Book Review - Little Blue Whales by Kenneth R. Lewis
Category Book Review Kenneth R. Lewis Little Blue Whales
I was recently contacted by Kenneth R. Lewis asking if I would like to read and review his debut crime novel Little Blue Whales. Given the genre and the setting (the Oregon coast, about 90 miles from where I live), I decided it might be a good read in my recreational pile. For a debut novel, it's not bad. There's plenty of action and personal intrigue going on with the plot and the characters, and I found myself spending a bit more time reading when I should have been doing other things (like sleeping!)
Kevin Kearnes, the police chief of a small coastal town in Oregon, has plenty of battles to fight in his new job. The city council, along with a few members of the police force, are part of a "good ol' boy" network who run the town for their own personal gain. While trying to take care of those issues, he has to deal with other "interesting" problems like the demolition of a dead whale that washed up on the beach. But all those problems pale in comparison to what looks to be a far more serious matter... a killer who is targeting young boys and leaving them on the beach to be found. While it's not a given that the crimes were committed in his town of Cutter Point, Kearnes starts taking the case personally when a clue is discovered near where one boy disappeared. A small blue whale toy is found, and that brings back a series of repressed memories from Kearnes' own childhood. He knows who the killer is, and he has to eliminate the killer in order to deal with his own past.
The story starts with Kearnes receiving psychological help in dealing with the aftermath of the crime described above. He starts to recount the whole story to his therapist, which is where 95% of the book happens. It then moves back to the present, where the psychologist has to decide whether he's still fit for duty, or whether his emotional state is such that he shouldn't be wearing a badge any more. There's also a love interest in the story that drives Kearnes' decision about how much he wants to reveal and how much more he wants to be involved in the affairs of Cutter Point. Stylistically, I enjoyed the story. In terms of characters, I would have liked to know a bit more background on some of them. Kearnes' partner seems to have anger management issues, and that could have been explained more. The killer had a warped view of religion that drove his actions, but the why and wherefore as to how he got that way eluded me. If that had been explained to me a bit better, I might have understood why he turned out the way he did. Without that, he was just strange and bizarre.
Overall, Little Blue Whales was a good read, and Lewis shows promise as a writer. He's already working on a sequel titled The Sparrow's Blade, and I probably will find that one when it comes out and give it a read also.
Disclosure:
Obtained From: Author
Payment: Free
I was recently contacted by Kenneth R. Lewis asking if I would like to read and review his debut crime novel Little Blue Whales. Given the genre and the setting (the Oregon coast, about 90 miles from where I live), I decided it might be a good read in my recreational pile. For a debut novel, it's not bad. There's plenty of action and personal intrigue going on with the plot and the characters, and I found myself spending a bit more time reading when I should have been doing other things (like sleeping!)
Kevin Kearnes, the police chief of a small coastal town in Oregon, has plenty of battles to fight in his new job. The city council, along with a few members of the police force, are part of a "good ol' boy" network who run the town for their own personal gain. While trying to take care of those issues, he has to deal with other "interesting" problems like the demolition of a dead whale that washed up on the beach. But all those problems pale in comparison to what looks to be a far more serious matter... a killer who is targeting young boys and leaving them on the beach to be found. While it's not a given that the crimes were committed in his town of Cutter Point, Kearnes starts taking the case personally when a clue is discovered near where one boy disappeared. A small blue whale toy is found, and that brings back a series of repressed memories from Kearnes' own childhood. He knows who the killer is, and he has to eliminate the killer in order to deal with his own past.
The story starts with Kearnes receiving psychological help in dealing with the aftermath of the crime described above. He starts to recount the whole story to his therapist, which is where 95% of the book happens. It then moves back to the present, where the psychologist has to decide whether he's still fit for duty, or whether his emotional state is such that he shouldn't be wearing a badge any more. There's also a love interest in the story that drives Kearnes' decision about how much he wants to reveal and how much more he wants to be involved in the affairs of Cutter Point. Stylistically, I enjoyed the story. In terms of characters, I would have liked to know a bit more background on some of them. Kearnes' partner seems to have anger management issues, and that could have been explained more. The killer had a warped view of religion that drove his actions, but the why and wherefore as to how he got that way eluded me. If that had been explained to me a bit better, I might have understood why he turned out the way he did. Without that, he was just strange and bizarre.
Overall, Little Blue Whales was a good read, and Lewis shows promise as a writer. He's already working on a sequel titled The Sparrow's Blade, and I probably will find that one when it comes out and give it a read also.
Disclosure:
Obtained From: Author
Payment: Free
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