REVIEW (3 stars):
This was my first Robert Walker book, although I have downloaded a number of others to my kindle. In spite of the weaknesses of this book, I expect that I will try a few others.
On the plus side, the book was free. It was also interesting, and fairly well written. There were few typographical errors. The story made sense and did not contain multiple plot holes or other issues. I found it sufficiently entertaining that I didn't quit reading. Lucas Stonecoat, the main character, is Native American and I quite enjoyed the explanation of his backstory and history.
However, I found some fairly substantial negatives. First and foremost, I found the dialogue contrived, wooden and unconvincing. This presented a major problem for me, as it frequently pulled me out of the story. In addition, the relatiionship between the two main characters, Lucas and Meredyth, was not believable to me. Not because they were poorly matched, but because they are obviously attracted to one another, and Meredyth's professed reasons for not pursuing the attraction made her seem shallow and unlikeable. I don't think that the author intended her to be shallow and unlikeable.
I don't know how much of the negative impression is related to the fact that this book involved a great deal of psychic detection. I really didn't like that aspect of the story. I am a fan of the police procedural, which is what I expected when I picked up the book, so the whole pyschic angle turned me off. I felt that it provided a cheap and easy solution to what would have been a complex and difficult investigation. A different reader may feel very differently about this aspect of the book.
It is certainly not my intention to pan the book. I picked the book up for free & it is the second of the series. I wonder if I would have felt differently about it had I not jumped into the series at midpoint. I am interested enough in Lucas Stonecoat that I plan to buy the first book in his series.
I would recommend this book for fans of John Sanford's Lucas Davenport series.
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