Wednesday, March 9, 2016

latest review of Bad memories

As they say everyone will not like what you write, well this review seems to say on one hand she liked it, on the other she didn't. But with several 4 and 5 star reviews, it was enviable that a 2 star would show up. I am posting the review to be transparent and to show that I am not just posting the great ones.

Genre: Mystery/Thriller     Date: 28 January 2016           Rating: 2 stars




Douglas Sandler’s Bad Memories is the story of ex-doctor John Miller, now working as a pill-presser in New York after a conviction for medical malpractice leads to his mental breakdown. Trapped in a marriage to a woman who expected to live on the much higher salary of a medical doctor, John’s descent into depression is alleviated by visits with his one friend, Dr. Albert Smith in Millersburg. When John receives a weekend fishing invitation from Dr. Smith, the last thing he anticipated was having to stretch his half-forgotten medical skills in a key role in a murder investigation.

Bad Memories is a classic mystery novel set sometime after WWII, with John Miller its reluctant detective in a string of multiple murders that the Millersburg PD is either incapable of or uninterested in solving. While the novel showcases a strongly nostalgic sense of setting and era, it is undermined by the frequent editorial errors that disrupt the reading, and although the vacillations of confidence that John suffers from are expertly sketched into the plot, the final reveal came across to me as something of a Hail Mary save, with a wealth of additional details suddenly being pieced together by our reluctant hero. A few more breadcrumbs would have helped that final scene to be more credible for me. 

Review by J.C. Steel

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