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beastreader's review against another edition
3.0
Mitchell has just spent three years in the slammer for a crime he claims he was not guilty for. Now that Mitchell has been released for good behavior, he plans to make the most of his second chance by turning his life around. Unfortunately, trying to better yourself is hard to do when your only ride are people from your past. Good buddy, Billy Norton is happy to see Mitchell. There is one problem...Billy works for a notorious loan shark by the name of Tommy Logan. Tommy wants Mitchell to work for him. That is the last thing Mitchell wants.
Luckily, Mitchell ends up landing a job as a handy man for one time famous actress, Lillian Palmer. From the first moment Mitchell lays eyes on Lillian, he is memorized by her beauty. Lillian is a recluse. She hides out a lot in her bedroom. Though, Mitchell works for Lillian, it is really Jordan, who calls the shots.
I really liked Mitchell. He was a bit of a softie but don’t tell him that. When it came to his sister, he is the perfect brother. When it came to Mitchell and Jordan squaring off, I thought they were evenly matched. I do have to give it up to Jordan for the spooky factor. He is one of those silent types, who you need to watch your back around or else. This book read fast. There were a few twists and a few slow points. Overall, a good read.
Luckily, Mitchell ends up landing a job as a handy man for one time famous actress, Lillian Palmer. From the first moment Mitchell lays eyes on Lillian, he is memorized by her beauty. Lillian is a recluse. She hides out a lot in her bedroom. Though, Mitchell works for Lillian, it is really Jordan, who calls the shots.
I really liked Mitchell. He was a bit of a softie but don’t tell him that. When it came to his sister, he is the perfect brother. When it came to Mitchell and Jordan squaring off, I thought they were evenly matched. I do have to give it up to Jordan for the spooky factor. He is one of those silent types, who you need to watch your back around or else. This book read fast. There were a few twists and a few slow points. Overall, a good read.
kcfromaustcrime's review against another edition
4.0
To be honest, I'd read Ken Bruen's to do list, shopping list, just about anything he writes. (I live with this odd fantasy that his to do list would be terse, pointed, poignant, unapologetic, tense and yet hilarious... but I don't get out much and my mind tends to wander into odd places).
As is also normal with any Ken Bruen book LONDON BOULEVARD is not for the squeamish. Unapologetic, brutal, violent and very in your face, it is as always, equally touching and somehow hamfistedly gentle. Mitch, fresh out of prison, has a soft side, particularly when it comes to his sister Briony, a fragile creature. Whilst he comes out of jail to an apartment, creature comforts and the small complication of a job with a local loan sharking outfit, Mitch prefers to look after himself. He branches out into the role of handyman to the glorious, Norma Desmond copycat Lillian Palmer. Hence LONDON BOULEVARD is also not a book for the prudish - as sex with elderly, slightly bats actresses is one thing; but to be honest the close attention that butler, caretaker, bodyguard and more, Jordan, pays to his mistress's every need was ... weird from the start.
Life for Mitch meanwhile gets more complicated as his sister's desperation, betrayal, the desire for revenge and the madness of just about everybody around him means that he is caught between a rock and a very very hard place. LONDON BOULEVARD is another classic Ken Bruen novel - sharp, brutal, funny, touching, discomforting - delivered at break neck pace, not guilty of the use of an unnecessary word.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/london-boulevard-ken-bruen
As is also normal with any Ken Bruen book LONDON BOULEVARD is not for the squeamish. Unapologetic, brutal, violent and very in your face, it is as always, equally touching and somehow hamfistedly gentle. Mitch, fresh out of prison, has a soft side, particularly when it comes to his sister Briony, a fragile creature. Whilst he comes out of jail to an apartment, creature comforts and the small complication of a job with a local loan sharking outfit, Mitch prefers to look after himself. He branches out into the role of handyman to the glorious, Norma Desmond copycat Lillian Palmer. Hence LONDON BOULEVARD is also not a book for the prudish - as sex with elderly, slightly bats actresses is one thing; but to be honest the close attention that butler, caretaker, bodyguard and more, Jordan, pays to his mistress's every need was ... weird from the start.
Life for Mitch meanwhile gets more complicated as his sister's desperation, betrayal, the desire for revenge and the madness of just about everybody around him means that he is caught between a rock and a very very hard place. LONDON BOULEVARD is another classic Ken Bruen novel - sharp, brutal, funny, touching, discomforting - delivered at break neck pace, not guilty of the use of an unnecessary word.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/london-boulevard-ken-bruen
jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
3.0
It's a good book that made me want to try some more Ken Bruen (who clearly shares a similar reading taste with me) but I thought the whole actress-angle ripped from Sunset Boulevard was weak and detracted from the story. Still an okay read but a bit overhyped.
sandin954's review against another edition
4.0
Dark, violent, and funny with the author's trademark style and tons of crime fiction/authors references.
boti's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
avalydia's review against another edition
2.0
I wrote "what a fucking weird book" about halfway through reading this and my thoughts are no different upon finishing. What a fucking weird book.
celin120's review against another edition
2.0
I don't know what I just have read, I didn't like the book at all , I am without words.
eeclayton's review against another edition
3.0
Rovid mondatok, frappans, porgos parbeszedek: olyasmi erzesem volt, mintha nem is regenyt, hanem forgatokonyvet olvasnek. (Erdekes lesz majd a filmmel osszevetni.) Valahogy, talan pont azert, mert annyira gyorsan lehetett olvasni, es mert keves volt a korites, erzelmileg nem nyomott meg annyira.
Tetszettek a Sunset Blvd-os athallasok, mindazonaltal a Sunset szerintem joval veszjoslobb hangulatu tortenet, annak ellenere, hogy a London Blvd-ban joval tobb az eroszak.
Tetszettek a Sunset Blvd-os athallasok, mindazonaltal a Sunset szerintem joval veszjoslobb hangulatu tortenet, annak ellenere, hogy a London Blvd-ban joval tobb az eroszak.
jakewritesbooks's review
3.0
It's a good book that made me want to try some more Ken Bruen (who clearly shares a similar reading taste with me) but I thought the whole actress-angle ripped from Sunset Boulevard was weak and detracted from the story. Still an okay read but a bit overhyped.