John and Kate are sympathetic characters, and their little side romance provides the reader with some relief from the relentless violence. These secondary characters are well-developed during the meandering first half, but they at first they do spend an inordinate amount of time exchanging vulgar jokes.
This book contains some interesting characters, especially within the police force. While the last third of the book is quite compelling, the first two thirds are packed with unnecessary scenes, and the plot moves forward at a snail’s pace. When I read a suspense novel, I really expect it to be a page turner, and this one definitely isn’t – at least at first. One of the flaws of this book is that the plot is not particularly tight. The plot follows a police procedural pattern, and it’s focus is not limited to the efforts of John and Kate, but also includes those of the rest of the police task force. Kate and John do fall back into love during the course of the book, but the main emphasis of the book is on solving the crime. She and John had a torrid affair during that time, and though it ended badly, he is the only man she has ever loved. This sets Kate on a collision course with her past, because John Quinn, an expert on serial killers for the FBI, is also helping with the case. Kate Conlan works for the police as a witness advocate, and she is called in to help when there is a witness to one of the cremator’s grisly deeds. Even apart from the violence, the book remains flawed.Īshes to Ashes is the tale of a brutal serial killer – dubbed “the cremator” by the press – who tortures women to death and then burns their corpses. In assigning a grade, I tried as best I could to separate my feelings about the violence in the novel from my over all opinion of the book.
However, I realize that some readers may be better able to handle this book’s brutal scenes. Tami Hoag’s Ashes to Ashes one of the most extraneously violent, lurid books I have ever read – so violent that I really couldn’t enjoy it.
Just as every reader has a preferred level of sensuality, every reader also has a certain threshold for violence.
0 kommentar(er)
