A review by maryvarn
Songs of Innocence by Richard Aleas

3.0

Towards the middle of the book I was leaning towards 2 stars, but the end is somewhat redeeming for me. I liked the darkness and sense of desperation that came through. But I had a hard time really liking the narrator. Sure, he had good intentions. But I found his PI instints and abilities to be greatly lacking. Maybe I would have been more forgiving if he had never been a PI, if he was just an ordinary guy trying to figure out his friend's death. Because that's sure what it seemed like.
It also really bothered me that one glaring detail in the cover has nothing to do with the story. I kept waiting for it, but ended up just disappointed.
I haven't read a ton of noir, but for my personal tate this book just wasn't hardboiled enough for me. I recently read Queenpin, another Hard Case Crime book, and found that more to my liking.