Book Review-Red-Tide

 

Red Tide 

(Billy Knight Thrillers #2)

by

Jeff Lindsay

Read: September 2018

My second consecutive Billy Knight ‘thriller’ by Jeff Lindsay, and I must confess that it was a thrill to read/listen to the last pages of this, again, boring ‘thriller’. If anything it was less interesting than Billy Knight #1.

I would suggest googling the definition of thriller before Billy Knight #3 or any other so-called ‘thriller’ is published. Better still read some of Jennifer Hillier’s books, or even Dawn Girl by Leslie Wolfe. I enjoyed Dawn Girl so much that I have several more of Wolfe’s novels to read.

Finally as an Australian reader (and reviewer) may I suggest that taking a swipe at Australia and anything Australian (or any other nationality, for that matter) is not the way to win friends and influence people: especially when it happens in each of Billy Knight’s books.

“Your name’s Billy, not Silly” said Aussie character Nicky who always seemed to have a few Kangaroos loose in the top paddock. Lindsay then proceeded with a lengthy description of Australian rhyming slang. Lindsay concludes this must be because we name our towns/places with names such as Kalgoorlie (Western Australia), Woolloomooloo and Wollongong (New South Wales). Sure there are many place names which are taken directly or are derivatives of Native Australian local languages/dialects. In both Billy Knight 1 & 2, Lindsay is happy to take the mickey out of Nicky.

I would suggest he have a bopeep in his own backyard before taking the micky out of anyone again. At least get the research right. Click, or copy and paste this link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of…

to find a list of Native American Place names which have direct links to, or origins from either Native American, Mexican, Polynesian or Athabaskan languages.

Struth! If this bloke had got off his Khyber Pass and bothered to take a Captain Cook on the world wide web, or even get on the old Dog an’ Bone and asked someone who might know, he would have quickly learned, maybe, that Aussie rhymin’ slang and our unusual place names have little in common. Why? Coz one is local, the other originates in the Mother Country with a few Down Under twists. With better research this could a bin a ripsnorter of a read. Instead it’s a Barry Crocker! 

Only ONE star from this reader and no more Billy Knight thrillers for me.

 

At the time of completing this review,

on September, 2018

Goodreads readers have rated

Red Tide

an average of 

3.53 stars

from 147 ratings and 34 reviews 

Tropical Depressions rates:

3.64 stars, 175 ratings, 29 reviews

 A read.

Red Tide

can be purchased on-line at 

Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon

Book Review-Tropical-Depression

 

Tropical Depression 

(Billy Knight Thrillers #1)

by

Jeff Lindsay

Read: August 2018

I initially borrowed Billy Knight #2 (Red Tide) from the local library, and decided to listen to the Billy Knight #1 Thriller, Tropical Depression.  Before I commenced the ‘thriller’ I noticed another Goodreads reader commenting that 75% of a very dull story was enough.   The first chapter/track seemed so disjointed that I had to listen to it twice.  However, I will concede that first listen consisted of very short drives.  Listening to the beginning of new book requires some concentration and extended periods of listening to ‘get into it’.

I still don’t know why we needed to hear how untidy and high the weeds were in Billy’s garden.  We were also introduced to several acquaintances all of which had little or nothing to do with the story line.  One such character was an Australian….with a Cockney accent!!!  To make matters worse the narrator could not even hold the accent.  Sentences would begin with a Cockney sounding accent and slowly revert to the narrator’s normal voice.

 

Again in my opinion there is a fine line between conversation and narrative in a thriller or mystery.  I do not like either one to outweigh the other especially if it appears to simply be filling a page or chapter.  When authors begin to describe the height of weeds in a garden, the hues of wall paint, provide in-depth detailed descriptions of another character’s clothes or dust in a room, it has to be relevant to the story.  I find that narrative very, very boring.

The short version of this story is the Billy Knight is an ex-cop.  A friend’s son is killed.  Soon after which the aforementioned friend is also killed.

I did listen to the whole story.  Not the worst book I have heard/read, however certainly not the best.  I will also give Tropical Depression two stars; one for publishing and one because I could not write a children’s book let alone a novel.  However, it has a long way to go before it is of thriller status, in my opinion.

 

At the time of completing this review,

on August, 2018

Goodreads readers have rated

Tropical Depression

an average of 

3.65 stars

from 172 ratings and 28 reviews 

 A read.

Tropical Depression 

can be purchased on-line at 

Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon