Review: It All Falls Down - Sheena Kamal

It All Falls Down by Sheena Kamal, published by Bonnier Zaffre on 28th June 2018

Goodreads synopsis:
When Nora Watts is approached by a man claiming to know her late father, she is thrown into turmoil. Struggling with the imminent death, from cancer, of her friend and mentor Sebastian Crow, she is unprepared for the memories that this encounter brings back. What happened to her father that made him kill himself and abandon Nora and her sister?

Heading to Detroit to try and find some answers about his life there, Nora expects to discover a reason behind his suicide. Instead, she finds more questions than answers.

But trouble always follows Nora, and it's found her in Detroit, a city that is as broken as she is.

 

 

Review:
Firstly, my fault I know, but I had no idea that this was the second book in a series. Yes, it can be read as a standalone but I think it would have made a lot more sense if read in the right order. Previous events were often referred to which I found confusing.

I was also under the impression that this was going to be a tense, exhilarating and fast paced thriller. Possibly in the same vein as a Simon Kernick book - unputdownable. Unfortunately I found it incredibly slow, very un-thriller-like and extremely forgettable. It seemed so drawn out that by the end I wasn't sure I even cared about the eventual outcome.

The series is based around a female character called Nora Watts who is trying to find out the truth about her father's suicide which happened 30 years ago, as well as her mother's disappearance. The main plot is interspersed with a side story about an investigator called Brazuca who is tracking a trail of drugs. I didn't connect with Nora at all and I suppose that didn't help in terms of my interest in the story.

Overall, I thought it was extremely slow and the story didn't seem to really go anywhere at times. This is a series that I definitely won't be continuing with.

Review: Domina - L.S. Hilton

Domina by L.S. Hilton, published by Bonnier Zaffre on 10th August 2017

Goodreads synopsis:
Judith Rashleigh has made it. Living in luxury amidst the splendours of Venice, she's finally enjoying the life she killed for.  But someone knows what Judith's done.

Judith can only save herself by finding a priceless painting - unfortunately, one that she's convinced doesn't even exist.  And she's not the only one seeking it.

This time, Judith isn't in control. Outflanked and out-thought, outrun and outgunned, she faces an enemy more ruthless and more powerful than she ever imagined.

And if she doesn't win, she dies.

Review:
The opening prologue of 'Domina' knocked my socks off and led me to expect great things from the rest of the book.  Sadly, the reality was that I felt quite disappointed by the time I got to the very end.

An early disclaimer to this review is that I have not read the first book in the series, 'Maestra'. I didn't think that it would matter and I thought that I would be able to follow the plot regardless, but there were so many references to things that had previously happened to the main character Judith, that I struggled to get to grips with everything.  I would definitely advise starting at the beginning of the series.

I assumed that this would be a tense and taut thriller.  Exactly what I was in the mood for.  It turned out to be much slower and more sedate than I first thought and quite a struggle to get through.  I was excited to see that it was partly set in the art world which I was expecting to be really fascinating but instead it almost seemed to hold back the pace of the plot with too many details and references for my taste. What I also didn't like were the lurid sex scenes and the overly graphic nature of the book. 

The main protagonist Judith was an extremely love/hate character.  I actually quite liked her in the beginning but my respect for her dwindled as the story progressed and I didn't know what to make of her by the end.  I liked the flashbacks to her early life with her mother as I thought these helped to show how she had developed the fighting side of her character. 

The story ended on a cliff-hanger which made me wonder a little about what was going to happen next.  Although I don't think that this series is for me, I may be tempted to read the final book in the trilogy 'Ultima' but only if I get around to reading 'Maestra' first.