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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a great book! Quick paced and full of action. It kept my attention the whole time! I thought it was very well written. There were a couple different storylines going on, but they all came together brilliantly.
I liked this one a lot! Loved the cat and mouse maneuvering and multi POV. Solid read!
This is a decent read of the Elmore Leonard crime variety - ie, ordinary people butting up against the criminal underworld etc etc. However there's none of the charm of Leonard's characters, or particularly skill with dialogue. In fact in one memorable scene a gem expert is called in and, like a human Wikipedia entry, gives a wholly unneccessary lenthy history of the ruby trade.
When the plot itself kicks into gear there's a palpable sense of momentum, but it gets bogged down at times jumping narrative POVs for no good reason, infodumping rather than suggesting. The author's a reasonable writer, but there are some clunky choices made here.
Overall, a bit of a frustrating read.
When the plot itself kicks into gear there's a palpable sense of momentum, but it gets bogged down at times jumping narrative POVs for no good reason, infodumping rather than suggesting. The author's a reasonable writer, but there are some clunky choices made here.
Overall, a bit of a frustrating read.
A huge thanks goes out to Ed Duncan and Book Publicity Services for sending me this book in exchange for my review. You can find this one Amazon and it’s actually included in Kindle Unlimited right now!
This book is short but so completely jam packed with action it’ll give you whip lash! It’s dark and shrill, but I don’t think I’ll be reaching for the sequel.
Pigeon-Blood Red was good and I’m giving it three stars because I think you should read it if you’re into fast paced, gun-toting type of crime novels. I however can never find joy in a book without any likable characters. This story is fast and brings you from chilly Chicago to sunny Honolulu, which felt like such a good choice. This would be an excellent movie or TV series!
This book is short but so completely jam packed with action it’ll give you whip lash! It’s dark and shrill, but I don’t think I’ll be reaching for the sequel.
Pigeon-Blood Red was good and I’m giving it three stars because I think you should read it if you’re into fast paced, gun-toting type of crime novels. I however can never find joy in a book without any likable characters. This story is fast and brings you from chilly Chicago to sunny Honolulu, which felt like such a good choice. This would be an excellent movie or TV series!
A massive thank you again to @bookpublicityservices for a copy of this book!
This is a short book, only around 200 pages long but wow it packs a punch. I found the title really intriguing. It was a little slow to start for me but the more I read, the more engrossed I became!
I’m looking forward to reading the others in the trilogy and even though I understand why the book came to an end when it did, I almost wish all three were combined into the one book!
This is a short book, only around 200 pages long but wow it packs a punch. I found the title really intriguing. It was a little slow to start for me but the more I read, the more engrossed I became!
I’m looking forward to reading the others in the trilogy and even though I understand why the book came to an end when it did, I almost wish all three were combined into the one book!
For Rico Sanders, it was just another day collecting payment for his loan shark boss. A pigeon-blood red ruby necklace, belonging to his boss, had been stolen by a businessman down on his luck. And it was Rico’s job to retrieve it and teach the guy a lesson. But when the chase goes south, Rico finds himself in uncharted territory when two innocent bystanders are accidentally involved in the crime.
Special thanks to Ed Duncan and Book Publicity Services for the gifted copy in exchange for my honest review! The author jumps right into the action on the first page and it’s nonstop until the very last. Coming in at 200 pages, this book was a very quick read. I enjoyed the pacing of the book and the short chapters made it easy to read. The characters were extremely well-written, although I wasn’t a huge fan of Rico. He just wasn’t likable to me and I struggled to root for him. Overall, a decent read for me.
Special thanks to Ed Duncan and Book Publicity Services for the gifted copy in exchange for my honest review! The author jumps right into the action on the first page and it’s nonstop until the very last. Coming in at 200 pages, this book was a very quick read. I enjoyed the pacing of the book and the short chapters made it easy to read. The characters were extremely well-written, although I wasn’t a huge fan of Rico. He just wasn’t likable to me and I struggled to root for him. Overall, a decent read for me.
Rico is an underworld enforcer given the job of retrieving his gangster boss's stolen goods, and of course to teach the person responsible a lesson. Simple right? Well, unfortunately for Rico, things don’t go quite to plan!
If you like gangster crime thrillers then I recommend adding this one to your list! Despite the present day setting it gave me serious old school gangster movie vibes which I really enjoyed and I felt it would translate so well to the screen!
Pigeon Blood Red is gritty and entertaining and once I got into it I positively flew through it. This book was a short one but it was still action packed.
I loved the dual setting of Chicago and Hawaii and I really enjoyed getting to know Rico and look forward to seeing where his story goes next!
Thanks so much to Book Publicity Services and to the author for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
If you like gangster crime thrillers then I recommend adding this one to your list! Despite the present day setting it gave me serious old school gangster movie vibes which I really enjoyed and I felt it would translate so well to the screen!
Pigeon Blood Red is gritty and entertaining and once I got into it I positively flew through it. This book was a short one but it was still action packed.
I loved the dual setting of Chicago and Hawaii and I really enjoyed getting to know Rico and look forward to seeing where his story goes next!
Thanks so much to Book Publicity Services and to the author for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Title: Pigeon-Blood Red
Author: Ed Duncan
Pages: 203
Rating: 3.5/5
A huge thank you to the author and Kelsey from Book Publicity services for providing me with a copy of the book to review.
Synopsis:
Rico is an underworld enforcer who is given the task of retrieving his gangster boss’s priceless pigeon-blood ruby necklace. Along with the retrieval, he must teach the back stabbing cheat who stole it a lesson, this part of the job he has done numerous times. Thinking this would be an easy task, Rico’s mission quickly goes sideways and he finds he has to play a game of Cat and Mouse to locate the necklace. He finds himself in uncharted territory and innocents soon find themselves also embroiled in the crime. Despite this, Rico goes ahead and continues to pursue his new targets but the events that follow leave Rico facing his toughest decision yet. Kill the couple who save his life or refuse and risk the life of the woman he loves.
Review:
The description of this book hinted thar this could be an action packed read that you could sink your teeth into. The reviews also looked promising and I was eager to find out. I have to say my initial thoughts on the description were correct!
When starting chapter 1 we are thrown straight into the action, the book kicks off with a bang and I found as I read on this showed no signs of slowing. At first however I did struggle to get my head round who was who, however this got easier as I soon got into the swing of the story.
The book is split into 3 parts and I felt each part was the perfect length. The chapters were also short and snappy which kept the story moving at a perfect, fast pace. I connected with the author’s writing style straight away and enjoyed the author’s tone. I was able to visualise everything the author wrote and the scenes he set; parts really had me wanting to be on holiday!
Pigeon-blood Red is full of twists and turns. There is plenty of backstabbing and betrayal and the action this brings does not relent, making this a very dramatic read, something I love. The business Rico was in often meant things would go round in a vicious circle, you knew something would always be coming.
Rico despite some of the ‘jobs’ he has carried out was not unlikeable. He had so much potential and so much more he could be and it frustrated me how he didn’t see this. He was a bad guy you couldn’t help but warm to and I feel this was the author’s clever idea for him. As for the other characters, all I will say is do not get attached because the author can be rather ruthless.
The story is told in third person, it can be confusing in places but it did a good job at letting you into the characters head. My one complaint would be that the past events and flash backs could have been made clearer by a heading or a change in font, just to separate past from present because I did find myself lost at times.
This read had a clever and cunning plot with an ending that was unexpected. I breezed through this book in 2 sittings because it was such an easy read. It had an old school gangster feel to it and I did worry at first whether I would connect but I was pleasantly surprised and this was a very enjoyable crime thriller. Pigeon-blood Red is a good place to start for those exploring the crime thriller genre for the first time.
Author: Ed Duncan
Pages: 203
Rating: 3.5/5
A huge thank you to the author and Kelsey from Book Publicity services for providing me with a copy of the book to review.
Synopsis:
Rico is an underworld enforcer who is given the task of retrieving his gangster boss’s priceless pigeon-blood ruby necklace. Along with the retrieval, he must teach the back stabbing cheat who stole it a lesson, this part of the job he has done numerous times. Thinking this would be an easy task, Rico’s mission quickly goes sideways and he finds he has to play a game of Cat and Mouse to locate the necklace. He finds himself in uncharted territory and innocents soon find themselves also embroiled in the crime. Despite this, Rico goes ahead and continues to pursue his new targets but the events that follow leave Rico facing his toughest decision yet. Kill the couple who save his life or refuse and risk the life of the woman he loves.
Review:
The description of this book hinted thar this could be an action packed read that you could sink your teeth into. The reviews also looked promising and I was eager to find out. I have to say my initial thoughts on the description were correct!
When starting chapter 1 we are thrown straight into the action, the book kicks off with a bang and I found as I read on this showed no signs of slowing. At first however I did struggle to get my head round who was who, however this got easier as I soon got into the swing of the story.
The book is split into 3 parts and I felt each part was the perfect length. The chapters were also short and snappy which kept the story moving at a perfect, fast pace. I connected with the author’s writing style straight away and enjoyed the author’s tone. I was able to visualise everything the author wrote and the scenes he set; parts really had me wanting to be on holiday!
Pigeon-blood Red is full of twists and turns. There is plenty of backstabbing and betrayal and the action this brings does not relent, making this a very dramatic read, something I love. The business Rico was in often meant things would go round in a vicious circle, you knew something would always be coming.
Rico despite some of the ‘jobs’ he has carried out was not unlikeable. He had so much potential and so much more he could be and it frustrated me how he didn’t see this. He was a bad guy you couldn’t help but warm to and I feel this was the author’s clever idea for him. As for the other characters, all I will say is do not get attached because the author can be rather ruthless.
The story is told in third person, it can be confusing in places but it did a good job at letting you into the characters head. My one complaint would be that the past events and flash backs could have been made clearer by a heading or a change in font, just to separate past from present because I did find myself lost at times.
This read had a clever and cunning plot with an ending that was unexpected. I breezed through this book in 2 sittings because it was such an easy read. It had an old school gangster feel to it and I did worry at first whether I would connect but I was pleasantly surprised and this was a very enjoyable crime thriller. Pigeon-blood Red is a good place to start for those exploring the crime thriller genre for the first time.
Robert McDuffie is a chronic gambler who, on a whim, steals a priceless necklace of pigeon-blood red rubies from loan shark Frank Litvak. Frank sends his goon Rico after Robert in an attempt to recover it. The action moves from Chicago to Hawaii, where Robert follows his estranged wife Evelyn who is on holiday with her friend Rachel. Also in Hawaii is Paul Elliott, who bumps into Evelyn, his old college girlfriend. A game of cat and mouse ensues as Rico chases them around Hawaii and then back to Chicago.
It's a pleasure to read a book with such excellent sentence structure, fine vocabulary, and near-flawless editing. Even though it is written in the third person, we can see inside everyone's head at one point or another. This is a bit disconcerting at first, but the author uses the technique very effectively. He has a great storytelling ability, creating not only an interesting plot, but providing us with extensive back stories for each character. While not all of it is relevant to the story, the characters are given so much depth that they feel like real people. The author keeps us guessing as to how all the disparate characters and events relate to each other, but it all comes together neatly in the end.
I would love to see this book made into a movie.
I received this book in return for an honest review.
Full blog post (19 November): https://booksdirectonline.blogspot.com/2016/11/pigeon-blood-red-by-ed-duncan.html
It's a pleasure to read a book with such excellent sentence structure, fine vocabulary, and near-flawless editing. Even though it is written in the third person, we can see inside everyone's head at one point or another. This is a bit disconcerting at first, but the author uses the technique very effectively. He has a great storytelling ability, creating not only an interesting plot, but providing us with extensive back stories for each character. While not all of it is relevant to the story, the characters are given so much depth that they feel like real people. The author keeps us guessing as to how all the disparate characters and events relate to each other, but it all comes together neatly in the end.
I would love to see this book made into a movie.
I received this book in return for an honest review.
Full blog post (19 November): https://booksdirectonline.blogspot.com/2016/11/pigeon-blood-red-by-ed-duncan.html