Official Review: When the Rules Don't Apply
Posted: 09 May 2018, 13:12
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "When the Rules Don't Apply" by Gerard Shirar.]
3 out of 4 stars
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When the Rules Don’t Apply is a fast-paced crime thriller that kept me captivated till the very last page. Timothy Flaherty and Donny Faye attended the same school as boys. Donny was a troubled child. He had challenges with school work and did not make friends easily. Timothy and Donny were drafted into the army during the Vietnam War. They survived the war and came home to uncertain futures. Timothy became a lawyer handling petty criminal cases. Donny went into a life of crime. They did not meet for several years until Donny contacted Timothy to retain him as his defense counsel. Donny’s defense was Timothy’s first high profile criminal case.
The story is divided into two parts. Part one of this book is largely about Donny’s life and adventures. It is a shocking tale of life in the underworld. It gives readers a glimpse into the mind of a killer. I did not like the character Donny. I found myself wishing each crime would be his last. The story is told in first person narrative, but with multiple points of view. Chapter one was written from Timothy’s point of view. The switch to Donny’s point of view in chapter two took me a little by surprise. The second part of the book is an account of the meeting between Timothy and Donny. It describes how Timothy tried to save Donny from a life sentence to jail. It contains a lot of intriguing courtroom drama which I enjoyed reading. I also enjoyed the few details on crime scene investigation and ballistics.
The writing was very good with vivid descriptions of settings that evoked imagery. The characters were diverse and deep. It was easy to visualize them. The author had a way with words that added some wit to his writing. An example of one such description that I liked is this:
“Faye drank heavily when he felt insecure, or angry, or disappointed, or for any reason, or no reason.”
If you do not like graphic accounts of violence and nudity, it may be better to avoid reading this book. This book was a fabulous psychological thriller. Even though I did not like the graphic details of violence, I found the plot captivating with several unexpected twists and turns. I couldn’t wait to find out how it would end. I was a little worried I would not find the ending satisfactory, but I did.
This book would have benefited from another round of editing to eliminate the grammatical and punctuation errors that I noticed in the book. I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars because it was an enjoyable read. I could not give it a 4-star rating because of the grammatical errors which I found very distracting. Readers of crime thrillers will enjoy reading this book.
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When the Rules Don't Apply
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
When the Rules Don’t Apply is a fast-paced crime thriller that kept me captivated till the very last page. Timothy Flaherty and Donny Faye attended the same school as boys. Donny was a troubled child. He had challenges with school work and did not make friends easily. Timothy and Donny were drafted into the army during the Vietnam War. They survived the war and came home to uncertain futures. Timothy became a lawyer handling petty criminal cases. Donny went into a life of crime. They did not meet for several years until Donny contacted Timothy to retain him as his defense counsel. Donny’s defense was Timothy’s first high profile criminal case.
The story is divided into two parts. Part one of this book is largely about Donny’s life and adventures. It is a shocking tale of life in the underworld. It gives readers a glimpse into the mind of a killer. I did not like the character Donny. I found myself wishing each crime would be his last. The story is told in first person narrative, but with multiple points of view. Chapter one was written from Timothy’s point of view. The switch to Donny’s point of view in chapter two took me a little by surprise. The second part of the book is an account of the meeting between Timothy and Donny. It describes how Timothy tried to save Donny from a life sentence to jail. It contains a lot of intriguing courtroom drama which I enjoyed reading. I also enjoyed the few details on crime scene investigation and ballistics.
The writing was very good with vivid descriptions of settings that evoked imagery. The characters were diverse and deep. It was easy to visualize them. The author had a way with words that added some wit to his writing. An example of one such description that I liked is this:
“Faye drank heavily when he felt insecure, or angry, or disappointed, or for any reason, or no reason.”
If you do not like graphic accounts of violence and nudity, it may be better to avoid reading this book. This book was a fabulous psychological thriller. Even though I did not like the graphic details of violence, I found the plot captivating with several unexpected twists and turns. I couldn’t wait to find out how it would end. I was a little worried I would not find the ending satisfactory, but I did.
This book would have benefited from another round of editing to eliminate the grammatical and punctuation errors that I noticed in the book. I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars because it was an enjoyable read. I could not give it a 4-star rating because of the grammatical errors which I found very distracting. Readers of crime thrillers will enjoy reading this book.
******
When the Rules Don't Apply
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like CambaReviewer's review? Post a comment saying so!
