Scan barcode
rdlevitt's review against another edition
3.0
Overall it was good, but it just went on for for.ev.er. Kind of in the vein of an old-fashioned crime novel. Some things weren't explained very well, and the writing was pretty heavy-handed in some parts. Interesting idea though, and a satisfying ending.
csdaley's review against another edition
4.0
I love Ellroy's writing style. The story is told from an interesting point of view. There is a lot of darkness so don't read it if you are feeling down.
bibliobethreads's review against another edition
You know how sometimes a book comes along and really stays with you? This is how this book was for me, definitely my favourite R.J. Ellory novel so far, the story and characters were compelling and I love the way he can change your mind and then perhaps change it back again (?) in the process of a few pages. Highly recommended!
ciska's review against another edition
3.0
The author
Roger Jon Ellory was born in Birmingham, England, June 20th 1965. At age 7 his mother died and with his father out of the picture already he was send of to boarding school. He returned to Birmingham age 16 and at 17 he spend some time in jail for poaching.
After a short career as a musician he devoted himself to studying obscure philosophies and reading.
He had a lot of trouble getting his first stories published as UK publishers did not want to publish books set in America and American publisher did not want to publish books set in America written by an Englishman. Eventually Orion picked up the book "Candlemoth" and published it. This book secured a nomination on the shortlist for the Crime Writers’ Association Steel Dagger for Best Thriller 2003. For more information on R.J. Ellory visit http://www.rjellory.com
The review
I am doing a A-Z challenge this year on book titles. I had many books qualifying for the Q but either I could not get my hands on a copy or they where just not my thing and I was not able to continue reading them. After a thorough search I found this book and I was attracted to it immediately. I was in need of a nice crime novel, police, murders, excitement. And all those elements where in this story and there was more story and more and more... and eventually a bit to much story.
The book takes of with a very descriptive chapter on New Orleans. You almost miss out that they actually found a dead body and the police is gathering around the crime scene. There are some characters introduced of whom you think will be the lead investigators on the murder case but it keeps being handed over and over and over until some other important FBI people are introduced and they finally stick with it. The former well introduced police men are not coming back until the end of the book when they are mentioned to show the author has not forgotten about them. This made that I was not sure which character I had to invest in and connect to until 150 pages into the book. I like to hang myself up on a character and move along trough the story. I missed that in the beginning making it difficult for me to get hooked. Eventually the two main characters get a bit to intense and you feel like skipping on their thoughts /story cause there are again to many details.
And that is the main problem with the whole storyline. The author looses himself and the story at regular intervals, making clear he did his research on things but slowing down a good story. There is a line about certain trees that are characteristic for New Orleans which is repeated three or four times, there is an extended description of which roads are in a certain area in New Orleans of which most are not even relevant to the story but you can look it up on google maps and see exactly where the “body has been found”.
That is a shame cause without that the story would have been a 4+ star book for me. There was a lot of crime and seen from the eyes of a certain criminal making it very interesting. Though at some point the plot can be guessed it takes a while before all things drop in place. For me the book now is not more than three stars and I even doubted for two but it was not that bad. Am not sure I would recommend it to someone though.
Roger Jon Ellory was born in Birmingham, England, June 20th 1965. At age 7 his mother died and with his father out of the picture already he was send of to boarding school. He returned to Birmingham age 16 and at 17 he spend some time in jail for poaching.
After a short career as a musician he devoted himself to studying obscure philosophies and reading.
He had a lot of trouble getting his first stories published as UK publishers did not want to publish books set in America and American publisher did not want to publish books set in America written by an Englishman. Eventually Orion picked up the book "Candlemoth" and published it. This book secured a nomination on the shortlist for the Crime Writers’ Association Steel Dagger for Best Thriller 2003. For more information on R.J. Ellory visit http://www.rjellory.com
The review
I am doing a A-Z challenge this year on book titles. I had many books qualifying for the Q but either I could not get my hands on a copy or they where just not my thing and I was not able to continue reading them. After a thorough search I found this book and I was attracted to it immediately. I was in need of a nice crime novel, police, murders, excitement. And all those elements where in this story and there was more story and more and more... and eventually a bit to much story.
The book takes of with a very descriptive chapter on New Orleans. You almost miss out that they actually found a dead body and the police is gathering around the crime scene. There are some characters introduced of whom you think will be the lead investigators on the murder case but it keeps being handed over and over and over until some other important FBI people are introduced and they finally stick with it. The former well introduced police men are not coming back until the end of the book when they are mentioned to show the author has not forgotten about them. This made that I was not sure which character I had to invest in and connect to until 150 pages into the book. I like to hang myself up on a character and move along trough the story. I missed that in the beginning making it difficult for me to get hooked. Eventually the two main characters get a bit to intense and you feel like skipping on their thoughts /story cause there are again to many details.
And that is the main problem with the whole storyline. The author looses himself and the story at regular intervals, making clear he did his research on things but slowing down a good story. There is a line about certain trees that are characteristic for New Orleans which is repeated three or four times, there is an extended description of which roads are in a certain area in New Orleans of which most are not even relevant to the story but you can look it up on google maps and see exactly where the “body has been found”.
That is a shame cause without that the story would have been a 4+ star book for me. There was a lot of crime and seen from the eyes of a certain criminal making it very interesting. Though at some point the plot can be guessed it takes a while before all things drop in place. For me the book now is not more than three stars and I even doubted for two but it was not that bad. Am not sure I would recommend it to someone though.
wintermute314's review against another edition
1.0
The plot was more or less OK. Now that concludes the nice part of this review. The problem is that both protagonists have bruised souls, and tend to ruminate about life quite often. Mostly these ruminations are predictable, repetitious, shallow and boring. Cliché is piled upon cliché, and while the writer's at it, he also tends to elaborate on the history of Cuba, American Mafia Wars, even a little politics. All with an ample supply of names and dates thrown in. Sometimes you wonder why there isn't an appendix at the back.
ibeforem's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Ellory is an author I usually love, and this book is no exception. At the root, this is the story of Ernesto Perez, a Cuban American who "lucks" his way into the American mafia and worked his way up the ranks as far as a non-Italian can go. And how he's kidnapped the daughter of the governor of Louisiana. He's ready to talk, but only to one man, and only at his own pace. When he's done telling his story, he will share the location of his victim.
This is not a fast-moving thriller, though it does pick up towards the end. I found Perez's story interesting, and it's hard not to empathize with him, despite the terrible things he does. The story does get a little bogged down with what is essentially the history of the mafia in America. There were several times where I skimmed through passages littered with names that I didn't need to recall later. There is also a lot of introspection, not only on Perez's part but also from Hartmann, the man he's telling his story to.
It wasn't difficult to figure out the direction the story was going in once it entered the endgame, but there were still a few surprises. I did like how it wrapped up. Ultimately, I think the point Ellory is trying to make is that life doesn't just happen to us. What happens is a result of choices, either choices we make or choices others have made.
Ellory is an author that I never hesitate to read. He is so descriptive, especially when it comes to settings. I look forward to the next one I pick up!
This is not a fast-moving thriller, though it does pick up towards the end. I found Perez's story interesting, and it's hard not to empathize with him, despite the terrible things he does. The story does get a little bogged down with what is essentially the history of the mafia in America. There were several times where I skimmed through passages littered with names that I didn't need to recall later. There is also a lot of introspection, not only on Perez's part but also from Hartmann, the man he's telling his story to.
It wasn't difficult to figure out the direction the story was going in once it entered the endgame, but there were still a few surprises. I did like how it wrapped up. Ultimately, I think the point Ellory is trying to make is that life doesn't just happen to us. What happens is a result of choices, either choices we make or choices others have made.
Ellory is an author that I never hesitate to read. He is so descriptive, especially when it comes to settings. I look forward to the next one I pick up!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Gun violence, and Violence
More...