Bone Orchard - Save your money, save your time, read almost anything else!
Written: Mar 12 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Hmmm... I'll have to think about this and get back to you.
Cons: Boring story about unlikable characters, doing stupid things.
The Bottom Line: Skip this one!!
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| ladyconsumer's Full Review: Daniel Judson - The Bone Orchard Books |
Bone Orchard is D. Daniel Judson's first novel. I try to give first-timers a little slack, but I'm afraid I just can't do it this time. This book comes off as a first draft, in severe need of some rework. While the story, itself, is "ok", the characters are completely unlikable, with no depth whatsoever. The writing is boring, delivering a slow-paced novel that makes you feel like giving up before you're even half way through. I stuck it out, but I can well understand if folks cut their losses & run with one.
The Main Character
We are introduced to Declan MacManus ("Mac") as a down on his luck ex-private investigator. He now works minimum wage jobs, barely scraping by, drinking his nights away. While we get to hear a few snippets about his past, we never come to understand how exactly he got to this place. That's part of what makes him so unappealing as a main character - he seems to have made some pretty rotten choices, and though he has the power to change his situation for the better, he seems unwilling to do so.
A situation in his past leaves him hated by the local police chief. Thus everything he does is scrutinized as if the chief is just waiting for Mac to mess up. Mac can't even jay walk for fear he'll be tossed in jail. It's so silly, though. Mac has absolutely no ties to this town - sure he has a couple of buddies - but if life's so difficult, move somewhere else, get another job, and live your life. Don't hide your life away, living in fear every day!
Ok - so right away, it was clear I was not going to like this character. But, maybe as the story unfolds, things will change...?
Basic Plot
Frank Gannon (a local thug) wants to hire Mac and his friend Augie to help out on a case involving a cheating husband. Mac knows better than to get involved with Frank, but accepts the case so that Augie (still recovering from some recent injuries) doesn't have to do it alone. As the pair are on a stake-out, they see what seems to be a one-car accident. The car plunges into a lake, and the driver, a local teenage girl, is killed. The police are called to the scene, and Mac, afraid of the police chief, runs away before he's spotted in the area. Later, Mac does his own investigation and realizes that what he saw wasn't an accident. Further, he discovers that the police are sweeping the evidence under the rug - they're closing the case as an "accident" despite what Mac now knows is cold-blooded murder.
The rest of the book follows Mac as he tries to piece together the puzzle surrounding the teenager's murder. Along the way, he makes some incredibly stupid decisions, and gets beat up more times than you can imagine. His friendship with Augie gets put on the line, and he pretty much alienates anybody who ever cared about him.
That doesn't sound too bad - aren't you being too harsh?
No! As I said earlier, the story was "ok". I admit to being reasonably interested in finding out why the girl was murdered, and by whom.
But to get to the end, I had to suffer through an incredibly boring book. The writing style was very bland. Whether it was an action scene, or a discussion about the leaves on the trees, it was all written in the same plain tone. When I picked the book up, I could never remember the last thing I read - always having to go back a couple of pages. Even if it was just the day before. That happens when the writing is so boring, it's forgotten the moment it's done.
With rare exception, the other characters besides Mac were no more likable, and had no more depth. The only character I at all felt anything for was Augie's daughter Tina. Though at times a difficult teenager, at least SHE was understandable! The other characters simply drifted in and out as the plot required without leaving any sort of impression on me at all.
Was there anything good at all about this book?
Yes. In the end, the story comes together, and is somewhat interesting. And some characters do grow and learn from this experience.
But, I sure hope Judson's next novel is an improvement over this one!
Recommended:
No
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ladyconsumer
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Member: Mona
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