What do you think?
Rate this book
Max Mingus #1
Mister Clarinet
Het was een klus die privédetective Max Mingus niet kon weigeren: 10 miljoen dollar om het zoontje van miljardair Allain Carver - inmiddels drie jaar vermist - op te sporen.
De kleine Charlie verdween op Haïti, waar al decennia lang regelmatig kinderen spoorloos verdwijnen. Het eiland waar voodoo een grote rol speelt en geruchten rondgaan over zwarte magie en de mythische figuur Mister Clarinet. Hij zou al sinds mensenheugenis kinderen weglokken bij hun ouders.
Maar kan de waarheid nog schokkender zijn dan de legende?
Om daar achter te komen moet Max slagen waar zijn voorgangers hebben gefaald. En met die voorgangers is het bijzonder slecht afgelopen. Langzaam wordt deze klus veel meer dan het opsporen van Charlie en het cashen van de miljoenen - het wordt een kwestie van leven en dood.
De kleine Charlie verdween op Haïti, waar al decennia lang regelmatig kinderen spoorloos verdwijnen. Het eiland waar voodoo een grote rol speelt en geruchten rondgaan over zwarte magie en de mythische figuur Mister Clarinet. Hij zou al sinds mensenheugenis kinderen weglokken bij hun ouders.
Maar kan de waarheid nog schokkender zijn dan de legende?
Om daar achter te komen moet Max slagen waar zijn voorgangers hebben gefaald. En met die voorgangers is het bijzonder slecht afgelopen. Langzaam wordt deze klus veel meer dan het opsporen van Charlie en het cashen van de miljoenen - het wordt een kwestie van leven en dood.
457 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
68 people are currently reading
1581 people want to read
About the author
Nick Stone
24 books147 followersNick Stone was born in Cambridge in 1966, the son of a Scottish father and a Haitian mother. His first novel, Mr Clarinet, won the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, the International Thriller Writers Award for Best First Novel and the Macavity Award for Best First Novel, and was nominated for The Barry Award for Best British Novel.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 227 reviews
February 25, 2025
After reading and reviewing his book, “The Verdict,” I was determined to read his award-winning “Mr. Clarinet.” This book won the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for best thriller of the year, the International Thriller Writers award for best first novel and the Macavity Award for best first novel, “Mr. Clarinet.” He won that award over Michael Connelly’s “The Lincoln Lawyer.” As I mentioned in my review of “The Verdict” achieving this for his debut novel is a significant honor.
To read my review of “The Verdict” you can go here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I picked up my copy of this book right after our dog walk yesterday afternoon and immediately put my nose in it. I emerged for lunch briefly. And continued to read until the last page. (And yes, the parts that were uncomfortable, I scanned over.)
But even so…It did not keep me from enjoying or appreciating this book.
Let me just say this…Sometimes there are books that just deserve to be acknowledged as unexpected masterworks.
Yes, I knew that it had all these awards behind it before I even opened the pages.
But…I could have said…
Who is kidding who? What is all the hype about anyway? Because, seriously that does happen, right?
But this one worked. It was a dark, haunting mystery. It had location – Haiti.
And…It had an interesting flawed character.
So, let me just tell you about the story.
Our protagonist is Max Mingus, a Miami P.I. who specializes in finding lost children. He also is an ex-con, who was imprisoned for killing 3 sadistic murderers. Newly released from Rikers Island, he is still mourning the loss of his wife, Sandra, who only days before his release died in a car accident. With nothing left, he takes on the missing child case for Haitian billionaire, Allain Carver, whose son Charlie disappeared 3 years earlier. Payout: $10 million. Unfortunately, 3 other detectives died trying to find Charlie.
Is this really what Max wants to do?
Having nothing to lose – and nothing to live for, Max says…
Yes.
Max’s investigation takes him to Haiti, and into the deep dark world of voodoo and black arts and the magic and myth of “Mr. Clarinet.”
Who are the good guys – the bad guys?
What will Max find?
What darkness lies underneath?
We see the poverty. We see the injustices. We see the ugliness as he continues to look for Charlie.
And…What past of Max’s is all unpredictably linked with that of the misplaced Charlie?
As Max delves even further into the darkness where Mr. Clarinet and the solution to this case dwell, the P.I. realizes that losing one’s life might not be the worst price to pay in a land where the dead and dying still stroll the streets. (Strike up the creepy music here!)
This book is…Challenging. Compelling. Dark. Haunting.
Trigger warnings: Pedophiles. Sex trafficking. Sexual assault. Child abuse. Black arts. Gun Violence. Mind control/magical compulsion.
As difficult as all of this was to read (and yes, as a read, I knew when I could skip over the more uncomfortable parts), Max was a reasonably likable character. Someone readers could like and root for and hope would be successful in his pursuit of justice in the end.
Thus…Being with Max…Made this a truly compelling reading adventure.
To read my review of “The Verdict” you can go here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I picked up my copy of this book right after our dog walk yesterday afternoon and immediately put my nose in it. I emerged for lunch briefly. And continued to read until the last page. (And yes, the parts that were uncomfortable, I scanned over.)
But even so…It did not keep me from enjoying or appreciating this book.
Let me just say this…Sometimes there are books that just deserve to be acknowledged as unexpected masterworks.
Yes, I knew that it had all these awards behind it before I even opened the pages.
But…I could have said…
Who is kidding who? What is all the hype about anyway? Because, seriously that does happen, right?
But this one worked. It was a dark, haunting mystery. It had location – Haiti.
And…It had an interesting flawed character.
So, let me just tell you about the story.
Our protagonist is Max Mingus, a Miami P.I. who specializes in finding lost children. He also is an ex-con, who was imprisoned for killing 3 sadistic murderers. Newly released from Rikers Island, he is still mourning the loss of his wife, Sandra, who only days before his release died in a car accident. With nothing left, he takes on the missing child case for Haitian billionaire, Allain Carver, whose son Charlie disappeared 3 years earlier. Payout: $10 million. Unfortunately, 3 other detectives died trying to find Charlie.
Is this really what Max wants to do?
Having nothing to lose – and nothing to live for, Max says…
Yes.
Max’s investigation takes him to Haiti, and into the deep dark world of voodoo and black arts and the magic and myth of “Mr. Clarinet.”
Who are the good guys – the bad guys?
What will Max find?
What darkness lies underneath?
We see the poverty. We see the injustices. We see the ugliness as he continues to look for Charlie.
And…What past of Max’s is all unpredictably linked with that of the misplaced Charlie?
As Max delves even further into the darkness where Mr. Clarinet and the solution to this case dwell, the P.I. realizes that losing one’s life might not be the worst price to pay in a land where the dead and dying still stroll the streets. (Strike up the creepy music here!)
This book is…Challenging. Compelling. Dark. Haunting.
Trigger warnings: Pedophiles. Sex trafficking. Sexual assault. Child abuse. Black arts. Gun Violence. Mind control/magical compulsion.
As difficult as all of this was to read (and yes, as a read, I knew when I could skip over the more uncomfortable parts), Max was a reasonably likable character. Someone readers could like and root for and hope would be successful in his pursuit of justice in the end.
Thus…Being with Max…Made this a truly compelling reading adventure.
May 9, 2017
Mr Clarinet is a book that takes time to get going and even then, the story is very much a slow burn as the author focuses in detail on firmly establishing the place-setting and building an atmosphere as apposed to progressing a missing persons investigation. For the most part this tactic works with Haiti a character in itself. Nick Stone paints a picture of poverty and injustice that few authors would have the stomach to muster while still making it all feel relevant to the Max Mingus investigation into the kidnapping of Charlie Carver some 2 years prior. Max himself is a deep and complex character, this book picks up with Max leaving prison after serving a sentence for murder from an earlier case, it's interesting to see a PI at the end of his career working a last case rather than just staring out or being somewhere in the middle. Personally I liked this approach, it made Max more real and really helped to define his character. Mr Clarinet also has a touch of black magic and voodoo thrown in to keep things interesting. This is a great start to the series and I am looking forward to reading the next book, King of Swords (currently in my tbr pile) which takes the reader back in time to a case which left a long lasting impression on Max. 3.5 stars.
July 29, 2010
I’ve read quite a few assured debuts recently but this one blows most out the water. Using the detective/hard boiled tale to plumb into the troubling history and worried psyche of a nation is trick other writers use, but to do it with confidence as debut is rare. Nick Stone’s Haiti (set post-Aristide, Clinton era invasion, pre-earthquake) is as haunting and troubling as the last significant outsider portrait of Haitian Hell (the Mr. Stone’s outsider status can be argued) Graham Greene’s The Comedians to which this book is inevitably compared (and surprisingly can hold up to for the most part). The extravagant and nightmarish reigns of the Duvaliers(and their eerie and brutal police, the TonTon Macoutes), Aristide’s corruption, foreign political and economic meddling, gang warfare have wreaked unholy havoc on the nation. Some flaws like the American character being fed info like he is on a vacation tour by his guide, a mildly slow start, and some over the top moments(usually very realistic and gritty despite some outlandish moments) mark this as debut if I wanted to be picky. The plot is a spider’s web of corruption, double crosses, conspiracies, and spookiness. The grand scheme of it satisfies, reminding me of Lehane and Michael Connelly in its ability to be intellectually and emotionally evocative. For anyone who thinks the author is showing of his record collection by naming his book after a Birthday Party(that song’s crazy organ rift was in my head the whole time I read this) are wrong, as Stone use the song title to create a creepy legend that is intertwined with the story. The ending obviously sets up a sequel(or seems to), but Mr. Stone surprises me again by delivering a prequel instead set in a very interesting era of Miami history(race riots, Mariel boat lift, and the Cocaine Cowboy Wars in the early 80’s).Check out the documentary Ghosts of Cité Soleil (available online) for some context of this novel.
November 29, 2022
Very good thriller! I've loved it. It has everything a good thriller needs and I am gladly surprised that this was Nick Stone's debut. If he is so good as to write something like this in his very first book, I can't wait to read the rest of his work!
"But people here, they're so bumb, so apathetic, so scared, so- so damn backward - they believe what they want to believe, no matter how stupid and nonsensical."
" They were now home to small villages of people- old and very young, dressed almost identically in rags which barely preserved their dignity and sometimes differentiated their gender."
"... when he was a baby, he used to cry every time someone laughed. Shit happens, then you grow up."
"To them, the only thing worse than not having any money is having had it and lost it. They shun you like your misfortune's contagious."
"But people here, they're so bumb, so apathetic, so scared, so- so damn backward - they believe what they want to believe, no matter how stupid and nonsensical."
" They were now home to small villages of people- old and very young, dressed almost identically in rags which barely preserved their dignity and sometimes differentiated their gender."
"... when he was a baby, he used to cry every time someone laughed. Shit happens, then you grow up."
"To them, the only thing worse than not having any money is having had it and lost it. They shun you like your misfortune's contagious."
January 31, 2013
Author: Think I’ll write a crime novel for my debut!
Agent: Okay but whatever you do try to be original! But don’t ignore the tried and tested formula – make sure you stick with it.
Author: Oh don’t worry; originality was at the forefront of my mind. In fact I’ve already done quite a bit of research.
Agent: Okay – I’m listening.
Author: Well, for a start the ‘hero’ has to be tough, you know, a bit like Burke’s Robicheaux and Connelly’s Bosch.
Agent: Like it! And his wife must have died horribly like John Connolly’s Charlie Parker’s!
Author: Wow, didn’t think of that but great! He’s got to be a big guy who despises villains and good with guns and things; a bit like Child’s Jack Reacher!
Agent: We’re onto something here! And he’s got to be a brilliant investigator a bit like Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme!
Author: You read my mind! The villain must be a twisted, vicious, homicidal maniac whose lackeys look upon him as some sort of messiah, a bit like the twisted, vicious, messianic, homicidal maniac in Hecht’s Babel!
Agent: That’s it! And he’s got to have a recognizable geographical domain, a bit like Bosch’s L.A., Parker’s New England, Robicheax’ New Iberia, Leon’s
Pause
Author: Besides, isn’t originality overvalued?
Agent: Well, who’ll notice anyway?
Agent: Okay but whatever you do try to be original! But don’t ignore the tried and tested formula – make sure you stick with it.
Author: Oh don’t worry; originality was at the forefront of my mind. In fact I’ve already done quite a bit of research.
Agent: Okay – I’m listening.
Author: Well, for a start the ‘hero’ has to be tough, you know, a bit like Burke’s Robicheaux and Connelly’s Bosch.
Agent: Like it! And his wife must have died horribly like John Connolly’s Charlie Parker’s!
Author: Wow, didn’t think of that but great! He’s got to be a big guy who despises villains and good with guns and things; a bit like Child’s Jack Reacher!
Agent: We’re onto something here! And he’s got to be a brilliant investigator a bit like Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme!
Author: You read my mind! The villain must be a twisted, vicious, homicidal maniac whose lackeys look upon him as some sort of messiah, a bit like the twisted, vicious, messianic, homicidal maniac in Hecht’s Babel!
Agent: That’s it! And he’s got to have a recognizable geographical domain, a bit like Bosch’s L.A., Parker’s New England, Robicheax’ New Iberia, Leon’s
Pause
Author: Besides, isn’t originality overvalued?
Agent: Well, who’ll notice anyway?
February 25, 2022
This has been on my shelf for 11 years, it was beyond time to read it.
I kind of liked this one, but there was a lot of story before anything significant happened. We're talking the last 250 pages or so, which is a bit too long to be given plot. Everything gets wrapped up in the last 100, so while it wasn't a waste of time, I kind of could have just read the last part.
I did like that Max is morally ambiguous, and you're not entirely sure you should like him. In a way I don't like anyone in this one, but that's actually a good thing. It's bad writing when people are too pefect or easy to understand. Everyone here are complex.
The details are pretty gruesome, but at the same time they don't feel gratuitous, and I've always appreciated a bit of the macabre.
I kind of liked this one, but there was a lot of story before anything significant happened. We're talking the last 250 pages or so, which is a bit too long to be given plot. Everything gets wrapped up in the last 100, so while it wasn't a waste of time, I kind of could have just read the last part.
I did like that Max is morally ambiguous, and you're not entirely sure you should like him. In a way I don't like anyone in this one, but that's actually a good thing. It's bad writing when people are too pefect or easy to understand. Everyone here are complex.
The details are pretty gruesome, but at the same time they don't feel gratuitous, and I've always appreciated a bit of the macabre.
August 6, 2017
Forget the stereotypes. This adventure takes us into strange territory where the borders between good and evil blur.
Max Mingus's life is in shards. Once a cop, once a detective, once a convict, now a widower, he needs to piece together what remains of his existence. Meanwhile a multimillionaire hounds him to find a missing boy who disappeared three years ago. The case seems impossible to solve, and Max wants no part of it. For reasons other than money, he eventually accepts and enters Haiti, a nation of squalor and magic.
Stone writes in three dimensions. The descriptions are so deep, the scenes come alive, for he plays to all our senses, including our emotions and our need to know the nation's background.
Compassion stokes rage and revenge. It boils off the pages, and even an innocent trip to town delivers nearly unbearable tension because the poor will do anything to stave off hunger.
Half-way through, I considered putting the book down because of one brutal scene. I feared we would witness other similarly gross encounters. But then I made a pact with myself, that if I was grossed out, I would indeed put the novel down. Fortunately, the author isn't into gratuitous violence. We see enough as we wade through squalor and corruption that shows desperation without plunging us repeatedly into detailed displays of evil. We learn of its depths without having it thrust into our faces.
This story is a contest winner, deservedly so. The writing is solid and knowledgeable. Fans of hard-boiled crime thrillers will want more of Nick Stone's novels. Mr. Clarinet is the first Max Mingus thriller.
Max Mingus's life is in shards. Once a cop, once a detective, once a convict, now a widower, he needs to piece together what remains of his existence. Meanwhile a multimillionaire hounds him to find a missing boy who disappeared three years ago. The case seems impossible to solve, and Max wants no part of it. For reasons other than money, he eventually accepts and enters Haiti, a nation of squalor and magic.
Stone writes in three dimensions. The descriptions are so deep, the scenes come alive, for he plays to all our senses, including our emotions and our need to know the nation's background.
Compassion stokes rage and revenge. It boils off the pages, and even an innocent trip to town delivers nearly unbearable tension because the poor will do anything to stave off hunger.
Half-way through, I considered putting the book down because of one brutal scene. I feared we would witness other similarly gross encounters. But then I made a pact with myself, that if I was grossed out, I would indeed put the novel down. Fortunately, the author isn't into gratuitous violence. We see enough as we wade through squalor and corruption that shows desperation without plunging us repeatedly into detailed displays of evil. We learn of its depths without having it thrust into our faces.
This story is a contest winner, deservedly so. The writing is solid and knowledgeable. Fans of hard-boiled crime thrillers will want more of Nick Stone's novels. Mr. Clarinet is the first Max Mingus thriller.
November 8, 2013
Mr. Clarinet is a first rate thriller. The protagonist, Max Mingus is out of prison having spent several years there for shooting four young men who had viciously murdered a young girl. An ex-cop turned private investigator, Max exits prison at a low point in his life. Shortly before his release his loving wife is killed in a car crash. They'd planned to tour the world. Because of his reputation for solving cases, no sooner is he released when he is approached by Allain Carver, a very wealthy man, to find his little boy who had been kidnapped two years earlier. What finally persuades Max to take the case is that he would be paid 10 million dollars to find Charlie Carver. And have enough money to start life anew. The first obstacle he encounters, Max has to fly to Haiti and deal with a culture, people, and language he knows very little about.
Still grieving for his wife, and not wanting to go home to Miami, Max prepares for his trip to Haiti. However, before leaving, he visits one of the investigators who worked on the case before him. Stone gives the reader a graphic depiction of Clyde Beeson, Max's predecessor, and the trailer in which he lives; Beeson has permanent dysentery as a result of his investigation. He warns Max not to go to Haiti. The other investigators met similar fate.
From the time Max steps off the plane, he is confronted with Haiti's poverty. Stone paints a disturbing picture of a poor country with a multitude of problems. Wealth, poverty, child abuse, environmental devastation, voodoo, murder, and retribution are all included in this fast-paced mystery rendered in vivid detail by a talented author.
Still grieving for his wife, and not wanting to go home to Miami, Max prepares for his trip to Haiti. However, before leaving, he visits one of the investigators who worked on the case before him. Stone gives the reader a graphic depiction of Clyde Beeson, Max's predecessor, and the trailer in which he lives; Beeson has permanent dysentery as a result of his investigation. He warns Max not to go to Haiti. The other investigators met similar fate.
From the time Max steps off the plane, he is confronted with Haiti's poverty. Stone paints a disturbing picture of a poor country with a multitude of problems. Wealth, poverty, child abuse, environmental devastation, voodoo, murder, and retribution are all included in this fast-paced mystery rendered in vivid detail by a talented author.
June 22, 2018
Libro leído un poco a ciegas, ya que lo encontré buscando alguno que me cuadrara para un reto... y tras haber empezado otros dos, este, al menos, no me aburrió al comenzar a leerlo. Y no me arrepiento!!
Tenemos a Max, un ex-policia y ex-convicto, que al salir de la cárcel, recibe una oferta millonaria para encontrar a un niño desaparecido en Haíti dos años antes, en los días previos a la ocupación del país por parte de las tropas americanas y de la ONU en 1994; tras las dictaduras de Papa Doc y Baby Doc.
La investigación la lleva a cabo Max en Haití, buscando al niño, nieto de un magnate que hizo su fortuna a la sombra de Papa Doc y pisoteando a todos los que se le puesieron por delante. La investigación en si no me ha parecido más que una excusa para mostrar lo que era el país en esa época convulsa: miseria, tráfico de personas y de drogas, inestabilidad política, venganzas... y, lo que yo menos conocía, la religión haitiana, con su magia blanca y negra, su asimilación a la cristiana en la época colonial.
Es un libro con partes un poco "gore", ya que describe de forma bastante minuciosa, torturas, venganzas, ceremonias... Y también es dura cuando habla de como vivían la mayoría de los haitianos, en la máxima pobreza y miseria. Pese a todo, me ha gustado.
Tenemos a Max, un ex-policia y ex-convicto, que al salir de la cárcel, recibe una oferta millonaria para encontrar a un niño desaparecido en Haíti dos años antes, en los días previos a la ocupación del país por parte de las tropas americanas y de la ONU en 1994; tras las dictaduras de Papa Doc y Baby Doc.
La investigación la lleva a cabo Max en Haití, buscando al niño, nieto de un magnate que hizo su fortuna a la sombra de Papa Doc y pisoteando a todos los que se le puesieron por delante. La investigación en si no me ha parecido más que una excusa para mostrar lo que era el país en esa época convulsa: miseria, tráfico de personas y de drogas, inestabilidad política, venganzas... y, lo que yo menos conocía, la religión haitiana, con su magia blanca y negra, su asimilación a la cristiana en la época colonial.
Es un libro con partes un poco "gore", ya que describe de forma bastante minuciosa, torturas, venganzas, ceremonias... Y también es dura cuando habla de como vivían la mayoría de los haitianos, en la máxima pobreza y miseria. Pese a todo, me ha gustado.
December 12, 2016
Leitura intensa!
June 26, 2021
A pesar de la horrorosa portada del libro (dificilmente podría ser peor) ésta no es una novela de terror por más que el texto de la contraportada sea lo que parece transmitir. Es una novela de género negro que es bastante interesante, pero que en mi opinión tiene algunos altibajos en el ritmo de la narración. Leía y leía y me daba la sensación de no avanzar.
La ascendencia Haitiana del autor y los años que ha vivido en la isla, le han ayudado en la detallada descripción de un país donde una miseria que casi se puede palpar predomina sobre todo lo demás, donde la corrupción está a la orden del día, todo ello aderezado con personajes interesantes, intriga, misterio, magia negra. A mí lo que me ha fallado es el ritmo y no sé porqué, ya que en el fondo creo que no es un mal libro, pero sinceramente no sé si compraría otro protagonizado por el mismo detective.
Más en: http://bitacorademislecturas.blogspot...
La ascendencia Haitiana del autor y los años que ha vivido en la isla, le han ayudado en la detallada descripción de un país donde una miseria que casi se puede palpar predomina sobre todo lo demás, donde la corrupción está a la orden del día, todo ello aderezado con personajes interesantes, intriga, misterio, magia negra. A mí lo que me ha fallado es el ritmo y no sé porqué, ya que en el fondo creo que no es un mal libro, pero sinceramente no sé si compraría otro protagonizado por el mismo detective.
Más en: http://bitacorademislecturas.blogspot...
June 30, 2025
I really enjoyed this book. Why it took me 13 years to pick it up... I really don't know. The sevond book Solomon or The King of Swords will be the sequel. It will be on my July tbr for sure
September 13, 2012
Just who REALLY paid the piper?
Reading an author's debut book sometimes feels like a double edged sword, yes should the they be successful and go on to write a whole series about a particular character then you are starting at the very beginning, on the ground floor so to speak (unless the second offering, as in this case, is a prequal) but then the writing style may not be fully honed as yet and later books are above basement level. On the whole I feel that this a fairly accomplished first novel.
The story revolves around an ex-cop, ex-PI and recent ex-con Max Mingus being employed to search for the missing son of powerful and wealthy parents in Haiti, a brutal and highly superstitious country where death in its many guises is never far away.
Now the author has certainly done a lot of background research into Haiti, its people, politics and environment and in particular how its people has been let down both by its own leaders but also the larger world and the UN in particular, some of the descriptions of the squalid living conditions that the majority endure is pretty harrowing. However, in a rather strange way this also had a negative effect on me as I ended up thinking a lot more of their plight and how it might be improved than I did of the main characters.
The main characters are fairly well portrayed from the determined and callous Gustav, the beautiful Chantale, the distraught mother Francesca and the powerful but benevolent drug Baron Vincent Paul. However, there are also a couple of typical sterotypes in particular the weak, gay 'father' Allain. Yet strangely the character that I really found hardest to like was Max himself. He fits too many cliches, he is obviuosly still grieving for his late wife, a recovering alcoholic and is steadfastedly determined to succeed. The typical flawed lead character.
Throughout the book there is an almost palpable undercurrent of violence with a couple of the most excrutiating (from a male point of view at least) punishment sections that I think that I have ever read, but strangely despite Max putting himself in some pretty precarious situations, mainly due to alcohol, and obviously a pretty tough guy himself he is kept pretty well insulated from it all.
The pace of the book starts off slowly, it is a cold case afterall, and then picks up but in the end it felt just a little too rushed, a little too neat. That said my main fault was that I did not feel that Max actually uncovered anything evidence on his own account in the end but was rather led along througthout the story by others rather like a bull with a ring thougth its nose. Also just why did Chantale suddenly have to disappear from the scene after the author had so painstakingly portrayed her.
I was split between awarding this book either 3 or 4 stars but eventually plumped for the latter. As a debut book it certainly showed plenty of promise and perhaps above all it left me thinking about the plight of the people of Haiti, this blighted half of Espanyol.A country I admit I know little about. I mean would the local children really be better off living in other richer countries, althought obviously not with loving families not peadophiles, rather than their own? Even if that meant someone selling them?
Reading an author's debut book sometimes feels like a double edged sword, yes should the they be successful and go on to write a whole series about a particular character then you are starting at the very beginning, on the ground floor so to speak (unless the second offering, as in this case, is a prequal) but then the writing style may not be fully honed as yet and later books are above basement level. On the whole I feel that this a fairly accomplished first novel.
The story revolves around an ex-cop, ex-PI and recent ex-con Max Mingus being employed to search for the missing son of powerful and wealthy parents in Haiti, a brutal and highly superstitious country where death in its many guises is never far away.
Now the author has certainly done a lot of background research into Haiti, its people, politics and environment and in particular how its people has been let down both by its own leaders but also the larger world and the UN in particular, some of the descriptions of the squalid living conditions that the majority endure is pretty harrowing. However, in a rather strange way this also had a negative effect on me as I ended up thinking a lot more of their plight and how it might be improved than I did of the main characters.
The main characters are fairly well portrayed from the determined and callous Gustav, the beautiful Chantale, the distraught mother Francesca and the powerful but benevolent drug Baron Vincent Paul. However, there are also a couple of typical sterotypes in particular the weak, gay 'father' Allain. Yet strangely the character that I really found hardest to like was Max himself. He fits too many cliches, he is obviuosly still grieving for his late wife, a recovering alcoholic and is steadfastedly determined to succeed. The typical flawed lead character.
Throughout the book there is an almost palpable undercurrent of violence with a couple of the most excrutiating (from a male point of view at least) punishment sections that I think that I have ever read, but strangely despite Max putting himself in some pretty precarious situations, mainly due to alcohol, and obviously a pretty tough guy himself he is kept pretty well insulated from it all.
The pace of the book starts off slowly, it is a cold case afterall, and then picks up but in the end it felt just a little too rushed, a little too neat. That said my main fault was that I did not feel that Max actually uncovered anything evidence on his own account in the end but was rather led along througthout the story by others rather like a bull with a ring thougth its nose. Also just why did Chantale suddenly have to disappear from the scene after the author had so painstakingly portrayed her.
I was split between awarding this book either 3 or 4 stars but eventually plumped for the latter. As a debut book it certainly showed plenty of promise and perhaps above all it left me thinking about the plight of the people of Haiti, this blighted half of Espanyol.A country I admit I know little about. I mean would the local children really be better off living in other richer countries, althought obviously not with loving families not peadophiles, rather than their own? Even if that meant someone selling them?
February 28, 2008
So this book is a thriller, and it indeed thrills, so hence the two stars. Its writing is mediocre at best, but hey, it does the job, and the forward motion is never stalled by a well-turned phrase, so I suppose it keeps the interest level up.
My one and only problem with this book is that the author is utterly tone-deaf to American language, idiom, history, and politics. This in itself would not be a problem, but when the main character is supposed to be American... well, it turns out to be jarring at best.
Stone manages to insert some sly anti-American politics, which is fine, although since it is not integrated well into the story, just makes him sound preachy and a bit simplistic. Also, I could not help but wondering why the Americans always say "whaddya" and swear at inappropriate times, while the other characters (and remember this is Haiti) speak perfectly in the queen's English.
So there it is, not great, ok, fine, readable, just don't think about it. That is kind of sad since, considering Mr. Stone's background, there is so much to be said.
My one and only problem with this book is that the author is utterly tone-deaf to American language, idiom, history, and politics. This in itself would not be a problem, but when the main character is supposed to be American... well, it turns out to be jarring at best.
Stone manages to insert some sly anti-American politics, which is fine, although since it is not integrated well into the story, just makes him sound preachy and a bit simplistic. Also, I could not help but wondering why the Americans always say "whaddya" and swear at inappropriate times, while the other characters (and remember this is Haiti) speak perfectly in the queen's English.
So there it is, not great, ok, fine, readable, just don't think about it. That is kind of sad since, considering Mr. Stone's background, there is so much to be said.
February 4, 2017
Es una muy buena novela negra, aunque no excelente. Pero puedo decir que está por encima de la media y, además, creo que es una de las pocas, sino la única novela ambientada en el Haití contemporáneo. De manera que también aprendemos bastante sobre la historia y política del país. En fin, bastante recomendable y muy bien por la traducción. Sin llegar a ser una excelente novela engancha bastante, y yo que le tenía desconfianza al principio.
Read
September 1, 2020Como a sinopse diz, a trama gira à volta de Mingus um ex detective que, após sair da prisão, é contratado para encontrar um criança raptada em circunstâncias muito misteriosas.
Mingus viaja para o Haiti e é aí, no meio da pobreza e corrupção que terá de tentar fazer o seu trabalho. Mingus aceita este trabalho não só porque se sente só e desajustado após anos preso mas também porque a oferta monetária é muito aliciante. Se resolver o mistério receberá 10 milhões de dólares.
Não é fácil para Mingus alcançar a verdade onde tantos antes dele tentaram e falharam. Outros detectives foram mortos, feridos ou foram misteriosamente afastados. Será que Mingus conseguirá aproximar-se da verdade?
Achei a história um relato muito chocante do Haiti (continuação e classificação: https://livrosdevidro.blogs.sapo.pt/o... )
Mingus viaja para o Haiti e é aí, no meio da pobreza e corrupção que terá de tentar fazer o seu trabalho. Mingus aceita este trabalho não só porque se sente só e desajustado após anos preso mas também porque a oferta monetária é muito aliciante. Se resolver o mistério receberá 10 milhões de dólares.
Não é fácil para Mingus alcançar a verdade onde tantos antes dele tentaram e falharam. Outros detectives foram mortos, feridos ou foram misteriosamente afastados. Será que Mingus conseguirá aproximar-se da verdade?
Achei a história um relato muito chocante do Haiti (continuação e classificação: https://livrosdevidro.blogs.sapo.pt/o... )
February 22, 2023
Un noir eccellente. Peccato per il titolo nell'edizione italiana che è al 100% fuorviante.
Stupito già dalle prime pagine per quanto bene è scritto e per quanto interessante è la storia, successivamente vai con il volta pagina al massimo, senza però trascurare le molteplici informazioni su il paese Haiti con le sue tradizioni e i suoi "riti".
Veramente una bella lettura
Stupito già dalle prime pagine per quanto bene è scritto e per quanto interessante è la storia, successivamente vai con il volta pagina al massimo, senza però trascurare le molteplici informazioni su il paese Haiti con le sue tradizioni e i suoi "riti".
Veramente una bella lettura
April 4, 2019
Solid thriller. Set in Haiti this one can be scary reading at times. Protagonist Max Mingus a former cop, former P.I., and most recently a former con. I really enjoyed this one.
May 20, 2020
This novel started out good, but as ex-private detective/ex-con/ex-cop Max Mingus begins to unravel the mystery of the missing child Charlie Carver he takes his years and years of training and with complete disregard to protocol throws all of that experience to the wind. He continues to make wrong turn after wrong turn.
The way the story evolves reminds me of someone who is driving to their destination and then their GPS breaks, and even though one of the other passengers in the car knows the way, he doesn't ask for help from them or even stop and ask someone else. Max stays in a constant state of lost. For example to show I have no personal disgust with the author (the king of swords was great by the way).
Here is an example of where Max blatantly makes a silly choice. He calls his ex-partner in Miami for help. His buddy Joe Liston says, I will call you tomorrow with ALL of the information I find out. Okay, so that was the plan. It makes sense. So then why oh why does Max set out for a freakin' week to find the answers and get his ass beat by some random kids, etc, etc. So FINALLY when he does return his ex-partner's phone call it goes something like this: "Okay Max I found out the guy behind the drug ring is..." Max cuts him off " I know it's Vincent Paul" and this just keeps happening like they are two lovers finishing each others sentences.
The point is if Max had just waited a mere 15 hours his buddy could have filled in Max as well as the reader a whole lot quicker than the boring “roller-coaster ride” we just went on for the past week. So all in all the story unravels at the same pace as a newborn baby unwrapping Christmas gifts and when I say newborn I mean just exited the womb!
I would like to award this book less stars, but at this point I have just ended up feeling sorry for this author's debut book. I'm just glad Nick Stone learned from his previous mistake and made his second book a little faster pace as well as a more interesting landscape than the poverty ridden Haiti.
The way the story evolves reminds me of someone who is driving to their destination and then their GPS breaks, and even though one of the other passengers in the car knows the way, he doesn't ask for help from them or even stop and ask someone else. Max stays in a constant state of lost. For example to show I have no personal disgust with the author (the king of swords was great by the way).
Here is an example of where Max blatantly makes a silly choice. He calls his ex-partner in Miami for help. His buddy Joe Liston says, I will call you tomorrow with ALL of the information I find out. Okay, so that was the plan. It makes sense. So then why oh why does Max set out for a freakin' week to find the answers and get his ass beat by some random kids, etc, etc. So FINALLY when he does return his ex-partner's phone call it goes something like this: "Okay Max I found out the guy behind the drug ring is..." Max cuts him off " I know it's Vincent Paul" and this just keeps happening like they are two lovers finishing each others sentences.
The point is if Max had just waited a mere 15 hours his buddy could have filled in Max as well as the reader a whole lot quicker than the boring “roller-coaster ride” we just went on for the past week. So all in all the story unravels at the same pace as a newborn baby unwrapping Christmas gifts and when I say newborn I mean just exited the womb!
I would like to award this book less stars, but at this point I have just ended up feeling sorry for this author's debut book. I'm just glad Nick Stone learned from his previous mistake and made his second book a little faster pace as well as a more interesting landscape than the poverty ridden Haiti.
August 14, 2022
I bought this after reading the superb "The Verdict" by the same author. I was disappointed in this, however. There is no similarity between the two books at all. Now of course that means the author is a talented writer who can turn his hand to different styles, but it doesn't mean i have to like both.
Here, in what I understand to be the author's first book, a Private Investigator (Max Mingus) takes a missing person case in Haiti. So far, so interesting. But everything is so pessimistic and depressing. There is not a single likable person in the story. Even the PI is a killer himself and has just been released from prison after a 7-year sentence. The light of his life, his wife, died while he was inside, so no chance of redemption there. Max goes to Haiti to search for the kidnappers - it is assumed that the child has been kidnapped, though no ransom note was received.
Three other PIs have tried before and failed, and indeed ended up gruesomely killed. Why would Max take the case? Well, $5M is a lot of money. He follows some leads - the same ones followed by the previous detectives, but unlike the others, he makes progress.
Here's the other thing i didn't like. When he begins to make progress, suddenly the whole case is dropped into his lap. People sit him down and tell him the whole story! I can't help feeling that it would have been better for Max to have noticed more before having the story handed to him.
And finally, it's a strange criticism, but here are too many words. There is too much over-description, all of it depressing. And a lot of side-swiping at US politicians; I don't know if this was to give us the idea that Max is a sexist redneck - he certainly seems to be - or if it was the author's own feelings. I won't be back for the next Max Mingus outing.
Here, in what I understand to be the author's first book, a Private Investigator (Max Mingus) takes a missing person case in Haiti. So far, so interesting. But everything is so pessimistic and depressing. There is not a single likable person in the story. Even the PI is a killer himself and has just been released from prison after a 7-year sentence. The light of his life, his wife, died while he was inside, so no chance of redemption there. Max goes to Haiti to search for the kidnappers - it is assumed that the child has been kidnapped, though no ransom note was received.
Three other PIs have tried before and failed, and indeed ended up gruesomely killed. Why would Max take the case? Well, $5M is a lot of money. He follows some leads - the same ones followed by the previous detectives, but unlike the others, he makes progress.
Here's the other thing i didn't like. When he begins to make progress, suddenly the whole case is dropped into his lap. People sit him down and tell him the whole story! I can't help feeling that it would have been better for Max to have noticed more before having the story handed to him.
And finally, it's a strange criticism, but here are too many words. There is too much over-description, all of it depressing. And a lot of side-swiping at US politicians; I don't know if this was to give us the idea that Max is a sexist redneck - he certainly seems to be - or if it was the author's own feelings. I won't be back for the next Max Mingus outing.
January 5, 2009
A whodunit set in Haiti, written by a former resident of the island. His descriptions of the poverty and deprivation, heat and dust are strong and jarring. He takes a few of the philosophical asides common to the "private dick" genre, a la Travis McGee or more recently, Carl Hiaasen. The digs at America's policies with the country, mostly Carter and Clinton, are deft and have an insider's ring of truth to them, though I did not sense any partisan edge to them.
The story hinges on the search for a kidnapped child, the autistic son of a wealthy businessman still living in Haiti. The trail leads into the heart of the voudou culture, and some very nasty people with no conscience and much to lose if their enterprises are exposed. Two or three other detectives have tried, and returned in psychological tatters, or found in the most dire drug-lord-warning type graves. This book is downright scary!
As with some of the best detective books, the hero is hard to intimidate, because he has nothing to live for - think of the opening of Mel Gibson's first LETHAL WEAPON: My wife is dead, my future is shattered, what can you possibly do to scare me? Kill me? I WANT to die. Ah, but the body has its own logic, and the goosebumps rise when you enter the cave, and the loins do, too, when the right woman smiles at you. You are called into life, into caring again, in spite of yourself.
This was one of those "just one more chapter, and then I'll go to bed" books that kept me up late three nights in a row.
A bit reminiscent of Walker Percy's "Thanatos Syndrome" - in that your moral outrage is engaged, urging you and the detective deeper into sacrificial gestures that you didn't know you possessed for causes far removed from anything that would create profit or benefit.
The story hinges on the search for a kidnapped child, the autistic son of a wealthy businessman still living in Haiti. The trail leads into the heart of the voudou culture, and some very nasty people with no conscience and much to lose if their enterprises are exposed. Two or three other detectives have tried, and returned in psychological tatters, or found in the most dire drug-lord-warning type graves. This book is downright scary!
As with some of the best detective books, the hero is hard to intimidate, because he has nothing to live for - think of the opening of Mel Gibson's first LETHAL WEAPON: My wife is dead, my future is shattered, what can you possibly do to scare me? Kill me? I WANT to die. Ah, but the body has its own logic, and the goosebumps rise when you enter the cave, and the loins do, too, when the right woman smiles at you. You are called into life, into caring again, in spite of yourself.
This was one of those "just one more chapter, and then I'll go to bed" books that kept me up late three nights in a row.
A bit reminiscent of Walker Percy's "Thanatos Syndrome" - in that your moral outrage is engaged, urging you and the detective deeper into sacrificial gestures that you didn't know you possessed for causes far removed from anything that would create profit or benefit.
August 10, 2016
In Nick Stone's debut book, MR CLARINET, ex-cop, ex-PI, most recently convicted of manslaughter, Max Mingus is contacted whilst still in jail by the desperate father of a child kidnapped in Haiti. Despite offering millions of dollars as a reward, Allain Carver, part of the powerful and rich elite of Haitian society, has to pester Mingus in jail and after release, to take up the search for his son. Mingus has a reputation of getting to the bottom of kidnappings and disappearing children, and of taking those searches very much to heart. Carver has been trying, with various other PI's for 3 years, to find his missing infant son. Charlie Carver is not the only child to go missing in Haiti, and a lot of previous investigators have died or been left scarred trying to work their way through a violent and dysfunctional society.
Stone's Haiti is a country very much on the edge, with occupation forces patrolling streets and gangs controlling others, society conventions are disrupted, there is economic meltdown and increasing slum living conditions, confrontational voodoo practices and rituals are being openly used and discussed, and drug lords enforce their brand of tribal law.
This is a big, elaborate thriller of a book, with action, violence and ritual liberally interspersed throughout. A little judicious editing would have been of some benefit as some of the middle sections of the book drag slightly, and some of the voodoo rituals, whilst perhaps thought to add some colour, came across as pointlessly gratuitous.
All round, a good thriller which, despite showing some weaknesses, indicates promise for a second book.
Stone's Haiti is a country very much on the edge, with occupation forces patrolling streets and gangs controlling others, society conventions are disrupted, there is economic meltdown and increasing slum living conditions, confrontational voodoo practices and rituals are being openly used and discussed, and drug lords enforce their brand of tribal law.
This is a big, elaborate thriller of a book, with action, violence and ritual liberally interspersed throughout. A little judicious editing would have been of some benefit as some of the middle sections of the book drag slightly, and some of the voodoo rituals, whilst perhaps thought to add some colour, came across as pointlessly gratuitous.
All round, a good thriller which, despite showing some weaknesses, indicates promise for a second book.
September 15, 2019
This is one of the first thrillers that kept me curious and I loved the Haitian setting. I just wish there was more of the creepy voodoo stuff in here. That could've made it so much more unsettling. It was more than dark enough and it's a bit of a shame I can't say what made this so dark because it is not only a spoiler, but one of the major twists.
The writing was just ok though, there wasn't really anything special about it and sometimes it even felt a bit sloppy or newbie?
Generally, I was curious about where Charlie was and what happened but the twist of what and why wasn't. The reasons and the person who did it were so strange and the motive wasn't complex enough in my opinion.
Charlie has autism and the signs are there from his first description, but what felt a bit off on it is that he feels like a stereotype of a boy with autism that someone would write if they'd never seen it before. Those people probably exist, but Charlie is supposedly smart and about 6 years old, so it's completely off he doesn't really say a word. Barely saying a thing would be more logical.
It was also strange that they took him out of his regular environment without taking into account what kind of distress that would cause in a person with autism. This just showcases a lack of research on this topic, because that was absolutely known around 2004 (a couple of years before the release).
The writing was just ok though, there wasn't really anything special about it and sometimes it even felt a bit sloppy or newbie?
Generally, I was curious about where Charlie was and what happened but the twist of what and why wasn't. The reasons and the person who did it were so strange and the motive wasn't complex enough in my opinion.
Charlie has autism and the signs are there from his first description, but what felt a bit off on it is that he feels like a stereotype of a boy with autism that someone would write if they'd never seen it before. Those people probably exist, but Charlie is supposedly smart and about 6 years old, so it's completely off he doesn't really say a word. Barely saying a thing would be more logical.
It was also strange that they took him out of his regular environment without taking into account what kind of distress that would cause in a person with autism. This just showcases a lack of research on this topic, because that was absolutely known around 2004 (a couple of years before the release).
April 5, 2024
DNF @ pg 75. I didn’t like the way this was written and nothing about this book pulled me in except the summary and me wanting to give it a chance. Nope, couldn’t do it, not for me. I didn’t like the characters, especially the main character, and just felt grossed out with every thought written. Everything felt like it was being TOLD instead of shown.
A little bit off topic; even though this is a small thing to others, …I can’t stand when characters’ romantic partners die and the narrative goes through how much they grieved, how sad they were, etc etc yet a couple pages later they are ogling over someone else…. Which is what the main character did. LISTEN: I KNOW this isn’t a romance, but why am I supposed to care about how sad he is when dude is eyefucking the first woman he talks to after getting off the plane in Haiti.
I also did not like how I couldn’t get a grasp on the setting despite all the details be thrown at me, how the beginning was just rushed in order to have everyone tell him “don’t go to Haiti” and to create the “what is he walking into omg” atmosphere but I just didn’t get ANY feeling of suspense when reading. All I can say is that I can absolutely tell this was written pre-2010, and no I will not elaborate.
One last thing … pages 21-22 where Mingus and Carver’s discussion about the details of Charlie’s disappearance; the reaction of Mingus when looking over Charlie’s pictures of him in a dress and long hair…? I don’t need to say anything else. Guess I’m too much of a liberal… 😔😢🤷♀️
A little bit off topic; even though this is a small thing to others, …I can’t stand when characters’ romantic partners die and the narrative goes through how much they grieved, how sad they were, etc etc yet a couple pages later they are ogling over someone else…. Which is what the main character did. LISTEN: I KNOW this isn’t a romance, but why am I supposed to care about how sad he is when dude is eyefucking the first woman he talks to after getting off the plane in Haiti.
I also did not like how I couldn’t get a grasp on the setting despite all the details be thrown at me, how the beginning was just rushed in order to have everyone tell him “don’t go to Haiti” and to create the “what is he walking into omg” atmosphere but I just didn’t get ANY feeling of suspense when reading. All I can say is that I can absolutely tell this was written pre-2010, and no I will not elaborate.
One last thing … pages 21-22 where Mingus and Carver’s discussion about the details of Charlie’s disappearance; the reaction of Mingus when looking over Charlie’s pictures of him in a dress and long hair…? I don’t need to say anything else. Guess I’m too much of a liberal… 😔😢🤷♀️
February 15, 2021
I'm not an experienced crime/thriller reader, so I don't know that much about standards on complexity levels. This one though was very pleasing to read as everything unfolded during these 600 pages - which also didn't feel like as much to me. The writing style was my type, too: A decent amount of background and description, but not overwhelming. I read some reviews complaining about the language, so I might add that I read the German translation which didn't do any kind of mishap dialect and accent job.
As to tension: I think I've seen worse, so that wasn't highest thrilling, but also just enough to be fine with it (actually, there's one scene that was somewhat too much for me, but serving its purpose ... I guess?).
Just one thing bugged me a little bit and that was "male author introducing female figure to the story." I thank goodness Mr. Stone didn't keep going on it, so it mostly stayed with "male protagonist sees woman for the first time and wonders when he last had ... y'know" - I see it so often it really annoys me. But the author rescued it by continuing with subtext that stayed there.
So, overall, I liked it pretty much.
As to tension: I think I've seen worse, so that wasn't highest thrilling, but also just enough to be fine with it (actually, there's one scene that was somewhat too much for me, but serving its purpose ... I guess?).
Just one thing bugged me a little bit and that was "male author introducing female figure to the story." I thank goodness Mr. Stone didn't keep going on it, so it mostly stayed with "male protagonist sees woman for the first time and wonders when he last had ... y'know" - I see it so often it really annoys me. But the author rescued it by continuing with subtext that stayed there.
So, overall, I liked it pretty much.
July 23, 2012
I have never read anything about Haiti before unless you count some of the news stories from the horrendous natural disaster a few years back. So I wasn't really sure how much I would understand of how they lived. But this was the perfect story for me. It was a thriller (my fav) wrapped up with plenty of mystery (my next fav) and let me learn about some of the history and culture in Haiti. It's definitely portrayed as another world. Lawlessness, corruption, voodooism and all sorts of culture differences. What an eye opener for me! This almost seems the perfect lead in for the memoir I have that deals with a doctor and his "tour of duty" after the disaster.
Either way, I can't wait to find and read the next book in the Max Mingus series. It should still have some tie-ins to Haiti as we've just found out his arch nemesis has escaped and will surely be hunting Max down in Miami. Two thumbs up to Nick Stone!
Either way, I can't wait to find and read the next book in the Max Mingus series. It should still have some tie-ins to Haiti as we've just found out his arch nemesis has escaped and will surely be hunting Max down in Miami. Two thumbs up to Nick Stone!
April 26, 2019
"Terrifying, exhilarating...A breathlessly compelling tale of black magic & mystery" says the cover blurb - so as a fan of thrillers that are on the gruesome side I expected this to be right up my street - but alas it wasn't to be.
Parts of the story were very disturbing, the stone throwing children really unsettled me for some reason & Clyde Beeson was enough to make anyone shudder! I don't know what to say except the book has left me feeling uncomfortable & while I can't say it's not a well-written story I can't honestly say I enjoyed it. I didn't warm to Max as a character (all the fights/violence going on around Max & he never throws a punch - incredible!) & Chantal's role seemed to be building her up to play a part that never arrived! Consequently I don't think I'll be reading anymore of the series.
Finally, I don't know anything about Haiti but have come away from this book believing that there are people living like this - so shocking & so sad.
Parts of the story were very disturbing, the stone throwing children really unsettled me for some reason & Clyde Beeson was enough to make anyone shudder! I don't know what to say except the book has left me feeling uncomfortable & while I can't say it's not a well-written story I can't honestly say I enjoyed it. I didn't warm to Max as a character (all the fights/violence going on around Max & he never throws a punch - incredible!) & Chantal's role seemed to be building her up to play a part that never arrived! Consequently I don't think I'll be reading anymore of the series.
Finally, I don't know anything about Haiti but have come away from this book believing that there are people living like this - so shocking & so sad.
Read
May 8, 2023I've had this unread in my collection for 15 years and after finally reading it I can say it's pretty all right. Nick Stone definitely knows Haiti, has a lot of axes to grind with Haiti, and wrote a quite solid (if derivative) pot boiler detective yarn. The pros of the book were that the developments and plot twists felt natural, and that the story took some interesting turns on the way to a fairly satisfying conclusion. The cons were that a lot of things happened (and not all of them integral to the plot) so back referencing was a regular event, and our main character definitely put the B in ACAB so it was had to root for anyone.
November 28, 2012
Streckenweies ein bisschen spannend bis gruselig, aber das Ende ist absolut schwach, bzw. klischeehaft, sprich es wird mal wieder der fünftmillionste Kinderschänderring ausgehoben. Wenn man die Aufklärungsrate bei diesem Verbrechen in sämtlichen Krimis der letzten Jahre hochrechnet, dann dürfte sich kein Mensch mehr auf freiem Fuß bewegen. Aber wenn man die Mordquote in manchen Kleinstadtkrimis als Maßstab nimmt, dann dürfte es auch schon vor dem demografisch bedingten Dörfersterben deutlich mehr Geisterstädte geben.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 227 reviews