Review: The Trespasser

The Trespasser by Tana French
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Tana French is quickly becoming a Harlan Coben in that I can snatch up any book with her name on it and be pretty certain I'm going to like it. Now considering this in only my second French novel, it makes that first statement kind of a big deal.

The Trespasser is a solid police procedural written with a grace uncommon in the genre. The flowery prose doesn't dampen the horror of the crimes, if anything, the horror is highlighted against it. This would be a novel to gently ease a gore-sensitive reader into this type of crime fiction because yes, it is absolutely bloody and violent but the language which paints the picture is beautiful enough you almost don't notice.

All of the characters fit their role perfectly, with just the right information given out at a time. Main characters, secondary and even the swiftly mentioned "extras" have their precise place in the narrative and that is a delicate balance to achieve.

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Review: When Never Comes

When Never Comes by Barbara Davis
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

When Never Comes... what never came was fruition. I had such high hopes for this plot and especially for Christy-Lynn and the next thing I know I'm reading a Lifetime movie. To be fair, when I went back to read the book description, I guess I should have seen it coming.

I put this on my DNF shelf, though I do actually finish them all. I turn on my freaky fast read/skim radar to be sure I'm not missing something that will turn it around for me. Notice the book remains on my DNF shelf.

Now all that sounds pretty bad but hear me out; This book isn't bad, it's just bad for ME. I know there's a big audience for coming of age, wholesome, Lifetime-esque literature and Barbara Davis did it well here. Those two stars represent only my disappointment in the lack of high drama/thrills in When Never Comes and I know many many people who would put it on a Faves shelf.

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