Bloody Detective by Freya LeCrow Book Review
Publication Date: October 23, 2017
Genres: Mystery, Crime, Paranormal Mystery
Formats: Ebook, Paperback
Pages: 242
My Ranking:
Who done it ranking: 1 This is a new ranking to show aspects of a murder mystery or crime book. My ranking system is a little different from most, for more information please click here.
Page Turing Ranking: 2 My ranking system is a little different from most, for more information please click here.
Where To Buy:
My Review:
Warning, though I try my best to avoid this, all reviews can contain spoilers of some kind. If you would like to know just my overall opinion of the book, and otherwise go into reading it blind, please scroll down to my overall and would I recommend it section.
I Voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Bloody Detective takes the vampire who cares angle in a new and refreshing direction. Alexander Chetwood is a vampire who has retained his humanity and does not wish to live like a monster. Now while this angle has been taken many times in the past, Alex is not tortured by what he is. He accepts what has happened to him and makes the most of it by solving cases that the police have a hard time with using his supernatural powers and enhanced senes. The reason I find this so refreshing is because when we see cases of monsters with hearts they are usually very depressed and torture themselves more than any victim they have ever come across.
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| Excerpt from Bloody Detective by Freya LeCrow |
This book is set up as a kind of two for one special. The main plot takes place in present day and follows a case of couples turning up dead in murder suicide fashion, but Alex feels there’s more to it than that. The other story is of Alex’s past and how he became a vampire. It is very easy for these kinds of stories to distract me and cause frustration, however this was not the case with Bloody Detective. I found myself interested in both stories equally. What is very interesting about this is the way it brings Alex’s way of speaking to the forefront in a unique way. Alex is from the seventeen hundreds which means he was raised during a time when good educate and proper language was of high importance. However in our time, things have changed. We use slang words, shorten our sentences, and use contractions all the time. When Alex talks, he uses a lot of the proper speech rules while still throwing in words and phrases we use today. I will say, however, that while this works out really well for Alex it is a little strange when it’s seen in the other human character in the story.
While I really liked the idea behind the story, there were a few things that kept me from really being able to dive into the book, and made me feel like I was constantly being thrown out of the story. The thing I had the hardest time with was the detectives knowledge and overall research put into the book. Detective Connor, as well as all the other investigators in this novel, come across as either new and incapable of simple detective work, or like they would much rather just pass an obvious homicide off as a open and shut murder/suicide case. Clues that even the newest police officers would have been able to spot are left for Alex to pick up and used to try and showcase his heightened senses. I also found it strange that the detectives would know nothing at all about the victims and not think to sweep a house that bodies are found in to see if anyone else is there.
With that said, I will say the paranormal aspect to this book was pleasantly unexpected. I knew going into it that there would be vampires, but all the different twists and turns added into the more magical aspect of this story was not even on my list of possibilities. I loved how this was incorporated into a genre that usually does not display that level of magic and paranormal.
Over All:
This book has a really unique perspective on the murder mystery genre and I love the idea behind it, however the writing mechanics and the way detectives miss even the biggest clues and lack of research really stopped this story form reaching its potential. I loved the twists and turns at the end though.
Would I Recommend It:
On this one I would have to say not really. I love the premise of the story, as well as the paranormal aspect and unexpected ending, but I was doing more work than necessary to stay connected to the story as the reader.
Sounds like it was a steady read despite the problems with it. I do love a good murder mystery though. :)
ReplyDeleteThe main issue I had was the research problem. The detectives and overall work behind a case was really unrealistic and made it hard but the paranormal aspect was cool. If the world building had been better I would tell you to give it a try in a heart beat. I have some more murder mysteries coming soon though.
DeleteLol romance is more of a favorite but murder mysteries are great too.