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Meticulously researched and expertly assembled and told, compelling, sobering, and ultimately tragic. One of the best military books I've read, though not always easy to get through. Well-written to the point that I finished it in just a few days. This book adds more than just murder and mayhem, it also gives you mystery and psychological insights to the killer that interest and even tugs at your heartstrings a tad…! This book will grab you and drag you through to the end leaving you wanting more from this author!’ Consumer Reviewer May be difficult to follow in some spots for those unfamiliar with military operations or lingo, given the number of viewpoints and complexity of the narrative in some parts, but the author does an excellent job laying out the basics - and nails every aspect of what Iraq feels like on the ground.
Chu shares illustrative anecdotes from her own life and others she knows about. To support her thesis she has visions while sunbathing in Sydney, quotes Hindu scripture and even gets Einstein on side. The book is riddled with religious references. She presumes the existence of a divine Maker who has a Grand Purpose and who has given us TFBH as the way to go. Anna-Lou Weatherley does a really good job creating such a likable and caring main character here with Detective Dan Riley. After reading a few female leads we enjoyed our lead here being a male detective. Dan is cynical, yet kind-hearted and struggles with his own personal demons. J.K. Rowling's new book, about a transphobe who faces wrath online, raises eyebrows". NPR.org. 31 August 2022 . Retrieved 31 August 2022. As a long term mediator and follower of Zen Buddhism and other eastern philosophies, I was moved by Chapter 3; Dharma: The Wish Fulfilling Tree. How do I even begin with this review? Alright. I have to chill or else my words would not make any sense to you guys. 3,2,1… Go.New plotline? Oh hey, let's deal with Daneca and Sam's love problems!" Um, all right, I'd rather you just weave that into the plot without stopping the development of these more compelling storylines just to deal with Sam's shit when it has nothing to do with anything, but okay. So Daneca and Sam broke up. Now Daneca is dating someone else. Sam is mad. When the body of a man is found with his wrists slashed in a London hotel room, it appears at first to be a tragic suicide. But Detective Dan Riley suspects there is more to this case than meets the eye and the pathology report confirms his worst fears – the victim was poisoned and suddenly Dan is dealing with a murder inquiry. This really reminded me of books by Mark Lawrence and I certainly think if you've enjoyed his grimdark stories with Jorg then you'll probably enjoy this too. I did see some of the twists coming, but that didn't lessen my enjoyment at all and I found the character easy to engage with even though they do some dispicable things. I enjoyed the journey of discovery, even when it was a dark one. For this review and our full Traveling Sister review please visit Brenda and Norma’s fantastic book blog: http://www.twogirlslostinacouleereadi...
I don't want to spend too much time with the characters, except to say that while Cassel's voice is still strong, his Bella Swanian Lila obsession grated to no end, mostly because Lila herself was never really a character. Now, this is really, really disappointing to me, because last book when Lila decided she was going to be this bad ass mob princess I was like YA BRING IT. I really, really wanted to see her live up to her potential as a character, but it seemed like while the story tried really hard to tell us that Lila was this awesome bad ass who's no good, but you can't help but love her anyway and her love will burn you up and all that other poetic shit Cassel spouted at least 5 times throughout the entire book, the story never actually let us see this bad assery in full. The serial killer character is ruthless, cunning and manipulative but she’s double faced. She’s this evil monster that has no limit or control over her impulses and yet there’s a part that the detective get to see which is empathetic, charming and alluring: Two sides, coexisting I every unstable mind and fighting for control makes her dangerous and unhinged. I thought you wanted us to be good guys." He grins a too-wide grin. He's enjoying needling me, and my reacting only makes it worse, but I can't stop. As there’s nobody else to remember what the world used to be like before the wizards’ reign, nobody really doubts whether wizards are those men of high moral standing they claim to be or not. For a truly spiritual individual, the path of spirituality is like walking on a razor's edge; it is a diligent pursuit of one's perfection. However, for others, the pursuit of spirituality is merely a vague notion; it actually is a pretext, an excuse to practice inertia and avoidance of life's challenges.I think of not knowing what compelled me to strike a gun out of the hand of a killer. Of how satisfying it was to hit Kevin. Of how I want to do it again and again, want to feel the bones snap and blood smear. Of how it felt to stand over him, my skin on fire with rage. The book does not focus on cliché one way solution to success but rather, inspires you with the principle the author, along with other successful figures adopt, consciously or unconsciously, to succeed in life. The author support her view through historical facts, as well as her real life experiences and encounters to support her views. Therefore, it is written in a way to let anyone adopt the principle and adapt it to their own life as they see fit. Anyway, on to the story within this first installment of the series… The book is one that alternates the point of view between the killer in the story and our Detective Dan Riley. What is noticeable right away is this one goes for being different in the fact the killer is a female serial killer so that immediately had my attention and pulled me into the story. Her murders can be a bit on the graphic side and there is also a bit of animal cruelty so just a warning on both of those counts.
The investigation was marred by Dan magically figuring out her motive and next target. His chapters being in first-person was awful as he constantly reminisced about his dead girlfriend Rachel's looks and outfits instead of meaningful conversations (maybe they didn't have any?):
I also did not care for the prose. It wasn't just the first-person narration, which is rarely my first choice but not a problem by itself (my beloved Assassin's Apprentice employs it, after all). In this case, I thought the writing was too plain. I'm not a fan of flowery description and generally prefer shorter, simpler sentences, but for this book the prose bored me, with a few isolated exceptions. I entertained the theory that it would mirror the protagonist's growth and become more evocative as he evolved, but this didn't pan out. I found myself fondly missing the Germanic terms that flavoured the author's Manifest Delusions series; this book could have used some of that linguistic flair. Fear is the most debilitating of all the emotions. It paralyses you, governs your every waking moment and thought. It conditions you. And I lived in fear. Lived with it every moment from the day I was born. Listening to the audiobook narration, done by Fletcher himself, is the most engrossed I’ve been with an audiobook in months. The gravelly voice Fletcher opens with eventually reveals a stunning array of nuance –remarkable work, and fun to no end. The audiobook opens and closes with two pieces of original music performed by Fletcher and his band, which did a surprisingly good job of setting the mood for those opening chapters. I was rooting for Kizzy to wise up, grab the cat, and run for the hills.....but no dice. Again a custom made teddy bear is left at the crime scene, this time dressed like a mommy.
Chapter 8 was a new idea to me: “ Deception without deceit” As a business owner who puts a high value on transparency and honesty, The idea at first made me a bit uncomfortable.The author suggests that we all. Practice deception but Westerners deny it and easterners glorify it. interesting. The detective character is very fascinating for me. We get to see glimpses of his past and its’ extremely emotional and sad. He kind of reminded me of Will Trent from the will Trent series by Karin Slaughter. Trapped in a past too painful to endure with a need to move on that keeps reminding him of everything he lost, he’s a well written character for more room for development and growth.Like all things grimdark—the murdery bits, the stabby-stabby times, the people popping off in clouds of blood like angry little zits; This is a book one in the new Detective Dan Riley series from Anna-Lou Weatherley. From what I can see, she has a winner on her hands. Riley is quite the copper and he’s unabashedly romantic to boot. All I can say is, sign me up! The world-building is above average too. It has the usual share of magic and fantasy tropes, but some elements make it unique that I do not want to spoil here. There are shades of 'The Wheel of Time' as well as 'The Sword of Truth'. The book is also quite brutal and graphic. So be warned. It is not for the squeamish. En cuanto al desarrollo del argumento se me ha hecho en algún parte un poco lento al mismo tiempo que me esperaba otra cosa. Asimismo, algunos giros de la novela me los he visto venir, mientras que otros no me los quería esperar porque me hubieran parecido demasiado morbosos, por así decirlo. Con eso no digo nada, pero al mismo tiempo lo digo todo (cuando lean la novela me entenderán).
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