ARA Review by marshwj17+ of Open Season
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marshwj17+
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ARA Review by marshwj17+ of Open Season
[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, Open Season.]
Rating 4 out of 5
As a police procedural, Open Season: Book One has a lot going for it. It brings a lot of realistic detail to police practices and the roles of detectives, in this case two female detectives, one white (Sarah) and one black (Angel). They are thrown together in the wake of Sarah’s self-defense shooting of young black boy in Dallas, a killing that has taken the life of her male partner and stirred up considerable racial agita.
The dialogue throughout is taut and well developed, and Miller’s staccato sentences keep the narrative flying along. The tension between Sarah and Angel seems very real, as do their conscious attempts to get along and to swallow their respective pride; Miller spends considerable time trying to get into their heads and understand their mutual distrust.
They become enmeshed in a complex and widely publicized case of a serial killer garroting his victims and communicating with a dogged TV reporter – a situation that drives the department brass crazy. Their lieutenant, for instance, seems constantly agitated by lack of progress in the case.
One drawback, to me, is the lack of character development. We see Sarah and her lonely life with her cat, but she is never physically described in more than an occasional phrase; I found it hard to picture her, but her anger and fragility are made clear. Lesser characters are even less developed, and there is only intermittent description of place that would help readers visualize where the action is set. Little, for instance, ties the action to Dallas; apart from a handful of location names, it could be almost anywhere.
I wanted to like Sarah, to see her as the heroine of the piece, but she’s too angry, too broken, and the final pages do nothing to redeem her. Angel comes off only slightly better, and the undertone of racial animosity in the novel seems very real and undeniably dark.
***
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Rating 4 out of 5
As a police procedural, Open Season: Book One has a lot going for it. It brings a lot of realistic detail to police practices and the roles of detectives, in this case two female detectives, one white (Sarah) and one black (Angel). They are thrown together in the wake of Sarah’s self-defense shooting of young black boy in Dallas, a killing that has taken the life of her male partner and stirred up considerable racial agita.
The dialogue throughout is taut and well developed, and Miller’s staccato sentences keep the narrative flying along. The tension between Sarah and Angel seems very real, as do their conscious attempts to get along and to swallow their respective pride; Miller spends considerable time trying to get into their heads and understand their mutual distrust.
They become enmeshed in a complex and widely publicized case of a serial killer garroting his victims and communicating with a dogged TV reporter – a situation that drives the department brass crazy. Their lieutenant, for instance, seems constantly agitated by lack of progress in the case.
One drawback, to me, is the lack of character development. We see Sarah and her lonely life with her cat, but she is never physically described in more than an occasional phrase; I found it hard to picture her, but her anger and fragility are made clear. Lesser characters are even less developed, and there is only intermittent description of place that would help readers visualize where the action is set. Little, for instance, ties the action to Dallas; apart from a handful of location names, it could be almost anywhere.
I wanted to like Sarah, to see her as the heroine of the piece, but she’s too angry, too broken, and the final pages do nothing to redeem her. Angel comes off only slightly better, and the undertone of racial animosity in the novel seems very real and undeniably dark.
***
View Open Season on Bookshelves
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Maryannwrites-15
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Thank you so much for the thoughtful review of my book. I'm so glad that the overall the story line and the writing satisfied you as a reader. I do appreciate you taking the time to read my book and write a review. That means so much to those of us who write and publish stories.
All best and happy reading!
Maryann
All best and happy reading!
Maryann
