Review of The FBI Inspector
-
Suzzete
- Posts: 24
- Joined: 25 May 2017, 05:32
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 5
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-suzzete.html
- Latest Review: The FBI Inspector by Jay Dubya
Review of The FBI Inspector
[Following is a volunteer review of "The FBI Inspector" by Jay Dubya.]
The FBI Inspector by Jay Dubya is a fictional crime book with twenty six mini-stories. It centers around Inspector Joe Giralo and his three agents namely Salvatore Velardi, Arthur Orsi and Dan Blachford as they solve crimes. Each story normally starts with some small talk as a sort of ice breaker, later the inspector informs them of their new case and what he plans for them to do. Their small talk is like a ritual, it must happen before any other business is conducted.
There's a lot of description in everything the team talks about, even when it's not necessary. This wouldn't be a problem if the details were a crucial part of the puzzle to solving a crime. Personally, I felt like the descriptions focused on the wrong stories. To some extent, I lost the plot and had to reread some scenes. If it were a script for a comic show, then the detailing would be okay, but a lot of the conversations in the stories were like narration and could have been avoided.
In my opinion, the writing failed to capture my anticipation or suspense. I was looking forward to seeing actual fieldwork, consultations or conversations with the technical teams that went hunting for digital data or questioning witnesses and suspects. I would have loved to be involved in the crime-solving process; the team hitting a few dead ends, some false positives, starting over again and eventually the joy of solving a puzzle. Most of that was left out or done in the background and mentioned later as part of the chief’s prowess. Suffice it to say, I am a little disappointed that neither the three agents nor I were part of the crime-solving. It also felt like for the trio; that is; Salvatore, Arthur and Dan being an agent was a by-the-way job and not a full-time occupation. For agents that have been in the industry for more than ten years, there is little to show for their investigative expertise. I get that the author wanted to highlight chief Giralo’s ‘psychic powers’ and his perceptiveness, but in doing so, he portrayed the chief’s agents as newbies with very little confidence in their profession and even less experience. I can't tell whether it's because the chief had the information for much longer periods than his agents or perhaps he delighted in keeping them in the dark. Nonetheless, the agents should have been given room for growth. I noticed the author capitalized the first letters of boys, men, fellas, guys and boss whenever the chief and his agents were conversing. It's my belief that the author used it as a way of displaying the respect shared among the four men but I could be wrong.
That said, the book is full of subtle humor and the relationship between the inspector and his agents is respectful and lighthearted even though the chief’s small talk tends to exasperate his agents. It exasperated me too. The author did a good job depicting the chief as a generous man, his entire team has a very strong code of ethics and they all seem to be genuine close friends who enjoy working together.
I rate this book a 2 out of 4 stars because, firstly, some of the sentences are quite long and there’s a lot of detailing on stories that are not relevant to the crime being solved. Secondly, I feel the agents should have been given a chance to grow their skills while still showcasing the chief's “mystical powers”. Lastly, some of the cases felt a little theoretical with barely any fieldwork. The book didn't match up to my expectations, however, I believe it can still be enjoyed by others. If not for the complex English used in writing this book, I would recommend teenagers and young adults to give it a try, but as a comic book.
******
The FBI Inspector
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords
The FBI Inspector by Jay Dubya is a fictional crime book with twenty six mini-stories. It centers around Inspector Joe Giralo and his three agents namely Salvatore Velardi, Arthur Orsi and Dan Blachford as they solve crimes. Each story normally starts with some small talk as a sort of ice breaker, later the inspector informs them of their new case and what he plans for them to do. Their small talk is like a ritual, it must happen before any other business is conducted.
There's a lot of description in everything the team talks about, even when it's not necessary. This wouldn't be a problem if the details were a crucial part of the puzzle to solving a crime. Personally, I felt like the descriptions focused on the wrong stories. To some extent, I lost the plot and had to reread some scenes. If it were a script for a comic show, then the detailing would be okay, but a lot of the conversations in the stories were like narration and could have been avoided.
In my opinion, the writing failed to capture my anticipation or suspense. I was looking forward to seeing actual fieldwork, consultations or conversations with the technical teams that went hunting for digital data or questioning witnesses and suspects. I would have loved to be involved in the crime-solving process; the team hitting a few dead ends, some false positives, starting over again and eventually the joy of solving a puzzle. Most of that was left out or done in the background and mentioned later as part of the chief’s prowess. Suffice it to say, I am a little disappointed that neither the three agents nor I were part of the crime-solving. It also felt like for the trio; that is; Salvatore, Arthur and Dan being an agent was a by-the-way job and not a full-time occupation. For agents that have been in the industry for more than ten years, there is little to show for their investigative expertise. I get that the author wanted to highlight chief Giralo’s ‘psychic powers’ and his perceptiveness, but in doing so, he portrayed the chief’s agents as newbies with very little confidence in their profession and even less experience. I can't tell whether it's because the chief had the information for much longer periods than his agents or perhaps he delighted in keeping them in the dark. Nonetheless, the agents should have been given room for growth. I noticed the author capitalized the first letters of boys, men, fellas, guys and boss whenever the chief and his agents were conversing. It's my belief that the author used it as a way of displaying the respect shared among the four men but I could be wrong.
That said, the book is full of subtle humor and the relationship between the inspector and his agents is respectful and lighthearted even though the chief’s small talk tends to exasperate his agents. It exasperated me too. The author did a good job depicting the chief as a generous man, his entire team has a very strong code of ethics and they all seem to be genuine close friends who enjoy working together.
I rate this book a 2 out of 4 stars because, firstly, some of the sentences are quite long and there’s a lot of detailing on stories that are not relevant to the crime being solved. Secondly, I feel the agents should have been given a chance to grow their skills while still showcasing the chief's “mystical powers”. Lastly, some of the cases felt a little theoretical with barely any fieldwork. The book didn't match up to my expectations, however, I believe it can still be enjoyed by others. If not for the complex English used in writing this book, I would recommend teenagers and young adults to give it a try, but as a comic book.
******
The FBI Inspector
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords
Latest Review: The FBI Inspector by Jay Dubya
