A review by katiya
Bad To The Bones by James Harper

4.0

I struggled with this book! Not because of poor writing, but because I spent an inordinate amount of time hiding behind the couch (once I realized that you can't fast-forward scary scenes in a book, this was my next solution). The writing is savage and I mean that with all respect to James Harper. He writes those moments - you can't turn away but you really don't want to look.

So, graphic warning aside: We have a private investigator whose life is upside down. He's not an unlikeable character, but things just aren't working out for him. In an attempt to set things right with the universe, he takes on a pro-bono cold case to track down both a missing son and a missing father. In my opinion (which no one asked for, but here it is anyway...) Evan Buckley stumbles a number of times and it makes him more believable than someone who dramatically turns his life around and becomes the perfect saint. I didn't always like what he did, but he was very real.

There is a certain something about this book that sets it firmly in the past (a spoiler I will not reveal no matter how many bags of potato chips you wave under my nose) and since this is a re-issue, it is something that should have been addressed.

I read this quickly which translates as I was engaged and enjoying the story. This genre is a little too hard-boiled for me and it might be a while before I get back to Evan, but one day...