Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Booksneeze book review - Nick of Time by Tim Downs

Tim Downs is the author of the Bugman series of novels.  Nick Polchak is the bugman here - a forensic entomologist who specializes in crime-scene bugs.  In 'Nick of Time', Nick will be married soon but is unsure of whether he wants to be married at all.  He runs off days before his marriage to solve a crime, leading his fiance Alene to question his commitment to the marriage.  Nick and Alene are birds of a feather - social misfits, persistent and stubborn, and good in their chosen professions.  The story goes on in the manner of any thriller, with every page the possibility of a doublecross increases.  However anyone who has read a lot of thrillers will be surprised at the ending.  There is a crime thats solved ofcourse, but it is overshadowed by the set-up.  An average book that will help you while away your time.


This was the first time I have read a Bugman novel.  This was also my first free book from BookSneeze.  I had been careful to not have huge expectations from it.  There seems to be such a glut of worthless thrillers in the market that I am really scared to go out and buy one.  Nick of Time does not fall in the class of "Obnoxious and showy, bad thriller" certainly, but it does not stand out on its own either.  The first chapter has Nick and Alene visitng a wedding planner.  The situation seems forced. The author wants to convey in an interesting manner that his hero and heroine are getting married.  The subsequent build up of the characters is in absolute conflict with this first chapter. 


The second irritant was the forced dialogue - both Nick and Alene seem to have sharp swords instead of tongues - they dont just answer normally. Every reply has to be smart-ass, sarcastic or plain sword edged. One enjoys the conversation initially, but then the unvarying tone tends to bore.


The third negative is the fizzled out ending.  Every chapter builds up to a finale that turns out to be lame. 


But all in all, I dint curse as much as I did when I read the 'The Malice Box'!! 

(I would like to thank BookSneeze for providing me with a complimentary copy of this novel. )

No comments:

Post a Comment