Title: An unedited overwritten police procedural
Review: Joe Gunther of the Brattleboro, VT police force finds himself involved in a complex case involving multiple murders and drugs. There are also subplots concerning cover-ups, Joe's relationship with his significant other, and city politics. By the time the case is resolved, long after I ceased to care one way or the other, the author has written over 400 pages of uneven prose, punctuated, to be fair, by occasional dramatic episodes. However, there are way too many comments from Gunther about the complexity of the case, the political danger of the police proceeding as they do, and Gunther's hope that with just one more clue, the case will be solved. So get on with it already! This book needed to be edited down to about two-thirds of its published length. Compare this to tighter writing by Andrew Garve or Ed McBain and you will really notice the difference.
Is this product review negative?