Middlesex

...by Greg Iles / Review by Dan O'Connor

. . . . . I found this to be an interesting mystery, particularly during the early going and at that point felt that it had an excellent, well developed, nicely paced plot. Unfortunately, as with so many books with remarkable potential, it ran out of gas, got predictable, took a few liberties that don't usually do a book any good, fissled and died. I never felt as though I would put it down before it was finished, but as I turned the last several pages, I was ready to put it back on the shelf.

. . . . . . First, I'll start with the novel's strongest points. For the first 1/2 to 2/3, it was a real page turner and I couldn't wait to pick it up again. The incidents casting a shadow on the murder were intriguing, clever and well employed. The plot was simple to follow, yet had enough interlocking pieces and spurs to make it interesting.

. . . . . .The characters on the other hand were cardboard, or paper cut outs in my opinion. The only one that had any real flavor beyond whatever the reader brought to the table by way of stereotypes was Quentin, the black Natchez attorney, who had made a name for himself handling civil rights cases early in his career. This was NOT a character driven novel. Had it been, it could have been rich with flavor. To see what I believe are well hewn characters, see my overall novel evaluation chart.

........ Through foreshadowing, a reader can usually anticipate a particular direction the story is going, and if it's credible, interrupting that flow with a twist or a turn can add spice to a novel. The author occasionally did this, but less and less toward the end. Early in the story most of the events were credible enough to keep from pulling me out of the story, but as it progressed too many things happened, too neatly, and predictably to sustain my interest. Plus, with the characters being cardboard I didn't care much what happened to them anyway.

.........Then, there was the unforgivable sin (I won't give particulars) of becoming authorial, i.e., lecturing the reader. That wouldn't have been so bad, except that the position he endorsed was against the moral judgment that most readers would likely assume. It was said through a character but had the unmistakable intonation of the author. In case you decide to track this point, as you read or look back upon the novel, I'll give an oblique clue as to the passage I'm talking about. It's when a bullet come out of nowhere.

.........So, this book started out as a 4-star in my opinion, but then gradually disintegrated at around the 50% to 67 % mark and died an ignominious death. Yet, it was better than most similar books I've read lately, so I'll give it a thumbs up with a 3.25 star rating.. . . .

. . . . .

Dan's

Book Review Report Card

Major Character Development

The character development "sucked" in my view. I saw little or no growth on the part of anyone through the course of the story. I was once told that you could tell who was the hero of a story by asking yourself the question, "Who changed?" By that standard, I'm left clueless.

Except for Quentin, the characters are not worth mentioning by name, except maybe the dead girl. I would have liked to have known her better.

Dialogue

For the most part, I felt the dialogue was succinct, on point and representative of the time and place depicted in the novel.

B+

Narration / Prose

First Person, allegedly in the voice of Ben Cage, a former prosecutor, turned novelist, about to become politician. It was clear, but not mystifying by any stretch.

B+

Pacing

I have no complaints about the pacing, except that it drug like a wet carpet toward the end.

B+

Storyline Issues

Continuity

Storyline outline clear and concise?

Drama

Compelling and ever present?

Character arc

Was classic protagonist character arc present and compelling?

Conclusion (AKA The Ending )