Review by MHScaccia -- Pancake Money by Finn Bell

[MHScaccia]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Pancake Money" by Finn Bell.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Pancake Money by Finn Bell tells of a police detective named Bobby Ress who loves his family, thrives on his career, respects his partner and has a rock solid sense of right and wrong...or so he believes. Along with his partner, senior detective Pollo Latu, Ress is called to the sadistic killing of a Dunedin priest, and the horrific crime scene says the victim was meant to suffer. The next day there’s another, and then a third, and the team is clueless as they strive to solve these horrific crimes.

The setting is a town in New Zealand with an average suburban law enforcement staff and a problem with organized crime. The author does an exceptional job of bringing the environment to life, and further details the land and its inhabitants in the afterward of the book. I appreciate this as I am completely unfamiliar with the area, but was able to see it clearly through his writing. The intricate story line blended with a bit of the country’s history and a riveting plot make for an edge-of-your-seat read all the way to the very end.

Ress’ Forensic Psychology professor teaches that pain is the ultimate motivator - that if you inflict enough pain, you can make someone do whatever you want. But there are consequences that come with this callous form of manipulation, and as Ress comes to realize throughout the course of the investigation, sometimes these repercussions are far worse than the pain itself. As the two cops work with the rest of their squad to find the killer, they learn just how deviated the human psyche can become after having been brutally traumatized for extended periods of time.

The characters are perhaps my favorite part of this book. All are well introduced, developed meaningfully, and absolutely believable. The relationship between Ress and Pollo is as that between any two people who are close to one another and spend much of their time together. I especially enjoyed their sarcastic and witty banter as those are personality traits I am drawn to in life as well. I even found myself thinking that the villains in the story weren’t quite so vile after all. Ress’ daughter, Eva, who has a form of agoraphobia, is an especially intriguing character. This was the one and only negative to the book for me, albeit a very slight one, as I had hoped to learn more about her and why she harbors those fears. Hopefully she will play a bigger part in future works from Mr. Bell.

Overall, I found Pancake Money to be a captivating, thought provoking psychological thriller with more than enough pathological and philosophical aspects to keep me wanting more. I have added Finn Bell to my favorite author list and easily give this book 4 out of 4 stars.

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Pancake Money
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Like MHScaccia's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Wordhewer]

Thanks — informative review. — Steve in Toronto

[Dael Reader]

I too am drawn to sarcastic and witty dialogue. But it is hard to do well. It sounds like this one might have hit the mark. Thanks for the recommendation.