Search

Search only in certain items:

    Down Among the Dead Men

    Down Among the Dead Men

    Games and Book

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Avast! Take to the high seas in a fully interactive piratical story of broadsides and buccaneers....

    M

    Mobilities

    John Urry

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    Book

    Issues of movement - of people, things, information and ideas - are central to people's lives and to...

40x40

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2393 KP) rated Stardust Trail in Books

Aug 23, 2022 (Updated Aug 23, 2022)  
Stardust Trail
Stardust Trail
J. R. Sanders | 2020 | Mystery
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Searching for a Missing Writer
PI Nate Ross is a rarity in 1938 Hollywood – someone who lives in the LA area but isn’t that interested in the movie industry. Still, he’s willing to take on a case for one of the smaller studios. The writer of a picture they are hoping will propel them into a more respected part of the market has gone missing, and they need him for rewrites. As Nate begins investigating, he learns of other issues the film has been having, and soon he’s looking into the sabotage, too. Are the two things connected?

I bought this book when the author gave a talk at my local library a few months back. I’m glad I did. As always, I enjoyed the Hollywood setting, but I especially enjoyed the scenes that took Nate to the area I live. Granted, it has changed a lot since the time when the book was set. The story itself is strong with plenty of action to keep us engaged. I had a few things figured out, but I missed some other clues that Nate used to solve things. The characters are engaging, as well. This has the feel of a classic PI novel, so it has a bit more content than I would typically read. It also means that Nate’s sense of humor made me laugh as I was reading. Fortunately, I already have the sequel since I’m looking forward to visiting Nate again soon.
  
Knife (Harry Hole #12) (Oslo Sequence #10)
Knife (Harry Hole #12) (Oslo Sequence #10)
Jo Nesbo | 2019 | Mystery, Thriller
4
6.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Entirely unnecessary
I've had this book on my shelf for quite some time but have held off on reading it purely because the synopsis sounded like it completely rewrites all of the good work in the previous few books. And I'm afraid to say that I was right.

The previous books turned Harry Hole into a rather respectable person but without losing his impressive deduction and detective skills. His life is pretty much sorted. This book completely erases that and pushes Harry back into his alcoholic mess and also ruins his relationship with Rakel. I hated this. Was it really so hard for Nesbo to write a Harry Hole book that didn't completely ruin his entire life at the same time? As even the reveal at the end of this book just further adds to my despair of how much Hole and his life has been ruined.

There are some glimpses of the well written story you'd expect from Nesbo in this, but even the writing is very convoluted and drawn out. This book is at least 100 pages longer than it needs to be and features far too much unnecessary rambling and description. If it had been cut down, it may have made the plot a little easier to absorb.

I'm probably biased by my preconceptions about the plot of this book, but i really didn't enjoy it and even started skim reading towards the end. The whole initial plot plus the surprise twist ending just completely ruins Harry Hole to the point that I really hope this is the last book.
  
40x40

Erika (17789 KP) Nov 15, 2020

I think I'm going to consider Police the last Harry Hole book. I can't bring myself to read The Thirst, or Knife. I hope Nesbo moves on from Hole novels.