Review of Bargains

[Roy Nick]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Bargains" by Jack Billings.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Charlie Watson deals with both legitimate and nefarious stuff. Anything that yields a decent income is worth a risk. This time it doesn’t end well. His corpse is discovered with bullets in his chest. Plus, the building housing his workplace is ruined by flames of fire. Detectives Betty Kovaks and Jeff Wheeler are summoned to investigate the matter.

The two cops both agree there’s something questionable about the fire. It could be arson! Charlie dealt with crooks of all kinds, and pinpointing a specific person to the crime scene will not be easy. Betty and Wheeler work tirelessly to bring the culprit to justice and add a win to their books. The question is, who wanted Charlie dead and why? Better still, who stands to benefit from an act of arson? Bargains by Jack Billings will enchant lovers of crime thriller novels.

I admired numerous things. One, the story stands out with the uniqueness of each character. Being a fugitive, Felix was always on the run and on the lookout for anything suspicious. Patel acted in haste to save his financial situation. Nervous and trembling before the cops, prison life didn’t befit him. Rudy had to decide between saving his brother and escaping the detectives, thereby dodging prison time.

Reading the book from the perspectives of both criminals and authorities showcased the disparity between the two. Acting in haste from greed, sometimes criminals make mistakes. Conversely, the scrutiny of the cops helps them identify the trivial errors made by the offenders.

The book contained a foreign language with no translation offered. In addition, there were unfamiliar terms related to the police world, often written in initials. The author would have made the work easier by including their meanings on the concluding page. That is what I despised.

I only found a few missing punctuation marks and grammatical flaws. Therefore, the book is professionally edited. Betty rose through the ranks to become a veteran detective. Repeatedly, she faced mean remarks but still stood out because of her courage and prowess. As a feminist, I found that aspect worth praising the author.

Kovaks and Jeff were relentless in finding the killer and the motive behind the heinous acts. I enjoyed perusing the sections where they went through their findings and progress. It was like living in the minds of a detective. For these reasons, I rate the book 4 out of 4 stars. I recommend Bargains to anyone interested in crime-themed novels.

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Bargains
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[Mbenma Esther 080]

Reading a crime thriller novel gives me perspectives on handling critical situations. Thanks for the review.

[Aisha Yakub]

This should make a great read. Thank you for the review.

[Blessing Odii]

This crime thriller will be worth my read. I love the review.

[NetMassimo]

This seems like a crime thriller with an engaging storyline and well-constructed characters. Thank you for your great review!