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A review by _onemorechapter_
Last Breath by Robert Bryndza
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
๐ป.๐พ: Murder and Torture
๐ญHaving enjoyed previous Erika Foster books, this one was a bit disappointing(3 Stars Rating).
In this one, Erika is in a desk job having quit her job in homicide after perceiving herself as passed over for promotion. When she gets involved in the periphery of an investigation into a dead girl's body being found in a dumpster she starts trying all avenues to get herself back into homicide, not caring whose toes she steps on to get there and she is willing to do almost anything - even apologize to her nemesis, Superintendent Sparks.
The story alternates between the police investigation and the killer's activities. The description of the perp's step-by-step method of tracking, luring, and torturing his victims ratchets up the tension. The identity of the perpetrator is revealed fairly in the piece, so we are left with the story of how DCI Foster and her team suss out and round up the bad guy, interspersed with a bit of interference by police politics, coloured by a bit of police romance and rumpy-pumpy, with a couple of unproductive dead-ends tossed in to confuse the police about things of which we are already aware.
The crimes in this book were brutal and dark, like the other murders weโve seen in this series so far. Our killer was the perfect mix between a dweeb and an arrogant tool, so he worked perfectly as our bad guy who hated women.
The plot was very thin with very few twists and turns and the final outcome was very predictable. The characters, as always, are good. Erika is sassy and hard-headed as she always is, and she isn't an easy person to get along with, but in this book starts to develop some self-awareness of this, not that it stops her charging into situations like a bull at a gate but Iโm getting a little sick of her arrogance and need to fight with all authority. She is still experiencing angst about her cop husband who was killed in the line of duty, but a burgeoning relationship between Erika and Peterson may signal better times ahead.
I was sad to find Moss took a bit of a back seat in this story. Sheโs one of my favourite characters because sheโs so real and brings a bit of humor to the book, so I would have liked to have seen more of her!
I was also bothered by poor editing and some glaring inconsistencies -- the dog's eyes are milky-blue and then, a few pages later, black. The author writes the killer put two shells in the shotgun. The killer fired twice. When Erika gains control of the shotgun, "she removes the remaining shell." Am I missing something or did the editor reload the weapon while the reader's attention was elsewhere? Some of the plot was quite implausible; especially the use of a broken safety pin to unlock three padlocks!
And it bothers me that some of his main characters are always referred to by their first names, while others always the surnames. This practice doesn't seem connected to how central or how likeable they are; it's just arbitrary.
Overall, I liked this addition to the Erika Foster series, but it wasnโt my favourite one. It was fast-paced, tense & thrilling, but I found it a little bland in comparison to book number 3. Writing a good ending is always tough. It should be both plausible and clever. That wasn't the case with this book.
I will continue to read this series for as long as it goes on (or until I get sick of Erika being so snappy). Hopefully, the next one will get back on track!!
๐.๐ My one quibble: books that feature cops vs. sociopathic serial killers are pretty common, and the story has a familiar ring.
๐ธ๐ด๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐: โญโญโญ
๐ธ๐ฎ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐: 4.31 (19367)
๐ธ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense and Police Procedural
๐ธ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐: Detective Erika Foster (Book 4)
๐ธ๐น๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐: Yes!!
๐ญHaving enjoyed previous Erika Foster books, this one was a bit disappointing(3 Stars Rating).
In this one, Erika is in a desk job having quit her job in homicide after perceiving herself as passed over for promotion. When she gets involved in the periphery of an investigation into a dead girl's body being found in a dumpster she starts trying all avenues to get herself back into homicide, not caring whose toes she steps on to get there and she is willing to do almost anything - even apologize to her nemesis, Superintendent Sparks.
The story alternates between the police investigation and the killer's activities. The description of the perp's step-by-step method of tracking, luring, and torturing his victims ratchets up the tension. The identity of the perpetrator is revealed fairly in the piece, so we are left with the story of how DCI Foster and her team suss out and round up the bad guy, interspersed with a bit of interference by police politics, coloured by a bit of police romance and rumpy-pumpy, with a couple of unproductive dead-ends tossed in to confuse the police about things of which we are already aware.
The crimes in this book were brutal and dark, like the other murders weโve seen in this series so far. Our killer was the perfect mix between a dweeb and an arrogant tool, so he worked perfectly as our bad guy who hated women.
The plot was very thin with very few twists and turns and the final outcome was very predictable. The characters, as always, are good. Erika is sassy and hard-headed as she always is, and she isn't an easy person to get along with, but in this book starts to develop some self-awareness of this, not that it stops her charging into situations like a bull at a gate but Iโm getting a little sick of her arrogance and need to fight with all authority. She is still experiencing angst about her cop husband who was killed in the line of duty, but a burgeoning relationship between Erika and Peterson may signal better times ahead.
I was sad to find Moss took a bit of a back seat in this story. Sheโs one of my favourite characters because sheโs so real and brings a bit of humor to the book, so I would have liked to have seen more of her!
I was also bothered by poor editing and some glaring inconsistencies -- the dog's eyes are milky-blue and then, a few pages later, black. The author writes the killer put two shells in the shotgun. The killer fired twice. When Erika gains control of the shotgun, "she removes the remaining shell." Am I missing something or did the editor reload the weapon while the reader's attention was elsewhere? Some of the plot was quite implausible; especially the use of a broken safety pin to unlock three padlocks!
And it bothers me that some of his main characters are always referred to by their first names, while others always the surnames. This practice doesn't seem connected to how central or how likeable they are; it's just arbitrary.
Overall, I liked this addition to the Erika Foster series, but it wasnโt my favourite one. It was fast-paced, tense & thrilling, but I found it a little bland in comparison to book number 3. Writing a good ending is always tough. It should be both plausible and clever. That wasn't the case with this book.
I will continue to read this series for as long as it goes on (or until I get sick of Erika being so snappy). Hopefully, the next one will get back on track!!
๐.๐ My one quibble: books that feature cops vs. sociopathic serial killers are pretty common, and the story has a familiar ring.
๐ธ๐ด๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐: โญโญโญ
๐ธ๐ฎ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐: 4.31 (19367)
๐ธ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense and Police Procedural
๐ธ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐: Detective Erika Foster (Book 4)
๐ธ๐น๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐: Yes!!