by Niall Leonard
Genres: Mystery
Source: Publisher
Purchase*: Amazon *affiliate
To catch a killer,Finn Maguire may have to become one....
Everything changed the day Finn found his father in a pool of blood, bludgeoned to death. His dull, dreary life is turned upside down as he becomes's the prime suspect. How can he clear his name and find out who hated his dad enough to kill him?
Facing danger at every turn, uncovering dark family secrets and braving the seedy London underworld, Finn is about to discover that only the people you trust can really hurt you...
In the mood for a good mystery thriller, I accepted a finished copy of Crusher by Niall Leonard from the publisher. At the time I did not know this author is EL James’ husband or that this tale was written during NaNoWriMo. The tale was action packed and the list of suspects kept me guessing.
The tale begins when we meet Finn a seventeen-year-old dropout who lives with his step-father a drunk and has been an actor who spends his days trying to write the perfect script. Finn goes off to his full-time job at a chicken joint and when he returns home he finds his Dad shot dead and immediately calls the police. He is immediately labeled suspect number one, but as Finn realizes his Dad’s computer and notes are missing he remembers a conversation about his Dad’s current project. The tale that unfolds is suspenseful and action-packed as Finn’s search for truth. If he isn’t careful he may just end of up dead.
Finn is a dropout boxer and supposedly has dyslexia. As a mother of a child who suffers from this, I was particularly annoyed at comments made regarding this disorder. Finn was really devoid of emotions and I never truly connecting with him. He wasn’t unlikable we just never really get to know him. In fact, none of the characters are really developed. We get a taste of them but the plot really drives this tale.
The world building was interesting and the twists in the plot kept me reading till the end despite major problems. The novel pushes the edge of YA with foul language, brutality, drinking, drugs, and sex. While there are some climatic scenes Finn’s lack of emotion made the events fall flat and the lines of reality never blurred for me. The tale is told in Finn’s voice and sadly it wasn’t believable especially since the author depicts him as lacking intelligence one minute and has him using metaphors the next. Sadly the twists and conclusion read more like a made for television script and I had a hard time buying it.
I had no problem finishing Crusher and read it in a few hours. Despite holes in the plot, unrealistic scenes and made for TV coincidences and paper characters I enjoyed it.
About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram
Bree
I had run across this book a few weeks ago at the bookstore and thought it looked interesting. As I was about to add it to my TBR list on Goodreads, I discovered that it was E.L. James’ husband and thought perhaps I should skip it. My friend tells me to try it in the hopes that he’s a better writer than his wife. Now that I’ve read your review, I’m pretty sure I won’t be reading it…
kimbacaffeinate
I got a request from pub and had no idea, so I was drawn in by the synopsis it had potential but sadly didn’t work for me.
Turning the Pages
Too bad this book wasn’t as good as you thought but at least you liked it enough to finish it. I really want to read this one still hopefully I like it a little more than you did but I’ll go into it with an open mind now after reading your review.
kimbacaffeinate
I think that is an excellent approach and I hope you enjoy it.