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A review by mrsbooknerd
Broken Angels by Richard Montanari
2.0
I've read quite a few of the Byrne/Balzano novels now, though completely out of order so half the time I'm not sure what has happened and what will happen, regardless, I've enjoyed them. Unfortunately I wasn't overly enthused about 'Broken Angels'. While it progressed the personal development of both Byrne and Balzano, I felt that the criminal investigation was rather lacking.
This was quite a lengthy novel, and while there were a number of murders throughout - the murders themselves were unique and interesting - there was very little investigation and progression between. For example, there was never an 'A ha!' moment. The big clue that split the case open and changed its direction. There weren't many solid suspects at all either, no one that was suspicious enough to pull the case one way, only to be a red herring. There just seemed to be this directionless description between victim finds.
There was a theme of the Police being understaffed, yet they sent one officer to every music store in the city to see if anyone remembered selling a Savage Garden CD. What are the actual chances of that 'investigation' leading anywhere? Not only with online purchases and the sheer amount of store that sell CDs, but also someone may just have had the disc since it first came out…
The investigative elements to me just seemed to be a way to interweave the plots, not to really add depth or direction. The same can be said to Jessica going to all the vintage stores in the city and happening on the one that both Samantha and the priest worked at. It didn't progress the plot at all, it just pulled subplots together. The ending was a culmination of the plots, but even this wasn't tied up satisfactorily.
I'd rather have seen the team investigate the seemingly minor characters. The priest who watched Kristina on tape wistfully, the worker who happened to be in the area of the first killing and pointed out key information… why weren't these investigations the logical progression rather than CD hunting?
I loved the personal progression of Byrne and Balzano in this novel. The Byrne subplot was full of tension and unexpectedness, totally at contrast with the main plot. You didn't know how the grief-stricken widower would react and how Byrne would be affected.
I was hoping for more interest in this novel, a little more detective work; suspects, twists, red herrings. Though I loved the personal developments, the book did need a little more detail to keep interest.
This was quite a lengthy novel, and while there were a number of murders throughout - the murders themselves were unique and interesting - there was very little investigation and progression between. For example, there was never an 'A ha!' moment. The big clue that split the case open and changed its direction. There weren't many solid suspects at all either, no one that was suspicious enough to pull the case one way, only to be a red herring. There just seemed to be this directionless description between victim finds.
There was a theme of the Police being understaffed, yet they sent one officer to every music store in the city to see if anyone remembered selling a Savage Garden CD. What are the actual chances of that 'investigation' leading anywhere? Not only with online purchases and the sheer amount of store that sell CDs, but also someone may just have had the disc since it first came out…
The investigative elements to me just seemed to be a way to interweave the plots, not to really add depth or direction. The same can be said to Jessica going to all the vintage stores in the city and happening on the one that both Samantha and the priest worked at. It didn't progress the plot at all, it just pulled subplots together. The ending was a culmination of the plots, but even this wasn't tied up satisfactorily.
I'd rather have seen the team investigate the seemingly minor characters. The priest who watched Kristina on tape wistfully, the worker who happened to be in the area of the first killing and pointed out key information… why weren't these investigations the logical progression rather than CD hunting?
I loved the personal progression of Byrne and Balzano in this novel. The Byrne subplot was full of tension and unexpectedness, totally at contrast with the main plot. You didn't know how the grief-stricken widower would react and how Byrne would be affected.
I was hoping for more interest in this novel, a little more detective work; suspects, twists, red herrings. Though I loved the personal developments, the book did need a little more detail to keep interest.