Ben Rehder

Dear J.K. Rowling, aka Robert Galbraith,

Please read any of the first few books in this series to understand how to write a concise, but complex mystery with non-cop detectives that are partners in a professional (heterosexual) relationship with romantic longings on one side. Notice they do not snipe, do not snap and do not undermine each other at every turn. Notice how the one with the longing isn't an asshole all the time due to dissatisfaction with his life and circumstances, taking it out show more on not only his partner, but the other characters and us readers. I'm happy to keep on reading about these two with the very thin addition of unrequited love because they first and foremost like each other and their professional relationship. Oh and after many examples of having each other's backs, they have learned that they can, in fact, trust each other. They are fun to be with and I don't get the idea that one is just waiting out the other until light dawns on marblehead.

Contrast with your Cormoran Strike series which are at best bloated affairs full of info dumps and characters no one would hang around with willingly. Like the Great Wall of China, you can see from space the fact that Robin and Strike would make a terrible couple. They both choose partners that bring out the absolute worst in each of them, then take it out on each other. They also seem to feel that those bad couplings somehow help them atone from being assholes pretty much all the time. Well, maybe not Robin, but she has her own issues and having Strike in her bed won't fix those.

Hope this helps,

Kris show less

A woman who's had sex with a man more than once doesn't have to see a scar on his back to know it's there. Duh. I found the bullet wound discovery scene to be clunky and not believable. And nobody in their right mind would have white wine with Prime ribeye steak. Where's that eyeroll emoji? 🙄

A gritty-as-a-west-Texas-prairie murder mystery, Ben Rehder's tale is more spicy gumbo than cowboy chili, stirring a Nordic blonde eco-warrior unafraid to use her feminine wiles, a big city mafioso in witness protection trying to muscle in on a home-grown business, and a girth-challenged U.S. Marshal in love with the mobster's Hispanic housekeeper into the pot with local Blanco County LEOS and locos. I didn't read the first in the series, but that's okay. Bone Dry was a quick, entertaining show more read with enough twists to keep you flipping the pages to the end of the trail. show less

I truly liked this book as told in first person it is the story of a young boy who goes on a trip with his opa and causes an all out police search with him. I do not believe in writing spoilers because I know how nosy I am and I always read them even when they are hidden. This story made me feel as though I knew the people or I was watching it first hand on the news. The author did a wonderful job of making me feel as though I could see the story and feel the excitement within the book. If I show more could give it a 4.5 I would but, definitely a heart breaking story which will show you that sometimes the hardest choices may be for the best. I guess the only reason I could not give it a five is because of my personal beliefs about the subject at hand but, still a very good story. show less