Review (sort of): Last Known Address by Theresa Schwegel
From Amazon
Recently transferred from homicide to sex crimes, Chicago police detective Sloane Pearson pursues a serial rapist in Edgar-winner Schwegel's gritty fourth crime novel. Called in to interview the second in a series of victims who were beaten, raped and nearly strangled to death, Pearson knows the only way she'll have a case is if the traumatized woman will talk. But without a crime scene or detailed description of the attacker, Pearson's leads dry up fast. As she retraces the victims' steps, she uncovers a common thread that winds from the dilapidated blocks where the rapes occurred to one of the city's glitzy property development companies.
I picked up Last Known Address and started reading it a week ago. Today, I'm on page 119. That's 17 pages a day. Now, I know I'm not the worlds fastest reader, but I'm sure as heck not the slowest either. It has become obvious to me that I'm just not diggin' this book.
First, I thought the problem was that it was part of a series, because from the first page, I felt like I was missing something. According to Amazon, the main character was "introduced" in Schwegel's previous novel, Probable Cause. I guess its possible that Probable Cause fleshed out the main character of Last Known Address and that to get into this book, I should have read that one first. And I might....maybe....someday....I guess its possible....then I could pick up Last Known Address and try again. Maybe.
Schwegel's protagonist, Sloane Pearson, kind of irritated me. Okay, I get it, she's a woman in a man's world. The big bad men are sexist and offensive. Sheesh...get over it. It's like a fireman complaining that he'd love his job if it wasn't so hot. A farmer complaining about the amount of cow$#&! he shovels. Well...duh!!...Whaddya' expect?? When my oldest daughter would play street hockey with her big brother and all his friends, 9 times out of 10, she'd appear in the house crying because she got bumped or hurt. "I warned you," said I, applying ice and hugs, "If you want to play with the big boys, you'd better learn to play rough." Maybe because I grew up on a farm, and then spent the last 33 years around construction crews, I tend to be immune from sexist comments. Maybe I just have a really thick hide; all the humbug about the rotten comments from the male co-workers....seriously? I would like to think that a woman in a "man's world" would be smart enough to know that you can't beat 'em, you gotta join 'em. Earn some damn respect, stop being such a wimp, curse like a sailor. In other words...kwitcher bitchin'....
I know...I know... I'm cranky and cantankerous. In the first 119 pages, this story was all over the place. Sloane is unhappy in her relationship and is looking for a new place, but without her boyfriend knowing... kind of. She's interviewing victims... sort of. Investigating the rapes, well, a little. Trying to address her issues of an aging father, ...eh...here and there...In short, she's just sort of meandering along, unfocused and maybe a little depressed.
I guess I'm done with this one. Time's a'wastin' and there are just too many books on the Towering Teetering To Be Read Stack to spend anymore time on this one.
My rating:
7 comments:
Sorry this one did not work out for you :(
Based on the book description, I might have picked it up at the store, but the things that bothered you would bug me too, so I think I'll be giving it a miss. Thanks.
Loved your review! Any good book in a series should be able to stand alone. I guess this is harder for some authors to achieve than others. I don't think this one will be on my TBR list. As you say, there are too many other good ones out there.
Have a great week.
Sorry you didn't enjoy this one, but I loved your review! Good for you, moving right along. There's no reason to waste time when so many good books are waiting.
Hey, that's how it is sometimes. I agree, there are too many good books out there to waste your time on a stinker.
Great review! It is good that you have a sense of humor about it. I always have a hard time putting a book down even when it is no good.
Good for you to know when to just throw down a boring book and grab something better! :) With a million books waiting to be read (or, you know, it feels that way!), I've gotten much better at that myself. Best to just move along!
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