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All right, I give up, a little bit, on Allende. The Japanese Lover was stronger on language than on character, and Maya’s Notebook even more so. Not since Inés of My Soul have I been bowled over by the whole package of story, character and language.

Ripper starts out intriguingly, as noted. But I only made it about 10% through the book before finding myself frustrated by the characters. The voluptuous, beautiful blonde with a heart of gold who is blind to people’s flaws; the materialistic rich guy she dates; the obnoxious teen (really, I find this one a lot. I know they can be difficult – I was – but they have to be more complex than this); etc. And then the unrealistic details (which I noted in Maya’s Notebook), as when our teenaged sleuth demands all the details of an ongoing murder investigation, because “it’s public record”: not so.* This kind of disregard for facts, in an otherwise realistic setting, bugs me; and combined with the flat characters, I couldn’t keep going.

Allende is one of the best when it comes to description and language. But that’s not always enough, for me at least. I’ll hold out for her next critically acclaimed work before I come back.

*I felt like I knew this from watching crime shows on television. Obviously not a strong source, so I found some stronger ones, below. The gist of it is, specific details of a crime whose investigation is ongoing are exempt from public records legislation, where the release of those details might jeopardize the investigation. For example, the details of specifically what was done to a murder victim might be held back so that the police can distinguish real confessions from fake ones. This is classic crime fiction stuff, but also fact. “Most states exempt from disclosure law enforcement investigatory records,” from the Connecticut General Assembly’s Office of Legislative Research, reporting on states’ laws. The LA Times refers to “investigative records exempt from public release under California’s public records law.” “Specified facts from investigatory or security records, without disclosure of the records themselves, must be disclosed unless disclosure would endanger the successful completion of an investigation, or related investigation, or endanger a person involved in the investigation. Cal. Gov’t Code §§ 6254(f)(1), (f)(2) and (f)(3),” from Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. “Information that may jeopardize an investigation, related investigation or law enforcement proceeding” are exempt from public records access, according to the LAPD. “Law enforcement investigative files may be withheld, but not the basic facts.” Californians Aware, The Center for Public Forum Rights. Etc.

Filed under: book reviews | Tagged: audio, DNF, mystery |