Review by Barbara Larkin -- The Juicy Fruit Man
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Barbara Larkin
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Review by Barbara Larkin -- The Juicy Fruit Man
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Juicy Fruit Man" by LaMar Going.]
The Juicy Fruit Man is a fiction novel written by LaMar Going. The first instalment in the Declan Noakes Thriller series, the story follows an army veteran as he faces the dangers of an illegal drug operation.
Declan Noakes is a Vietnam veteran, still dealing with the haunting trauma of war. After serving, he drifts from place to place with nothing tying him down, looking for something to exorcise his demons. In the meantime, he runs a small – and very illegal – operation with his cousin, Rachel, selling a product known as ‘Juicy Fruit’. His only desire is a life of peace, but when greedy fingers reach out from his past, he’s forced to defend himself and his family, losing something precious along the way.
There is a wonderful relationship portrayed between the main character, Declan, and his cousin, Rachel. They had a supportive closeness not only in the familial sense, but also with respects to their business operations, both legal and illegal. There was a ton of ribbing between the two that felt like the regular love-hate interactions that siblings have. I also liked the little comedic inserts concerning Zip, their pet dog, and her embarrassed bowel movements. The descriptions of her reactions cracked me up a time or two.
I only disliked two parts of the story. The first is that there were so many conflicting parties that cropped up simultaneously near to the climax of the novel. Everyone’s motives and chosen sides get somewhat muddled, probably not helped by frequent scene transitions and a lack of titled chapters for point-of-view references. The second has to do with one of the main characters, Rachel. She settles a great deal of blame on Declan’s shoulders regarding the danger they attract (this doesn’t exactly hurt their relationship, as he accepts it) because of their operation, yet seems to readily partake in reaping the benefits.
The fact that The Juicy Fruit Man is shelved as a thriller novel is a pretty obvious hint that it deals with some rather heavy topics. If interested in picking up this novel, readers should watch out for a healthy amount of gore, profanity, racial slurs, and just a general overspill of testosterone. Despite all this, multiple relevant issues exist under all that, such as dealing with PTSD and the corruptness of law enforcement.
I found this book to be very well-executed. There were only six errors which were so simple that they were almost negligible. The plot was also very realistic, and though I couldn’t really connect to his character, Declan’s experiences and attitude came off as genuine. There were several rectangular boxes in place of punctuation marks that appeared to be formatting errors, though they weren’t too distracting. All in all, I do think the novel was professionally edited.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I think this rating is justified as it has a decent plot, great delivery and is mostly grammatically correct. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy reading about the lives of army vets post-war or those who like a good thriller.
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The Juicy Fruit Man
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The Juicy Fruit Man is a fiction novel written by LaMar Going. The first instalment in the Declan Noakes Thriller series, the story follows an army veteran as he faces the dangers of an illegal drug operation.
Declan Noakes is a Vietnam veteran, still dealing with the haunting trauma of war. After serving, he drifts from place to place with nothing tying him down, looking for something to exorcise his demons. In the meantime, he runs a small – and very illegal – operation with his cousin, Rachel, selling a product known as ‘Juicy Fruit’. His only desire is a life of peace, but when greedy fingers reach out from his past, he’s forced to defend himself and his family, losing something precious along the way.
There is a wonderful relationship portrayed between the main character, Declan, and his cousin, Rachel. They had a supportive closeness not only in the familial sense, but also with respects to their business operations, both legal and illegal. There was a ton of ribbing between the two that felt like the regular love-hate interactions that siblings have. I also liked the little comedic inserts concerning Zip, their pet dog, and her embarrassed bowel movements. The descriptions of her reactions cracked me up a time or two.
I only disliked two parts of the story. The first is that there were so many conflicting parties that cropped up simultaneously near to the climax of the novel. Everyone’s motives and chosen sides get somewhat muddled, probably not helped by frequent scene transitions and a lack of titled chapters for point-of-view references. The second has to do with one of the main characters, Rachel. She settles a great deal of blame on Declan’s shoulders regarding the danger they attract (this doesn’t exactly hurt their relationship, as he accepts it) because of their operation, yet seems to readily partake in reaping the benefits.
The fact that The Juicy Fruit Man is shelved as a thriller novel is a pretty obvious hint that it deals with some rather heavy topics. If interested in picking up this novel, readers should watch out for a healthy amount of gore, profanity, racial slurs, and just a general overspill of testosterone. Despite all this, multiple relevant issues exist under all that, such as dealing with PTSD and the corruptness of law enforcement.
I found this book to be very well-executed. There were only six errors which were so simple that they were almost negligible. The plot was also very realistic, and though I couldn’t really connect to his character, Declan’s experiences and attitude came off as genuine. There were several rectangular boxes in place of punctuation marks that appeared to be formatting errors, though they weren’t too distracting. All in all, I do think the novel was professionally edited.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I think this rating is justified as it has a decent plot, great delivery and is mostly grammatically correct. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy reading about the lives of army vets post-war or those who like a good thriller.
******
The Juicy Fruit Man
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: We are Voulhire: The Flesh of the Mind by Matthew Tysz
