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3.19 AVERAGE
3.19 AVERAGE
I think this may be my first thriller set in the Netherlands, I enjoy reading books set in different locations as it provides a pleasant change of scenery and through books, I get to travel the globe.
Butterfly on the Storm is a complex and layered story that follows investigative journalist, Farah Hafez, as she investigates the events that led to the hit-and-run of a little boy. The first medic on the scene, Danielle, works to save the little boy, but in a misguided effort to use this boy’s story to raise awareness of children’s suffering everywhere, she places the boy in further danger. Police officers, Calvino and Diba, are assigned to the case. Everyone involved soon realises this case is bigger than any of them ever thought – this is crime on an international level, Netherlands, South Africa, Russia and Afghanistan, this crime spans continents. Is Farah up to the task of cracking this case? She’s up against some extremely powerful and dangerous people who will do anything to keep their keep their secrets safe.
“Some people carry death in their eyes. Establish contact with them and you run the risk of contamination.”
The plot is extremely well detailed, the characters are plenty but the story is so well told, in the sense that you are able to follow it without becoming confused. Surprisingly, I didn’t really feel drawn to any of the characters, despite the backstory of the main characters being shared with us, and I think, at times, my lack of connection to any particular character made this story lose its momentum in places. It’s really hard when in a book of this length you don’t have a character to root for, something to push you on with the read.
Fear not the big book, they say, at 528 pages, I feel like I read the entire trilogy in one book! That was especially true in the last 10% of the story, where it really seemed to drag, which unfortunately leaves me little incentive to pick up book two, however, I can be persuaded if it’s not so long in length! If you struggle with books of a longer length, it may be wise to steer clear of this one but it you enjoy getting stuck in a complex case that spans continents with strong themes of corruption and bribery, give this book a read.
Overall, this book wasn’t as fast-paced and thrilling as I’d hoped; here I can’t help but wonder if anything was lost in translation, creating the thrill is all about how you use words and a particular phrase may read as extremely thrilling in Dutch, but lose its thrill in translation. This story reminded me a little of the TV crime drama, Homeland, so if you enjoy a political crime mystery, this may be the book for you; having said that, this book would make a great book to TV series adaptation.
*My thanks to the author and publisher for granting me access to a digital copy of this book via Netgalley*
Butterfly on the Storm is a complex and layered story that follows investigative journalist, Farah Hafez, as she investigates the events that led to the hit-and-run of a little boy. The first medic on the scene, Danielle, works to save the little boy, but in a misguided effort to use this boy’s story to raise awareness of children’s suffering everywhere, she places the boy in further danger. Police officers, Calvino and Diba, are assigned to the case. Everyone involved soon realises this case is bigger than any of them ever thought – this is crime on an international level, Netherlands, South Africa, Russia and Afghanistan, this crime spans continents. Is Farah up to the task of cracking this case? She’s up against some extremely powerful and dangerous people who will do anything to keep their keep their secrets safe.
“Some people carry death in their eyes. Establish contact with them and you run the risk of contamination.”
The plot is extremely well detailed, the characters are plenty but the story is so well told, in the sense that you are able to follow it without becoming confused. Surprisingly, I didn’t really feel drawn to any of the characters, despite the backstory of the main characters being shared with us, and I think, at times, my lack of connection to any particular character made this story lose its momentum in places. It’s really hard when in a book of this length you don’t have a character to root for, something to push you on with the read.
Fear not the big book, they say, at 528 pages, I feel like I read the entire trilogy in one book! That was especially true in the last 10% of the story, where it really seemed to drag, which unfortunately leaves me little incentive to pick up book two, however, I can be persuaded if it’s not so long in length! If you struggle with books of a longer length, it may be wise to steer clear of this one but it you enjoy getting stuck in a complex case that spans continents with strong themes of corruption and bribery, give this book a read.
Overall, this book wasn’t as fast-paced and thrilling as I’d hoped; here I can’t help but wonder if anything was lost in translation, creating the thrill is all about how you use words and a particular phrase may read as extremely thrilling in Dutch, but lose its thrill in translation. This story reminded me a little of the TV crime drama, Homeland, so if you enjoy a political crime mystery, this may be the book for you; having said that, this book would make a great book to TV series adaptation.
*My thanks to the author and publisher for granting me access to a digital copy of this book via Netgalley*
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley.
This had all the elements to be a great story. Regrettably, the author continually got in the way of the presentation. Here’s a rundown on the book, without spoilers:
Author Walter Lucius has crafted a world that is filled with interesting characters. The plot is woven with care, and the cast of characters aid in the telling of the tale. Some of the characters are brilliant. Detective Marouan Diba, part of the supporting cast, reveals much of what drives him, and the mysterious, regular caller to his cell phone is a fantastic and scary creation.
You can tell the author has taken great care to understand his characters. Readers are allowed deep glimpses into their thoughts and actions, which is a positive. Understanding the motivations help to drive this book forward. The problem, though, is in the method Mr. Lucius presents this information. We are not given the chance to see how the characters are affected by viewing their actions. Instead, we are taken into that person’s thoughts, and given lengthy explanations on every tiny facet of a reaction. While informative, this is more telling than showing, and adds pages and pages unnecessarily to the book. More pages, more opportunities to slow down the conversations and the plot.
Mr. Lucius also tends to rely on a particular writing technique, and uses it over and over and over. There are constant instances in the book where a point is made, and then it is emphasized with a partial sentence. Numerous chapters end this way, and the method is employed throughout the book. Additionally, the habit of using incomplete sentences pops up a lot. Employed sparingly, this technique can be powerful. Used habitually, it becomes an annoyance.
Because of the nature of the book, it is imperative for the writer to have a solid understanding of the different professions he assigns to his characters. Some of the events that happen in the hospital appear melodramatic and staged, as well as clashing with the reality of how doctors are assigned their tasks within the daily operations of a large medical facility. The police procedures described are not what are usually followed in an early investigation (for instance, allowing the public to walk around in a crime scene area, to allow a forensic expert to ignore their important tasks and instantly fall into a conversation with the crime scene intruder, or to completely ignore the obvious and cordon off or at least investigate the possibility of a larger crime scene area). I recognize that by disregarding the usual procedures the heroine is seen as a strong character with incredible investigative skills, but ignoring standard police procedure in order to create this character drops a powerful, realistic story down to the level of a fantasy.
The strongest part of the book is the plot itself. Mr. Lucius winds first this way, then that, twisting all the different strands until you wonder how he will be able to bring them all together. The author effortlessly drives the story to its conclusion, managing to do this without dropping a single strand.
For those who like to know, there are profanities in the book (including f-bombs), although the profanities are not used by all the characters.
Bottom line: Strong, well-designed plot, with an interesting story and motivated characters to go along with it, weakened by constant partial sentences and a disregard for basic police (and possibly hospital) procedures. Even so, I was leaning toward three-and-a-half stars rounded to four until I reached the final page and discovered this long book ends with a cliffhanger. Authors should rely on the strength of their finished product to bring readers back rather than force them to buy the next book to find out the ending. Three stars.
This had all the elements to be a great story. Regrettably, the author continually got in the way of the presentation. Here’s a rundown on the book, without spoilers:
Author Walter Lucius has crafted a world that is filled with interesting characters. The plot is woven with care, and the cast of characters aid in the telling of the tale. Some of the characters are brilliant. Detective Marouan Diba, part of the supporting cast, reveals much of what drives him, and the mysterious, regular caller to his cell phone is a fantastic and scary creation.
You can tell the author has taken great care to understand his characters. Readers are allowed deep glimpses into their thoughts and actions, which is a positive. Understanding the motivations help to drive this book forward. The problem, though, is in the method Mr. Lucius presents this information. We are not given the chance to see how the characters are affected by viewing their actions. Instead, we are taken into that person’s thoughts, and given lengthy explanations on every tiny facet of a reaction. While informative, this is more telling than showing, and adds pages and pages unnecessarily to the book. More pages, more opportunities to slow down the conversations and the plot.
Mr. Lucius also tends to rely on a particular writing technique, and uses it over and over and over. There are constant instances in the book where a point is made, and then it is emphasized with a partial sentence. Numerous chapters end this way, and the method is employed throughout the book. Additionally, the habit of using incomplete sentences pops up a lot. Employed sparingly, this technique can be powerful. Used habitually, it becomes an annoyance.
Because of the nature of the book, it is imperative for the writer to have a solid understanding of the different professions he assigns to his characters. Some of the events that happen in the hospital appear melodramatic and staged, as well as clashing with the reality of how doctors are assigned their tasks within the daily operations of a large medical facility. The police procedures described are not what are usually followed in an early investigation (for instance, allowing the public to walk around in a crime scene area, to allow a forensic expert to ignore their important tasks and instantly fall into a conversation with the crime scene intruder, or to completely ignore the obvious and cordon off or at least investigate the possibility of a larger crime scene area). I recognize that by disregarding the usual procedures the heroine is seen as a strong character with incredible investigative skills, but ignoring standard police procedure in order to create this character drops a powerful, realistic story down to the level of a fantasy.
The strongest part of the book is the plot itself. Mr. Lucius winds first this way, then that, twisting all the different strands until you wonder how he will be able to bring them all together. The author effortlessly drives the story to its conclusion, managing to do this without dropping a single strand.
For those who like to know, there are profanities in the book (including f-bombs), although the profanities are not used by all the characters.
Bottom line: Strong, well-designed plot, with an interesting story and motivated characters to go along with it, weakened by constant partial sentences and a disregard for basic police (and possibly hospital) procedures. Even so, I was leaning toward three-and-a-half stars rounded to four until I reached the final page and discovered this long book ends with a cliffhanger. Authors should rely on the strength of their finished product to bring readers back rather than force them to buy the next book to find out the ending. Three stars.