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Basic Black
PRAY FOR MERCY
When another priest is murdered before Sunday Mass, Special Agents Tony Black and Benjamin Rice are called in to investigate.
GOD FORGIVES
The killer calls himself The Redeemer, and he's on a mission to clean up the Church.
BUT THE REDEEMER DOESN'T
With the authorities close on his heels, The Redeemer decides to eliminate Agent Black and those closest to him. In the process, Tony’s life is changed forever, and The Redeemer’s ultimate goal is revealed...
About the author
Scott Doornbosch grew up in the western suburbs of Chicago. He now lives in Tinley Park with a cat that isn't named Fred. Basic Black is his first novel.
When another priest is murdered before Sunday Mass, Special Agents Tony Black and Benjamin Rice are called in to investigate.
GOD FORGIVES
The killer calls himself The Redeemer, and he's on a mission to clean up the Church.
BUT THE REDEEMER DOESN'T
With the authorities close on his heels, The Redeemer decides to eliminate Agent Black and those closest to him. In the process, Tony’s life is changed forever, and The Redeemer’s ultimate goal is revealed...
About the author
Scott Doornbosch grew up in the western suburbs of Chicago. He now lives in Tinley Park with a cat that isn't named Fred. Basic Black is his first novel.
310 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 20, 2011
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4 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 18, 2011
I came across this book via the blog of author J.A. Konrath, whose book Shaken is published by Amazon’s own imprint. Upon finding out that his fellow writer and friend Scott Dornboosch was suffering from cancer, Konrath decided to help him get published by hiring a team of professionals to edit, format and provide cover art to the novel. Even more importantly, Konrath was asking readers on his immensely popular blog to download the book. I’ve trusted Konrath’s judgement before and had not been disappointed, so I decided to take another leap of faith and purchased ‘Basic Black’ for my Kindle.
Firmly anchored in the serial killer/hardboiled detective tradition, ‘Basic Black’ revolves around police detective Tony Black and his investigation of a string of murders of Catholic priests, some of whom known paedophiles. All the usual ingredients are present: burnt-out detective who goes back to an empty home night after night (he’s a widower), check; overweight, doughnut-eating buffoon of a partner, check; psychic-premonition sub-plot, check; switching narrative point of view from detective to serial killer, check. I could go on - this is most certainly not the most original thriller novel you are going to read; but that doesn’t make it any less entertaining.
Dornboosch might be self-published but his writing style is confident and not unlike that of more accomplished writers of the genre, with only a few truly clichéd lines here and there. The action is fast-paced and unencumbered by unnecessary descriptions and interior monologues (in my opinion, the curse of the inexperienced writer); the author tells us enough to bring places and characters to life but without being too heavy handed. Although the characters of Tony Black and his partner Ben Rice could have been lifted from any cop show on TV, they are drawn sympathetically enough to make us care for them. And by the time you get to the end [NO SPOILERS], you will care.
There is certainly scope for improvement, especially in the background research that perhaps did not get undertaken all that thoroughly because of Doornbosch’s deteriorating health. For example, in one of the chapters set in the Vatican, Tony’s partner is described as eating toast for breakfast. Most people who have travelled to Italy will know that toast is not a breakfast item in that country; in fact, ‘toast’ generally means a toasted sandwich. The common toaster machine, found in every household in Anglo-Saxon countries, is almost impossible to come by in Italy (I can confirm that fact, having carried a toaster in my suitcase all the way across the English Channel as a gift to my sister in Italy). Another - albeit minor - irritant was the assumption that a Swiss Guard would not have recognised a KitKat bar. Newsflash: KitKat bars are commonly found in Italy and have been for decades (in fact, just the thought of them makes the old jingle from the Italian TV advert pop into my mind. Argh!). Such details may seem insignificant, but they contribute to an overall illusion which ultimately must be plausible.
Still, as a debut novel, “Basic Black” certainly did not disappoint. I enjoyed reading it and I would recommend it as an ideal choice for a beach holiday, the train journey to work or for those hours in an airport lounge before boarding a flight. And to Scott Doornbosch I would like to say: I hope your health improves so that we can get to read the next Tony Black novel. Good luck, mate.
Firmly anchored in the serial killer/hardboiled detective tradition, ‘Basic Black’ revolves around police detective Tony Black and his investigation of a string of murders of Catholic priests, some of whom known paedophiles. All the usual ingredients are present: burnt-out detective who goes back to an empty home night after night (he’s a widower), check; overweight, doughnut-eating buffoon of a partner, check; psychic-premonition sub-plot, check; switching narrative point of view from detective to serial killer, check. I could go on - this is most certainly not the most original thriller novel you are going to read; but that doesn’t make it any less entertaining.
Dornboosch might be self-published but his writing style is confident and not unlike that of more accomplished writers of the genre, with only a few truly clichéd lines here and there. The action is fast-paced and unencumbered by unnecessary descriptions and interior monologues (in my opinion, the curse of the inexperienced writer); the author tells us enough to bring places and characters to life but without being too heavy handed. Although the characters of Tony Black and his partner Ben Rice could have been lifted from any cop show on TV, they are drawn sympathetically enough to make us care for them. And by the time you get to the end [NO SPOILERS], you will care.
There is certainly scope for improvement, especially in the background research that perhaps did not get undertaken all that thoroughly because of Doornbosch’s deteriorating health. For example, in one of the chapters set in the Vatican, Tony’s partner is described as eating toast for breakfast. Most people who have travelled to Italy will know that toast is not a breakfast item in that country; in fact, ‘toast’ generally means a toasted sandwich. The common toaster machine, found in every household in Anglo-Saxon countries, is almost impossible to come by in Italy (I can confirm that fact, having carried a toaster in my suitcase all the way across the English Channel as a gift to my sister in Italy). Another - albeit minor - irritant was the assumption that a Swiss Guard would not have recognised a KitKat bar. Newsflash: KitKat bars are commonly found in Italy and have been for decades (in fact, just the thought of them makes the old jingle from the Italian TV advert pop into my mind. Argh!). Such details may seem insignificant, but they contribute to an overall illusion which ultimately must be plausible.
Still, as a debut novel, “Basic Black” certainly did not disappoint. I enjoyed reading it and I would recommend it as an ideal choice for a beach holiday, the train journey to work or for those hours in an airport lounge before boarding a flight. And to Scott Doornbosch I would like to say: I hope your health improves so that we can get to read the next Tony Black novel. Good luck, mate.
July 20, 2011
A first person story told both from the protagonist's & antagonist's point of view.
A great debut for Scott. He generated action and suspense through his use of locations and details all around a topic we've heard of.
A great debut for Scott. He generated action and suspense through his use of locations and details all around a topic we've heard of.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews