Official Review: Reckless Illusions by Claude Dancourt
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A P Bullard
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- Latest Review: "Reckless Illusions" by Claude Dancourt
Official Review: Reckless Illusions by Claude Dancourt
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Reckless Illusions" by Claude Dancourt.]
3 out of 4 stars
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Neve Lass is a private investigator, one who generally goes after insurance claims. She has worked hard to get where she is, and has earned a reputation as an intelligent, formidable investigator. Unfortunately, the sexist and embittered Detective Ian Braich Jr. has the opposite opinion. They generally manage to stay out of the way of one another, keeping their shared history buried deep, but this time their cases overlap in a way that would impact more than they could have ever imagined.
A man is shot in the head and left in a park. Neve is attacked in her home. A bomb is set off at the precinct. A mysterious caller leaves threatening messages. Neve is hired to investigate the expensive – half a million dollars worth – damage done to an irreplaceable painting owned by an old lady. They all seem to be completely separate incidents, but everyone soon gets a nasty surprise.
Mystery, crime, and just a little bit of romance make this plot an interesting one. From the very beginning, I liked the main character. I wanted Neve to do well, and I was rooting for her. I liked the mutual attraction she and Ian both harbor, but steadfastly deny. The action was gripping, and I definitely felt emotionally invested in what was going on.
The story and the idea were interesting, and the characters were all well-rounded and strong enough that it could have gone over very well. However, this novel was poorly executed. The abundance of grammatical errors, awkward syntax, confusing dialogue structure, and the odd phrasing of some things really jarred me as a reader. They ruined the pacing and the flow of the reading, which lessened the intensity of some parts. It is hard to remain focused on the inner workings of the criminal work taking place, and how everyone is dealing with it, when the reader is stuck trying to figure out who is speaking, and what the author is trying to say.
With more editing, this could be very good. I think it would sell really well, should someone take the time to edit and work out some of those awkward kinks. It’s a shame, really, because the plot was so good. Everything pieced together really well, which is what keeps it at 3 out of 4 stars. The issues were problematic enough for me to want to give it only 2 out of 4 stars, but the plot really was terrific.
******
Reckless Illusions
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on Barnes and Noble | on iTunes | on Smashwords
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3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Neve Lass is a private investigator, one who generally goes after insurance claims. She has worked hard to get where she is, and has earned a reputation as an intelligent, formidable investigator. Unfortunately, the sexist and embittered Detective Ian Braich Jr. has the opposite opinion. They generally manage to stay out of the way of one another, keeping their shared history buried deep, but this time their cases overlap in a way that would impact more than they could have ever imagined.
A man is shot in the head and left in a park. Neve is attacked in her home. A bomb is set off at the precinct. A mysterious caller leaves threatening messages. Neve is hired to investigate the expensive – half a million dollars worth – damage done to an irreplaceable painting owned by an old lady. They all seem to be completely separate incidents, but everyone soon gets a nasty surprise.
Mystery, crime, and just a little bit of romance make this plot an interesting one. From the very beginning, I liked the main character. I wanted Neve to do well, and I was rooting for her. I liked the mutual attraction she and Ian both harbor, but steadfastly deny. The action was gripping, and I definitely felt emotionally invested in what was going on.
The story and the idea were interesting, and the characters were all well-rounded and strong enough that it could have gone over very well. However, this novel was poorly executed. The abundance of grammatical errors, awkward syntax, confusing dialogue structure, and the odd phrasing of some things really jarred me as a reader. They ruined the pacing and the flow of the reading, which lessened the intensity of some parts. It is hard to remain focused on the inner workings of the criminal work taking place, and how everyone is dealing with it, when the reader is stuck trying to figure out who is speaking, and what the author is trying to say.
With more editing, this could be very good. I think it would sell really well, should someone take the time to edit and work out some of those awkward kinks. It’s a shame, really, because the plot was so good. Everything pieced together really well, which is what keeps it at 3 out of 4 stars. The issues were problematic enough for me to want to give it only 2 out of 4 stars, but the plot really was terrific.
******
Reckless Illusions
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on Barnes and Noble | on iTunes | on Smashwords
Like A P Bullard's review? Post a comment saying so!
A. P. Bullard
Latest Review: "Reckless Illusions" by Claude Dancourt
