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hookerkitty's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.5
The humor in this book was right up my alley - dry, dark, and sarcastic. If you don’t like that kind of humor, you probs won’t like this book. Also, with the dark humor - the main character twice jokes about killing himself, and also jokes multiple times about men being raped in prison. Along with that, there’s an attempted rape scene (male on male), which I found completely unnecessary. Other than those instances, I loved the humor and actually found myself laughing out loud while reading.
I also enjoyed the Dahmer inspo at the beginning of the book. Fitting, since he was in a neighboring state. I definitely added the next book to my want to read list.
I also enjoyed the Dahmer inspo at the beginning of the book. Fitting, since he was in a neighboring state. I definitely added the next book to my want to read list.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Eating disorder, Drug use, Body shaming, and Car accident
yvo_about_books's review
4.0
Finished reading: January 5th 2016
"It was like a beautiful melody to him that ended in a blazing crescendo of blood and violence, capped off by the silent applause of a roaring crowd inside his head."
Spoiler
I have been neglecting the mystery/thriller/crime genre last year, so I made myself a promise this year to read more books belonging to what is basically one of my favorite genres. During the read-a-thon last week I was in the mood for a crime read, so I decided to pick up one of my kindle crime freebies Dead Wood. It turned out to be a quick and quite entertaining read I was able to finish almost in one sitting. Dan Ames (pseudonym Dani Amore) writes in a way that keeps you interested throughout the story, using plot twists and full blown action to keep the pace fast. The characters are interesting enough, although I didn't like all of them and some of their actions were not completely credible. In short: Dead Wood might not be a perfect masterpiece, but if you like a good crime story with some interesting music references I would definitely suggest picking this one up.
John Rockne used to be a cop, but he had to turn in his badge after making a fatal mistake. He now works as a private investigator in a small town named Grosse Pointe in Michigan. Nothing big ever happens ever there, but with Detroit around the corner things are never completely safe. When a woman who builds custom guitars is murdered, her father contacts Rockne to investigate the murder. The father believes her daughter's ex is the killer even though he has an alibi. Rockne is not sure what to think, but he decides to investigate a little anyway. What he doesn't know is that the case is more complicated than he first thought and he soon finds himself in danger... Will he be able to find the killer before the killer finds him first?
What made Dead Wood truly special were the many musical references throughout the story. A professional killer obsessed with music and The Rolling Stones; not something you read about every day in a crime novel. The rest of the story is good enough, although some of the plot twists and action scenes are a bit too fantastical to my taste. Still, in general I really enjoyed reading this story. If you are looking for a quick and entertaining crime read, Dead Wood would definitely do the job!
P.S. Find more of my reviews here.
marisas1985's review
5.0
Started and finished this book in a single day. I love when I get sucked into a book so quickly that I lose track of time! It has been awhile since I have really enjoyed reading and I am finding some awesome reads lately that are just sucking me straight in.
This was a suspense/mystery without much graphic so I consider it to be a fairly clean read. There was some moments but that was more than expected.
The story for me was quite unique having it be a private investigator rather than a police officer or another member of law being the one who is doing all the leg work and unraveling the mystery/story. I enjoyed the extreme use of humor in this book, it really made it feel like I was reading the thoughts of the narrator rather than just the actions, which was a lot of fun. I love that this story had me guessing as the pages turned. Definitely recommend it to anyone who is into crime novels!!
This was a suspense/mystery without much graphic so I consider it to be a fairly clean read. There was some moments but that was more than expected.
The story for me was quite unique having it be a private investigator rather than a police officer or another member of law being the one who is doing all the leg work and unraveling the mystery/story. I enjoyed the extreme use of humor in this book, it really made it feel like I was reading the thoughts of the narrator rather than just the actions, which was a lot of fun. I love that this story had me guessing as the pages turned. Definitely recommend it to anyone who is into crime novels!!
mistled's review
3.0
Dead Wood is a fairly standard PI mystery thriller. It is set in a town just outside modern-day Detroit, and has what you expect from the genre. Our lead, John Rockne, is a private investigator who has things from his past that haunt him, who blindly stumbles into danger, and who has a love/hate relationship with the local cops. All the stuff we expect, and perhaps why we read the genre. Breaking from the standard tropes, our PI is married with two kids. But that doesn't matter beyond giving someone to voice when he is being an idiot (which, in PI fashion, is all the time). Oh, and he doesn't carry a gun.
Our mystery involves a standard dead body, complete with grieving father client. We have a music star and the glitzy world that implies to give some contrast to our more down on the streets PI. Like I said, pretty standard stuff.
The novel starts a little weak, in my opinion. We open with explaining why our damaged protagonist is damaged, which I thought was too much too soon, but it's really just a chapter or two before we get to the actual case we are here to read about. Even then, it starts a little slow.
But once it gets going, I found myself eager to continue and not finding excuses to distract myself with other things. The overall story ended up being more complex that I initially expected. There are a couple of times where I didn't understand why Rockne did what he did, but they were never egregious. Like most PIs, he routinely does things that are slightly stupid/dangerous, but he also tended to pay for those mistakes, which makes them ok in my book.
What may make this series worth your time is that the author obviously has plans that go beyond this story. Having not read the next one in the series, it is hard to know how fleshed out those plans are, if at all. They may simply have been a hook to get one to pick up the next book. But it's working, so there you go.
Overall, there is nothing particularly special about this novel (excluding the above paragraph), though there is nothing especially wrong with it either. If you read a lot of mystery books, and enjoy the PI mystery/thriller genre, this novel will entertain, and you should give it a shot. But if this genre isn't your go to, then there are probably better books to use to get yourself into it. That being said, this novel is short (about 200 pages) and only $3 (free on Kindle Unlimited), so you can hardly go wrong. I'll be picking up the next in the series.
Our mystery involves a standard dead body, complete with grieving father client. We have a music star and the glitzy world that implies to give some contrast to our more down on the streets PI. Like I said, pretty standard stuff.
The novel starts a little weak, in my opinion. We open with explaining why our damaged protagonist is damaged, which I thought was too much too soon, but it's really just a chapter or two before we get to the actual case we are here to read about. Even then, it starts a little slow.
But once it gets going, I found myself eager to continue and not finding excuses to distract myself with other things. The overall story ended up being more complex that I initially expected. There are a couple of times where I didn't understand why Rockne did what he did, but they were never egregious. Like most PIs, he routinely does things that are slightly stupid/dangerous, but he also tended to pay for those mistakes, which makes them ok in my book.
What may make this series worth your time is that the author obviously has plans that go beyond this story. Having not read the next one in the series, it is hard to know how fleshed out those plans are, if at all. They may simply have been a hook to get one to pick up the next book. But it's working, so there you go.
Overall, there is nothing particularly special about this novel (excluding the above paragraph), though there is nothing especially wrong with it either. If you read a lot of mystery books, and enjoy the PI mystery/thriller genre, this novel will entertain, and you should give it a shot. But if this genre isn't your go to, then there are probably better books to use to get yourself into it. That being said, this novel is short (about 200 pages) and only $3 (free on Kindle Unlimited), so you can hardly go wrong. I'll be picking up the next in the series.
vesper1931's review
3.0
When a woman, Jesse Barre, who builds custom guitars is killed her father hires ex-cop Rockne to find the murderer
ker95's review
4.0
I' *love* free books to introduce me to new authors. I liked this one well enough to actually pay real money for another of hers.
Nice change of 'venue' for a murder mystery involving the music industry. Enough twists to keep me reading, good writing quality.
Nice change of 'venue' for a murder mystery involving the music industry. Enough twists to keep me reading, good writing quality.
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