Reviews

Blue Avenue: First in a Noir Mystery Series Set in Jacksonville, Florida by Michael Wiley

gabriellaleblanc's review against another edition

4.0

I just finished reading Blue Avenue by Michael Wiley, a UNF English professor. I read this book for my Literature of American Pop Culture class. For this class, I had to read several detective novels including The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler, and Black Betty by Walter Mosely. I have to say I didn't enjoy Chandler and Mosely's work nearly as much as I enjoyed Wiley's. This book was so suspenseful and unpredictable it kept me continuing turning pages when really I should have gone to sleep or started getting ready for work. I don't get that reaction from very many school-assigned reads. I'm very proud of Wiley, as a professor of my school, to have written such a brilliant story. BB is an extremely relatable character, and its impossible to ignore Susan's character in that I felt such  an enormous amount of empathy for. Really great read overall.

armand_rosamilia's review

5.0

Usually when I see there's going to be a main character with a lot of character flaws, I hesitate to read the book. It's usually really someone misunderstood or getting a raw deal, all the while actually a perfect angel trying to fight against prejudice against him or her.

Not in this book. Our main character is super flawed, and despite trying to do the right thing, he also can't help doing what he knows is wrong. The dimensions of all the characters in this will keep you reading, although the noir and thriller aspects hooked me, too.

Added bonus: it's set in Jacksonville FL where I live, and it was cool to know the places in the story. Diving into the next book immediately!