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The Max (2008)

by Ken Bruen(Favorite Author)

3.76 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0843959665 (ISBN13: 9780843959666)

languge

English

genre

Mystery & Thriller

publisher

Hard Case Crime

series

Max & Angela

review 1: The first in this series, BUST (which could be read as a sort of over-the-top homage/parody of the genre of madcap ensemble-cast crime novels Elmore Leonard created the blueprint for) was good fun. The second in the series, SLIDE, was a disappointment. This one, the third, is just dreadful: the core narrative structure is not bad, but the book reads as if it was written in one afternoon over several bottles of Jameson's. Which might have been a lot of fun for the writers, but was considerably less so for this reader. It would be a shame if this book put other readers off from discovering the quite good books both authors have written (start with THE GUARDS by Bruen and COLD CALLER by Starr). Also, all the in-jokes for crime fiction fans in this one really wore thin fo... morer me pretty quickly.
review 2: This is the third in a series with Bust and Slide being the first two, and they're getting harder to read with each book. Not because they're bad stories or poorly written, but because the main characters are just such deluded, self-absorbed, evil scum that I could barely finish this one. And I don't need my characters to be 'good'. It's just that these are so idiotic and pathetic that I feared I'd have a stroke while reading about them.The authors have a terrific ability to put you in the mindset of Max and Angela. And unfortunately, it's no place you want to be. Max is an arrogant fool who gets all his knowledge from movies and thinks he's the coolest thing ever when in reality he's a middle-aged jerk who eventually becomes a wannabe gangster. Angela is a bombshell who thinks she's using her body to con men, but she's usually the one that gets taken. It made for great reading in Bust and started wearing me down in Slide. But I spent most of the book hoping that this was a trilogy and that Max and Angela would both finally meet their ends, but I only got half that wish fullfilled. While I like these books, I don't know if I can face spending any more time with the remaining character if they do another one. less

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