Whiskey Sour (Jack Daniels #1) in SSG: Spy/Spec-Ops Group

Jan 02, 2012 Mike (the Paladin) rated it liked it

I finished this a couple of days ago and am just now getting around to reviewing it. In many ways I'd like to give the book more than 3 stars. I like the writing overall and the characters are easy to get to know and have a "real folks" feel that I think can sell a book or series.

Unfortunately there are a few problems with the book that "bug" me personally. The biggest and worst (for me) of these are the extremely graphic murder scenes from the point of view of the killer. (I don't believe this I finished this a couple of days ago and am just now getting around to reviewing it. In many ways I'd like to give the book more than 3 stars. I like the writing overall and the characters are easy to get to know and have a "real folks" feel that I think can sell a book or series.

Unfortunately there are a few problems with the book that "bug" me personally. The biggest and worst (for me) of these are the extremely graphic murder scenes from the point of view of the killer. (I don't believe this is a spoiler as you must know this is a suspense novel about a serial murderer). In this (my objection) I'm not referring to insight into the mind of the killer or the accounts of his rationalizations. I talking about the scenes where we get detailed accounts of what he's doing with his knife and the death horrors of the victims. That I don't need. I've read war novels, techno-thrillers, murder mysteries and so on. I've read accounts of serial killers and mass murderers, but there were several scenes in this book I just skipped.

I put this here as I think you should go in, forewarned. Read it, try it. Maybe these parts won't bother you as much as they do me. Personally accounts of women pleading for their lives aren't something I find I like to include in my light reading.

On the other hand, when the story moves to it's primary point of view (that of Jack/Jacqueline) we get the modern sassy, well spoken, tough female protagonist. She's well written and comes across as a character that the writer himself is comfortable with.

The book's storytelling does have a couple of "flaws (though they may not bother everybody). First the author (like so many today) feels free to lambast (at least a bit) the last "persecutable" minority...overweight people. Jack's partner is overweight as are a few people we meet in the book. These people are universally pictured as thinking of nothing but food and talking of almost nothing but eating. I know this is from personal experience, BUT... My late wife had a thyroid condition and was diabetic. I've seen her in Weight Watchers on a diet where everyone else (including me) lost weight but she could no more than maintain. Not only did she not spend all her time talking of food, she wouldn't even eat in public. If these jokes were aimed at any body condition outside being overweight there would have been a cry heard round the world. Just be aware if you aren't "svelte" the book has an abundance of "fat jokes".

Other than that and one bothersome scene where Jack does something a police officer is trained not to do (view spoiler) the book is a pretty good read.

I have mentioned all the above negatives to say, "this is what you may not like". On the other hand the parts I did like I liked pretty well and intend to move on and try the next in the series. I've reserved it at the library so, we'll see.

As noted 3 stars, close to 4 but not quite. ...more

35 likes · Like · see review

Dec 28, 2009 Danielle The Book Huntress rated it really liked it

Shelves: part-of-a-series, kickbutt-heroine, human-monsters, 2012-sky-s-the-limit-club, thriller-suspense, owned-copy, police-federal-agent-law-enforcemen, action-adventure-aficionados-2012-c, not-for-the-faint-of-heart, yearly-reading-challenge

Whiskey Sour is the first book in the Jack Daniels mystery series. Lieutenant Jack Daniels of the Chicago Police Department is an insomniac workaholic who is on the case of a brutal serial killer at work in Chicago. He goes by the name of the Gingerbread Man, and his favorite hobby is taking lives in the most brutal ways possible. Jack has made police work her life, at the expense of her marriage and peace of mind. And now, she’s too set in her ways to change. That same determination has attract Whiskey Sour is the first book in the Jack Daniels mystery series. Lieutenant Jack Daniels of the Chicago Police Department is an insomniac workaholic who is on the case of a brutal serial killer at work in Chicago. He goes by the name of the Gingerbread Man, and his favorite hobby is taking lives in the most brutal ways possible. Jack has made police work her life, at the expense of her marriage and peace of mind. And now, she’s too set in her ways to change. That same determination has attracted the twisted adoration of the Gingerbread Man, and he turns his attention on her in a very personal way.

This was a good suspense book. The viewpoint of the killer is absolutely chilling. He is clearly a sociopath with a mean streak a mile wide. Seeing his POV only made me root all the harder for Jack to catch him. In contrast, I liked Jack’s calm, battered but unbroken personality. She hasn’t had it easy, and the weight of the world seems to rest upon her shoulders, but she’s not self-pitying, but very matter of fact about her situation. She gave up a lot to be a good cop, and I felt bad that she couldn’t have a husband who understood her drive and loved her all the more for it. Being a softhearted person, I hope she finds someone so she doesn’t have to be lonely and turn to all the whiskey that people give her because of her name to get through the tough nights when she’s not working.

Jack kicks butt, and she’s credible in her role as a Lieutenant in the Violent Crimes Unit. She knows her stuff. I like that she’s a bit weathered by life and isn’t a spring chicken, already a mature woman in her forties with a divorce under her belt. She acts like a veteran cop, savvy and seasoned, but there was a pervasive sense of risk to her, because the killer has also been at his ‘career’ a long time. He was a wily and deadly match for her that kept me on the edge as I read. Konrath has a way of writing that keeps the tension high, but also feels very police procedural. Almost like Law and Order meets Criminal Minds.

I am becoming a big fan of straight mysteries, so I liked that aspect. I’m not and never will be a huge fan of serial killer fiction, so that was a bit of a turn-off, especially the descriptions of the gruesome details of the Gingerbread Man’s acts on his victims. Konrath isn’t lurid about it, but reading about the way this freak hurt people didn’t make for fun reading (and it probably shouldn’t). I will keep reading this series because I like Jack’s character, and the investigative aspects. However, the violence and sociopathy of the nemesis is quite disturbing and not something I’d want to delve into on too often an occasion. (Shrugs) You take the good with the bad.

...more

34 likes · Like · see review