Fiction Book #4 in 2009 – All The Pretty Girls by J. T. Ellison

All The Pretty Girls by J. T. Ellison

From Publishers Weekly on amazon.com:

In this tame debut, the body of a young girl discovered by the side of a Nashville highway puts homicide detective Taylor Jackson and her lowdown boyfriend, FBI Agent John Baldwin, on the trail of the Southern Strangler, a playful, brutal killer who likes to carry his victims across state lines before murdering them and removing their hands. Before long, however, Taylor’s reassigned to the suspicious death of a prominent TV personality, leaving John struggling to keep ahead of the Strangler’s mounting body count. Meanwhile, Taylor is still recovering from a near-fatal neck injury earned in her last case and worrying over her own demons—not the least of which is John’s threat to marry her. The real victim is Ellison’s plot, strangled by slow pacing, egregious subplots (a serial rapist, a crooked officer, a pregnancy scare) and a clichéd cast of characters: the shady Southern belle, the veteran detective pushed over the edge, the evil genius who stays a step ahead of everyone—even the appealing Taylor strikes a numbingly familiar tough-yet-vulnerable pose. Though a climactic showdown injects some much-needed excitement, readers may have a hard time getting there.

My thoughts:

• I enjoy reading murder/mystery/thriller because I like guessing who-dunnit. I like different twists and turns and solving puzzles. Usually though, I don’t remember the plot much afterward, as I just read these books for fun and don’t try to remember anything.

• Not a bad read, but not that great… I guessed who the killer was about 1/3 through the book. Of course I didn’t really know the motive or the fine details of the plot, but it was kinda obvious to me. Maybe I read too many books of this kind of books that you just know a certain “formula” will be used. Not that I guess who the killer is right every time – I mean, really, the author has control of how much to reveal or how many clues to leave you guessing

• It was a quick read though. Just feel kinda indifferent about it.

• Blah, I need to pick up some better fiction books to read this year.

• One thriller that left an impression from my 2008 list was Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane. While I don’t remember the little details of the plot, and that it does take a bit getting used to the voice of the main character in the book (which could be a turn off for some), I enjoy the twists. Looks like there will be a movie! Although it’d spoil the surprise for me since I’d already read the book. Ah well. Books are typically better than the movies anyway – except the Lord of the Rings triology! I had no desire to read the book – bought the book, tried reading it but never seriously picked it off the shelf… but I love the movies! Same for the DaVinci Code – never wanted to read the book, but it was kinda fun to watch the movies as I just wanted to see what the fuzz was about (I really had no clue what the book or movie was about, so I had no expectation). And as I mentioned, I like books/movies that made you try to solve the puzzle.