Bloodstorm by Sam MillarMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I wanted to like this. I didn't hate it; I just didn't love it. "Bloodstorm" is a Private Detective novel set in Belfast; I am from Northern Ireland and I love PI books. When we met it should have been murder....
The idea is a good one - take a traditional, hard-boiled, wise-cracking gumshoe and put him on the mean streets of post-troubles Belfast. Unfortunately, this could be set anywhere, Belfast never becomes a character, there is no sense of uniqueness of setting and, worst of all, people just don't speak like that, not least the people of Belfast. The dialogue is stilted and unnatural for the most part; there is no rhythm to it and in key scenes is reads like poor actors reading a laboured, expositional script.
As I said, I didn't hate it. There is a decent plot although it would benefit from a good editor; sections could have been streamlined or left out altogether, wild dogs become confused with wild pigs (both appear on Belfast's Cavehill at times in the novel), and, while I love Billie Holiday, her voice was anything but 'flawless'. I may pick up other work by Millar. His bio certainly suggests that he should have an authentic voice but it just doesn't come through in "Bloodstorm"...
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