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A review by frostyknives
Pigeon-Blood Red by Ed Duncan
3.0
Pigeon-Blood Red is the debut novel from author Ed Duncan. It is an action packed crime novel set in Chicago that centers around an enforcer named Rico who has to retrieve a stolen necklace worth an untold price for his boss, Frank Litvak.
As an urban crime novel, this is usually not the type of read that would draw my attention; however, I found myself compelled by Rico and carried along with him on his journey as he attempted to retrieve the necklace. The book was action packed from beginning to end, and was fast paced throughout, and as I was carried along by the narrative of plots and hits, I found this pace to be both its greatest asset and its biggest weakness.
It is not usual that a reader states a book that he or she reads is too short, but in this case, I feel this novel could have benefited from another one hundred or even one hundred and fifty more pages. There is a lot of great action sequences found within, as well as a wonderful cast of main and supporting characters and I found myself wishing the author had spent more time delving into the emotions and intricacies of each of these characters. The characters never really felt alive as the narrative whisked you along from setting to setting, and I wish the story had been slowed down to allow these characters time to breathe and grow on their own. For example, one of the secondary characters is a lawyer who gets caught up in the middle of this cat and mouse game of assassins, yet in the end he comes to admire Rico, even though Rico's motives and actions are less than ethical. It's this sense of moral ambiguity that I would have loved to see the lawyer wrestle with during the last third of the book; how he was able to admire a man who worked on the fringes of society and somehow fit that admiration into his own personal code of ethics of someone who has sworn an oath to defend the law. If the characters had been given the time to shine and grow over the preceding pages, this type of ethical dilemma might have carried more of an emotional resonance that it actually did.
Overall, and despite these flaws, this was still a fast paced and enjoyable read for those who enjoy crime thrillers or urban noir novels. This would also make for a fantastic television series or crime file.
A copy of this book was provided from Kelsey at Book Publicity Services for free in exchange for an unbiased review.
As an urban crime novel, this is usually not the type of read that would draw my attention; however, I found myself compelled by Rico and carried along with him on his journey as he attempted to retrieve the necklace. The book was action packed from beginning to end, and was fast paced throughout, and as I was carried along by the narrative of plots and hits, I found this pace to be both its greatest asset and its biggest weakness.
It is not usual that a reader states a book that he or she reads is too short, but in this case, I feel this novel could have benefited from another one hundred or even one hundred and fifty more pages. There is a lot of great action sequences found within, as well as a wonderful cast of main and supporting characters and I found myself wishing the author had spent more time delving into the emotions and intricacies of each of these characters. The characters never really felt alive as the narrative whisked you along from setting to setting, and I wish the story had been slowed down to allow these characters time to breathe and grow on their own. For example, one of the secondary characters is a lawyer who gets caught up in the middle of this cat and mouse game of assassins, yet in the end he comes to admire Rico, even though Rico's motives and actions are less than ethical. It's this sense of moral ambiguity that I would have loved to see the lawyer wrestle with during the last third of the book; how he was able to admire a man who worked on the fringes of society and somehow fit that admiration into his own personal code of ethics of someone who has sworn an oath to defend the law. If the characters had been given the time to shine and grow over the preceding pages, this type of ethical dilemma might have carried more of an emotional resonance that it actually did.
Overall, and despite these flaws, this was still a fast paced and enjoyable read for those who enjoy crime thrillers or urban noir novels. This would also make for a fantastic television series or crime file.
A copy of this book was provided from Kelsey at Book Publicity Services for free in exchange for an unbiased review.