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veronica87's review against another edition
3.0
Jackson "Tres" Navarre is returning to his hometown of San Antonio after a ten year absence to see if he can make a go of things with his old high school/college sweetheart. He would've married her back then but witnessing his father, then the local County Sheriff, being gunned down in their front yard (and the case never solved) - well, that does things to a young man. So, instead of the life he'd always thought he wanted, Tres suddenly needed a fresh start as far away as he could get. He made good use of that interim decade, earning a PhD in Literature and becoming a Tai Chi devotee, and generally making a life for himself in San Francisco. Once back on his old stomping grounds, however, it doesn't take long for the old questions about his father's murder to start reasserting themselves.
The author, Rick Riordan, is, of course, best know for his successful Percy Jackson YA series but this one pre-dates that. I mostly picked this up because I'm quite familiar with San Antonio and Riordan did a credible job of hitting a lot of the local hot spots, though several have changed or are no longer around (this was published back in 1997). I found his portrayal of the Mexican and Mexican-American people in the story far less appealing.
As a lead character, Tres was okay though I admit that some of the bests moments in the story for me were when he was getting punched or run over by cars. He's the kind of guy who always has a smug comment to make and who's too cool to ever feel something as mundane as fear when guns are placed to his head - which his Tai Chi skills can usually take care of with minimal sweat spent - so those moments when life swats him down are just like cherries on top of sundaes. Of the secondary characters, none really stood out. And don't get me started on Tres' romantic life. I'm not sure what was going on there. There's the San Antonio (old-ex) girlfriend but there's also apparently a (not-so-old-ex) San Francisco girlfriend, though the details on that relationship are never made clear so maybe that was just a friends-with-benefits thing. It was all too vague and odd. So, needless to say, I wasn't invested in either relationship. I will say this, though, at least the San Franciso lady had some useful skills that could come in very handy if the rest of Tres' life is going to be like his first week back in his hometown.
The cold case surrounding the murder of Tres' father started off interesting but it got too convoluted and there were too many potential players involved. I started losing track of who was who and who potentially did what and the ultimate reveal seemed a little far fetched. I'll give this a generous three stars and I may check out the second book...mostly because I already own it, having picked up books one and two at a used bookstore.
The author, Rick Riordan, is, of course, best know for his successful Percy Jackson YA series but this one pre-dates that. I mostly picked this up because I'm quite familiar with San Antonio and Riordan did a credible job of hitting a lot of the local hot spots, though several have changed or are no longer around (this was published back in 1997). I found his portrayal of the Mexican and Mexican-American people in the story far less appealing.
As a lead character, Tres was okay though I admit that some of the bests moments in the story for me were when he was getting punched or run over by cars. He's the kind of guy who always has a smug comment to make and who's too cool to ever feel something as mundane as fear when guns are placed to his head - which his Tai Chi skills can usually take care of with minimal sweat spent - so those moments when life swats him down are just like cherries on top of sundaes. Of the secondary characters, none really stood out. And don't get me started on Tres' romantic life. I'm not sure what was going on there. There's the San Antonio (old-ex) girlfriend but there's also apparently a (not-so-old-ex) San Francisco girlfriend, though the details on that relationship are never made clear so maybe that was just a friends-with-benefits thing. It was all too vague and odd
Spoiler
(sleeping with his ex-San Francisco girlfriend while his potential San Antonio girlfriend - the one he moved halfway across the country to be with - is missing/kidnapped was in serious poor taste)The cold case surrounding the murder of Tres' father started off interesting but it got too convoluted and there were too many potential players involved. I started losing track of who was who and who potentially did what and the ultimate reveal seemed a little far fetched. I'll give this a generous three stars and I may check out the second book...mostly because I already own it, having picked up books one and two at a used bookstore.
sydneyyreads's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoy Rick Riordan's writing and this was a fun mystery novel. It takes place in Texas. There's a cat who loves enchiladas. What more could I ask for?
righter_of_words's review against another edition
3.0
This book was fine, but nothing exceptional. For a debut novel, it’s well-written but not amazingly so. The characters are not particularly complex but also aren’t entirely archetypal. The plot was interesting but not ground-breaking. I’m glad I read this, but I have now concluded that Riordan really found his stride when he started writing the Percy Jackson books.
debnanceatreaderbuzz's review against another edition
4.0
I certainly can’t share this with all the many fans of Riordan’s The Lightning Thief at my elementary school, but I can share it with all the adult readers who love silly mysteries. An added incentive to reading this book was its setting in San Antonio; what fun, I thought, to release this book at the Texas Library Association Conference to be held in San Antonio in April. It’s been a while for me since I’ve finished anything close to literary fiction. Oh well. Nothing wrong with some just-for-fun reads now and then.
clambook's review against another edition
4.0
Before he became proprietor of the million-dollar Percy Jackson franchise, Rick Riordan wrote a half-dozen detective novels set in San Antonio, and they are quite good. I mean, who doesn't like a private eye who's a martial arts master and English Ph.d? I'm doing the audio books while walking and driving, and will be back for more.
nilchance's review against another edition
2.0
I think Riordan is stronger in 3rd person or in multiple 1st person narrative structure, because his everyman characters aren't necessarily as accessible as stories where there's more than one main
character to latch on to as a reader. I think the fact that he wrote the adult series before Percy Jackson and before maturing as a writer (with better pacing, less clunky exposition, etc) and, as a real-world mystery, the story is going to be less charming / interesting to me personally than his mythology books.
Also, without the charm of the mythology books, the race/sexism/fat fails are much more pronounced to me.
character to latch on to as a reader. I think the fact that he wrote the adult series before Percy Jackson and before maturing as a writer (with better pacing, less clunky exposition, etc) and, as a real-world mystery, the story is going to be less charming / interesting to me personally than his mythology books.
Also, without the charm of the mythology books, the race/sexism/fat fails are much more pronounced to me.
jilfie's review against another edition
3.0
I read this out of curiosity born from my love for the Percy Jackson series. I wanted to see if I liked them solely for the story, or if Riordan's writing really was good. AFter finishing this novel, his first ever published,I would have to conclude that his writing is actually able to help me through any story, not just one I already enjoy from the concept. In the Percy Jackson series there is always a hint of side comments and sarcasm, but in this adult novel with much more room to play, these qualities come out i full force, making the book an enjoyable read.
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