Scan barcode
kempfme's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
2.0
This is a roller coaster ride of a thriller that has some fantastic assets, but is ultimately too flawed to be successful.
Things I liked:
The setting is fantastic. Talty really captures the feel of a decaying industrial city, and he clearly knows Buffalo and the surrounding areas. I love reading about places that are a little forgotten, I mean who really needs another book set in New York or London? He also sets the book in winter, and describes things in ways that had me reaching for a sweater.
The community presented is vital and real. Talty even captures the cadences of Irish-American speech without resorting to dialect. He describes a community being hit hard by the closing of the port and the steel mills, losing population and closing itself off from the larger city.
Things that didn't work:
The main character. She's a cop, and described as "hot" and as having "two upturned breasts". Otherwise, she's more of an action/adventure rogue guy with an awful lot of alpha posturing. Other factors of this character made no sense. She's supposed to have attended Harvard, but she's not exactly very smart, or knowledgeable about the world around her. I'd expect an intelligent and curious person growing up in an Irish-American community to have some basic knowledge of Irish history, but this is sadly not the case.
The plot. The first half was okay. Then all continuity and plausibility was thrown out for a great deal of nonsense, that was rushed and skimmed over things that should have been explained. And then there were two giant finales, the second of which was tacked on for no reason I could see beyond allowing the protagonist to use her gun a few more times.
The silly errors. Streets described as running parallel and radiating outward. Footwear described as boots, and then as heels. A sex scene in which all the buttons were torn from her blouse, but then she had to rush to several other places -- without having the time or opportunity to change her clothing. Things like that.
The investigation. The protagonist was amazingly cavalier about bleeding all over crime scenes or grabbing stuff from scenes without letting anyone know. She conducted searches alone, leaving people living in the house to wander around destroying evidence. She refused to get vital information in person, saying she was too busy, and then went and worked out, directly after eating an extra-large burrito.
Things I liked:
The setting is fantastic. Talty really captures the feel of a decaying industrial city, and he clearly knows Buffalo and the surrounding areas. I love reading about places that are a little forgotten, I mean who really needs another book set in New York or London? He also sets the book in winter, and describes things in ways that had me reaching for a sweater.
The community presented is vital and real. Talty even captures the cadences of Irish-American speech without resorting to dialect. He describes a community being hit hard by the closing of the port and the steel mills, losing population and closing itself off from the larger city.
Things that didn't work:
The main character. She's a cop, and described as "hot" and as having "two upturned breasts". Otherwise, she's more of an action/adventure rogue guy with an awful lot of alpha posturing. Other factors of this character made no sense. She's supposed to have attended Harvard, but she's not exactly very smart, or knowledgeable about the world around her. I'd expect an intelligent and curious person growing up in an Irish-American community to have some basic knowledge of Irish history, but this is sadly not the case.
The plot. The first half was okay. Then all continuity and plausibility was thrown out for a great deal of nonsense, that was rushed and skimmed over things that should have been explained. And then there were two giant finales, the second of which was tacked on for no reason I could see beyond allowing the protagonist to use her gun a few more times.
The silly errors. Streets described as running parallel and radiating outward. Footwear described as boots, and then as heels. A sex scene in which all the buttons were torn from her blouse, but then she had to rush to several other places -- without having the time or opportunity to change her clothing. Things like that.
The investigation. The protagonist was amazingly cavalier about bleeding all over crime scenes or grabbing stuff from scenes without letting anyone know. She conducted searches alone, leaving people living in the house to wander around destroying evidence. She refused to get vital information in person, saying she was too busy, and then went and worked out, directly after eating an extra-large burrito.
melsellers's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this. The environment and Irish culture was so interesting.
keeshdiesel91's review against another edition
1.0
Booooooooring from beginning to end. The twists were not really scandalous, more like stupid and I think the continuous description of Buffalo took away from the book
cpt_tusktooth's review against another edition
3.0
A serial killer is loose in Buffalo, NY. Yes, this book is set in Buffalo and, believe it or not, that's part of its charm. The author does an excellent job of portraying the desperation and provincialism of the city. Absalom Kearney makes a compelling and sympathetic protagonist. Unfortunately, I found the plot a bit predictable for my taste in mysteries, otherwise the rating would be higher.
seed193's review against another edition
4.0
For a book I stumbled upon, I am quite impressed. For Talty's first fiction, I'm equally impressed.
carlandlouise's review against another edition
1.0
anyone who knows buffalo will smile weakly at the first few descriptions of the pictured irish village feud boondock-saints-y thing supposedly going on in south buffalo -- but after chapter three you grow infuriated. really, wtf!? non-stop descriptions on how closed-up and dark and fiendish people are supposed to be -- i spent part of my youth in south buffalo, living off downing close to south park, and i find this description of my old neighbors insulting.
the mystery is alright, but the cliche will likely make you throw the book forcefully into a corner after page 30.
the mystery is alright, but the cliche will likely make you throw the book forcefully into a corner after page 30.
annah40's review against another edition
3.0
I like the character. The plot was a little hard for me to follow,(sometimes I'm not in the mood to keep track while I'm reading.) But once the answer was revealed, the sequence of events and the reasoning was reiterated. Then it all made sense to me. I like the main character well enough to read the next book in the series just to see if Stephan Talty improves on the character.
cnorbury's review against another edition
4.0
An excellent debut novel. The MC, Absalom Kearney, is flawed but sympathetic, as a good MC should be. She deals with plenty of demons, past and present, in solving a series of murders that greatly affect "The County"--that part of Buffalo, NY that is almost exclusively Irish. The County is considered to be a near equivalent to one of the counties in Ireland.
Talty sets a dark tone for his story. Rundown, bleak-winter Buffalo is the backdrop, and the gritty, poor, insular, mistrustful, people of The County have little to be optimistic about, so they concentrate on protecting their turf and secrets from outsiders, of which Absalom Kearney is despite her adoptive father being one of the most inside insiders.
I had a few criticisms of some technical things such as the overemphasis of Kearney's Saab and her penchant for fast driving and squealing tires. Talty also used a fair number of adverbs, most notably "suddenly," which I counted several times in chapter one.
But the plot was well constructed, with some good twists toward the end.
Talty sets a dark tone for his story. Rundown, bleak-winter Buffalo is the backdrop, and the gritty, poor, insular, mistrustful, people of The County have little to be optimistic about, so they concentrate on protecting their turf and secrets from outsiders, of which Absalom Kearney is despite her adoptive father being one of the most inside insiders.
I had a few criticisms of some technical things such as the overemphasis of Kearney's Saab and her penchant for fast driving and squealing tires. Talty also used a fair number of adverbs, most notably "suddenly," which I counted several times in chapter one.
But the plot was well constructed, with some good twists toward the end.