Blackout
is the story of New Jersey state police officer Doug Brock, who in the
course of an unauthorized investigation into notorious criminal Nicholas
Bennett, is shot, falls from a balcony hitting his head, and goes into a
coma. When he awakens, he has amnesia,
and so, he must relearn whatever made him such an irresistible target…while
hopefully, saving the day before getting shot again.
Gun battles. Dangerous knowledge about notorious
criminals. And yes, even some
romance. Blackout has a lot going on, so you won’t be reading long without
encountering another challenge to be met and conquered. And consequently, it seemed that the pages
flew by; a couple of nights, and this one was back to the library. Blackout
also has a nice touch of humor, with a series of ‘lost my memory’ quips: ‘This
is the best sandwich I’ve ever had. Of
course, I don’t remember having any sandwiches before yesterday.’ If there was any downfall in the humor, it
was that Rosenfelt might have stuck with this basic formula a bit too
long. It was somewhat stale by the end…at
least as long as you don’t get amnesia half-way through the book and get to
enjoy it anew.
But my more general concern
about the story was that, despite the continuous flow of events and characters,
it felt somewhat trite. The loose cannon
detective with a death wish. The trusty
partner, faithful to a fault. The jilted
lover that our hero only wants after she is gone. And even the twists – one was foreshadowed,
one was predictable, and a third seemed like the end of about 20% of every TV
police show. I guess in bringing together
so much well-worn territory, perhaps Rosenfelt created something unique. But the tension was never fully there for me,
because in its parts, it seemed to move to an inevitable conclusion.
Overall, the predictability of the story was mostly offset by the pace, making Blackout worth a couple of your reading nights. Just don't expect to be laughing all the way through.
No comments :
Post a Comment