Reviewed by Jess

TITLE: LV48

SERIES: The Cassie Tam Files #3

AUTHOR: Matt Doyle

PUBLISHER: NineStar Press

LENGTH: 223 pages

RELEASE DATE:  December 10, 2018

BLURB:

New Hopeland City may be the birthplace of Tech Shifter gear, but it isn’t the only place that likes to blend technology with folklore. Now, a new nightmare is stalking the streets…

When PI Cassie Tam is attacked on the way home one night, she expects the police to get involved. What she doesn’t expect is to be forced into acting as bait to lure out a lunatic in a tech-suit that’s literally out for blood. But past actions have consequences, and doing so may be the only way she can get a clean slate from the city’s law makers.

If only that didn’t mean having to face down a wannabe vampire.

REVIEW:

In the last book in Matt Doyle’s “Cassie Tam Files” series, hot-mess PI Cassie and her tech-shifter girlfriend, Lori, were enjoying the beginning of their shy courtship while Cassie got herself embroiled in the tangled mess of the New Hopeland criminal underworld. Things moved at a slow-but-steady pace, but unfortunately, this book is just plain slow.

The crawling pace of this book comes from Doyle’s still-developing grasp on writing a mystery plot, which was also a huge problem in the first two books. He doesn’t trust his readers enough. By the time Cassie (supposedly a very sharp character) comes to a conclusion, the reader has already figured it out two pages beforehand. Paragraphs are dedicated to putting the spotlight on minute details that mystery lovers have already noted and cataloged for future reference. While Doyle is talented, this series still feels too shy, too insecure. He can obviously handle the gritty and grimy, so he needs to trust his readers with keeping up with a complex mystery, too.

Once more, the technology is a highlight. I like how we get a glimpse into the more horrific aspects of tech shifting and how it can be used to achieve awful means. I also like seeing tech-shifting within the police department and how a counter-culture can blend (with differing results) with bureaucracy. And though the romance is a sideshow still, Cassie and Lori had a lot of nice, quiet moments together that let their easy relationship shine.

I think it is at a plateau in terms of character and plot. The things I’ve enjoyed have stayed consistent, but there needs to be more growth. After book three of this series, I can’t see myself being interested in much more—but who knows. Maybe Cassie Tam will reel me back in once more.

RATING: 

BUY LINKS: 

NineStar Press

Amazon