Ron K. (WhidbeyIslander) -
McDowell wrote two of my favorite horror books (The Elementals and Cold Moon Over Babylon) and a few of his others have been enjoyable. This fourth in the Valentine/Lovelace series was a big let-down, however.
I found the character of Niobe extremely annoying and thought maybe I'd give up on reading as her antics took center stage. Happily, she fades a bit as the story goes on. (But I grew to despise her thanks to her treatment of that bird.) I also began to feel Clarisse acted a bit childishly for my taste.
There is way too much describing of what people were wearing and too little of the murder investigation plot, and after reading I wasn't all that sure about the killer's motives. Also surprising was the downplaying of how AIDs impacted the gay community, although the story is set before the epidemic became fully understood.
Despite it being the last book in the series, it appears it maybe wasn't meant to be, since there is no tie up (no pun) to the saga of Dan and Clarisse or the bar they run.
I found the character of Niobe extremely annoying and thought maybe I'd give up on reading as her antics took center stage. Happily, she fades a bit as the story goes on. (But I grew to despise her thanks to her treatment of that bird.) I also began to feel Clarisse acted a bit childishly for my taste.
There is way too much describing of what people were wearing and too little of the murder investigation plot, and after reading I wasn't all that sure about the killer's motives. Also surprising was the downplaying of how AIDs impacted the gay community, although the story is set before the epidemic became fully understood.
Despite it being the last book in the series, it appears it maybe wasn't meant to be, since there is no tie up (no pun) to the saga of Dan and Clarisse or the bar they run.
