sophiepmeeks's review
5.0
This second book in the Hobson and Choi series really steps it up a notch to great effect. I loved the first one's humour and how it shows the relationship between the two totally mis-matched partners develop. However, in this book the stakes get raised and we close in on a much nastier threat. Not only that, but we start to see how Hobson's past weaves into this threat and understand he's been to some pretty nasty places in his time. At the same time we see Choi grow in confidence and Hobson start to rely more on her which makes the whole question of how exactly her work experience will end up an increasingly interesting one. I alway enjoy a good crime story but it's the characters which have to make it sing, they need to be just as interesting as the crime itself and this book certainly delivers on that. Looking forward to the next one! p.s. don't miss the bonus story, 'nuff said.
m00plays's review
3.0
I love the characters Hobson and Choi, they're a fantastic duo that really make these books! There are a jumble of cases in this book as the title 'Rush Jobs' suggests. I found that I wanted to read more of this series and so I hope it turns into a lot of books! Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review these books, and the best of luck with the blog tour, Nick Bryan and Faye Rogers!
bookishfifi's review
4.0
Rush Jobs follows on from The Girl Who Tweeted Wolf. Choi is in her second week of interning and has no idea how to say to Hobson that she'd like to stay but on the other hand it does look like she might have an actual date with Will the receptionist. Hobson has burnt his bridges with Ellie, his ex-wife and is floundering a bit. Instead of one case our dynamic duo take on several, including a kidnapping involving an accountant and a shady recruitment agency, a drug mule dog who might just be the newest recruit and a favor for Benny, the chap from the first book who sits outside the tube station promoting the word of God, and actually turns out to be an estate agent!
In my opinion Rush Jobs is the better book, maybe because we see Hobson & Choi working on more cases, but I love the dynamic that's developing between them and I'm thrilled that they will be returning in Case Three: The Hardest Bargains In Town. It's quite hard to know how to categorize these books, there is massive crossover appeal I think but given that there is a lot of profanity (the F-word is a favorite of both Hobson & Choi) I would be wary of giving them to a YA reader.
In my opinion Rush Jobs is the better book, maybe because we see Hobson & Choi working on more cases, but I love the dynamic that's developing between them and I'm thrilled that they will be returning in Case Three: The Hardest Bargains In Town. It's quite hard to know how to categorize these books, there is massive crossover appeal I think but given that there is a lot of profanity (the F-word is a favorite of both Hobson & Choi) I would be wary of giving them to a YA reader.
clairerousseau's review
5.0
I have to say straight away that I absolutely adored this. I liked the first book quite a bit, but this second volume really stepped up a notch. Hobson & Choi shows its origins as a serialised work with a number of smaller cases interweaving as the story goes, which was where it really hooked me.
As I’ve said above, I don’t read a lot of crime fiction, but I do watch a lot of US-style police procedurals, with a general season arc and a case solved every episode, excepting the occasional two-parter episode or recurring serial-killer villain. Maybe someone watches these shows for the intricate investigations, but I’m unashamedly in it for the characters. The same goes for Hobson & Choi.
This second instalment picks up right where the first left off and builds on the interesting glimpses of conflicts and relationships between characters. I particularly enjoyed seeing Choi grow in confidence as her work from the first book is acknowledged, and I liked Hobson’s pragmatism about the Twitter account: he thinks it’s nonsense, but he’s getting more paying clients out of it, so he’s getting Choi to keep it up.
There are more shades of good and bad in this one, more moments in which both Hobson and Choi screw up big time, more hesitation about the right thing to do. And as the story progresses, it becomes pretty clear that the Big Bad of the book is actually bloody terrifying, in a much more mundane and inhuman way than the hyper-aggressive ‘wolf’ from the first book. This made for some really tense moments when the jokes were reigned in and the true disturbing nature of the whole thing (including Hobson’s murky past) was revealed.
The book also ends on a more uncertain note as Choi’s two-week internship with Hobson has ended, but a third case, Trapped in The Bargain Basement, has already been announced, so we should see some more of Hobson and Choi. Don’t skip the bonus short story at the end of the book; it’s excellent and guaranteed to give you the creeps in a big, nasty, Orwellian way.
As I’ve said above, I don’t read a lot of crime fiction, but I do watch a lot of US-style police procedurals, with a general season arc and a case solved every episode, excepting the occasional two-parter episode or recurring serial-killer villain. Maybe someone watches these shows for the intricate investigations, but I’m unashamedly in it for the characters. The same goes for Hobson & Choi.
This second instalment picks up right where the first left off and builds on the interesting glimpses of conflicts and relationships between characters. I particularly enjoyed seeing Choi grow in confidence as her work from the first book is acknowledged, and I liked Hobson’s pragmatism about the Twitter account: he thinks it’s nonsense, but he’s getting more paying clients out of it, so he’s getting Choi to keep it up.
There are more shades of good and bad in this one, more moments in which both Hobson and Choi screw up big time, more hesitation about the right thing to do. And as the story progresses, it becomes pretty clear that the Big Bad of the book is actually bloody terrifying, in a much more mundane and inhuman way than the hyper-aggressive ‘wolf’ from the first book. This made for some really tense moments when the jokes were reigned in and the true disturbing nature of the whole thing (including Hobson’s murky past) was revealed.
The book also ends on a more uncertain note as Choi’s two-week internship with Hobson has ended, but a third case, Trapped in The Bargain Basement, has already been announced, so we should see some more of Hobson and Choi. Don’t skip the bonus short story at the end of the book; it’s excellent and guaranteed to give you the creeps in a big, nasty, Orwellian way.
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