Official Review: Nightbeat by Roxann Davis

[sahmoun2778]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Nightbeat" by Roxann Davis.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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A Bailey and Knowles Mystery – Book 1

Devon Bailey is a crime reporter for the Quinton Herald. She returns from a weekend away to discover that her ex-husband is in jail on a charge of murder and desperately wants her help to clear his name. Ari Knowles is the first openly lesbian detective in the Quinton police department and she’s been assigned to the case. When pictures of what appears to be Devon, show up at the murder victim’s office, both Devon and her ex find themselves as suspects. Officer Lopez is out for a promotion and thinks that nailing Devon is going to secure it for him. In addition, Devon is also assigned to cover the recent murders of prostitutes in Quinton. It’s a lot for one intrepid reporter to juggle, especially when danger is lurking just around the corner.

The story here is told primarily from Devon’s perspective but does alternate sometimes to Knowles as the narrator with a few scenes told from the murderer’s perspective. I typically enjoy books with alternating narrators as it serves to move the story forward and, as a reader, I feel like I’m getting a more complete picture of the overall drama when there is more than one perspective. I think the author made a good choice in using this type of format. The writing itself is good, though at times it felt a little choppy. The sentences are kept rather short and sometimes I wished that they flowed a little more instead of feeling cut off.

I really enjoyed the character of Devon, who is the most developed character in the story. I also thought that the inclusion of a dog as Devon’s companion was a nice touch. I like a book where the author can effectively incorporate a pet, it just seems to add a little depth to the character if done right. I wasn’t too sure if I would like Ari, she just seemed hard to get to know as a character. As this is meant to be the first in a series, I hope that in subsequent books her character will get a little more fleshing out. There wasn’t a lot of emphasis on the lesbianism aspect, perhaps because the story itself was already pretty complex, but that didn’t detract from the story and, in my mind, leaves some room for future storylines in subsequent books.

The men in the story, Devon’s ex-husband Priest, the lawyer Nick Simon, and the murderer, didn’t get as much development. The author gives the reader some background but I didn’t really feel like I had a chance to get in their heads. I particularly felt like Simon’s story was left a little unresolved. Priest was sometimes charming, and other times really annoying, which is perhaps what you expect from an ex-husband but left me wondering whether or not I liked him as a character. What really left me hanging was the murderer, I didn’t get a good feel for what his motivation is in committing the murders. I would have liked a little more story about what made him resort to murder.

My biggest critique of the book has to be the editing. In particular, there were several places where the pronouns were inconsistent with the character being portrayed. This started to annoy me after the first couple times it happened.

Overall, I think the story idea here is a clever one and the characters are good. I would have liked to see a little more character development though. The author’s style is easy to read but, again, I would like to see the writing flow better. I think this book is a good start to a series that has a lot of potential. For these reasons, I am giving the book 3 out of 4 stars.

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Nightbeat
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Like sahmoun2778's review? Post a comment saying so!

[kimmyschemy06]

Sounds like a very interesting book. Too bad, though, about the errors and the seemingly inadequate character development. Great job on the review.

[kandscreeley]

It's too bad this sounds so lopsided between the male and female characters. Thanks for the review, though. Very nice.

[LadyClaire]

Detective works are first on the list of my favorites. I wonder if the ex-husband was eventually cleared off the charge. Thanks for the review,sahmoun2778

[sahmoun2778]

You will have to read the book to see if he is cleared of the charge.

[Jaime Lync]

This doesn't sound like my cup of tea but thanks for the review.

[kislany]

This book sounds like a good mystery, but sad about the editing aspect. So many books could benefit from a good copyeditor, or at least a proofreader to make the book look more professional.

Btw just wanted to comment on your profile pic. Love love love it!