Posting this on from my Good Reads review.
The Last Straw by Ed Duncan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was offered a review copy of The Last Straw after reviewing the first book in this series, Pigeon-Blood Red. I enjoyed this book for some of the same reasons I did that one, including its fast paced, easy to read storyline. Although this second book involves several of the characters from the first, I think Duncan has upped his game a bit with this one. There is more introspection on the part of the two main characters, hitman Rico and lawyer Paul Elliott, and a relationship between them is slowly evolving. In fact, you might say that the characters are becoming more like each other, although since they come very different places, they still have a long way to go before you could call them anything like the same.
There are several compelling women in the book, and one of the interesting things about the story is that the women all question the men's actions and motivations, getting into some interesting conversations about whether what they are contemplating doing is right. True, the men usually just go ahead and do what they were planning to do anyway, but even the most violent of them seem to hold a respect for the woman in their life's viewpoint. And it changes his outlook a little, even if it doesn't change his actions.
Most of what you need to know from the first book is retold in this one, but I would recommend starting with Pigeon-Blood Red to really appreciate the arc of the story. I am assuming this isn't the last time we'll be hearing about Rico and Paul Elliott.
View all my reviews
The Last Straw by Ed DuncanMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was offered a review copy of The Last Straw after reviewing the first book in this series, Pigeon-Blood Red. I enjoyed this book for some of the same reasons I did that one, including its fast paced, easy to read storyline. Although this second book involves several of the characters from the first, I think Duncan has upped his game a bit with this one. There is more introspection on the part of the two main characters, hitman Rico and lawyer Paul Elliott, and a relationship between them is slowly evolving. In fact, you might say that the characters are becoming more like each other, although since they come very different places, they still have a long way to go before you could call them anything like the same.
There are several compelling women in the book, and one of the interesting things about the story is that the women all question the men's actions and motivations, getting into some interesting conversations about whether what they are contemplating doing is right. True, the men usually just go ahead and do what they were planning to do anyway, but even the most violent of them seem to hold a respect for the woman in their life's viewpoint. And it changes his outlook a little, even if it doesn't change his actions.
Most of what you need to know from the first book is retold in this one, but I would recommend starting with Pigeon-Blood Red to really appreciate the arc of the story. I am assuming this isn't the last time we'll be hearing about Rico and Paul Elliott.
View all my reviews
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