Book Review - Last Call by JD Seamus
Category Book Review JD Seamus Last Call
In my pile of recreational reads, I recently pulled out a book I got from a publicist... Last Call by JD Seamus. Set in New York, its a crime mystery involving a dying Irishman, his wife and child who need special care, a large amount of money that ends up missing when he dies, and his close friends who attempt to solve the mystery and get the money back. While it had its moments, I had a real problem with the plot and the pacing. I was quite ready for the book to take off in the direction of the summary, and the author apparently had different plans.
The jacket synopsis has most of the action centered around the recovery of Jimmie Collins' money after he dies. He's the owner of a bar that Nathan Melton ends up hanging out at, and they become very good friends, even more so after Jimmie fixes him up with a woman that he starts to date. Jimmie's background is not exactly happy, in that his wife is slowly dying of multiple sclerosis and his daughter is mentally disabled. He eventually gives in and sets them up in an assisted living facility in Florida while he continues to run his businesses (both the bar and "other" side jobs) in New York. But Jimmie starts his own mortal slide when he's diagnosed with cancer. He makes sure to set up his family such that they will be provided for when he dies, but that hits a major hurdle when two months after his death, the nursing facility calls Nathan and mentions that payments are no longer being made. Nathan and the rest of Jimmie's friends decide to do whatever is necessary to find whoever embezzled the money, get it back, and also to dish out a bit of justice in the process.
As mentioned above, I expected Jimmie to meet his Maker pretty early on so that the story would revolve around the recovery of his funds. But Jimmy doesn't die until almost 3/4 of the way through the book, which doesn't leave much time for the crime to be discovered and the real action to play out. In the meantime, the reader is left with stories of how Nathan meets Jimmie, how Jimmie made his money, his slow death, and interactions between all the bar regulars. Once the action does start, the situations are a mix of gruesome death and crazy slapstick, some of which doesn't seem to mix very well in terms of being plausible. Other than Jimmie and Nathan, the rest of the characters are not highly developed, and I didn't really connect with any of them. I did enjoy some of the dialog between them, though it is very stereotypical of New York/Italian/Irish/mafia characters. Still, I found myself chuckling at times.
Last Call had the makings of an interesting story, and I wish I had liked it more. But I spent too long waiting for the premise, and then it was over far too quickly for the amount of time spent getting there.
Disclosure:
Obtained From: Publicist
Payment: Free
In my pile of recreational reads, I recently pulled out a book I got from a publicist... Last Call by JD Seamus. Set in New York, its a crime mystery involving a dying Irishman, his wife and child who need special care, a large amount of money that ends up missing when he dies, and his close friends who attempt to solve the mystery and get the money back. While it had its moments, I had a real problem with the plot and the pacing. I was quite ready for the book to take off in the direction of the summary, and the author apparently had different plans.
The jacket synopsis has most of the action centered around the recovery of Jimmie Collins' money after he dies. He's the owner of a bar that Nathan Melton ends up hanging out at, and they become very good friends, even more so after Jimmie fixes him up with a woman that he starts to date. Jimmie's background is not exactly happy, in that his wife is slowly dying of multiple sclerosis and his daughter is mentally disabled. He eventually gives in and sets them up in an assisted living facility in Florida while he continues to run his businesses (both the bar and "other" side jobs) in New York. But Jimmie starts his own mortal slide when he's diagnosed with cancer. He makes sure to set up his family such that they will be provided for when he dies, but that hits a major hurdle when two months after his death, the nursing facility calls Nathan and mentions that payments are no longer being made. Nathan and the rest of Jimmie's friends decide to do whatever is necessary to find whoever embezzled the money, get it back, and also to dish out a bit of justice in the process.
As mentioned above, I expected Jimmie to meet his Maker pretty early on so that the story would revolve around the recovery of his funds. But Jimmy doesn't die until almost 3/4 of the way through the book, which doesn't leave much time for the crime to be discovered and the real action to play out. In the meantime, the reader is left with stories of how Nathan meets Jimmie, how Jimmie made his money, his slow death, and interactions between all the bar regulars. Once the action does start, the situations are a mix of gruesome death and crazy slapstick, some of which doesn't seem to mix very well in terms of being plausible. Other than Jimmie and Nathan, the rest of the characters are not highly developed, and I didn't really connect with any of them. I did enjoy some of the dialog between them, though it is very stereotypical of New York/Italian/Irish/mafia characters. Still, I found myself chuckling at times.
Last Call had the makings of an interesting story, and I wish I had liked it more. But I spent too long waiting for the premise, and then it was over far too quickly for the amount of time spent getting there.
Disclosure:
Obtained From: Publicist
Payment: Free
| Permalink |
