
"Many dedicated years working for the NYPD didn't mean much when criminal psychologist Trajan Jones was fired from the force. Now living in exile on a dairy farm in upstate New York, Trajan is reduced to teaching an online course in criminal investigation, along with his partner Mike Li, an expert in DNA evidence. But Trajan is called back to duty when a friend in county law enforcement consults him on the suspicious death of several local kids. They're called "throwaways" because their parents have abandoned them, and the official response to their deaths seems equally callous. Trajan and Mike, armed only with their instincts and the help of a precocious neighborhood boy, fight for justice on behalf of the victims, but it soon puts them in a merciless killer's crosshairs"-- Provided by publisher.
Publisher:
New York : Random House, 2016.
Edition:
1st ed.
ISBN:
9780679455691
0679455698
0679455698
Call Number:
CARR
Characteristics:
598 p. ; 25 cm.
Subjects:
Thrillers (Fiction)
Suspense fiction.
Mystery fiction.
Upstate New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction.
Murder -- Investigation -- Fiction.
Abandoned children -- Fiction.
Police -- Fiction.
Suspense fiction.
Mystery fiction.
Upstate New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction.
Murder -- Investigation -- Fiction.
Abandoned children -- Fiction.
Police -- Fiction.



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Add a CommentHaving read Carr's previous work, especially The Alienist and The Italian Secretary, I was eager for his latest book. Unfortunately, I didn't get very far. Carr's seeming personal vendetta with current forensic practice overshadows any possible interest in the story. In addition, the hammering of this one issue, and everything else, is repeated ad nauseam. Uninteresting characters, and no excitement leaves this thriller unthrilling. It's not as bad as Killing Time, but not worth the attention it may get if you like some of his other novels.
I had to put this one down. The titillating crime details weren't enough to keep me reading this wordy wordy wordy book narrated by a generally unlikable character. Mr. Carr is (rightly) disturbed by the cozy relationship between prosecutors and forensic scientists and he uses his protagonist, Trajan Jones, as his mouthpiece to hammer home his point. Point taken. I'm out.
I may try again later when I have more patience to spare on fictional characters.
If you think you'd enjoy an author who never uses two syllables where three or four are possible, who is verbose enough to allow the meaning to squirm out of a sentence before the end, you'll love this guy. Lousy dialogue, lousy characters, unbelievably trite plot and zero suspense add up to make this one a pass.
I struggled through this book and although it was intriguing at the beginning, the contrived plots and unrealistic characters made it harder and harder to finish.
ami