Review by Kimbo93 -- The 11.05 Murders by Brian O'Hare

Kimbo93 · Post by **Kimbo93** » 30 Aug 2017, 20:08

[Following is a volunteer review of "The 11.05 Murders" by Brian O'Hare.]

2 out of 4 stars

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The 11:05 Murders by Brian O’Hare is classified as crime/thriller/mystery/horror. Inspector Sheehan and his crew of police officers are mystified as they try to solve a series of murders that occur on Tuesdays at 11:05 PM. There are plenty of suspects, and the victims seem to be linked to a group of students who attended Queen’s University years earlier. This novel is the second in a series (The Inspector Sheehan Mysteries), however The 11:05 Murders is easily read as a stand-alone story, and there’s no need to have read the first in the series to understand this book.

Murder mysteries are nearly always intriguing because the reader wants to keep reading to solve the mystery. The curiosity of murders repeated on the same day and time in this novel added another layer of intrigue. The plot was solid, however writing quirks and predictability have caused me to rate The 11:05 Murders 2 out of 4 stars. There were a lot of characters in this novel. It seemed to lack focus. I couldn’t tell whose story this was. After reading a couple of chapters, I realized this was the second in a series. Perhaps readers would benefit from reading the first in the series, simply to sort out all the characters. Since Inspector Sheehan is the title character of the series, I feel the novel would have been better suited (and less confusing) had it been written solely from his point of view.

Crime fiction and mystery lovers may enjoy this book. I am a bit finicky and found the author’s style distracted me from the plot. A couple of minor points in the book completely threw me out of the storyline. Very early on, the author mentions “records” being passed back and forth and then put in a “disc player”. This part of the story took place in 2002. Records? In 2002? This novel takes place in Ireland, and I’m an American reader. I’m willing to chalk that one up to a language difference. Perhaps compact discs are called records in Ireland? Later in the story, the police created a chalk outline of one of the victims. That seemed almost comical to me! Police don’t really still make chalk outlines, do they?

Another factor that I found distracting was the author’s word choice and unnatural dialogue. The author may be a very learned man, but his word choice came off as pretentious and almost offensive at times. Here are a few examples: “furtive surveillance”, “gormlessly”, “matters of serious import”, “kyphotic”, “endowed them with a glowing luminescence”, and “perspicacity” (not once, but twice!). I’m an educated reader and a lover of words; however this constant barrage of “high dollar” words was extremely annoying and detracted from the narrative. Furthermore, the dialogue among characters frequently seemed stilted and forced. I’m not quite sure why I felt this way, but it was pervasive throughout the novel.

Most mystery fans like storylines that keep them guessing. You won’t find that here. The killer becomes very obvious early on and might as well have a bright neon arrow pointing at him. In addition, the ending (not related to the crimes) is highly predictable and unbelievable. I don’t want to spoil it for future readers, but as a woman, I’m not buying what the author’s selling.

Grammatical errors were minimal in The 11:05 Murders, and it appeared to be professionally edited. As an American reader, I’m familiar with American police jargon. The many acronyms and abbreviations used in Irish law enforcement were foreign to me. I could figure out some of them by using context clues, but a glossary of terms would have been helpful.

All in all, The 11:05 Murders was just ok. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it. I haven’t been inspired to read the remaining books in the series. The value of a book to me simply comes down to: Would I read it again? The answer is no.

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The 11.05 Murders
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Mallory Whitaker · Post by **Mallory Whitaker** » 03 Sep 2017, 21:36

I agree with you - at times it definitely seemed to lack focus. I read in another review that they felt the author was of two minds about who the killer should be. I think there's some evidence pointing in that direction. There were a lot of large subplots that really didn't have a part in the large plot other than filling up time before the reveal and misdirecting the audience. I feel like they should've played a bigger part than simply a misdirect. However, I enjoyed the book overall. I greatly enjoyed your review as well!

Vivian Paschal · Post by **Vivian Paschal** » 06 Sep 2017, 16:08

Perhaps, the majority of your problems with the book stem from the differences between the setting and the environment you're familiar with (both in language and practices). Maybe you would have preferred it if it was a setting you could relate better with. I also don't think the characters were too many, but that's a matter of opinion. I understand your issue with his choice of words though; those were really big words that seemed to take a lot of effort. Generally, you seem really unimpressed. Maybe it's just not your kind of book, because most reviewers seem to love it. However, your review is really informative and passionate and I enjoyed reading it. Thank you so much for this honest review.

Manang Muyang · Post by **Manang Muyang** » 06 Sep 2017, 22:20

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Some readers gave glowing reviews of this book. You were not so impressed. Even Jesus had detractors! That's just the way it is.

You have your reasons for your rating, and you explained them quite well. Thanks, Kimbo93 for this honest review! It's all that is asked of us reviewers.