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A review by root
The Stolen Hours by Allen Eskens
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Reading this was akin to watching Law & Order or Criminal Minds in the sense of it being a bit cheesy and predictable, with a lot of jargon and a fixation on very clever and methodical criminals.
The author does very little showing, it is entirely telling. You are told that this character went to xyz university and told that they are feeling xyz emotion, rather than any sort of acquisition of character details. There are occasional, sudden flashbacks to the past to explain characters' current behaviors. The characters themselves are very flat and two-dimensional. As an example, the main character's entire personality is that she is a lawyer with trauma--the most personal thing you learn about her that has nothing to do with her trauma or her job in 300+ pages is that she likes king crabs in her dinner.
The author does very little showing, it is entirely telling. You are told that this character went to xyz university and told that they are feeling xyz emotion, rather than any sort of acquisition of character details. There are occasional, sudden flashbacks to the past to explain characters' current behaviors. The characters themselves are very flat and two-dimensional. As an example, the main character's entire personality is that she is a lawyer with trauma--the most personal thing you learn about her that has nothing to do with her trauma or her job in 300+ pages is that she likes king crabs in her dinner.