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TheThirtyYearItch
Posted December 30, 2012
Chasing Smoke was not a disappointment, both in terms of the writing style I was hoping for and a good, hard-boiled mystery. The story was told in the first person of Det. Kadash, who is near the end of his career. He is also not working as a result of a temporary disability; bladder cancer. While convalescing, his partner asks him to help take a look at a death she is investigating, the latest in a series of deaths of cancer patients all seen by the same doctor as Det. Kadash. The deaths all appear to be suicides, but the daughter of one of the victims thinks they are murder. As Det. Kadash looks into it, he doesn't find much other than a few coincidences. In the process, he ruffles feathers that a lot of people would have preferred have been left undisturbed.
Like every good hard-boiled mystery, the protagonist has a difficult time following the rules, has an adversarial relationship with his supervisor, and is better at antagonizing the people he interviews than getting valuable information from them. He has sharp wit, razor tongue, and a gift for sarcasm. But he is also very introspective, although often seems ambivalent, about his career, love life, and cancer. Kadash seems likable to those who really know him, but sadly, that is a small group of people. And he doesn't seem to have a problem making the group smaller.
I enjoyed Chasing Smoke, especially the second half. My first impression about Bill Cameron was right: he is fun to read. A smartass of the first order!
havenne
Posted September 1, 2012
Enjoyed this book almost as much as Day One....Complex puzzle that may not work out quite like you think. Great characters: Harry Bosch move over!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted May 8, 2012
I really liked this book, esp the lead character - "Skin". This is the 1st B.C. book I've read & "Skin" is just so damn down-to-earth & witty. You get to see so much of what's extraordinary & ordinary about him as he unravels the case. Whether true or not, I had the feeling as I read that at least parts of the story might have been autobiographical. There was just some detail that seemed more personal than relevant to the storyline.
All that said, I would have given a 4-star rating, but I had some issues that resulted in a sml rating reduction. There were a lot of characters involved & I found myself occasionally weary from trying to sort that out ... a personal issue, I know. It didn't ring true at all for me that police investigators would be so ready to accept suicide as "obvious" with the coincident circumstances. There were more-than-should-be-expected places where word usage (or word forms) seemed to have escaped any editing or proofreading attention. However, none of the above kept me from buying "Day One" & "County Line". :-)
P.S. 1 tiny final comment - The detail of Skin's birthmark on his neck & the repeat references to it seemed non-contributory & strangely discomforting for some odd reason.
Anonymous
Posted May 5, 2012
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Anonymous
Posted February 15, 2012
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Anonymous
Posted May 28, 2012
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Anonymous
Posted August 2, 2011
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Anonymous
Posted February 28, 2012
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Anonymous
Posted September 21, 2012
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Overview
The deaths are all apparent suicides; the...