Playing Dead with Ludo (Play Dead - Richard Montanari)

Member Name: i_am_joy

Product:	Play Dead - Richard Montanari
Date:	10/04/09 (215 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fast paced, good idea for a story

Disadvantages: Characters don't seem realistic, contrived and forced plot twists, no character development

I have read a couple of novels by Richard Montanari and enjoyed them so was happy to see a copy of his latest, Play Dead, in the library. The novel features detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano, they have been partners for some years now although Byrne is his usual enigmatic self and seems intent on keeping his partner at arms length.

The storyline is very simple. While investigating a cold case Byrne and Balzano receive new information relating to the original crime, as is expected a serial killer is on the loose. He is targeting young runaways to star in his new fatal magic show, when the detectives put two and two together they realise he is going to murder a set amount of girls and a race against time ensues to save the lives of at least some of them.

I must say Play Dead was interesting enough, it kept me reading in any case, but I feel it wasn't as good as previous Montanari novels and seemed very rushed. The usually sharp dialogue between the two detectives was very clichéd this time around and seemed forced in parts, in particular the warmth the pair appear to have built up over the years feels like a mist between the characters as the camaraderie didn't read properly to me.

I became sick and tired of the references to Jessica's husband and father, both renowned police officers who just about everyone in Philadelphia knows. This, of course, means the author can make all kinds of threads to help his characters along. Stuck on a clue? Just ask ANYONE who has some kind of connection with Jessica's family and they are falling over themselves to help the investigation along. It's just too trite and convenient to ring true, there are far too many coincidences in the story to really make me feel that Byrne and Balzano are top flight maverick detectives and this just makes the dialogue come across as even more silly.

The identity of the killer is kept secret until quite late on in the book, clues for the reader are thrown into the story but I must say when the killer is revealed it's a real surprise. And I don't mean that in a particularly good way, it was like Montanari realised he needed to name the murderer and picked a name out of a hat. I don't see the point in a whodunit where none of the clues given lead you to the killer, and it's not that I'm rubbish at weeding out the bad guy as I am usually quite good at working out these kind of characters!

Typically of Montanari the chapters are generally short and snappy with each one leading on to the next, although the following chapter will usually focus on a different character or development of the plot. The killer, Ludo, is fascinating and I particularly enjoyed the sections of the book where he took on the narration. He has a wonderfully twisted way of looking at life, he is obviously demented but at the same time is a talented and exceptionally clever man. He has the gift of being able to be anyone's friend and this is what delivers the runaways into his clutches, he cajoles them into getting into his car and then he has them.

While Ludo was explored fairly well, the runaways aren't and this really took the sting out of the story for me. Despite the fact that these were vulnerable young girls I didn't feel a terribly deep sympathy and this is quite simply because I didn't get to know them at all before their bodies were found. The author made cursory references to the moment Ludo met each girl and sometimes a little about their brief time in captivity before they were murdered, but this wasn't enough for me to be able to develop any empathy with their plight.

This isn't an overly gory novel, although it has it's moments! There are a few subtly graphic descriptions of the fate that befell the girls but really the author leaves the rest up to your imagination, but again this was a huge leap of faith for Montanari as my imagination wasn't really up to picturing the scene between killer and victim especially as the murder tools are quite complicated and not explained terribly well in the first place.

The writing style is very easy to read in Play Dead, there are a few surplus characters who don't bring a lot to the overall tale but then I have found this in previous Montanari novels and it's a minor annoyance this time around considering the monumental irritation I felt at certain points in this book! There are quite a few flashbacks along the way, these are generally done well though and tie the story together particularly when it comes to attempting to get into the mind of Ludo.

One thing I was grateful for is that the semi-psychic episodes of Byrne don't happen very often in Play Dead, this annoys me so much in ANY novel. Give one of the main characters a psychic ability and the author thinks he has free rein to make him 'see' a development and so force the story in a certain direction. Thankfully Montanari hasn't fallen into that trap in this particular novel, although he has been guilty of it in his previous work.

Play Dead is quite a fast paced novel and for that reason alone I recommend it, but only as a library loan. I have just checked on Amazon and a hardback copy is £8.79, considering you will probably fly through this book within a few days that's rather expensive so I suggest keeping an eye out in the charity shop or at your local library.

Summary: Not as good as previous Montanari novels, try The Skin Gods instead.