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

Surprisingly, this book had my attention the minute I laid down to go to sleep, lol. I like to read a little before bed and unfortunately I stayed up till 2am, on two different nights, because those parts of the book I wanted to keep reading. This author has a great sense of humour and I would bust out laughing. Based on the subject matter, child kidnapping, you wouldn't think there would be humour. I liked the book enough that I went to find more books by Ben Rehder and will start reading show more those. Nice to get a book that keeps me on my toes. show less