Monday, December 9, 2013

Russell Blake: Silver Justice

Manhattan is no stranger to murder, but it is usually the most vulnerable in life that are forced to face this fate, but Russell Blake takes this idea and turns it upside down in his first book in a new series:

In the city of Manhattan, there is a serial killer on the loose with your not your typical target, they are targeting the financial industry big wigs, people that the regular individuals are not even aware of. FBI agent Silver Cassidy is assigned to lead the task force and she has a sense there is more to these killing than normal, even though those around her doubt the theory. Silver is determined to see the killer brought to justice, but when they hit close to home, Silver struggles to keep a clear head in order to ensure that she and those she cares about come out alive.

I picked this book up as the premise had me intrigued, as it had a different twist on who the victims were going to be. It was something different than the typical woman victim(s) or those who are more vulnerable due to their lifestyle. It is interesting to see what happens when it is those who have power that are the target and it makes it that more difficult to figure out why. For this I really enjoyed Blake's creativity with the subject and idea.

If you are unable to tell by the premise this novel is also very much about financial crime and this is where Blake lost me a bit I felt that there was too much financial crime in the novel. There were times when the explanation of the financial crime aspect overtakes all the other premises with in the novel, including the murders, it becomes all about the numbers. In the end I think that Silver would have been able to deduce the connection between the victims without the financial information, but it was an interesting and different avenue for Blake to take and I commend him for trying something different.  

You could tell that Blake had a personal opinion as to what caused the 2008 financial crash and his opinion as to what happened are blatant within the entire novel. I'm not going to lie when the financial explanation became too much and too constant I glazed over those parts of the novel skimmed the information that was being given. Yes, the financial crime was important to the serial killer and the why he was killing but I do not think that Blake needed to put that much information within the novel (it was almost like a class within a fiction novel). Those who have an interest in financial crime will enjoy this read and have a better understanding about what was being said, but for the average individual while at times the information was interesting, often there was just too much to process what Blake was saying.

On the other side of things I really liked Silver as a character as both an investigator and a mother. I was interested in her outside of the investigation as well as trying to balance running a task force. I think that being able to see Silver outside of her FBI role made her a more well rounded character as well as a more likeable one. I found that Silver had a very Smokey Barrett (Cody McFadyden series and one of my favorite authors) feeling to her but less a lot less dark.

Those who want a different twist on the typical investigation are going to like the avenue that Blake took within this novel. Although I found the financial aspect too much at times, I still appreciated Blake attempting something different but I also enjoyed is writing style. I would read another novel written by Blake, however, I do not know if it will be within Silver's series if all the books are financially based.

Enjoy!!!

If You Like This,
Check These Out Too:
http://j9books.blogspot.ca/2010/11/cody-mcfadyen-shadow-man.html  http://j9books.blogspot.ca/2013/07/chris-knopf-dead-anyways.html  http://j9books.blogspot.ca/2013/08/stephan-talty-black-irish-novel.html

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