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A review by ewynn610
Badlands by C.J. Box
2.0
This was my favorite in the series so far, but in the end, there were still some unbelievable plot points and the "detective work" consisted of either getting lucky or jumping to far-fetched conclusions that always end up being right.
What I liked: The book is well written, and I enjoyed the change in the setting. It was an easy read.
What I didn't like: In all of the books in the series, including this book, there really isn't much clever detective work, but instead the detectives make far-fetched theories that always end up being right. For example, Cassie sees a tire track in the snow, and suddenly she comes to the realization that a boy she saw riding around on a bike is involved. There were also some plot points that were just too crazy. No police officer would ever send a 12-year-old boy to deliver drugs to a gang member, no matter what was at stake. Finally, only a minor detail but it seemed like the author tried to sprinkle in conservative views throughout the book. Obviously in South Dakota, most characters would be right leaning, but the short but unnecessary monologues about the logic of conservative talking points, along with the fact that the main liberal character (Cassie's mom) is portrayed as being crazy, got a little bit annoying. The fact that the main villains of the book were from the MS-13 gang, which is constantly used as a fear-mongering anti-immigration talking point, only reinforced the bias in the writing to me.
What I liked: The book is well written, and I enjoyed the change in the setting. It was an easy read.
What I didn't like: In all of the books in the series, including this book, there really isn't much clever detective work, but instead the detectives make far-fetched theories that always end up being right. For example, Cassie sees a tire track in the snow, and suddenly she comes to the realization that a boy she saw riding around on a bike is involved. There were also some plot points that were just too crazy. No police officer would ever send a 12-year-old boy to deliver drugs to a gang member, no matter what was at stake. Finally, only a minor detail but it seemed like the author tried to sprinkle in conservative views throughout the book. Obviously in South Dakota, most characters would be right leaning, but the short but unnecessary monologues about the logic of conservative talking points, along with the fact that the main liberal character (Cassie's mom) is portrayed as being crazy, got a little bit annoying. The fact that the main villains of the book were from the MS-13 gang, which is constantly used as a fear-mongering anti-immigration talking point, only reinforced the bias in the writing to me.