Official Review: Not Here, Not Now by Martin M Clark

[Huini Hellen]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Not Here, Not Now" by Martin M Clark.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Detective Chief Inspector Victor Morgan (Vic) of the Metropolitan Police (Met.), Major Acts Squad is in his office, when Frazer, his colleague, brings in news on Lucy Patterson's case. Frazer believes that his breakthrough points out to one murderer, Howard Kelly. Fortunately, for the detectives, Kelly had been careless enough to reveal his conspicuous tattoo while opening his car door at the crime scene.

Not Here, Not Now by Martin M Clark presents us with a classic storyline with dynamic characters that are drawn from both the real world and the world of sage. This story allows us to follow Vic's lead in trying to establish Kelly's pattern or rather, the timetable through which he (Kelly) operated. However, there is an entire cloud of mystery surrounding Kelly's recently acquired powers and Vic has to tread carefully, even though he has a demon for a liaison. The story-line runs along demonism and human sacrifices, with efforts of the Met to curb this and apprehend the culprits.

I commend the author for choosing the first-person point of view as the primary narration style. The unique characterization and storyline of this book are better experienced as the first-hand experience resonates clearly with a reader. Personally, my comprehension of the plot development was simplified by the fact that I had a real-time update of every action and subsequent reaction in the book.

Additionally, I appreciated the role played by dialogue in advancing the plot of the story. The conversations between various characters gave life to the story and placed events in their immediate contexts. Through these dialogues, the author foregrounded and foreshadowed events without interrupting the flow of the story. Hence, I had a holistic understanding of every scene and the actions that characterized different scenes.


I would also like to appreciate the adoption of vivid description, especially in recreating the gory scenes. Resonating with the detectives would not be easier enough, had I not formed mental and graphical pictures of the crime scenes. The production of this book must have included professional editing, as I did not find a single typographical error in the entire book. However, I had a problem with the ending of the story. It would be ignorant to conclude that the abrupt conclusion provided for suspense in the novel because a lot of time and characters were invested into creating and developing the conflict, yet the whole issue was resolved in about ten pages. Therefore, a revision of this book would be necessary to expand the conclusion.

I recommend this gripping novel to lovers of dark mystery tales, especially those that are laced with detective work. Unfortunately, I'll have to award this book three out of four stars because of the faulty conclusion that I believe still needs to be worked on.

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Not Here, Not Now
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[Dartemis]

It is disappointing that the ending was rushed. I hate when a good book ends horribly like this. It always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Thank you for your detailed review.

[Njatha77]

Thanks for the review. I'm in the middle of reading a crime-mystery story myself (Waves Break by Barry Litherland), might check this one out soon as I am done.

[Huini Hellen]

It is disappointing that the ending was rushed. I hate when a good book ends horribly like this. It always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Thank you for your detailed review.

Thank you for passing by.

[Huini Hellen]

Thanks for the review. I'm in the middle of reading a crime-mystery story myself (Waves Break by Barry Litherland), might check this one out soon as I am done.

Happy reading.

[NetMassimo]

This looks like an intriguing out-of-the-ordinary mystery, so I'm puzzled by the abrupt end. Either the author ran out of fantasy or he's planning a sequel that reprises that storyline. Regardless, thank you for your great review!

[Huini Hellen]

This looks like an intriguing out-of-the-ordinary mystery, so I'm puzzled by the abrupt end. Either the author ran out of fantasy or he's planning a sequel that reprises that storyline. Regardless, thank you for your great review!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[Lostsoul20]

I, too find endings like this frustrating. I also, don't like cliffhangers either, they leave you guessing. I enjoyed your review.

[Suzer6440 xyz]

This looks like a great book. I appreciate this detailed review.