Whiskey Sour is the first novel of J.A. Konrath's series, Jack Daniels Mysteries, as well as his debut novel. The Jack Daniels Mysteries series focuses on Lt. Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels, an insomniac Chicago cop, who works with Herb Benedict, her overweight partner, as she works a number of cases in the Violent Crimes unit which includes murder cases. Also involved in Jack's world is Harry McGlade, a private investigator who used to be Jack's partner before she was a lieutenant.
Rating: 9
Recommended To: Murder mystery lovers; not a girly book
at all, just has a female protagonist
Favourite Characters: Jack - great name, great character
Favourite Part: I
brought up my knee, smacking him in the centre of his ugly face, and I couldn't
resist grunting, "Eat this." - Page 86
Good Points: Point of view of the killer; proper murder
mystery; male author/female protagonist
Bad Points: Sleazy PI was kind of pointless and just
caused issues
Whiskey Sour focuses on the Gingerbread Man case that Jack is working on with her partner, Herb. The Gingerbread Man tortures and kills his victims, while filming it, before leaving them in bins outside of convenience stores. The Gingerbread Man begins to stalk Jack once he finds out she is working his case and aims to kill her like all of his other victims once he's fulfilled his mission.
Whiskey Sour focuses on the Gingerbread Man case that Jack is working on with her partner, Herb. The Gingerbread Man tortures and kills his victims, while filming it, before leaving them in bins outside of convenience stores. The Gingerbread Man begins to stalk Jack once he finds out she is working his case and aims to kill her like all of his other victims once he's fulfilled his mission.
What I
thought was great about this book was that occasionally told from the point of
view of the murderer, the Gingerbread Man.
This made the book stand out against the other murder mystery books I've
read as they have all been told from the protagonist's point of view only so
both the reader and the narrator/protagonist are equally in the dark while
seeing the story from the antagonist's point of view allows a slight insight into
the way his mind works even if not a lot of details are given (such as his real
name). This also adds sense of suspense
in the story and tension between the Gingerbread Man and Jack because the
reader can see both points of view and sometimes knows more than Jack or the
Gingerbread Man at one time and knows how they feel about one another. This makes it interesting to read and
therefore the series more intriguing.
When I got
part way through this book, I got really excited about this series because it was
finally a proper murder mystery with true gore and a vicious criminal mind
behind the crime. This may be because I
have read other crime related books where the protagonist is just a regular
person who happens upon the murder and begins to investigate it. It was good for a change and can't wait to
read more books like this.
What was
amazing was how well this book was written by a male author with a female
protagonist. From my point of view, it
was amazing and unusual as I have a tendency to read books from female authors
as I seem to not like male authors as they have a habit to focus on the action
while women seem to express a bit more emotion.
There isn't particularly a lack of emotion in Whiskey Sour as the reader can begin to understand how Jack is
feeling and the motivation behind her as well as the Gingerbread Man but there
is more action in comparison which works well in murder mystery books and the
focus is on solving the Gingerbread Man case.
I liked how that there wasn't a focus on the major emotional problems
that the characters are going through in that moment; this reflects Jack's
character as she seems to ignore her personal life and focus on her job because
she has to prove that she's just as good as the men on the force or better seen
as she's their superior.
I thought
Jack is a fantastic character; her name was one of the reasons I actually chose
this book as she is called Jack Daniels, like the whiskey. It may just be the little alcoholic in me, as
my mum calls it, but I love Jack Daniels (the whiskey) and like the character
in this book, people buy me it for my birthday and Christmas presents (which
are within weeks one another). Other
than her name, Jack's an interesting character with a number of layers to her such
as her past with her ex-husband as well as her job, Her perspective of the story shows how a
formal investigation is done rather than someone bumbling around accidentally
so she seems more intelligent than other main characters, Stephanie Plum for
example. I also love how feisty and
independent she is, she isn't just letting the men around her do everything
around her such as when she ends up in a fight at the bar near her home; she
actually fights back and defends herself rather than letting her pool buddy
fight them. What was really unusual
was that Jack was older than I expected, I thought she was going to be a young
cop but I found that I loved it because she seemed more interesting because she
had more experience and history.
The only thing I didn't like in this book was Harry McGlade, the sleazy private investigator that works with Jack and her partner during this case. Right from his introduction, he annoyed me as he seemed useless and unhelpful to the investigation and this first impression just stuck for me; I didn't warm to him at all. He just seemed to interfere with Jack's case and if he was written out then the story would still work well therefore he seems pointless.
The only thing I didn't like in this book was Harry McGlade, the sleazy private investigator that works with Jack and her partner during this case. Right from his introduction, he annoyed me as he seemed useless and unhelpful to the investigation and this first impression just stuck for me; I didn't warm to him at all. He just seemed to interfere with Jack's case and if he was written out then the story would still work well therefore he seems pointless.
I brought up my knee, smacking him in the centre of his ugly face, and I couldn't resist grunting, "Eat this." - Page 86
This part
just demonstrated to me Jack's feisty nature and despite her being older than
most female protagonists I read about who range from their teens to their
thirties. She can clearly handle her own
in a fight and witty despite having been in a fight with a number of men
seconds before.
I highly
recommend this series to crime lovers as I found it gripping because it showed
how a crime is properly investigated (or this is what I assume from other books
I've read) as other books seem to have the protagonist just winds up solving
the case without any training before the police because they're sticking their
noses in where they don't belong.
Predictions
1. Harry will eventually become a cop again
2. Jack will continue to become a target for the
psychos she's chasing
3. Jack and her partner continue to fight crime successfully
3. Jack and her partner continue to fight crime successfully
No comments:
Post a Comment