Review by furybeginner -- The 11.05 Murders by Brian O'Hare
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furybeginner
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- Latest Review: "The 11.05 Murders" by Brian O'Hare
Review by furybeginner -- The 11.05 Murders by Brian O'Hare
[Following is a volunteer review of "The 11.05 Murders" by Brian O'Hare.]
3 out of 4 stars
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The 11:05 Murders is a mystery novel set in Belfast, Ireland, and written by Brian O’Hare.
There’s a murder case in town and newly promoted Woman Detective Sergeant (WDS) Denise Stewart is on the tip of her toes trying to prove herself worthy of the position. Follow along as she joins forces with Detective Tom Allen, Chief Inspector Jim Sheehan and his whole squad, leaving no stones unturned in this fun, slightly gross, crime-solving adventure!
After uncovering an illegal affair, WDS Denise Stewart is transferred to Strandtown Station and earns a promotion at the same time. As she is used to harsh treatment in her previous post because of her gender, she gets the surprise of her life when District Chief Inspector (DCI) Jim Sheehan treats her in a pleasant manner, completely opposite from what she expected.
Her first case in her new environment, however, isn’t as forgiving as DCI Sheehan. She comes face to face with the murder case of a man named James Fitzpatrick. Several clues come up but somehow not one of them has anything to do with the other. Amidst all the initial speculations that they had made, one question comes up: “Why is his wristwatch stopped at 11:05?”
For additional technical aspects of the book, The 11:05 Murders is written in a third-person point of view. It is set in 2014, and the whole story excluding the Prologue spans for about three weeks’ time. Some chapters are quite short while some take up a number of pages and are divided into parts.
The author is also well-informed with current events. Two of the biggest issues we have are mental health and feminism. While they’re mostly in the background, the author has placed them all throughout the course of the story, reminding us of their existence and whether or not they’re connected to anything.
Story-wise, I don’t have any problems with The 11:05 Murders. I’m amazed at how well put together this story is. I don’t remember any single event that left me hanging. Everything the author introduced is either explained or answered in the end. Each character is likable enough, and it doesn’t matter how small their role is, they still get the chance to be in the spotlight once or twice.
My dissatisfaction is mainly with our protagonist, Denise.
When it comes to a female protagonist, readers commonly expect her to be independent and capable of taking care of herself even in life-threatening situations.
On the surface, Denise looks like she’s a capable woman. Of all the characters, her thoughts are the ones that the reader will be able to read about most of the time. But after reading the book, I have come to the conclusion that she is a prime example of someone who says (or thinks) of one thing and does another. She always puts on a brave front in trying to prove her abilities, and yet she falls short during the critical moments. Her inability to keep things professional during work hours is also prominent. Of course, based on her history with her previous post, it’s understandable that she always has her guard up and acts tough. But most of the time, I believe it’s her pride in being a feminist. It shows itself even in the most innocent and polite comments made by her colleagues that she comes off as rude. She does tone down at times. Nevertheless, I found it annoying.
Next, I want to comment on the book cover and the content formatting.
It’s only a personal preference but I think that the cover can be improved. All the major elements are fine but some can be removed (e.g., the words “Crimson Cloak” are very distracting even though they don’t have any connection to the story). A simple cover is not always a terrible cover nor is an intricate cover is automatically good.
The contents should be checked again. The font color is mostly black and there was a short part where it was gray. Also, some pages have a white background color while others are clear. Things like this need to be checked thoroughly as they can cause a lot of distraction.
I also found an issue with the names. There are a couple of times when different characters' names get mixed up. Some spell checking would also be helpful.
Finally, for the rating, I am giving The 11:05 Murders 3 out of 4 stars. Even though I am not a fan of Denise and I’d prefer it if either Jim or Tom was the protagonist, I still enjoyed the story. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading as much as I do.
******
The 11.05 Murders
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on Smashwords
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3 out of 4 stars
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The 11:05 Murders is a mystery novel set in Belfast, Ireland, and written by Brian O’Hare.
There’s a murder case in town and newly promoted Woman Detective Sergeant (WDS) Denise Stewart is on the tip of her toes trying to prove herself worthy of the position. Follow along as she joins forces with Detective Tom Allen, Chief Inspector Jim Sheehan and his whole squad, leaving no stones unturned in this fun, slightly gross, crime-solving adventure!
After uncovering an illegal affair, WDS Denise Stewart is transferred to Strandtown Station and earns a promotion at the same time. As she is used to harsh treatment in her previous post because of her gender, she gets the surprise of her life when District Chief Inspector (DCI) Jim Sheehan treats her in a pleasant manner, completely opposite from what she expected.
Her first case in her new environment, however, isn’t as forgiving as DCI Sheehan. She comes face to face with the murder case of a man named James Fitzpatrick. Several clues come up but somehow not one of them has anything to do with the other. Amidst all the initial speculations that they had made, one question comes up: “Why is his wristwatch stopped at 11:05?”
For additional technical aspects of the book, The 11:05 Murders is written in a third-person point of view. It is set in 2014, and the whole story excluding the Prologue spans for about three weeks’ time. Some chapters are quite short while some take up a number of pages and are divided into parts.
The author is also well-informed with current events. Two of the biggest issues we have are mental health and feminism. While they’re mostly in the background, the author has placed them all throughout the course of the story, reminding us of their existence and whether or not they’re connected to anything.
Story-wise, I don’t have any problems with The 11:05 Murders. I’m amazed at how well put together this story is. I don’t remember any single event that left me hanging. Everything the author introduced is either explained or answered in the end. Each character is likable enough, and it doesn’t matter how small their role is, they still get the chance to be in the spotlight once or twice.
My dissatisfaction is mainly with our protagonist, Denise.
When it comes to a female protagonist, readers commonly expect her to be independent and capable of taking care of herself even in life-threatening situations.
On the surface, Denise looks like she’s a capable woman. Of all the characters, her thoughts are the ones that the reader will be able to read about most of the time. But after reading the book, I have come to the conclusion that she is a prime example of someone who says (or thinks) of one thing and does another. She always puts on a brave front in trying to prove her abilities, and yet she falls short during the critical moments. Her inability to keep things professional during work hours is also prominent. Of course, based on her history with her previous post, it’s understandable that she always has her guard up and acts tough. But most of the time, I believe it’s her pride in being a feminist. It shows itself even in the most innocent and polite comments made by her colleagues that she comes off as rude. She does tone down at times. Nevertheless, I found it annoying.
Next, I want to comment on the book cover and the content formatting.
It’s only a personal preference but I think that the cover can be improved. All the major elements are fine but some can be removed (e.g., the words “Crimson Cloak” are very distracting even though they don’t have any connection to the story). A simple cover is not always a terrible cover nor is an intricate cover is automatically good.
The contents should be checked again. The font color is mostly black and there was a short part where it was gray. Also, some pages have a white background color while others are clear. Things like this need to be checked thoroughly as they can cause a lot of distraction.
I also found an issue with the names. There are a couple of times when different characters' names get mixed up. Some spell checking would also be helpful.
Finally, for the rating, I am giving The 11:05 Murders 3 out of 4 stars. Even though I am not a fan of Denise and I’d prefer it if either Jim or Tom was the protagonist, I still enjoyed the story. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading as much as I do.
******
The 11.05 Murders
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on Smashwords
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Latest Review: "The 11.05 Murders" by Brian O'Hare
