REVIEW: Alice and the Assassin by R. J. Koreto

Alice and the Assassin
by R. J. Koreto

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Page Count: 280
Release Date: April 11, 2017
Format: E-Book ARC

How got: digital ARC via NetGalley

First attention getter: main character and her historically established personality

Synopsis:

From GoodReads:

In 1902 New York, Alice Roosevelt, the bright, passionate, and wildly unconventional daughter of newly sworn-in President Theodore Roosevelt, is placed under the supervision of Secret Service Agent Joseph St. Clair, ex-cowboy and veteran of the Rough Riders. St. Clair quickly learns that half his job is helping Alice roll cigarettes and escorting her to bookies, but matters grow even more difficult when Alice takes it upon herself to investigate a recent political killing--the assassination of former president William McKinley.

Concerned for her father's safety, Alice seeks explanations for the many unanswered questions about the avowed anarchist responsible for McKinley's death. In her quest, Alice drags St. Clair from grim Bowery bars to the elegant parlors of New York's ruling class, from the haunts of the Chinese secret societies to the magnificent new University Club, all while embarking on a tentative romance with a family friend, the son of a prominent local household.

And while Alice, forced to challenge those who would stop at nothing in their greed for money and power, considers her uncertain future, St. Clair must come to terms with his own past.

My Thoughts:

Star Rating - 2

The concept behind this book looks good in theory. Alice Roosevelt was known as a trend setter, a boundary breaker. Her historically known iron will and disregard for convention make for admirable qualities in a female lead to a historical mystery series. However, I feel like the author made some grievous errors in execution. The resulting work comes out, in the end, as very middle of the road, immediately forgettable after the reading is done. Not the impression you want to leave when starting a mystery series...

I did enjoy St. Clair to a point. His portrayal of a strong western lawman transplanted to urban New York comes across well. He’s a caring older brother and a protective Secret Service operative. Yet, I felt like there was a dearth of characterization for him beyond those few points and stereotypes. Most inner thought tracks we got from him fell into these small categories; so in the end, I never really thought that I knew him that well. At least the scenes where he had action flowed well.

The latter half of the book was far better than the first, though the problems with the book still persisted there. I feel the author did herself a disservice by starting Alice and St. Clair in the settings that she used in the first half.

Being introduced to Alice within a high society setting would have served her character far better. The meal with the van Schuyler family is a prime example. In that setting, Alice’s intelligence and political maneuvering skills really shine. I personally feel she would have been established as a stronger character, a real first daughter with weight behind her name and use of that position.

However, the author introduced Alice by trolling through New York slums talking to anarchists, police chiefs, and lawyers. Yes, she’s the president‘s daughter but good god!! The way everyone opens up to her, falling over themselves to sing like canaries, just because she’s a Roosevelt, felt EXTREMELY unrealistic. I mean, come on, the anarchist alone would’ve had nothing to do with her given that position! In the latter half, at least the folks that Alice and St. Clair end up talking to show some hesitation in breaking laws, showing a bit more realism then just spilling their guts to a teenager because she squeaks, “I’m the President’s daughter”.

The way the author uses Alice in the beginning feels very unrealistic and so highly unreadable. The whole situation at the lawyer’s office was just the icing on the cake. It was at that point where I stopped taking Alice seriously. She’s a 17-year-old teenager who is given the power and personality of an adult; all of which the author expect us to just swallow and relate to. While she gets a bit better in the latter half, by that point in the story, I was already too out of step with her to really care.

The mystery portion itself was a tossup. Like the bits I’ve mentioned already with Alice, the investigation stuff seems like it flowed way to simply. Sources and such seem to fall all over themselves to spill their guts to this paragon of a first daughter. Clues fell into their laps like snow. As such, their power faded just as quickly. By the time we got the big reveal at the end, I just really didn’t care. Whatever power the ending might have had was killed by how easy the steps to it were handled in the narrative.

I felt the author took some serious missteps with this one. I shallow mystery and irrationally-characterized female lead pretty much killed this one in the water for me. Some light at the end of the tunnel was there with St. Claire and some better writing in the second half. Maybe the author will get much better in future volumes, especially as Alice has been firmly established at least by this point. Yet, Koreto has some serious work ahead to pull this mystery series out of the depths. This book seems to have worked for other reviewer’s; with an average of 3.5 stars on GoodReads, somebody liked this. So maybe this book will work for others where it didn’t for me. But for me personally, I don’t recommend reaching for this book, and I won’t be looking for book two.

Note: Book received for free via NetGalley from publisher in exchange for an honest review (and boy was I honest!!).

REVIEW: Yesternight by Cat Winters

Yesternight
by Cat Winters

Publisher: William Morrow
Page Count: 374
Release Date: October 4, 2016
Format: Trade Paperback

How got: personal buy from B&N

First attention getter: already liked the author

Synopsis:

From GoodReads:

A young child psychologist steps off a train, her destination a foggy seaside town. There, she begins a journey causing her to question everything she believes about life, death, memories, and reincarnation.

In 1925, Alice Lind steps off a train in the rain-soaked coastal hamlet of Gordon Bay, Oregon. There, she expects to do nothing more difficult than administer IQ tests to a group of rural schoolchildren. A trained psychologist, Alice believes mysteries of the mind can be unlocked scientifically, but now her views are about to be challenged by one curious child.

Seven-year-old Janie O’Daire is a mathematical genius, which is surprising. But what is disturbing are the stories she tells: that her name was once Violet, she grew up in Kansas decades earlier, and she drowned at age nineteen. Alice delves into these stories, at first believing they’re no more than the product of the girl’s vast imagination. But, slowly, Alice comes to the realization that Janie might indeed be telling a strange truth.

Alice knows the investigation may endanger her already shaky professional reputation, and as a woman in a field dominated by men she has no room for mistakes. But she is unprepared for the ways it will illuminate terrifying mysteries within her own past, and in the process, irrevocably change her life.

My Thoughts:

Star Rating - 3.5

Cat Winter has impressed me before by her incredible writing. She incorporates dark material, eerie Gothic tones, and unique story to great effect. This new title does follow suit in those areas. Once I got reading, I finished pretty quickly, given my slowed down reading habits lately. However, this book had some issues in the characterization department that kept it from true stardom.

Spooky cliff dwelling towns, remote hotels on bleak prairies, and dark dreams all stand out as a fantastic, ghostly back drop for Winter’s story. She’s got a gift for setting an atmosphere straight out of a Gothic tale or Edgar Allan Poe poem.

I’ve always been intrigued by reincarnation. The whole concept fascinates me so I love that winter incorporated it in multiple stages of the story. The story revolves around this concept, how it impacts families in a society where it’s seen as anathema to the logical world, and the individuals who experience reincarnation and their surroundings. She interweave this concept into a suspenseful story of unknowns.

Her characters, though, are where this title falls a bit. Our leads, Michael and Alice, are relatable enough to draw you in. In fact, I had no problem with Michael at all until the start of his story’s climax; after that point, he turns into Mr. Douchebag. That was a sudden turn!

Alice, I felt, couldn’t decide who she wanted to be and how she wanted to approach the world. I love her background of guts and determination; she wanted to get an education and not just be content with home and children. Yet, she constantly waffled between being logical and believing full bore in the whole reincarnation concept. She was either totally for one or the other, never interweaving both into one world outlook. I’ve got to say her taste in men is also atrocious! She trusts too easily and quickly.

I do have to say I love Winter’s ending, though. What a twist! She left me with a shiver down my spine, as if someone had walked on my grave. My guess would be this was her intention. The way everything worked out falls so perfectly into the overall atmosphere the author build up that I felt great pay off after finishing the title, in this department.

Despite some serious flaws in our main heroine’s personality and the hero’s mind-boggling turnabout, I feel I can recommend this title to anyone looking for a spooky, unique tale of reincarnation and dark turns. The author excels at telling an exceptional yarn that keeps the reader engaged, sucked into her spooky atmosphere and mind bending plot twists. Check the title out if you get the chance!