Murder of Crows discussion

Bring Me to Life by Richard Simon

Summary:
Ray Scapio is Ventura County’s top homicide prosecutor; he has been assigned the case of his career.
A local Tennis pro murdered his ex-girlfriend. The case seems obvious until a high-priced defense attorney hires an expert with a record of creating reasonable doubt. After a stunning cross-examination the trial concludes. Soon after, Scapio gets an even bigger case.
When beautiful Daisy Guzman is abducted the race is on to find her. Brilliant Detectives Davon Washington and Chris Whatley’s investigation takes them to a local hospital where a young woman lies comatose with bandages covering severe burn injuries. Jack Maclin, a paroled rapist is certain that he killed Daisy and will get away with her murder.
But when Daisy’s bandages are removed the case takes a shocking twist and Jack Maclin has no clue how the tables are about to turn.

My thoughts:
I have such mixed thoughts about this book. I adored the beginning of this book, it was captivating and was written in a way that I’ve never seen before. The last bit of it was just so upsetting to read. I was very sad by this ending, and is for sure the reason for my rating. If you want a good read, I suggest reading through page 285, but 286 and beyond will make you regret reading the book.

The book is written in a way that is very similar to a murder podcast script (who doesn’t love a good murder podcast). Because it’s not a writing style I’ve seen, I decided to look up the author and found the following.

He is a Senior Deputy District Attorney working homicides, arsons and serious and violent felonies and was even on the team of Prosecutors assigned to the infamous Golden State Killer case. He has successfully prosecuted many high profile murder cases in Ventura County (which is where the setting of the book takes place) and received the Prosecutor of the Year twice.

Because of this, his writing style is also heavy with courtroom rules and law specific language (don’t worry it is effortless to follow along) and I actually was really interested in reading these parts. I don’t know much about law, so the fact that he was able to bring things to light and make it so realistic allows me to enjoy the book that much more.

He goes in depth a lot about the background of the characters (showing and not telling which is great). I really enjoyed those parts because the stories were entertaining when the author was describing a character’s personality.

I also am very happy to see that lab techs are getting more credit than just the usual "It's not quick like the TV shows." It is actually explained to the reader about genetic markers and how they can be used to distinguish the blood between two different people. Lab Technicians don’t get enough credit in the medical setting, let alone the forensic setting.

I didn't have too much of a problem with jumping around story plots (a lot of the book reviews complained about this), but that may be because it's similar to how I tell stories. I always tell my stories with many little stories within the story I was originally going to tell. Some people are only able to follow books that are written with one storyline that is written linearly from start to finish, and that's okay those people will just have a harder time reading this book.

The cross-examination of Andrews was unbelievably good!! It's my favorite part of the book. Scapio is a very well developed character and even though he has his flaws, I would love to see more of him. The book, being fiction, allowed the author to set up such a good cross-examination, making it very entertaining. He had everything set up from the beginning of the book that were carefully planned and that can be said through to the end of the book with all the stories lining up and intertwining.

Thank you for a thoughtful and honest review. You will be pleased to know that my second book is a straight courtroom drama/ crime thriller with no similar twist. I do think everyone should read this to the end and judge for themselves. I do get that my genre switch is controversial. I will tell you my thought process. I could have done it where Daisy dies from her injuries, but DNA enables the killer to be convicted but that would be too much like Jessica Braden's murder. I could have done it where she survives but is horribly disfigured and musters the courage to testify and get justice. In the end it is a sad and unpleasant story, I decided to go full Quentin Tarantino with the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood alternate universe concept. This gave me two things: 1. A happy ending. I wanted that because our country is so divided, and people are so angry today I wanted an upbeat story, and the bandage removal scene gave us that. I thought that the idea of this person being in the Hospital when Daisy was to be fanciful not farcical. None of us know what is out there and I wanted something my readers could say " that made me really happy for her" I know this ending didn't work for everyone. Some of my friends absolutely loved it. One of my good friends gave me the exact same feedback you did (not in a review but personally) and I totally get it. I'm a science fiction geek in addition to being a real -life prosecutor so it was natural for me to do this. It's funny, my editor got to the bandage removal scene and said to herself "he is limiting his audience with a Christian redemption story" but when she got to the point where the bad guy gets melted like the Wicked Witch of the West she knew this wasn't that. She was one of those that loved the ending, but I do get that it is a huge looping curve ball and isn't everyone's cup of tea. I stand by my ending but I respect the views of those who say " come on that was ridiculous" Again, thank you for an honest and well analyzed review.