A review by carolereads
Schmutzige Geheimnisse by Brian Freeman

3.0

I have to say that I enjoy Freeman's stories as they are fast-paced, intriguing, and there are always great twists. However, although he's known for setting his novels in Duluth, MN and Las Vegas, NV and for making these cities come to life, the settings have been the greatest source of disappointment for me. As a person who lived in Duluth for 23 years and who has lived in Las Vegas for 22 years, I appreciate that Freeman is well aware of many of the interesting and lesser known places in both cities, but it's clear he doesn't truly know the culture of either city. To state that Duluth is a city with no middle class is absolutely untrue. And in his last novel, Stripped, one of the characters was asked about the last time she was in Reno. She responded by saying that there were plenty of nickel slots in Las Vegas, why would she go to Reno? I can't imagine anyone I know, even the most serious gambler, ever responding in this way. Our lives do not revolve around gambling and that might be the first thought of someone who doesn't live here, but it's definitely not what we think of when we think of visiting other cities in our state. So while I enjoyed reading this series set in my two cities, I think perhaps it's better to read books where I'm not so personally involved that I get annoyed when I know something is just wrong in a book. And I won't miss writing such as, "He shook his hand which was as soft as the leather of a $100 wallet" and "His skin was as white as a tube of toothpaste."