Reviews

This new to me author won the Ned Kelly Award in 2014 for best debut novel with this book. I'm always happy to find a new Australian author that I really like. Hades Archer is almost a side character in the book, but the story starts with him. As in Greek mythology, Hades is lord of the underworld - the seedy underworld of crime in Sydney. He is known of someone who can take care of any problem for a fee. Twenty years previously Hades was left with two small bundles to take care of - it turned out that they were not the bodies of children, but living children. Hades raised them as his own and they are now police officers: Eric and Eden. Frank Bennett is a homicide detective assigned to partner with Eden Archer. They are investigating a serial killer who is leaving a trail of bodies behind him. Eden is cold and seems to be a great cop, but Frank senses there is something dark and dangerous in her. I really enjoyed this book.

labunnywtf's review against another edition

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3.0

The name of this book grabbed me first. I am a bit of a mythology junkie, Hades and Persephone are two of my favorites. Then the cover had my attention. The girl looked young, plus barbed wire and a tiny butterfly. What's going on here?

The plot summary was only mildly interesting, but I like a good cop thriller, so I decided to give it a go. I was pleasantly surprised at how engaging the book is.

Not so much the Frank parts. He's a perfectly acceptable character, of course, but I was far more gripped by Eden. It's all about Eden. I've since seen that she has another book, Eden, and I am crazy interested to read that one.

Spoiler

Organ theft is making a real come back in the books and television shows I've been seeing lately. It's weird, really, because the urban legend has been around for so long. But this book handles it really quite brilliantly, a guy who is essentially blackmailing potential clients, but if they say no, it's all good. It's a very nifty twist.

We didn't really get much on his motivation and back story, though. Yes, little snippets of flashback, and the poor little bird and mouse. But then it became, "Oh, he went to Uganda, and now he's crazy." Like, what?

Also, I have a very good friend named Jason Beck, and was terribly amused that he shares the name of a serial killer.

Frank is not really likable. He's not a terrible character, but he's just not that interesting to me. He gets this weird redemption arc, heart grows three sizes/gets unfrozen/he becomes a real boy, and it all feels very odd and out of place.

I'm hoping the Eden book gives more information about the relationship between her and Eric. I really wanted to see more of that. I loved what we saw of their relationship with Hades. Man, I liked Hades. I want to build junkyard horses and animals. Amazing.

This really is a good book, very engaging. But some of it just isn't as interesting as the rest.

netflix_and_lil's review against another edition

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3.0

"Australian Dexter but good."

k_lenn's review against another edition

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2.0

I loved Candice Fox's Crimson Lake series, so I figured I'd love this one too. I was wrong. Not only are the characters horrible people, but they also fall flat and feel one-dimensional. They're impossible to root for, or relate to.

It wasn't terrible, but not great either. I won't be continuing on with this series.

missvicki25's review against another edition

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5.0

Wow.

This author captured me from the first sentence. For someone who has been reading for 30+ years, being captured from the first sentence is a big deal!

Recommend everything from this author however, they can be intense and have sensitive content.

Reader caution, but worth it!

esshgee's review against another edition

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3.0

3 1/2 stars. A real page turner with a fast pace but some over-used police stereotypes which detracted from the story. The ending was disappointing, but several reviews indicate the next book in the series is worth reading so I shall continue

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