3.5 stars from me

Ahhh this book has so much promise but for some reason it just didn't quite hit the mark for me.

The storyline itself was good, clever and enjoyable and I was intrigued as to where it was heading and why - but - at various places it just gets a bit muddled. I found the beginning quarter of the book to be a little confusing and almost gave up on it at that point, however I am glad I persevered as the middle of the book is really good, really interesting and I found myself quite engrossed with the story.

Then again towards the end it seemed to wander and vagaries crept back in.

Shame. So near and yet so far.

Because of this I would have assumed that it was a first novel that maybe required a heavier hand with editing but Paul Harper is actually the pen name of experienced author David Lindsey - although I have yet to read anything by David Lindsey so far so I don't know if this is typical for his books. I think I will endeavour to seek one out!

Talvez o pior livro que já li na vida. Desnecessário. Chato. Entendiante.

Tem todos os aspectos que me irritam numa história de detetive, e NADA me chamou a atenção. É previsível, não tem viradas surpreendentes, os personagens são unidimensionais.

Tem clichês irritantes do gênero, como reduzindo as personagens femininas como incompetentes ou objetos sexuais. Uma cena envolve o detetive indo conversar com uma das vítimas, e ele fica praticamente babando pelo corpo dela (?), e no final, quando o antagonista vai confrontar uma vítima, ela está trocando de roupa, e o autor foca mais em descrever a calcinha dela do que o aspecto psicológico que deveria ser o foco disso tudo.

Os capítulos são curtos, mas a escrita nunca cativa nem te prende. O autor perde tempo demais descrevendo a paisagem e o clima, e os diálogos e flashbacks soam artificiais demais. Um dos flashbacks - sobre o passado trágico do detetive - é absurdo demais, e a maneira como tenta ligar isso com outra personagem pra estabelecer um vínculo é forçado demais.

Só insisti porque o comprei em janeiro de 2013 numa daquelas promoções de R$10 do Submarino, e agora vou me livrar dele. Que bomba!

A tightly plotted psychological thrill ride to find a masterful manipulator.

Paul Harper (aka David Lindsey) takes us on a summer thrill ride with this tightly plotted psychological hunt for the perpetrator of what could be a traceless form of murder. We are introduced to retired detective Martin Fane who now runs a very secretive and anonymous agency where he fixes problems if he deems them worthy of his crew’s efforts. Martin Fane is the ultimate ‘fix –it” man. I can’t wait to see what new problems he will tackle in future books.

4.5/5
It took me awhile to read this book. Not because it wasn’t good but the beginning was not that engaging to me.
The rest I could not put down. Highly recommend. Just get through the first 150 pages!

Marten Fane is a fixer. He used to work for the SFPD, but got canned after a scandal. Now he works for himself, using a crew of trained operatives. Marten is hired by Vera List, a psychologist, who deduces two of her patients are having an affair with the same man who appears to be intent on driving them both insane. As Marten investigates, he uncovers ties to black ops sites overseas and a CIA-trained psychologist who seems intent on developing psy-ops to a fatal level. If you like fast-paced adventures involving shadowy underworld types, this is the book for you. A very enjoyable read, written by David Lindsey under the pseudonym, Paul Harper.

A tightly plotted psychological thrill ride to find a masterful manipulator.

Paul Harper (aka David Lindsey) takes us on a summer thrill ride with this tightly plotted psychological hunt for the perpetrator of what could be a traceless form of murder. We are introduced to retired detective Martin Fane who now runs a very secretive and anonymous agency where he fixes problems if he deems them worthy of his crew’s efforts. Martin Fane is the ultimate ‘fix –it” man. I can’t wait to see what new problems he will tackle in future books.