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A review by laurapk
Stranglehold by Robert Rotenberg
3.0
While this novel is an improvement from the previous one in the series, it still fails to recapitulate the magic of the series opener. The novel was mostly well written, with a smattering of more adjectives than needed for drama and the action moved at a decent pace. The plot was fairly predictable, but still well laid out. The trial scenes were well constructed and the attention to detail in those scenes was fascinating. The character interaction, which was a highlight for me in the first two novels, was good, but character growth has plateaued. Where the novel had some major problems was in believability of some character's actions. After a few chapters I was willing to accept , the rest of the contrivances that obscured the killer till the end weren't as good.
On top of everything some characters turned really nasty. Jo Summers was an interesting character who abruptly turned into a blood seeker as soon as Ari was accused of murder. She had reasons to be suspicious of him, but her attitude was hard to swallow. And because we didn't spend time in her mind, we didn't get a redeeming revelation such as, she was grieving for her friend. It was also a bit hard to stomach her outrage at Ari for 'breaking Raglan's marriage' while she kisses Kennicot and doesn't tell him she's in a serious relationship. If she never shows up again in the series I'm OK with it.
Overall, I feel like the series has stalled and while the trial aspect was definitely interesting, the characters are slowly turning into two-dimensional shadows.
Spoiler
that Detective Greene could be so unbelievably stupid to not inform the lead detective on the case that he was the one having an affair with the deceased and that he had been at the crime sceneSpoiler
Why would Raglan's son NOT tell the police or his father immediately that he saw who murdered his mother? Why would he paint graffities accusing Mayor Chap that he is a murderer and not specifically said: "He murdered Jennifer Raglan." Why would the former chief of police murder Jennifer himself? He had so much clout and so many people in his pocket, how would he not hire someone to do it for him? And if he was trying to frame Ari, why didn't he immediately divulge to the prosecutors that Ari broke bail?On top of everything some characters turned really nasty. Jo Summers was an interesting character who abruptly turned into a blood seeker as soon as Ari was accused of murder. She had reasons to be suspicious of him, but her attitude was hard to swallow. And because we didn't spend time in her mind, we didn't get a redeeming revelation such as, she was grieving for her friend. It was also a bit hard to stomach her outrage at Ari for 'breaking Raglan's marriage' while she kisses Kennicot and doesn't tell him she's in a serious relationship. If she never shows up again in the series I'm OK with it.
Overall, I feel like the series has stalled and while the trial aspect was definitely interesting, the characters are slowly turning into two-dimensional shadows.