Rating: 
Summary: a little ghastly
Review: I found this book intriguing but a bit ghastly & improbable.
Rating: 
Summary: Depressing
Review: I gave this book 66 pages and finally put it back on the shelf. The writing style seems a little choppy, and the locale lingo doesn't make sense if you're not familiar with that area. Most importantly though, there are just too many dead children. The hero, Wil, lost his 11 yr old son, the man who hires him lost his 6 yr old son and the story line revolves around the death of 7 children. Yuck.
Rating:
Summary: Depressing
Review: I gave this book 66 pages and finally put it back on the shelf. The writing style seems a little choppy, and the locale lingo doesn't make sense if you're not familiar with that area. Most importantly though, there are just too many dead children. The hero, Wil, lost his 11 yr old son, the man who hires him lost his 6 yr old son and the story line revolves around the death of 7 children. Yuck.
Rating:
Summary: "NOT ALL THAT GREAT"
Review: I understand this is Richard Barre's first book. He did far better than I could do. Wil Hardesty is introduced as a PI. There are seven children found in graves after a flash flood. The father of one of the seven hires Wil to find out who killed his son. Seems as people close to Wil either get killed or hurt. I really liked the first 179 pages (paperpack) after that the book seemed to really drag until the last 10-15 pages. If you read it you can see what happened on page 179. I don't want ot say as it would take away from the story. There was a lot of talk and more talk after that. The book does end well but it was a long read, nearly but it down several times.
Rating:
Summary: This won an award?
Review: I was extremely disappointed with this book. I saw that it had won an award for best first novel and set my expectations on it. The book was extremely slow throughout, and dragged on more and more as the book went on. I honestly felt myself not caring how the book ended and put it down many times. The only reason I finished it was that my wife had bought it as a gift for me. Yes, the plot revolves around the morbid concept of young children being killed, but it isn't that in of itself that I consider the downfall of this book. The author has chosen to tell this story from both the hero and antagonist's side, but not to good effect. The suspense doesn't build as to how the two will meet. Rather it drags on as Wil Hardesty draws conclusions from the flimsiest items that he draws hunches on, so that you find yourself feeling the story isn't very credible. Furthermore, the interactions of characters, don't seem that realistic, as Hardesty easily puts his friends in peril throughout the book while clearly aware of the nature of the villains. Overall I feel that the concept of the book had great potential, but the characters and the story itself make the book undesirable. Don't give any credence to the fact that this won an award. I highly recommend that you move on to something else, rather than choose this book.
Rating:
Summary: This won an award?
Review: I was extremely disappointed with this book. I saw that it had won an award for best first novel and set my expectations on it. The book was extremely slow throughout, and dragged on more and more as the book went on. I honestly felt myself not caring how the book ended and put it down many times. The only reason I finished it was that my wife had bought it as a gift for me. Yes, the plot revolves around the morbid concept of young children being killed, but it isn't that in of itself that I consider the downfall of this book. The author has chosen to tell this story from both the hero and antagonist's side, but not to good effect. The suspense doesn't build as to how the two will meet. Rather it drags on as Wil Hardesty draws conclusions from the flimsiest items that he draws hunches on, so that you find yourself feeling the story isn't very credible. Furthermore, the interactions of characters, don't seem that realistic, as Hardesty easily puts his friends in peril throughout the book while clearly aware of the nature of the villains. Overall I feel that the concept of the book had great potential, but the characters and the story itself make the book undesirable. Don't give any credence to the fact that this won an award. I highly recommend that you move on to something else, rather than choose this book.
Rating: 
Summary: BAD THINGS AND GOOD PEOPLE
Review: It's long been known both in the real and literary world that bad things do happen to good people. In Richard Barre's THE INNOCENTS, yes, depressing things do happen; it amazes me that some reviewers found the book such a downer. I found it a tense and credible look at a very different PI, Wil Hardesty, who finds himself investigating the most heinous of crimes. He doesn't deliberately endanger the lives of his friends, and yes, he does have a cross to bear in the tragic loss of his son. In this debut novel, Wil is up against a powerful tycoon who donates lots of money to a church; the charismatic priest who will do anything to get money for his mission and to further his own "saintliness", and some tragic events that lead to the deaths of some of Wil's friends. Hardboiled yet sensitive, painfully realistic and a darn good read.
Rating:
Summary: BAD THINGS AND GOOD PEOPLE
Review: It's long been known both in the real and literary world that bad things do happen to good people. In Richard Barre's THE INNOCENTS, yes, depressing things do happen; it amazes me that some reviewers found the book such a downer. I found it a tense and credible look at a very different PI, Wil Hardesty, who finds himself investigating the most heinous of crimes. He doesn't deliberately endanger the lives of his friends, and yes, he does have a cross to bear in the tragic loss of his son. In this debut novel, Wil is up against a powerful tycoon who donates lots of money to a church; the charismatic priest who will do anything to get money for his mission and to further his own "saintliness", and some tragic events that lead to the deaths of some of Wil's friends. Hardboiled yet sensitive, painfully realistic and a darn good read.
Rating:
Summary: A must read for lovers of the mystery genre
Review: Richard Barre is an incredible wordsmith. When reading about his California, I can almost hear the ocean, and feel the warm breezes. His main character, Wil Hardesty is man struggling with his own past, in particular, the death of his young son. This adds a depth to the charecter usually not found in books sbout PI's.This book, the first in the series, starts with the discovery of seven bodies. Childrens bodies. Hardesty is hired to discover who they are and why they are there. Barre writes with a passion, and it shows. The investigative technique is right on, and the book draws you in fast. This is a series any one who calls themself a fan of mysteries should read ...
Rating:
Summary: a little ghastly
Review: Richard Barre's novel THE INNOCENTS, introduces PI Wil Hardesty. Wil is a Viet Nam Vet, surfer-dude, who rides a Harley. Also, as the novel opens, he is a mourning father and troubled husband, trying to hash out the terms of his marriage after he and his wife, Lisa, have lost their 11year old son in a surfing accident. The theme of children lost to tragedy permeates this novel as Wil investigates the apparent ritualistic murder of seven children, their skeletal remains found in the desert after a rainstorm has uncovered them. A medallion found with one of the skeletons and publicized on TV alerts Wil's client that it was his son that was murdered and recently found. However, this client is reluctant to come forward due to the fact that for all intents and purposes he sold his son in exchange for safe passage across the border into the US for him and the rest of his family. Quickly Wil and his friend Paul Rodriguez quickly zero in on a strong suspect, the deadly Zavala Bolo who bought the child years earlier and gave Wil's client passage into the US. Just as quickly Bolo and his associates realize that Wil and Paul are after them and begin counter measures to evade capture, including plans to terminate the PI and his companion. The strength of the novel is its portray of Zavala and his associates as frightening threats. A few scenes give you the enemies' POV, in order to build tension by revealing how close the villain is to doing in the heroes. The novel is adequately written in a third person point of view, which allows Barre to reveal the minds of the villains as well as those of the PI, his associates, and several of the vitcims. Barre has attempted an ambitious first outing, however, there are several spots where the novel falls short. First, those PI fans that are used to getting a full-blown exposure to the PI's personality and mind through first person narration may feel distanced from Wil. It's as if Barre is holding everyone at arm's length from his main character. There are a few scenes in fact where we're given the interior world of minor characters better than the mind of Wil. I comprehended the tragedy of his lost son and the problems of his marriage but never felt them. Second, the plot hinges too heavily on coincidences: the upper hand given to the enemies by slips of the tongue by Paul and Wil at various points, clues consist of scraps of paper and candy wrappers (flimsy), and Wil lucks out when it comes to finding an expert in art/social history. Third, several characters are snuffed out or come close to death because of their association with Wil. In other words, it seems as if you're taking your life in your hands if are related to or otherwise in a relationship with Wil Hardesty. I'll spare you the list of causalities, suffice it to say, I had my doubts any characters would survive til the next installment. Overall if you can stand a few stretchers in believability and don't mind a bit of distance from your main investigator, THE INNOCENTS is spare, frightening thriller.
|
