Only the Dead

Sean Devereaux #3

by Ben Sanders

When a failed witness protection operation ends in multiple homicides, evidence suggests the crime is linked to a series of violent robberies in Auckland City.
For Detective Sergeant Sean Devereaux, solving the case is proving next to impossible. His own superiors in the police department are refusing to cooperate with his investigation. After Devereaux shoots a suspect in a botched surveillance job, he is forced to start providing the answers rather than demanding them.
With his career on the line and old demons threatening to consume his very sanity, Devereaux is running out of time as he succumbs to a nightmare world of extreme brutality, where bad and desperate men stalk both sides of the legal divide.

Genres: Crime, Thriller

430 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2013

About the author

BEN SANDERS was born in 1989. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand.

Reviews

[Hastings75 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The final book (to date) in the Sean Devereaux and John Hale in the series.

Enjoyed the novel, though couldn't get the time to have a decent run at it so found myself having to re-read a few pages to remind myself who some of the characters were and their roles in the story.

I really like the friendship between the two main characters and also their relationships with others. The latter relationships are written well, with the bad guys being bad guys whose actions are consistent with their character flaws (ie. no "over the top" or out of character incidences).

Satisfactory conclusion to the novel (not always guaranteed with other authors!) so happily looking forward to Sanders releasing his next novel - whether that be a Marshall Grade or Devereaux/Hale novel.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

ONLY THE DEAD is the third Sean Devereaux novel from NZ author Ben Sanders, but only the second I've read. Back in 2012, reading the second book, BY ANY MEANS, it was obvious then that Sanders is an author who likes to work with pace, and complexity. The plots in both these books are built on swirling / shifting sands, making sure that the reader is never exactly sure of anything. Add to that a strong reliance on a noir style, taking a central protagonist, putting them through all sorts of physical challenges, and keeping them dancing that line between good and bad, right and wrong.

Building on many of the basic elements from the earlier books, Devereaux plays a lone hand for most of the action, although he does have a good relationship with ex-cop John Hale, working PI in Auckland and good backstop. Particularly as Devereaux spends much of this book on the outer - sidelined, under suspicion, suspended. In this book he also has a rather shaky romantic relationship lurking around in the background, but that's more about a how to guide on screwing up your personal life.

In the earlier book the music, the popular culture references, and a tendency to lose the basic stylings detracted markedly from the plot, getting things bogged down often. That's been sorted out in ONLY THE DEAD, with the asides and around abouts less distracting and built into the action more naturally and seamlessly. That noir, pared down, choppy style is much more consistent, albeit heavy-handed, but combined with the types of characters, and the action it works. Well enough to make it perfectly acceptable that a place like Auckland would have a dark side, that there's violence and dodgy cops barely under the surface, and that a working PI would be meaningfully occupied.

If you've not read any of the earlier books, ONLY THE DEAD would still work. It is definitely the book where this series starts to make it's mark. Although you do have to feel a bit sorry for tourist authorities in these sorts of locations. There's enough realism here to make you wonder what they're not telling you about "the City of Sails".

http://www.austcrimefiction.org/revie...

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third book in the Devereaux and Hale collaboration and another cracker of a story. To think the author wrote the first book in his teens and then another two while still in his early twenties, I am in awe! I really hope these books become available to an international market because he is that good! Tight descriptive prose, strong characters and plot. Set in and around Auckland (New Zealand) his books show the City in all its glory, good and bad. Detective Sergeant Sean Devereaux is aided by ex colleague turned security specialist, John Hale. Together they make a force to be reckoned with and a rival to any novel by Lee Child or Michael Connelly.

[Houlahan houlahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would give this more 3.75 than 4 if I could. It was good - really good in parts. This is the first crime novel from the NZ writer Ben Sanders that I have read. It is set in AKL, so there are p labs in Swanson, stakeouts in Otara etc. The setting was cool but the characters are what drove the novel and they are pretty compelling. This guy can write. He has two earlier novels and I will be checking them out.

[D.C. Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I neared the end of this book, I found myself hesitating – I didn’t want to finish it. Not that I didn’t want to know how it ended but because I didn’t want it to end at all, although I knew it inevitably would. I had read the first two of Ben Sanders’ books, The Fallen and By Any Means in rapid succession and I knew that this was the last book available until the author’s next book came out and there’s no indication of when that would be. So I wanted this one to last, to spin out the enjoyment of reading it. This book is a step up from the first two, there are more characters to keep track of, more plot threads, that stakes are higher. There is a mature level of sophistication to this novel, a sign that this debut writer is expanding his craft and a sure sign of good things to come. If you enjoyed his previous two novels in the Sean Devereaux series, you will enjoy this even more.

[Lilian]

This is the third book I've read by this author.He just keeps getting better.As a retired librarian,I have an extensive catalogue to choose from.I was not born in NZ but have lived here for over forty years,yet I have found few authors who are able to use NZ as a backdrop, without using it as a tourist destination,or an angst ridden society.Mr Sanders describes Auckland as any other big city in the world,neither glamourising nor demonising,and he is on a par with the Michael Connolly's and Ian Rankin's of this genre.

[Garth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third I've read in his series of mash-ups between private eye and unconventional police detective genres set in Auckland, New Zealand. I've really enjoyed them, and am sorry to see Ben Sanders' upcoming book set in the USA. I know the market probably demands it, but still....

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just love the whole Auckland setting and the way the story developed - and, yes, I really like the two main male characters and the snappy dialogue.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

An OK crime novel that was entertaining enough but not outstanding.

[Andrew Russell · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an easy enough read, the bad guys are flagged early on and it's just a question of working out what they done, rather than who done it.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enjoyable read.

[P.D.R. Lindsay]

Ah me! I was so disappointed because this is a police procedural set in Auckland, New Zealand. I was really looking forward to it.
BUT
it may as well have been an American police procedural. Some spellings and expressions were definitely American and the style was very much US police novel story.

Nothing wrong with the plot or characters. They were standard US police procedural and I had expected some New Zealand laconic dialogue and local colour.

Any reader who likes police procedurals will enjoy th ebook just don't look for a strong Kiwi flavour.