Love and Theft by Stan Parish

DNF @ p.36

I hate giving bad reviews to ARCs. I really try to only select books that I think I'll love, and the premise of this sounded so appealing. But I actually thought this was pretty bad-- for me, at least-- and I didn't care to stick around and see if it got better. Maybe it does. I thought the cover was gorgeous and the idea of single parents getting wrapped up in a heist was an appealing concept, particularly after a slew of really enjoyable domestic thrillers of families gone bad. It's not easy to be a single parent and the temptation to make a quick buck must be great. Particularly if you're sure you will be able to get away with it...

Hence the premise.

But I really, really couldn't stand the writing style. It's written in third person present tense, and not particularly well. The dialogue is wooden. The writing is choppy. There are TONS of paragraph breaks per chapter, which I think is supposed to make it seem breathless and fast-paced, kind of like an old school noir, but only ends up making everything feel like a rushed first draft. And the chapter endings are so... abrupt.

Maybe his writing style will work better for you. It kind of reminds me of Thomas Perry in terms of style, an author whose work I forced myself through and wish I hadn't in retrospect, because the payoff really wasn't worth it. Anyone who enjoys those to-be-devoured-in-one-sitting airport thrillers will enjoy this, and I'm truly sorry to say that I didn't.

Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review! 

1 out of 5 stars