REVIEW: PATIENT DARKNESS
Death has come to Odols...
INTRODUCTION
Shutt follows up his supernatural mystery novel, BROODING CITY with a sequel set a few months after the events of this series' debut. I thought the original was a fun, interesting story that did a nice job of introducing the world of the Sleepers, people with supernatural gifts whose moral compass seems to be ambiguous. The story followed Arthur Brennan, a police detective and former member of the shady organization of Sleepers run by a mysterious man named Benjamin, as well as the young Jeremy, whose powers were only just beginning to manifest. The story took a long time to tget going which was one of my main criticisms. It wasn't until the last quarter or so of the book that all the pieces came together and I could feel myself getting into things. I also felt like the parts featuring Jeremy came off as being much stronger than those featuring Arthur and the people in his corner of the world. I just didn't really like the characters on this side of the story all that much. The interactions were definitely quirky, but I think there was some layer of sarcasm coating it all that just didn't resonate well with me. In spite of the slow build up and characters I didn't connect super well with, I was definitely pulled into this mysterious world and the shocking events at the novel's end left me wanting more. Needless to say, I was very excited when the author reached out to me with a copy of his second novel leaving only the gentle request for another review in return.
Please Note:
- While I'm very appreciative of the author giving me a free copy of his work, this gratitude in no way affects the contents of my review.
- As with all of my reviews, I tried to keep this spoiler free, but do note that there ARE some heavy spoilers for BROODING CITY's ending which are referenced due to their importance in the plot of PATIENT DARKNESS.
MY RATING
4/5 Like it's predecessor, I felt that PATIENT DARKNESS struggles a little with establishing it's premise and really pulling readers into the crux of it's narrative. There are notable improvements made since the first outing, but also some areas in which the book flounders.
CHARACTERS
WORLD/SETTING
The world continues to be one of the main selling points of this series for me. The seemingly mundane streets of Odals are becoming a lot more interesting as more supernatural characters start to emerge from the woodwork. There aren't any particularly notable locations really. Alex's apartment complex and her father's mansion are certainly distinct and Brennan's cozy apartment is an interesting setting in that it's adjusting to there being two full-time residents living in it now. Most of it is typical mystery-thriller fare with morgues, dormitories, churches, and hospitals thrown in for good measure. Where the real world building takes place is in how the secret underground of the Sleepers is explored in greater detail.
In this installment, the portrayal of the sleepers as monsters of the night is greatly challenged. Lines are blurred with the inclusion of numerous other figures with supernatural powers whom are not affiliated with Benjamin's Sleeper organization. There's a killer on the loose posing a threat to human and superhuman alike. Then there's people who've stayed utterly removed from it all like Alex and her father. If this all sounds a little vague, that's partially because there aren't a ton of concrete revelations delivered to readers about what exactly the Sleepers are and what they want. Instead, there's mostly a lot of doubt thrown in. Small truths like what really happened to Brennan's sister muddle the previously established ideas about how Sleepers are the big bad of this world. There are a lot of little hints dropped about what might actually be going on, but nothing solid as of yet.
PLOT/TONE
Where this novel ultimately struggles most is in how it makes the deliberate choice not to give too much away. While neither of the entries in this series are particularly lengthy, they're still at full novel length so I did find it slightly off-putting to have no clearer picture of what the actual threat to Odals is than I did at the end of BROODING CITY. While this decision definitely builds up a ton of intrigue for the next book in the series, it also prevents the story from feeling as rewarding as it should. Perhaps if the final conflict was a bit more dragged out or if more was revealed about one of the principal antagonists, then it would have concluded a little stronger. There are still plenty of interesting little twists, but nothing as showstopping as what I was hoping for. This issue is compounded by the fact that I felt like the opening half of the book was very very slow. Shutt spends an awful lot of time reminding us of what happened in the previous book before really allowing his readers to be tossed into the events of this new story.
After the foreboding words delivered by Benjamin during BROODING CITY's Epilogue, I was expecting to get tossed into something far more exciting. I felt like the story kind of gets the reset button hit on it. Between the constant restating/overstating and the fact that there's a brand new mystery for Brennan to solve in somewhat typical contemporary noir fashion, it felt like this just didn't do enough to outdo it's predecessor. There are little things like how Brennan is trying to find love again (and using a sketchy dating site to do it), moments with Benjamin, and just about every chapter with Alex that do standout in my mind as points where the novel felt worthwhile. I ultimately just wanted things to pick up a little sooner than they did and provide me with a little more satisfaction by the end.
CONCLUSION
You can check out more reviews on PATIENT DARKNESS at Goodreads. Kindle and paperback editions of this book can be found on Amazon.
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