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Neal Rafferty New Orleans Mystery #1
The Killing Circle
vg+ Mysterious Press 1988 paperback In stock shipped from our UK warehouse
- GenresMystery
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 1, 2014
I have been thinking about what to say about this book for several days, and I am currently reading the next Neal Rafferty Mystery, A DIAMOND BEFORE YOU DIE. While reading THE KILLING CIRCLE, I found myself wondering if this was an older book just released as a Kindle edition, but could find nothing to support this idea.
I am an avid reader, and have been one since I was about seven years old. My grandmother used to say that I was good read and bad read by which she meant that I read everything. I have watched popular literature go from no colorful language, to a little, to an over abundance. I really don't care whether an author uses a lot of so-called four letter words, but it is refreshing to read a well composed sentence that conveys anger and frustration using only words you can say in front of the little ones.
I hate to give anything away when I review a book. I figure you should read it yourself and form your own opinion. I will say that this book has a timeless but old-fashioned quality that I find most endearing. There are no computers, no cell phones, the detective uses an answering service and looks for pay phones on the street. This puts the book, at least in my mind, somewhere before 1965, so the noir would be reflective of that time period. Neal doesn't refer to good looking women as dames but he does keep the requisite bottle of bourbon in his desk drawer.
There are certain things that draw me to a particular book... yes, I do judge a book by its cover. One of those things is the mention of New Orleans in the description. I have only been there once myself, and only for a long weekend, but I stayed in the French Quarter and loved every minute I was there.
Years ago, I played the PC game "Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers" which required players to virtually tour the city. When I got there, I felt like I already knew my way around, well somewhat anyway.
Ms. Wilz's book is less about New Orleans and more about the mystery and the characters, both of which are well developed. I would have liked a bit more New Orleans flavor, but that's just me. I thoroughly enjoyed reading THE KILLING CIRCLE and look forward to reading more from this author.
I am an avid reader, and have been one since I was about seven years old. My grandmother used to say that I was good read and bad read by which she meant that I read everything. I have watched popular literature go from no colorful language, to a little, to an over abundance. I really don't care whether an author uses a lot of so-called four letter words, but it is refreshing to read a well composed sentence that conveys anger and frustration using only words you can say in front of the little ones.
I hate to give anything away when I review a book. I figure you should read it yourself and form your own opinion. I will say that this book has a timeless but old-fashioned quality that I find most endearing. There are no computers, no cell phones, the detective uses an answering service and looks for pay phones on the street. This puts the book, at least in my mind, somewhere before 1965, so the noir would be reflective of that time period. Neal doesn't refer to good looking women as dames but he does keep the requisite bottle of bourbon in his desk drawer.
There are certain things that draw me to a particular book... yes, I do judge a book by its cover. One of those things is the mention of New Orleans in the description. I have only been there once myself, and only for a long weekend, but I stayed in the French Quarter and loved every minute I was there.
Years ago, I played the PC game "Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers" which required players to virtually tour the city. When I got there, I felt like I already knew my way around, well somewhat anyway.
Ms. Wilz's book is less about New Orleans and more about the mystery and the characters, both of which are well developed. I would have liked a bit more New Orleans flavor, but that's just me. I thoroughly enjoyed reading THE KILLING CIRCLE and look forward to reading more from this author.
April 25, 2018
This is the first in a series of Neal Rafferty mysteries set in New Orleans. I decided to check it out because I love to read books set in places I have visited. Being especially fond of New Orleans makes it twice as much fun.
The book's narrator is the aforementioned Rafferty, a former police officer turned private investigator. The whole thing feels like a Mickey Spillane novel to me, to be honest, not just because of the first-person perspective (which never bothers me) but because of the way Wiltz describes the action -- and every woman whom Rafferty comes across being described in terms of her relative attractiveness to Rafferty.
The story was decent, although the "whodunnit" and ending were, to my mind, unsatisfying. Wiltz writes well and clearly knows how to construct a mystery. This one just fell a little flat for me.
The book's narrator is the aforementioned Rafferty, a former police officer turned private investigator. The whole thing feels like a Mickey Spillane novel to me, to be honest, not just because of the first-person perspective (which never bothers me) but because of the way Wiltz describes the action -- and every woman whom Rafferty comes across being described in terms of her relative attractiveness to Rafferty.
The story was decent, although the "whodunnit" and ending were, to my mind, unsatisfying. Wiltz writes well and clearly knows how to construct a mystery. This one just fell a little flat for me.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews