John H. BriantRezensionen

I enjoyed this book and immediately started looking for others in the series. I know that my star rating doesn't agree with many of the others so let me tell you where I'm coming from. The Adirondack setting plays a big role in this mystery story and I will read and like just about anything (with few exceptions) that is set in my neck of the woods. The setting in this book is absolutely dead on. That author is writing about someplace he knows inside out and backwards.

Other reviews have criticized the writing style. A legit complaint. John H. Briant sounds like a cop. The majority of fiction books sound like they were written by fiction writers who have been heavily edited to fit some generic mold and we are critical of any other style. We are tolerant when doctors sound like doctors or lawyers sound like lawyers only when they are writing non-fiction in their fields. But now that publishers are depending more on spell check and less on human editors and more books are being self-published, we are going to be seeing more authors of fiction who sound like doctors, lawyers, and cops. My plan is to be more tolerant of doctors, lawyers and cops who are trying to tell a good story with a reasonable plot and a likable character and less tolerant of career professional writers who don't.

See my review of [b:Adirondack Detective|2532104|Adirondack Detective|John H. Briant|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266902033s/2532104.jpg|2539617]

See my review of [b:Adirondack Detective|2532104|Adirondack Detective|John H. Briant|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266902033s/2532104.jpg|2539617]

I enjoyed this book and immediately started looking for others in the series. I know that my star rating doesn't agree with many of the others so let me tell you where I'm coming from. The Adirondack setting plays a big role in this mystery story and I will read and like just about anything (with few exceptions) that is set in my neck of the woods. The setting in this book is absolutely dead on. That author is writing about someplace he knows inside out and backwards.

Other reviews have criticized the writing style. A legit complaint. John H. Briant sounds like a cop. The majority of fiction books sound like they were written by fiction writers who have been heavily edited to fit some generic mold and we are critical of any other style. We are tolerant when doctors sound like doctors or lawyers sound like lawyers only when they are writing non-fiction in their fields. But now that publishers are depending more on spell check and less on human editors and more books are being self-published, we are going to be seeing more authors of fiction who sound like doctors, lawyers, and cops. My plan is to be more tolerant of doctors, lawyers and cops who are trying to tell a good story with a reasonable plot and a likable character and less tolerant of career professional writers who don't.

Prose as closely observant and stiff as the title's retired policeman makes a good story hard to read.

Interesting portrayal of the Adirondack Park area and its inhabitants. Plot and writing style typical of first attempts at being an author. Excruciating, almost patronizing detail about food, server's tips, local scenes and sights.½

Let me begin by saying I respect John Briant's 20-odd years of experience as a NYS Trooper, but then let me add that all the law enforcement experience in the world cannot make a person a good writer. And unfortunately that is the case with The Adirondack Detective. The book reads like a collection of stories Briant might have reminisced about with his trooper buddies over a couple cold ones in a little mountain bar. The writing is juvenile at best, and, well, just plain bad at it's worst. The dialog is stiff and disjointed, the descriptive passages are awful, and the story is boring and tiresome. I am so disappointed.

I borrowed this book from the Brockport Library so I could read it before I bought it for Ogden. I'm glad I did, because it would have been a waste of money. What I don't understand is how this guy has had so many books published. I'm going to have to get one of his more recent books and see if the writing has improved. The reviews on Amazon are all pretty good...so maybe Briant has gotten better. I will let you know....