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A review by emviolxt
Pigeon-Blood Red by Ed Duncan
3.0
Pigeon Blood Red by Ed Duncan - 3 stars.
When Rico receives instructions from his gangster boss to retrieve an expensive pigeon-blood red necklace and eliminate the double-crossing thief, he doesn’t think much of it. Given the fact that he has completed countless jobs of a similar nature, he simply treats this as another ordinary task to tick off of his list. However, when the chase takes an unexpected turn and the odds transpire against him, Rico soon realises that this won’t just be another day at the ‘office’. As the chase escalates, he is forced to make a tough decision. Should he follow his order to kill the couple who are gradually earning his admiration and respect, or disobey his boss and endanger the lives of those closest to him?
Pigeon Blood Red does not hesitate to throw the reader straight into brutal and relentless action. The lack of a clear, definitive opening or build up was a little disorienting at first, but made for an exciting reading experience. I was highly engaged from the outset and felt compelled to keep reading. It was interesting to discover how seemingly distant characters became connected as the story evolved and how earlier events sparked later confrontations and deadly consequences for some of the characters. Although I found certain scenes a little cliché, the more I read, the more invested in the plot and Rico I became.
Nevertheless, whilst Rico is the central character, I felt like he was overshadowed by the side characters. We are provided with rich background and details for many of the ‘peripheral’ characters and as a consequence, this drew my attention away from the central plot and from Rico too. I’d anticipated heavier focus to be on Rico, his background and how he ended up working for his boss Litvak, however, I appreciate that such details may be covered more extensively as the trilogy progresses. Despite being given extensive details about the side characters, they remained quite flat, unlikeable and one dimensional. I found the dual timeline and the characters POVs to occasionally blur too, which unfortunately became confusing and disrupted the flow a little.
Overall, Pigeon Blood Red is an easy, action-packed and compelling read. I’d recommend this to those of you who enjoy crime thrillers with relentless action and central themes of gangs, hitmen and vengeance. Thank you very much to @bookpublicityservices on Instagram for gifting me an e-copy of Pigeon Blood Red in exchange for an honest review ✨
When Rico receives instructions from his gangster boss to retrieve an expensive pigeon-blood red necklace and eliminate the double-crossing thief, he doesn’t think much of it. Given the fact that he has completed countless jobs of a similar nature, he simply treats this as another ordinary task to tick off of his list. However, when the chase takes an unexpected turn and the odds transpire against him, Rico soon realises that this won’t just be another day at the ‘office’. As the chase escalates, he is forced to make a tough decision. Should he follow his order to kill the couple who are gradually earning his admiration and respect, or disobey his boss and endanger the lives of those closest to him?
Pigeon Blood Red does not hesitate to throw the reader straight into brutal and relentless action. The lack of a clear, definitive opening or build up was a little disorienting at first, but made for an exciting reading experience. I was highly engaged from the outset and felt compelled to keep reading. It was interesting to discover how seemingly distant characters became connected as the story evolved and how earlier events sparked later confrontations and deadly consequences for some of the characters. Although I found certain scenes a little cliché, the more I read, the more invested in the plot and Rico I became.
Nevertheless, whilst Rico is the central character, I felt like he was overshadowed by the side characters. We are provided with rich background and details for many of the ‘peripheral’ characters and as a consequence, this drew my attention away from the central plot and from Rico too. I’d anticipated heavier focus to be on Rico, his background and how he ended up working for his boss Litvak, however, I appreciate that such details may be covered more extensively as the trilogy progresses. Despite being given extensive details about the side characters, they remained quite flat, unlikeable and one dimensional. I found the dual timeline and the characters POVs to occasionally blur too, which unfortunately became confusing and disrupted the flow a little.
Overall, Pigeon Blood Red is an easy, action-packed and compelling read. I’d recommend this to those of you who enjoy crime thrillers with relentless action and central themes of gangs, hitmen and vengeance. Thank you very much to @bookpublicityservices on Instagram for gifting me an e-copy of Pigeon Blood Red in exchange for an honest review ✨