3 out of 4 stars
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For Luna is a fast paced, action packed, crime thriller by Don Abma. As the first book in the Chase Adams series, it has everything from Russian mobsters and corruption, to redemption and romance.
Chase has changed his career after a severe injury, from professional hockey player to successful private investigator. Pushed on by the memory of his sister, Luna, he focuses on helping those who have succumbed to the streets. However, what starts out as a night out on the town with his friends, gets turned upside down when he meets Lisa. Lisa desperately needs Chase´s help to save her sister, Julie, who has become entangled with the Russian mob.
As Chase is drawn further into the dark underbelly of the Russian mafia, he starts to realize how far their connections actually go. Everywhere he turns there is deceit and corruption. Utilizing his connections with the FBI, he must decide on his own who he can really trust, not only with his own life but Lisa´s as well.
Written in third person and based in New York, the story takes the reader all over the city. There is some good imagery used here with the dark mazes of the FBI mimicking the never-ending web of the Russian mafia, catching Chase at every turn.
The story focuses on Chase and Lisa, with the characters of Julie, and FBI contacts, Matt and Fontaine, playing a lesser role. Chase comes across as a good-hearted man, helping those lost on the street to drugs, prostitution, and abuse. He is driven by a sense of guilt from not being there to help his sister and tries to redeem himself through his work. Lisa comes across as a strong-minded woman, who would do absolutely anything to save her sister. The secondary characters are much more secretive in their motives and loyalties, which provides a nice contrast to the open honesty of Chase and Lisa.
The story itself was fast paced and it keeps the reader guessing right until the end. There were some serious subjects incorporated into the writing, such as drug abuse, murder, torture, and prostitution. While there were a couple of gory scenes, the author didn’t let the story get too caught up in graphic descriptions, which I appreciated.
Unfortunately, there were a lot of punctuation errors. Also, at some times the sentences weren’t structured as well as they could have been, with unnecessary repetition of words. Both of these things impeded the overall flow of the story. Due to this, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars, as it would benefit from another edit. I would recommend this story to any who like fast-paced crime fiction, and who aren’t affected by gory scenes. I find that in a lot of crime fiction I am able to pick the ending and I was pleasantly surprised that this was not the case here, especially as this is Don Abma´s debut novel. A well-deserved congratulation to the author.
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For Luna
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This sounds like something right up my alley, as it really reminds me of Tom Clancy's books. I might have to pass, though, considering the structural errors you pointed out. I hope the author releases a new edition.
