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sandin954's review against another edition
4.0
Another very well done entry in this series that is set in Toronto and follows an ensemble cast of the police, the Crown lawyers, and the defense lawyers. Listened to the audio version which was nicely read by Paul Hecht.
laurapk's review against another edition
2.0
This one stayed away from the quality of the previous novels. The characters which were so vivid only a book ago are becoming cliches and flat. The once exciting plots are now falling into formulaic territory. The only part I found interesting and kept my attention was the trial. The police work was boring and repetitive (if I read about one more detective not able to sleep a wink during the first few days I'll lose it). And the character relationships are starting to go into that annoying pattern of "will they, won't they", because how else are we going to sell future novels? The city of Toronto, once a fully fleshed character in past novels was bland and cold. As was the victim's family. The father seemed so unemotional that I honestly thought he had paid someone to kill his son. There was no clear body language, no heartwrenching animalistic grief. Not even from the mother. We're asked to belive this was a shocking case, but nobody acts like they're in genuine pain. It's all cold. Unemotional. Short. Bland.
Yeah, I'm a bit disappointed with this one
Yeah, I'm a bit disappointed with this one
henrismum's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Audiobook (All of my entries on The Story Graph are audiobooks.)
#3 in series (I started reading this series in October 2022. This is the third book, so I will commit to the series.)
Will I read other installments?Probably Not Maybe Definitely
I really enjoy this series and I will listen to all the books available in audio, but I think there are only five.
Comparison to others in series:Not as good About the same Better
I gave the last one a 3.5 and this installment will be the same. I couldn't help but feel sorry for Ralphie, getting arrested and being abandoned by his family. He was a bad lawyer, and he did a bad turn, but his family was everything to him.
The narrator was Paul Hecht. He has a great voice, but there were a few occasions when his reading faltered.
Source: Hoopla
#3 in series (I started reading this series in October 2022. This is the third book, so I will commit to the series.)
Will I read other installments?
I really enjoy this series and I will listen to all the books available in audio, but I think there are only five.
Comparison to others in series:
I gave the last one a 3.5 and this installment will be the same. I couldn't help but feel sorry for Ralphie, getting arrested and being abandoned by his family. He was a bad lawyer, and he did a bad turn, but his family was everything to him.
The narrator was Paul Hecht. He has a great voice, but there were a few occasions when his reading faltered.
Source: Hoopla
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
kailadan's review against another edition
4.0
Great story! I love that it takes place in Toronto and mentions so many of the places I know. I also think it's terrific that it very clearly represents Toronto's multicultural population. Robert is getting better with every book!
staylorbaptiste's review against another edition
3.0
Robert Rotenberg’s Stray Bullets is an entertaining, albeit mindless read. The story takes place in Toronto, Canada and involves the murder of a young boy outside a Tim Horton’s and the pursuit to find the truth in what happened. It was a quick and easy book, a good novel for anyone looking for some simple mystery.
The story starts with a shooting incident during the season’s first November snow fall and continues through the trial of the suspect. It was engaging and Rotenberg does an excellent job of keeping you reading, especially by ending his short but numerous chapters with cliff hangers.
Rotenberg’s book has been heralded as “doing for Toronto what Ian Rankin did for Edinburgh”, however, I disagree. Having read Rankin’s books, I enjoyed them a lot more than I did this one. Maybe I’m being biased due to the fact I’m Canadian, but I felt it was too “Canadian”. It seemed like Rotenberg repeatedly named commonly-known street names and intersections just for the sake of reinforcing his Toronto setting. The technique didn’t add anything particular to the plot, and didn’t allow me to picture the action any more clearly.
Stray Bullets is part of a series of books that revolve around Detective Ari Greene. Interestingly, each chapter is shown from a different characters point of view. Although not written in first person, each chapter was seen from the eyes of Detective Greene, or the Crown Attorney, or the defence attorney, etc. He also didn’t find a way to establish any sort of connection with the characters. They were just figures inside of a story. On top of that, Rotenberg has a funny habit of continuously reminding the reader of who characters are even though you’ve come across them numerous times already. It was somewhat repetitive and occasionally frustrating.
Overall, Stray Bullets was a good, quick read. It was exactly what I was looking for after finishing the marathon of a book that is A Storm of Swords in the Song of Ice and Fire series. Rotenberg kept my attention, not because it was a profoundly captivating book, but more so because I just wanted to know the outcome once I had started reading it. All that being said, it’s a fine summer novel to decompress on between books.
The story starts with a shooting incident during the season’s first November snow fall and continues through the trial of the suspect. It was engaging and Rotenberg does an excellent job of keeping you reading, especially by ending his short but numerous chapters with cliff hangers.
Rotenberg’s book has been heralded as “doing for Toronto what Ian Rankin did for Edinburgh”, however, I disagree. Having read Rankin’s books, I enjoyed them a lot more than I did this one. Maybe I’m being biased due to the fact I’m Canadian, but I felt it was too “Canadian”. It seemed like Rotenberg repeatedly named commonly-known street names and intersections just for the sake of reinforcing his Toronto setting. The technique didn’t add anything particular to the plot, and didn’t allow me to picture the action any more clearly.
Stray Bullets is part of a series of books that revolve around Detective Ari Greene. Interestingly, each chapter is shown from a different characters point of view. Although not written in first person, each chapter was seen from the eyes of Detective Greene, or the Crown Attorney, or the defence attorney, etc. He also didn’t find a way to establish any sort of connection with the characters. They were just figures inside of a story. On top of that, Rotenberg has a funny habit of continuously reminding the reader of who characters are even though you’ve come across them numerous times already. It was somewhat repetitive and occasionally frustrating.
Overall, Stray Bullets was a good, quick read. It was exactly what I was looking for after finishing the marathon of a book that is A Storm of Swords in the Song of Ice and Fire series. Rotenberg kept my attention, not because it was a profoundly captivating book, but more so because I just wanted to know the outcome once I had started reading it. All that being said, it’s a fine summer novel to decompress on between books.
martyfried's review against another edition
5.0
This was one of those books I had trouble putting down. I've read the previous books in the series and liked them, although I didn't remember the characters when I read this one. Perhaps I will for the next book, but I don't think it really matters much, and I believe this book could be read by itself. I liked Greene and Kennicott, the cops, but they were not really the most important characters. There were several really interesting characters in the story, which is what makes this such a good book. But looking back at my review of the first book, I see this one features a character from that book, a lawyer by the name of Nancy Parish.
At various points in the story, it was hard to decide who was good and who was bad, as many were both at different times. Some of them were like actors playing a part and doing what they believed was expected of them. In fact, one, the judge, was an actual actor. The defendant, a young man who got a bad start in life and was often on the wrong side of the law, seemed to often be acting out the part of a tough criminal but wasn't real good at it. At times he seemed to be basically good, then later seemed to be spoiled bad boy. Sometimes, with other characters, we just don't know when they are telling the truth.
I liked reading about the Canadian judicial system, with their robes and all. And the cold weather they were having was nice to imagine during our 90+ degree days we've been having in my neck of the woods.
At various points in the story, it was hard to decide who was good and who was bad, as many were both at different times. Some of them were like actors playing a part and doing what they believed was expected of them. In fact, one, the judge, was an actual actor. The defendant, a young man who got a bad start in life and was often on the wrong side of the law, seemed to often be acting out the part of a tough criminal but wasn't real good at it. At times he seemed to be basically good, then later seemed to be spoiled bad boy. Sometimes, with other characters, we just don't know when they are telling the truth.
I liked reading about the Canadian judicial system, with their robes and all. And the cold weather they were having was nice to imagine during our 90+ degree days we've been having in my neck of the woods.
vaderbird's review against another edition
3.0
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
amandat's review against another edition
2.0
I won this book through the First Reads contest.
Very much a straight forward police/legal procedural. No real surprises, twists or turns. But it's well written and the various Canadian references were fun to read (although a bit tiresome at times - such as we don't really need to know where a secondary character buys their clothes).
Very much a straight forward police/legal procedural. No real surprises, twists or turns. But it's well written and the various Canadian references were fun to read (although a bit tiresome at times - such as we don't really need to know where a secondary character buys their clothes).
pussreboots's review against another edition
4.0
One improvement in Stray Bullets over the previous two is that the person responsible isn't disabled. The disabled person as criminal or accidental killer was a disappointing solution to books one and two.
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2021/comments_03/stray_bullets.html
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2021/comments_03/stray_bullets.html
fictionophile's review against another edition
5.0
In just a split-second an event can take place which impacts myriad lives. Not a profound premise perhaps, but all too true nonetheless. The novel “Stray Bullets” exemplifies this premise with a case that draws the reader to know more.
It is a frosty November day in Toronto… An ex-con is jealous of his former girlfriend’s new partner. He hangs around her workplace hoping to confront his successor… Shots are fired in the parking lot of a Tim Horton’s restaurant. A father and his young four-year-old son are innocently going into the Tim’s to buy a doughnut. A stray bullet enters the young boy’s skull.
This tragic, horrific event is the catalyst for Robert Rotenberg’s latest legal thriller. Written with the consummate skill and sound knowledge of an author who ‘writes what he knows’, “Stray Bullets” is genre fiction at its finest. The author, a criminal attorney practicing in Toronto has an insider’s knowledge of the legal system and all those characters who contribute to the workings of a criminal case and the pressure by the media and citizenry to see justice done.
It is hard to pinpoint a protagonist for this novel because the many memorable and colorful characters are written with such understanding and with such insight that the reader gets to ‘know’ them all. If this novel were to be made into a movie, it would be one with an ensemble cast. The reader knows enough of the characters to invest in them. Whether it be the lawyers, the police, the victims, or the witnesses – all are given the respect and background that make the reader invest in them equally.
Rotenberg aptly describes the pain and anguish of the victims. The desperation and fear of the accused. The diligence – and sometimes lack thereof – of the police. The frustration and long arduous hours in the working life of a criminal lawyer who must play the system to glean facts from often murky testimony.
Nothing is ever as clear as one would wish. What seems to be damning evidence can sometimes be read two or more ways. ‘Obvious’ guilt is subjective to the witnesses memory of the event.
We meet Daniel Kennicott, the former lawyer turned police officer, who was first on the scene. Ari Green, the homicide detective on the case. Nancy Parish, the workaholic defense attorney. Her client, the accused Larkin St. Clair. The crown’s prosecuting attorney, Ralph Armitage. Witnesses both willing and unwilling. Players moral and immoral. And let’s not forget another major character in this novel – the city of Toronto itself. With a keen sense of place the author describes Toronto’s climate, it’s diversity and it’s social sensibilities.
A legal thriller that rivals (or to my mind surpasses) anything written by Grisham. A page turner, with the reader wondering which of the tiny details mentioned could be the one that makes or breaks the case – which one will make or break the reputation or even the career track of those involved.
I guess you should read it and see…
It is a frosty November day in Toronto… An ex-con is jealous of his former girlfriend’s new partner. He hangs around her workplace hoping to confront his successor… Shots are fired in the parking lot of a Tim Horton’s restaurant. A father and his young four-year-old son are innocently going into the Tim’s to buy a doughnut. A stray bullet enters the young boy’s skull.
This tragic, horrific event is the catalyst for Robert Rotenberg’s latest legal thriller. Written with the consummate skill and sound knowledge of an author who ‘writes what he knows’, “Stray Bullets” is genre fiction at its finest. The author, a criminal attorney practicing in Toronto has an insider’s knowledge of the legal system and all those characters who contribute to the workings of a criminal case and the pressure by the media and citizenry to see justice done.
It is hard to pinpoint a protagonist for this novel because the many memorable and colorful characters are written with such understanding and with such insight that the reader gets to ‘know’ them all. If this novel were to be made into a movie, it would be one with an ensemble cast. The reader knows enough of the characters to invest in them. Whether it be the lawyers, the police, the victims, or the witnesses – all are given the respect and background that make the reader invest in them equally.
Rotenberg aptly describes the pain and anguish of the victims. The desperation and fear of the accused. The diligence – and sometimes lack thereof – of the police. The frustration and long arduous hours in the working life of a criminal lawyer who must play the system to glean facts from often murky testimony.
Nothing is ever as clear as one would wish. What seems to be damning evidence can sometimes be read two or more ways. ‘Obvious’ guilt is subjective to the witnesses memory of the event.
We meet Daniel Kennicott, the former lawyer turned police officer, who was first on the scene. Ari Green, the homicide detective on the case. Nancy Parish, the workaholic defense attorney. Her client, the accused Larkin St. Clair. The crown’s prosecuting attorney, Ralph Armitage. Witnesses both willing and unwilling. Players moral and immoral. And let’s not forget another major character in this novel – the city of Toronto itself. With a keen sense of place the author describes Toronto’s climate, it’s diversity and it’s social sensibilities.
A legal thriller that rivals (or to my mind surpasses) anything written by Grisham. A page turner, with the reader wondering which of the tiny details mentioned could be the one that makes or breaks the case – which one will make or break the reputation or even the career track of those involved.
I guess you should read it and see…