Review of The Easter Make Believers
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Iulia Diana
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- Latest Review: The Easter Make Believers by Finn Bell
Review of The Easter Make Believers
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Easter Make Believers" by Finn Bell.]
A light, engaging crime fiction read about the overlap between organised crime and the life of a quiet, seemingly uneventful community. The story is set in motion when Tobe and Nick, two detectives with the the Gang Intelligence Centre, receive what seems to be an inconsequential (but decidedly odd) call to Lawrence, a small, quiet town - an unlikely place for detectives working organised crime to be called to; yet the city of Lawrence has a more intricate past that seems to have dug its way into the present. The call they respond to turns out to be an active hostage situation: the Chens, a family of four, had been taken hostage. Baffling unfolding events set Tobe, Nick, and everyone else on an attempt to get ahead of events they know they do not understand. With help from Becca, a resourceful reporter, Tobe and Nick seem to be asking some of the right questions, pulling at the right threads; but the odds are against them and a storm is brewing.
While the overall plot can be deciphered quite early on by an attentive reader, there are enough well-crafted twists and turns throughout the story to keep the reading experience enticing. And if those are not enough, some of the dialogues between the characters might compensate. The book’s language is truly worthy of praise and I would argue this is its main strength. The writing style is fun and witty, and the book playfully scratches the surface of some philosophical and psychological “What ifs”. This story might have passed by as ordinary had it not been for the linguistic craftsmanship of the author.
A shortcoming of the story is perhaps the lack of insight we get into the characters. There is little psychological and behavioural complexity to most characters, and by the book’s end, we don’t really know much about them. There is not much characterisation of Nick and Toby outside the relationship with each other and implicitly, their job. It is possible however that this was the author’s intention: to only briefly sketch his characters’ personae with an almost naïve simplicity. After all, there is consistency in the fact that each character is given just enough dimension to come within reach of "coming to life”. To me, this potentiated an “almost within reach” theme that seemed to be both subtly and explicitly present throughout many aspects of the story.
The book is well-edited, with minor punctuation aspects that might be questioned, but that may well have been a stylistic decision rather than editing mistakes. Overall, the editing of the book is great.
I rate this book 4 out of 5. This is mainly because of the characters' lack of complexity but overall, it is a really pleasant read.
******
The Easter Make Believers
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
A light, engaging crime fiction read about the overlap between organised crime and the life of a quiet, seemingly uneventful community. The story is set in motion when Tobe and Nick, two detectives with the the Gang Intelligence Centre, receive what seems to be an inconsequential (but decidedly odd) call to Lawrence, a small, quiet town - an unlikely place for detectives working organised crime to be called to; yet the city of Lawrence has a more intricate past that seems to have dug its way into the present. The call they respond to turns out to be an active hostage situation: the Chens, a family of four, had been taken hostage. Baffling unfolding events set Tobe, Nick, and everyone else on an attempt to get ahead of events they know they do not understand. With help from Becca, a resourceful reporter, Tobe and Nick seem to be asking some of the right questions, pulling at the right threads; but the odds are against them and a storm is brewing.
While the overall plot can be deciphered quite early on by an attentive reader, there are enough well-crafted twists and turns throughout the story to keep the reading experience enticing. And if those are not enough, some of the dialogues between the characters might compensate. The book’s language is truly worthy of praise and I would argue this is its main strength. The writing style is fun and witty, and the book playfully scratches the surface of some philosophical and psychological “What ifs”. This story might have passed by as ordinary had it not been for the linguistic craftsmanship of the author.
A shortcoming of the story is perhaps the lack of insight we get into the characters. There is little psychological and behavioural complexity to most characters, and by the book’s end, we don’t really know much about them. There is not much characterisation of Nick and Toby outside the relationship with each other and implicitly, their job. It is possible however that this was the author’s intention: to only briefly sketch his characters’ personae with an almost naïve simplicity. After all, there is consistency in the fact that each character is given just enough dimension to come within reach of "coming to life”. To me, this potentiated an “almost within reach” theme that seemed to be both subtly and explicitly present throughout many aspects of the story.
The book is well-edited, with minor punctuation aspects that might be questioned, but that may well have been a stylistic decision rather than editing mistakes. Overall, the editing of the book is great.
I rate this book 4 out of 5. This is mainly because of the characters' lack of complexity but overall, it is a really pleasant read.
******
The Easter Make Believers
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: The Easter Make Believers by Finn Bell
