I picked up Rector's novel, and finished the book this evening. I must say,
my thoughts about this Motel Noir (TM) book parallel Juri's almost verbatim
-- both the pros and the cons, particularly when he says, " These things
said, I must admit that the book is just a bit too long, maybe by 20 or 30
pages. I also guessed who the bad guy in the book is - there are too few
characters in the novel." Indeed, Part 3, which spans the last 30 pages, is
entirely unnecessary and adds nothing to the book...in fact, quite the
contrary: it makes it end with a bit of a droning whimper than a bang. The
last page of Part 2 would have made for a fine ending. I'm truly surprised
that a). the author tacked this short portion on (and it feels quite
literally tacked on...very distinct and separate from the rest of the book
in both tone and pace), and b). the publisher didn't cut it. And, yes, the
identity of the bad guy becomes readily apparent about 2/3 of the way
through for exactly the reason Juri suggests; there's simply no other
alternative. The book was entertaining enough to largely forgive these and
a number of other minor faults (like a stylistic tendency for the narrator
to write 'I told him yes' (or similar) instead of simply writing "Yes."),
but I can't help but think better editorial guidance on this book could have
achieved a more accomplished work.
Ron C.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com [mailto:rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com] On
> Behalf Of Juri Nummelin
> Sent: Monday, September 06, 2010 12:12 AM
> To: rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: RARA-AVIS: Rector's Cold Kiss
>
> I read the book almost in one sitting (with young kids around that's
> virtually impossible) and here's what I wrote about it (you have to scroll
> down, because there's some banter about family life first):
>
>
http://pulpetti.blogspot.com/2010/07/jason-pinters-mark-and-john-rectors.htm
l
>
> Juri
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> RARA-AVIS home page: http://www.miskatonic.org/rara-avis/
> Yahoo! Groups Links
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>
>
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