the images in your brain. I once again felt like this story line belonged on some crime TV channel. It reads much like an episode of a mob story (though this isn't a mob story) gone wrong (or right, I guess, depending on how you see it).
Now that I've gotten to know these characters across two books, I like them much more. Especially Rico. I know that not everyone goes for the anti-hero, but that's kind of one of my favorite tropes in crime novels. It keeps it interesting.
The story was split into three parts and I thought it was planned very well. It's all written in third person, and the author takes advantage of that to give us insight into several different characters and situations without making things jumpy. It all transitions pretty smoothly.
Overall, it's an interesting series that anyone with a love for crime and dark romance to check out!