Never Far Away
By Michael Koryta
Release Date: February 9, 2021
Ebook Available from WV Reads!
3 Stars - One of those mysteries that's fun when not taken too seriously. While the whole new life and secrets set up was entertaining, parts of the scheme bothered me. Readers of Koryta's old-fashioned whodunits will still find a lot to like. And any fans of the creepy thrillers with dark pasts slowly revealed and menancing villians will should grab this novel for a fast-paced and easy weekend read.
I felt like I was on a roller coaster with this story. It started off awkwardly. The creepy, violent first pages are not for the faint of heart. After the unsettling moments, the new life of Lea is presented to us with a plausible set up. She's a wilderness girl, a 'new' pilot. Interesting enough. Then, she gets a call from her children and I wasn't quite buying the situation. How was it safer and smarter to start a new life without the kids? But then she is their quasi emergency guardian? Lea's love for the kids is obvious and heart breaking but at the same time feels unfounded at times. After all, she hasn't spent any time with them, spoken with them, or even seen a picture in about a decade.
I had some confusion with the kid's ages. (Haley is only two years older than Nick?) The whiny attitude and resentment from them got old fast. Yeah, they're finding themselves in a tragic change but so much frustration at Lea when they don't know who she is doesn't make sense. There's a huge chunk of the storyline with Hailey and her neighbor sort of playing PI, and it's fun but a bit irritating at times. Koryta is a very underrated mystery writer despite frequently being mentioned with or by other authors and even movie producers. In many ways, this novel felt more written for the big screen with the shady Mafia-style baddies and broken little family of protagonists. Also worth mentioning is the setting that truly features New England rural homes (Maine really). There was a little definite overdramatization in part four but it was doubtlessly exciting. This story just needed a real hero. Sure plenty of people will embrace Lea but there are those of us who felt like she was in dire need of someone to rescue her.
(NS)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please keep comments respectful and geared towards the review, new arrival post only. The library does reserve the right to remove any negative posts that it deems inappropriate.