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A review by litwithleigh
Ragdoll by Daniel Cole
4.0
One sentence review: Complex, fast-paced, darkly funny
SYNOPSIS
Dismembered body parts of six victims are haphazardly sewn together and pointing into the apartment of disgraced Detective "Wolf" Fawkes. As if the plot isn't thicc enough, Fawkes' ex-wife receives a "hit list" containing the names and future date of death for six targets. Buckle in!!!
MY OPINION
After b2b 1-star stankers and the nail salon doing me INCREDIBLY dirty, I swung by Canadian Barnes & Nobles (Indigo) to drown my sorrows in more books. This was one of my purchases and I started reading as soon as I got home. Oooohhweee I loved this more than the average bear, which doesn't happen often! and I can't wait to watch the series on Amazon Prime. Hopefully it will be just as juicy.
Yeetage of disbelief is required. This is a Criminal Minds crazy crime. BUT the logic of solving a criminal case is still in tact, which is why I don't mind tossin my disbelief to the side. As long as the mechanics of detective work are still based in realism and a clear motive exists, idc how OTT the actual crime is. Fight me!!! (pls don't, I'm very prissy)
Anyways. For a debut I was very impressed. The writing was on pizzzzoint. Homie can write. Great showing, minimal telling. Dark humor woven throughout that had me chortling. Butt cheeks were clenched in suspense throughout several scenes.
On top of the great writing, he wove an intricate web that kept me guessing. Many moving parts come together in the end but there is a huge ass cliffhanger that had me scrambling online for book #2. This is told in third-person narration, BUT there is a lot of "jumping heads" in one scene without scene breaks, which some might be annoyed with.
I also felt there was a lot of distance between the reader and Wolf; homeboy was due to die but seemed nonchalant about it. I would've appreciated more exploration of how one feels when they are literally scheduled to die. There could've been some serious emotional wreckage here.
Beware for those who are anti-romance, there is an undercurrent of romantic tension throughout the book which is so subtle it's reminiscent of relationships in Nordic Noir. I'm excited to see how their relationship develops throughout the series. I think I'm becoming a romantic suspense fan?????
My main rich homie qualm (google "rich homie quan" to understand the plan on words) is several basic leads weren't investigated. ie: the baddie uses a website to hire wannabe actors for a protest, but there is no follow up by cybercrime to track down the account/IP address etc. It seemed like the author had his mind made up of what would lead to cracking the case and wouldn't consider anything else. He said basic forensics?? NAH. CLUES ONLY UNCOVERED BY METICULOUSLY REVIEWING OLD CASE FILES!!!!!!!!
Tbh I know Wolf was the head honcho, but Edmunds was the real hero let's be real. I hope he stays around for the rest of the series.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: well-written, fast paced, tres juicy case, thicc ass plot, big cliffhanger that leaves the reader wanting more!, complex characters
Cons: basic leads weren't chased down in favour for a more complex reveal
SYNOPSIS
Dismembered body parts of six victims are haphazardly sewn together and pointing into the apartment of disgraced Detective "Wolf" Fawkes. As if the plot isn't thicc enough, Fawkes' ex-wife receives a "hit list" containing the names and future date of death for six targets. Buckle in!!!
MY OPINION
After b2b 1-star stankers and the nail salon doing me INCREDIBLY dirty, I swung by Canadian Barnes & Nobles (Indigo) to drown my sorrows in more books. This was one of my purchases and I started reading as soon as I got home. Oooohhweee I loved this more than the average bear, which doesn't happen often! and I can't wait to watch the series on Amazon Prime. Hopefully it will be just as juicy.
Yeetage of disbelief is required. This is a Criminal Minds crazy crime. BUT the logic of solving a criminal case is still in tact, which is why I don't mind tossin my disbelief to the side. As long as the mechanics of detective work are still based in realism and a clear motive exists, idc how OTT the actual crime is. Fight me!!! (pls don't, I'm very prissy)
Anyways. For a debut I was very impressed. The writing was on pizzzzoint. Homie can write. Great showing, minimal telling. Dark humor woven throughout that had me chortling. Butt cheeks were clenched in suspense throughout several scenes.
On top of the great writing, he wove an intricate web that kept me guessing. Many moving parts come together in the end but there is a huge ass cliffhanger that had me scrambling online for book #2. This is told in third-person narration, BUT there is a lot of "jumping heads" in one scene without scene breaks, which some might be annoyed with.
I also felt there was a lot of distance between the reader and Wolf; homeboy was due to die but seemed nonchalant about it. I would've appreciated more exploration of how one feels when they are literally scheduled to die. There could've been some serious emotional wreckage here.
Beware for those who are anti-romance, there is an undercurrent of romantic tension throughout the book which is so subtle it's reminiscent of relationships in Nordic Noir. I'm excited to see how their relationship develops throughout the series. I think I'm becoming a romantic suspense fan?????
My main rich homie qualm (google "rich homie quan" to understand the plan on words) is several basic leads weren't investigated. ie: the baddie uses a website to hire wannabe actors for a protest, but there is no follow up by cybercrime to track down the account/IP address etc. It seemed like the author had his mind made up of what would lead to cracking the case and wouldn't consider anything else. He said basic forensics?? NAH. CLUES ONLY UNCOVERED BY METICULOUSLY REVIEWING OLD CASE FILES!!!!!!!!
Tbh I know Wolf was the head honcho, but Edmunds was the real hero let's be real. I hope he stays around for the rest of the series.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: well-written, fast paced, tres juicy case, thicc ass plot, big cliffhanger that leaves the reader wanting more!, complex characters
Cons: basic leads weren't chased down in favour for a more complex reveal