3 out of 4 stars
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Pancake Money by Finn Bell is a strangely wonderful book. The story focuses on detective Bobby Ress and a series of shocking and grotesque crimes that have befallen the city of Dunedin New Zealand. We read not only about these crimes but about the struggles that Detective Ress is going through in his personal life as well.
One of the first things I thought when I started reading was that the family plot would take over and the crime/thriller that I was looking forward to reading would turn into a tale of family troubles. I was very happy that Bell was able to keep that from happening. While the plot didn’t take over, it did a great job of showing us the personal life of the detective. It really helped to flesh out the character of Bobby Ress. I wasn’t a fan of how his wife spoke though. I feel that the term of endearment "lover" was used too much, and it just started to feel repetitive.
I enjoyed the fact that this book didn't end with such a stereotypical plot twist. It had the characters explain who did it and their motivation for doing all these horrific crimes. This is different from many crime/thriller books that feel the need to have two or more plot twists to keep the reader interested. I was pleasantly surprised by the closure I felt with the ending.
A twist from most books, the author includes some more information about some of the different characters, places, and groups in the book. He not only makes it clear whether he created the whole thing or if it is real. It was fun and informative to read about some of the people and places and made me go and research them on my own just out of curiosity.
While Bell uses the beauty of New Zealand to his advantage, he doesn't give huge sweeping three-page descriptions of the landscapes. He gives just enough to give the reader an enjoyable visual of the scene without boring you.
I give this book 3 out of 4 stars. The only reason I give it 3 and not 4 is simply because of the peculiar writing style. It is written in the first person, but certain sections of the writing interrupt the flow while reading. I'm speaking of the inner dialogue Detective Ress has and not on any of the actual character interaction. Overall this is a wonderful book and I would recommend this novel to anyone who is interested in a dark crime thriller with some interesting New Zealand culture as a wonderful companion.
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Pancake Money
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