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A review by cnorbury
At Bay by John W. Mefford
2.0
I was torn by this book. Some good things were the crisp, believable dialogue; the combination of FBI agents Alex and Nick as partners playing off each other; and the premise that Alex deals with her amnesia both at work and with her family. The pace was generally good and the style was consistent.
Unfortunately, other issues weren't so good. My biggest question was why the FBI was the lead investigative agency on two local murders? Homicides are normally handled by local police--especially in a metro area like Boston. I went back and searched for an explanation as to why the FBI took these murder cases but couldn't find one (I may have missed it of course).
My second issue was difficulty believing someone with amnesia who just came out of a coma would be allowed to go back to work immediately in such a stressful job.
Late in the book, a chapter was tossed in that was cryptic and had nothing to do with the plot or other characters (that I could tell). I later inferred that the scene was foreshadowing a character in a subsequent book. I don't know who edited this book, but to me, that is a complete no-no, and that chapter should not have been retained. If you want to foreshadow a character, do it in a prologue of the book in which that character appears, not in another book.
I had minor issues with the chauvinist Randy who sexually harassed Alex on several occasions. Her reasoning to more or less let it slide didn't mesh with her personality. I expected she would have AT LEAST hauled his ass up to Human Resources immediately after he uttered his first inappropriate word to her.
The ending felt incomplete and rushed because the motive for the killings was so vague: the killer was somewhere on the Autism spectrum (Asperger's was suggested) and had serious issues with men who cheated on their wives. But why THOSE men and that method of killing (drowning, duct tape, concrete blocks, wedding rings)?
Like the minority of reviewers, I'm puzzled by all the rave reviews this book received. The author has writing and story skills, but they aren't up there with the best thriller writers I've read.
Unfortunately, other issues weren't so good. My biggest question was why the FBI was the lead investigative agency on two local murders? Homicides are normally handled by local police--especially in a metro area like Boston. I went back and searched for an explanation as to why the FBI took these murder cases but couldn't find one (I may have missed it of course).
My second issue was difficulty believing someone with amnesia who just came out of a coma would be allowed to go back to work immediately in such a stressful job.
Late in the book, a chapter was tossed in that was cryptic and had nothing to do with the plot or other characters (that I could tell). I later inferred that the scene was foreshadowing a character in a subsequent book. I don't know who edited this book, but to me, that is a complete no-no, and that chapter should not have been retained. If you want to foreshadow a character, do it in a prologue of the book in which that character appears, not in another book.
I had minor issues with the chauvinist Randy who sexually harassed Alex on several occasions. Her reasoning to more or less let it slide didn't mesh with her personality. I expected she would have AT LEAST hauled his ass up to Human Resources immediately after he uttered his first inappropriate word to her.
The ending felt incomplete and rushed because the motive for the killings was so vague: the killer was somewhere on the Autism spectrum (Asperger's was suggested) and had serious issues with men who cheated on their wives. But why THOSE men and that method of killing (drowning, duct tape, concrete blocks, wedding rings)?
Like the minority of reviewers, I'm puzzled by all the rave reviews this book received. The author has writing and story skills, but they aren't up there with the best thriller writers I've read.