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A review by jakewritesbooks
Bloodroot by Bill Loehfelm
5.0
For the life of me, I will never understand why Bill Loehfelm isn’t a bigger name in crime fiction.
I first came across his Staten Island trilogy by accident, having seen The Devil She Knows on some random list or another. There aren’t many crime novels set on the Island so I figured I’d try it. It was one of my favorite reads of the year. I didn’t know at the time that it was his third Staten Island-set book featuring characters that were loosely connected a la Pelecanos. It’s not a series you read in order.
Loehfelm took the protagonist of that one and created her own series, moving her to New Orleans and making her a cop. The first book was fine, good enough, if not as exciting as its prequel. But when I discovered he had written two other Staten Island novels prior to that series, I had to go back and read them.
Fresh Kills was good, a bumpy ride but a quality debut effort. Bloodroot, the follow up is excellent. A real moving tale of family, mental health, Staten Island history. It’s suspenseful in its own right but it never loses sight of the central relationship between Kevin and Danny, two brothers from this random spit of land tied together by forces they cannot possibly see or understand.
I loved everything about it except for the relationship angle (clunky and contrived) and the end (rushed and predictable). But I didn’t dislike these things enough to dock them a star. Loehfelm’s great and while I will continue with the Maureen Coughlin series, I hope he returns to his native Staten Island some day.
I first came across his Staten Island trilogy by accident, having seen The Devil She Knows on some random list or another. There aren’t many crime novels set on the Island so I figured I’d try it. It was one of my favorite reads of the year. I didn’t know at the time that it was his third Staten Island-set book featuring characters that were loosely connected a la Pelecanos. It’s not a series you read in order.
Loehfelm took the protagonist of that one and created her own series, moving her to New Orleans and making her a cop. The first book was fine, good enough, if not as exciting as its prequel. But when I discovered he had written two other Staten Island novels prior to that series, I had to go back and read them.
Fresh Kills was good, a bumpy ride but a quality debut effort. Bloodroot, the follow up is excellent. A real moving tale of family, mental health, Staten Island history. It’s suspenseful in its own right but it never loses sight of the central relationship between Kevin and Danny, two brothers from this random spit of land tied together by forces they cannot possibly see or understand.
I loved everything about it except for the relationship angle (clunky and contrived) and the end (rushed and predictable). But I didn’t dislike these things enough to dock them a star. Loehfelm’s great and while I will continue with the Maureen Coughlin series, I hope he returns to his native Staten Island some day.