1 out of 4 stars
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Lemoncella Cocktail focuses on the complex life of Patrick Carter, a troubled drifter currently living in Ontario, Canada. Until recently he alternated his time between a daytime job as a lifeguard and an evening bartending occupation, however now that the close of summer fast approaches, Patrick is disappointed to discover that there is no more work available.
Just as Patrick is walking home along the Ausable River, wondering what to do with himself and pondering his bleak future, he discovers a young girl in trouble. Fourteen year old Samantha McLeod is believed to be a witness to a massive weapons exchange and has been targeted by criminals wishing to keep her quiet. Patrick refuses to stand idly by and let the young girl drown in the river, instead opting to dive in and save her life.
This spontaneous act of heroism will soon lead Patrick undercover into the centre of a criminal investigation, disrupting his quiet existence.
According to the synopsis it is believed that Patrick becomes a rather unwilling accomplice in the Police investigation, however upon reading the novel it becomes clear that this is not actually the case. Although reluctant to further complicate his life and become embroiled in someone else’s problems, Patrick is actually quite keen to join the taskforce and assist in their operation. This is because he is no longer employed and the taskforce are willing to pay him quite handsomely for his time and trouble, not to mention the fact that his life is also at risk.
Patrick finds himself growing attached to Samantha’s family, and at first the reader also feels rather connected and concerned about the characters and their lives. However, as the book moves forward there is slow progress and I found it difficult to stay focused on the story for any length of time, preferring to read it in small chunks of thirty minutes or so at a time. As a result of this slow, laboured pace, it grew very difficult to relate to the characters and I no longer held much interest in what may or may not happen to them.
The narrative alternates in perspective between various different people, so we are provided with an almost continuous story as it shifts from one character to another. There is also a confusing mix of past and present tenses within the same sentences or paragraphs on a few occasions, and accompanied by a plethora of missing words and grammatical errors, it becomes a little tedious and irritating. Listed on Amazon as an action adventure story, this is clearly misleading, as its nature suggests more of a crime thriller instead, especially since there is very little action, and what action does exists is usually short-lived and just glossed over.
The plot itself showed enough promise to force me into persevering until the very end, but not without a struggle. It is a generic crime thriller story about a terrorist group conducting a weapons exchange, only to have an unexpected witness place their operation in jeopardy. Unfortunately, the novel fails in its execution, dawdling along without much of real interest, or indeed much action taking place. Picking up only towards the end with a few unexpected twists and turns.
As a result I would only rate Lemoncella Cocktail at 1 out of 4 stars. It may be bearable for those who like slow-burning crime novels, but I wouldn’t go into it expecting great things. I found the prose irritating, as though written in English by a foreigner with only basic knowledge of the language. The plot is overly long and stretched out, partly predictable and flat at times, however the story had some potential and might have been a bit more entertaining with some better execution.
******
Lemoncella Cocktail
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