Skate Crime by Alina AdamsMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I love Alina Adams' complex, compelling take on the skating world, and her signature style is very much in evidence in Skate Crime, but there are definitely changes from the previous books.
There has always been a healthy dose of darkness and betrayal in Adams' breathless portrayal of the skating world, but this time, it seemed more intense and somber. I'd tentatively label Skate Crime as a black comedy.
Format-wise, Adams makes the interesting choice of telling us the backstories of various characters directly through their eyes. It's very well-done and convincing, but I did notice that the only characters we heard from were the ladies.
Another format twist is the use of forum posts at the head of many chapters to highlight the absurdity of fans. At first, it's entertaining but seems quite random. Later in the book, however, I became aware there was a more thematic reason for these entries.
As always, I devoured this book and particularly enjoyed Bex's blundering on more fronts than usual. Her proactive sleuthing is back with a vengeance, though I did feel as if her reason for jumping to a conclusion of murder needed to be fleshed out more initially.
Looking forward to another book in this series, but hoping this is the bottom line for its darker edge.
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2 comments:
I'm torn about this one. I don't like black comedies, but I love figure skating. What do you think?
Aubrie - grab the first one, Murder on Ice, or even two, On Thin Ice. They're still crazy and with some drama, but they seemed lighter to me. Grant my memory could be off as it's been years since I read, but I always recommend going back to the beginning anyhow.
Though that's another thing Adams does well, recapping prior information without it feeling dull.
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