House on Fire
By Joseph Finder
Release Date: January 21, 2020
Audiobook Available from WV Reads!
2.5 Stars - Slightly disappointing thriller from Finder's Nick Heller series. The story was okay but it felt a bit more convulted than twisty. But Nick's fun to read about, and he gets in some fabulous scrapes. Women throw themselves at him a lot. He's filling in as a father figure to boys. Gotta say... There's hardly a dull moment in Nick's life or this book.
I'll say this series may be better read in order and as they are released. But I'm just not a big enough fan of Finder's work, and I prefer a series I can pop around in. Heller has that everyday guy personality despite his really colorful past. He's a private investigator but not in the old school sense. Also, Nick's father is a real piece of work. He has a good, in depth background that opens up a lot of plot possibilities. But sometimes I think Finder threw in too many angles and stepping stones and investigation points, etc. Holter Graham is an excellent narrator for Nick's perspective, if a touch dramatic at times.
This had many shades of the movie Knives Out. A factor that I really did not enjoy was Maggie's piece of the story. I can't say much without spoilers but all the flashbacks were very unsatisfactory for me, felt like a sad distraction. But it was an entertaining subplot that could have been better as its own book. Then, another other damsel in this story, the widow of a friend, has a really weird relationship with Nick. They have sparks, supposedly, but mostly she seems to just whine to him. Everyone handles hard deaths differently but she didn't seem very tactful with her own kids. This whole thing made the numerous touchy-feely scenes awkward for me. Also, we have the odd, naive Sookie. Her motivations are really admirable but she can be annoying too, and her disloyalty to her family rings hollow at times. And the mysterious Russian beauty Natalie whose motives are the murkiest. At times I felt like there were so many characters I couldn't possibly guess who was doing what.
(NS)
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