Review by lduperval -- The Dark Web Murders by Brian O'Hare
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lduperval
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Review by lduperval -- The Dark Web Murders by Brian O'Hare
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Dark Web Murders" by Brian O'Hare.]
The Dark Web Murders by Brian O’Hare is the fourth book in The Inspector Sheehan Mysteries series. In this latest opus, Chief Inspector Jim Sheehan and his team track a gruesome killer who publicizes his murders in a blog on the Dark Web.
Inspector Sheehan and his team face a growing list of bodies and are unable to determine who the killer is and why he is committing these murders. Tracking the killer exposes them to an elite private club where members pay vast amounts of money to satisfy their depraved desires. The team must figure out which one of those degenerates committed the murders and stop the activities of the club altogether.
For those who don't know, the Dark Web is a portion of the Internet that is not visible by Google, Bing, or any regular search engine. To access it you need a specialized browser called Tor and you need to understand how to access the Dark Web and how to search for the information you want.
Lest you decide to wade into these dark recesses of Web, know that you are putting yourself at risk. Many of the people who lurk there are unsavory types who are looking to buy and sell drugs, pay for or be paid to commit murders, or participate in other unpalatable activities.
The book is very well written and very detailed. There are very long sections where O’Hare explains in painful detail how conversations meander during police briefings. Those scenes could have been shortened but doing so would have removed from their realism. In fact, at the end of one very long chapter, I realized that it took me almost as long to read it as the event would have taken in real time. This isn’t quite John le Carré territory but I sense an influence.
There are periodic references to the third book in the series where something very dark occurred and it had lasting effects on the team. It's a good tactic from the author to encourage a new reader to buy the rest of the series.
I like that O’Hare provides a detailed list of the characters in the story. He also explains some of the lingo used throughout the book. However, the characters were developed in such a way that I did not need to go back to this initial list. Then again, maybe it helped that it was my first exposure to this series. It must be useful for long-time readers of the series.
My chief criticism of the book has to do with the resolution of the case. In the story, after every kill the murderer writes a blog post where he explains the murder he just committed and announces the next one. I figured out the final clue almost immediately while it took the greater part of a chapter for the team to resolve it. For me, it affected the credibility of the task force.
Although I solved the last clue quickly, I could not understand the motive. That came later in the book where O’Hare indicated that he had dropped clues throughout the story, pointing the reader toward the murderer. It wasn't a slapdash ending. It was a satisfying conclusion.
I recommend The Dark Web Murders to people who like thrillers with intricate details about police operations. If you like very fast-paced thrillers with lots of car chases, never-ending gun battles, and short scenes, you might be disappointed by this one.
I’m somewhat on the fence about the score. I should deduct 0.5 stars because there were more editing mistakes than I wanted. But instead, in accordance with mathematical rounding rules, I give this book an enthusiastic four out of four stars.
If you don’t know Brian O’Hare, get to know him. You won't regret it.
******
The Dark Web Murders
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The Dark Web Murders by Brian O’Hare is the fourth book in The Inspector Sheehan Mysteries series. In this latest opus, Chief Inspector Jim Sheehan and his team track a gruesome killer who publicizes his murders in a blog on the Dark Web.
Inspector Sheehan and his team face a growing list of bodies and are unable to determine who the killer is and why he is committing these murders. Tracking the killer exposes them to an elite private club where members pay vast amounts of money to satisfy their depraved desires. The team must figure out which one of those degenerates committed the murders and stop the activities of the club altogether.
For those who don't know, the Dark Web is a portion of the Internet that is not visible by Google, Bing, or any regular search engine. To access it you need a specialized browser called Tor and you need to understand how to access the Dark Web and how to search for the information you want.
Lest you decide to wade into these dark recesses of Web, know that you are putting yourself at risk. Many of the people who lurk there are unsavory types who are looking to buy and sell drugs, pay for or be paid to commit murders, or participate in other unpalatable activities.
The book is very well written and very detailed. There are very long sections where O’Hare explains in painful detail how conversations meander during police briefings. Those scenes could have been shortened but doing so would have removed from their realism. In fact, at the end of one very long chapter, I realized that it took me almost as long to read it as the event would have taken in real time. This isn’t quite John le Carré territory but I sense an influence.
There are periodic references to the third book in the series where something very dark occurred and it had lasting effects on the team. It's a good tactic from the author to encourage a new reader to buy the rest of the series.
I like that O’Hare provides a detailed list of the characters in the story. He also explains some of the lingo used throughout the book. However, the characters were developed in such a way that I did not need to go back to this initial list. Then again, maybe it helped that it was my first exposure to this series. It must be useful for long-time readers of the series.
My chief criticism of the book has to do with the resolution of the case. In the story, after every kill the murderer writes a blog post where he explains the murder he just committed and announces the next one. I figured out the final clue almost immediately while it took the greater part of a chapter for the team to resolve it. For me, it affected the credibility of the task force.
Although I solved the last clue quickly, I could not understand the motive. That came later in the book where O’Hare indicated that he had dropped clues throughout the story, pointing the reader toward the murderer. It wasn't a slapdash ending. It was a satisfying conclusion.
I recommend The Dark Web Murders to people who like thrillers with intricate details about police operations. If you like very fast-paced thrillers with lots of car chases, never-ending gun battles, and short scenes, you might be disappointed by this one.
I’m somewhat on the fence about the score. I should deduct 0.5 stars because there were more editing mistakes than I wanted. But instead, in accordance with mathematical rounding rules, I give this book an enthusiastic four out of four stars.
If you don’t know Brian O’Hare, get to know him. You won't regret it.
******
The Dark Web Murders
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: The Vanished by Pejay Bradley
