Review by Trj75241 -- Pancake Money by Finn Bell

[Trj75241]

[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 is an exceptional crime novel based in New Zealand. It is a procedurally based tale of a straight-laced detective that finds himself alligator-deep in gruesome murders.

Bobby Ress is a well-respected detective that loves his hometown and family until this once serene place is dredged in blood. The murder of a local priest brings to life the fears that so many people try to hide. Knowing that citizens are being murdered pushes Ress to his limits as he works to bring the culprit to justice.

Over one working week, Ress find himself engrossed in murder after murder and the stress sometimes take its toll. During the hard times, he is not alone, as he receives help from a close friend and fellow detective, Pollo Latu. Pollo acts as the yin to Bobby's yang. He is the voice of reason when insanity overtakes Ress. This is needed because nothing about these murders is easy for the pair. Evidence continues to be non-existent for the majority of the story, and the body count feels neverending.

Although I usually am not a big fan of crime fiction, I found myself unable to put this book down. Finn Bell was able to create an elaborate plot that keeps the reader questioning who was capable of committing such heinous crimes. The story was well-written and did not contain many grammatical errors which made it an extremely easy read. This to me shows that the authors took his time to ensure that readers were able to enjoy this thriller without trying to decipher editing mistakes.

One of the things that I enjoyed most about the book is that unnecessary details did not overshadow the tale. The characters were well-developed and stood out in my memory. The novel contained just the right amount of information also help me connect with the character as if they were people that I would see or interact with on a regular basis.

The only problem that I had with the book is that each murder became more gruesome than the next. This is not something that those that are faint of heart will be able to read without skipping over some scene. But I do understand that murder is not pretty so in order to know how the death truly affected the town we must first understand the horrible way that each person dies.

I give Pancake Money by Finn Bell an overall rating of 4 out of 4 stars. If I could rate the book higher, I would because it was by far one of the best crime-based novels that I have read. I look forward to reading more works written by Bell in the near future.

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Pancake Money
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[thaservices1]

Sounds like a good read. Thank you for the review. I am not a huge fan of crime drama either, so it is good to know there are still some options out there.