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A review by hannahmaybookreviews
The Last Straw by Ed Duncan
4.0
Title: The Last Straw
Author: Ed Duncan
Pages: 220
Rating: 4/5
A huge thank you to the author and Kelsey from Book Publicity services for providing me with a copy of the book to review.
Synopsis:
After Sandra, a young teenage girl, witnesses a car jacking and murder, she is worried about testifying in court. A crime boss, who first appears to have no connection with the girl, puts out a hit on her. Rico, their first-choice refuses, he will not murder a child, but he soon finds that his enemy has taken on the job in his place, he has done this to prove that he is not as weak as Rico. As a result, Rico finds himself in a situation where he has no choice but to protect the innocents from his rival. This means crossing paths again with Paul Elliot, the lawyer that once saved his life.
Review:
The Last Straw is the second book in the Pigeon-Blood Red series, and I have to say I really did enjoy the first book as it had an old school gangster feel to it. I also really liked Rico’s character despite his job and his decisions not exactly being right. That aside, I was very eager to meet him again. The first book was also action packed from start to finish, and the description of The Last Straw hinted that this would still be the case so I couldn’t wait to get stuck in.
Chapter one started off with a bang and we were re-introduced to Rico straight away, it’s safe to say this hooked you in. The rest of the chapters were then short and snappy, making this a very pacey read. The story kicked off straight away and I was able to pick up the storyline easily.
I found Rico to be as charming as ever. He is extremely clever and always a head of the game. I also really enjoyed how we saw a little of his soft side in this read, it makes it clear that despite Rico’s life choices, he isn’t all bad. As for the other characters, I wouldn’t say I really connected with them, but what I will say is that Ed Duncan does a fantastic job at creating characters that readers would dislike.
Just like the first book, we have plenty of action around every corner, and the story is full of sneakiness and backstabbing. It is a good job I didn’t really get attached to any character in particular, other than Rico because you generally don’t know who is actually safe in Ed Duncan’s books. What I did find hard to believe at times though was how all these shootings and murders took place and characters got away with them easily. This made it a little unbelievable for me, but it didn’t put me off!
There was never a dull moment in this read, the writing style of the author is easy to connect with, there are plenty twists and turns and the length of the book suits it perfectly. I am looking forward to reviewing the next book, but the ending did leave me satisfied for now. I feel you do not need to read the first book to understand this one, however, I still recommend you do because these are thrilling crime novels.
Author: Ed Duncan
Pages: 220
Rating: 4/5
A huge thank you to the author and Kelsey from Book Publicity services for providing me with a copy of the book to review.
Synopsis:
After Sandra, a young teenage girl, witnesses a car jacking and murder, she is worried about testifying in court. A crime boss, who first appears to have no connection with the girl, puts out a hit on her. Rico, their first-choice refuses, he will not murder a child, but he soon finds that his enemy has taken on the job in his place, he has done this to prove that he is not as weak as Rico. As a result, Rico finds himself in a situation where he has no choice but to protect the innocents from his rival. This means crossing paths again with Paul Elliot, the lawyer that once saved his life.
Review:
The Last Straw is the second book in the Pigeon-Blood Red series, and I have to say I really did enjoy the first book as it had an old school gangster feel to it. I also really liked Rico’s character despite his job and his decisions not exactly being right. That aside, I was very eager to meet him again. The first book was also action packed from start to finish, and the description of The Last Straw hinted that this would still be the case so I couldn’t wait to get stuck in.
Chapter one started off with a bang and we were re-introduced to Rico straight away, it’s safe to say this hooked you in. The rest of the chapters were then short and snappy, making this a very pacey read. The story kicked off straight away and I was able to pick up the storyline easily.
I found Rico to be as charming as ever. He is extremely clever and always a head of the game. I also really enjoyed how we saw a little of his soft side in this read, it makes it clear that despite Rico’s life choices, he isn’t all bad. As for the other characters, I wouldn’t say I really connected with them, but what I will say is that Ed Duncan does a fantastic job at creating characters that readers would dislike.
Just like the first book, we have plenty of action around every corner, and the story is full of sneakiness and backstabbing. It is a good job I didn’t really get attached to any character in particular, other than Rico because you generally don’t know who is actually safe in Ed Duncan’s books. What I did find hard to believe at times though was how all these shootings and murders took place and characters got away with them easily. This made it a little unbelievable for me, but it didn’t put me off!
There was never a dull moment in this read, the writing style of the author is easy to connect with, there are plenty twists and turns and the length of the book suits it perfectly. I am looking forward to reviewing the next book, but the ending did leave me satisfied for now. I feel you do not need to read the first book to understand this one, however, I still recommend you do because these are thrilling crime novels.