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Title: Playing by the rules
Review: As an avid reader of mystery and crime novels I was happy to stumble upon a new author in this area. The description on the back sounded interesting enough. Ex-FBI Agent Alex Rourke gets called down to his New England hometown to help the local sherrif with a puzzling murder case. Unfortunately, the author writes his book by the rules, sticking to a predictable plot carried out by one-dimensional characters. None of the so-called plot twists are surprising, and the outcome of the novel becomes clear about half-way through.It has to be said that the writing is decent and made the book an enjoyable read despite all its shortcomings. If Rickards works on his characterization and plotline, he might yet write a great book.
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