Cathy C. (cathyskye) -
As a rule I love J.A. Jance's books, but Dance of the Bones is not one of her best-- and J.P. Beaumont fans will be disappointed, since he plays a crucial (but very small) role.
Jance's Walker family series set in the Tucson, Arizona area have always used many legends of the Tohono O'odham people. Normally I enjoy reading them, but in this case they kept dragging me out of the story-- even if they did pertain to two of my favorite characters, Gabe Ortiz and Lani Walker-Pardee. Speaking of characters, the bad guy needed to be more hands-on. Always having minions doing the dirty work sapped the killer's evil mojo. Instead of fear or anxiety, I felt irritation.
With so many interconnected loops of plot, reading Dance of the Bones was like stepping in the middle of a nest of rattlesnakes. Lots of distraction, occasional confusion, and a feeling that the story didn't live up to the often beautiful way Jance uses the English language.
Jance's Walker family series set in the Tucson, Arizona area have always used many legends of the Tohono O'odham people. Normally I enjoy reading them, but in this case they kept dragging me out of the story-- even if they did pertain to two of my favorite characters, Gabe Ortiz and Lani Walker-Pardee. Speaking of characters, the bad guy needed to be more hands-on. Always having minions doing the dirty work sapped the killer's evil mojo. Instead of fear or anxiety, I felt irritation.
With so many interconnected loops of plot, reading Dance of the Bones was like stepping in the middle of a nest of rattlesnakes. Lots of distraction, occasional confusion, and a feeling that the story didn't live up to the often beautiful way Jance uses the English language.
I usually love this author, but this book just didn't grab me. Too many characters and time jumps cause a lot of confusion as to when the chapter is taking place and âwho is this, now?' questioning. Embedded ancient Indian story in italics and written as several paragraphs at beginning of each chapter is difficult to read and absorb and takes you out of the main story. Too much Indian ritual and not enough JP Beaumont in this book. He's basically an ancillary character.
