TEST
Devil’s Bargain is the first in Rachel Caine’s new Red Letter Days series. The premise sounded unusual, and for the most part, the book lived up to it. It’s a decent start that raises intriguing possibilities for future books, even if the execution is uneven.
Jazz Callender is a former Kansas City cop looking to form her own P.I. firm. She left the police department after her partner, Ben McCarthy, was convicted of murdering three people with whom he was supposedly involved in a drug scheme. Determined to prove his innocence, Jazz has approached every bank possible, only to be turned down for a business loan time and again. Then comes the night a stranger shows up in the bar where she’s trying to drown her sorrows and makes her an offer that’s too good to be true.
James Borden claims to be an attorney with a New York law firm representing a mysterious client who will give Jazz $100,000 to establish her agency under two conditions: she has to take on a partner she’s never heard of, and whenever she receives a case in a red envelope, it must immediately become her first priority. Wary of such a strange offer, Jazz makes contact with her would-be partner. Lucia Garza is a former USAF special agent who seems as puzzled by the unorthodox proposal as she is. As they join forces to uncover what’s really going on, they find themselves under surveillance by pursuers who always seem to know where they are at all times. But that’s nowhere near as unsettling as the truth behind the red letters.
The premise raises a lot of questions and tantalizing possibilities. I’m used to being disappointed by books with intriguing setups. All too often the ultimate answers are nowhere near as interesting. That wasn’t the case here. It’s a nicely unpredictable plot that only gets more interesting as it goes along. I don’t want to give away any of the secrets, but I think I should reveal that a paranormal element is eventually involved, because it’s the kind of thing many readers would want to know, both those who like paranormals and those who avoid them like the plague. As a reader who enjoys paranormal stories, I found it very cool. Those who don’t will likely find it pushes the story too far into the bizarre.
The author wastes no time setting her story in motion from the very beginning, and the momentum seldom slows. It’s a tense and often exciting read, with plenty of great moments along the way. It has more of a mainstream edge than many Bombshells (when it comes to this line, it’s usually clear which authors came from a romance background and which did not) that’s effective. The fast pace and mysterious storyline kept me turning the pages, never quite sure where it was going next, which was a great feeling.
If only the execution were stronger. There’s a real shortage of character development. Jazz is a tough woman with an attitude, but I’d say she has one-and-a-half dimensions, two at the very most. That’s more than I can say about any of the other characters. With the exception of a former FBI lab tech who provides Jazz with information, the secondary characters are all sketchy. Her love interest has some appeal, but he also remains too enigmatic and unfocused, and the romantic element seems forced.
The subplot with the imprisoned partner also never amounts to much. The author tells us that Jazz wants to free her partner (not that she does all that much about it) without bothering to establish or show the reader much of their relationship. All we know is, he’s her partner, which really wasn’t enough to make me care about him. Mostly, this element seems to drop in and out of the plot at random moments. It’s all too easy to forget about and doesn’t make much of an impression. The storytelling isn’t always the smoothest, and there were times the writing could have been clearer. I don’t mean the things that are purposely kept vague to be continued in future books, but some of the basic elements of this story could have been explained more and certain scenes could have used more detail. Instead, some aspects remained frustratingly unclear. There’s some very juicy stuff here, and I often wanted the author to delve deeper into the material in a way she never did.
This is a classic example of a book that left me wanting more than I got, and not entirely in the good way. It’s a cool story and a fast read, but one that’s often too shallow to truly satisfy. If the possibilities raised are stronger than the final product, I’m intrigued enough to pick up the next book, Devil’s Due. This book ends on a cliffhanger, setting the stage for more twists and turns in the sequel. I hope it’s even better.
Grade: C+
Book Type: Series Fiction
Sensuality: Subtle
Review Date: 23/08/05
Publication Date: 2005/08
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.