Official Review: Of Murder and Monsters by R.Q. Garcia

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[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Of Murder and Monsters" by R.Q. Garcia.]

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Of Murder and Monsters by R. Q. Garcia starts out as what feels like a typical law drama. Sean Valdez is an attorney with the Public Defender’s Office whose wife has recently left him under circumstances that are not entirely explained, and he has recently been assigned to the case of Savannah Keller, a young woman who was found in a hotel having torn a man’s throat out with her teeth. As though that weren’t disturbing enough, Savannah refuses to speak to Sean, no matter what he tells her. It’s soon clear that things are not at all what they appear to be, and there may even be supernatural elements at work. The plot is compelling but poorly executed, so I can only give Of Murder and Monsters 2 out of 4 stars.

There are good parts to the novel, of course. I was fascinated by the central plot, that of what Savannah had done and how Sean was going to be able to work with her, especially since she persisted on being silent. However, I was disappointed by the execution of the subplots, which I felt got in the way of the main plot. Garcia gives us several of Sean’s other cases, most of which have nothing at all to do with the rest of the story, and I found myself wondering what the point was of having to read them. The one that did have a connection to the end came out of nowhere (which could have worked if the other cases had been better worked in), but I found myself wondering just what was going on and why I ought to care about these other people. I didn’t mind the other cases, and I felt that they could have worked, but for the first half, they had more focus than Savannah’s case, drowning out the main plot and making it feel rushed toward the end.

Sean’s backstory was also disappointing. We are told rather early on that he and his wife Michelle have separated, but the reason isn’t given until the end, and the hints leading up to the reveal aren’t enough to make it satisfying. That was my general overall feel of the book: that it was unsatisfying. I wanted more about what had happened with Savannah, and the hints leading up to the twist at the end simply weren’t enough, even though I would otherwise have been pleased with it.

As to the twist… I expected a twist to come. After all, what crime novel is complete without one, especially one that involves the protagonist placed in mortal peril? However, I feel like I wasn’t given enough hints as to what the twist would contain. I don’t want to have my hand held all the way up to the end so I can see exactly what will happen, but surprising the reader shouldn’t involve bring in new plot elements at the last minute, and while this isn’t exactly what happened, and I was annoyed that I couldn’t look back and trace the arc leading up to the climax. I will say this for Garcia: There was an element of the twist that I was thrilled to have seen coming. He didn’t leave me unsatisfied with that bit.

Of Murder and Monsters is the first in a series, and I have to admit, I’m not terribly enthusiastic about what comes next. If I come across the next book, I’ll give it a shot to see if that plot works out any better than this one did, and I hope to be pleasantly surprised.

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