5th June 2013

The first book in the Johnnie Mann series was passed on to me by my mother-in-law, and I was unimpressed. The story is based in Hong Kong, and follows police officer Mann and a variety of other characters, as he investigates several murders. It's a fairly graphic narrative that didn't draw me in.

The writing style is bland and hard going - the first half of the book moves incredibly slowly, with time passing sporadically and the plot failing to advance. The second half sees the speed ramped up to the max, skipping over detail and charging through the action. The narrative is awkward and the dialogue seems forced and unnatural, particularly where placed into the mouths of certain characters who we are presumably meant to look down on.

The characters are dull and in many cases implausible and/or incompetent. The work of the police force feels unrealistic and incredibly amateurish and Mann himself comes across as something of a super-human. His character is almost too complex, with several aspects that feel thrown into the mix with no real thought, and his lack of growth is frustrating.

I was not impressed nor entertained by this book, and found myself finding other things to do rather than continue reading. If Lee Weeks is the female James Patterson, as the cover claims, then I'm glad I've not bothered to read any of his works.

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