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camartin1015's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This book really went places: Bruno is called to help investigate potential crimes in a truffle market of a nearby town, and the plot unravels to include gang violence, murder, arson, and human trafficking (see content warning for more info). This book seems like it really raises the stakes for the Bruno, Chief of Police series in a way that I personally enjoy but may not appeal to readers drawn to the charm of watching a small-town policy chief maintain the safety and reputation of the community he serves. Black Diamond introduces new characters and their roles in St. Denis and surrounding areas while bringing back past characters like JJ and Isabelle. While I overall really liked the book, the ending was a bit abrupt to me. It ends on a pretty disturbing note, especially with Bruno questioning how the big crimes and their perpetrators had slipped through his notice. Given the heaviness of the themes in this book, I would've liked a bit more resolution/explanation of how some aspects were solved and the fallout from them.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Pedophilia, Suicide, Violence, Trafficking, and Fire/Fire injury
I was surpirsed that part of the gang violence and human-trafficking plot included the explanation/refernece to but not depiction) of child sexual abuse, including blackmail of a person of interest to part of the plot and the explicit acknowledgment that children had been assaulted.