John Lampard
What does it say about a book when the names of the characters, Jett, Catch, Bronco, etc, (something that bothered some readers, though not so much me) are more colourful than the characters themselves?
Jett's neighbour has been murdered, and together with friends and contacts, Jett sets out, by way of a long winding road, to try and bring the killer to justice.
The story has its moments (I'm not referring to the romantic aspects, any of them), but I read through to the end to see whodunnit. In that, there was some intrigue I thought.
[2.5 stars] A promising premise soon becomes lost in a tangle of unresolved subplots (what, for instance, was the story with the shoplifting colleague?). Proceedings end as well as they could at the penultimate chapter, then there's what feels like a second ending with the final chapter. That's my way [WARNING, small spoiler] of saying I didn't think much of Rufus, not that many of her romantic prospects seemed very like-able.
(3.5 stars) slow burning drama set in Melbourne and Sydney, with the NSW Central Coast town of Budgewoi making a welcome cameo! Though well written, I found this dissection of grief harder to digest the more I read, as the over-abundance of day-to-day details slowed the pace to a crawl at times. The scene jumps, that initially lent charm to the story, seemed more abrupt, and confusing, later on.
You could probably say this book is set across three timelines, and looking for the parallels between the events in 1922, 1981, and what's close to the present day, gave the story its intrigue. Or that's what I thought, though it's entirely possible I missed the point. Those familiar with the inner suburbs of Sydney, including Redfern, will feel as though they are right amongst the happenings of the 1981 story. 3.5/5 (can't give half star ratings).
