![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
I'm off to Madrid for Sangria and sunshine on Monday everyone, but I didn't want to leave you on a negative review note, so just before I start manically trying to fit things in my luggage (So many other things to do before I go that are not holiday related! Why do I let things build up so?) I thought I'd leave you with a post full of positive book appreciation.
Despite Norah McClintock’s status as a well known mystery writer her Ryan Dooley series doesn’t seem to get that much attention. When a mystery series like the Theodore Boone books is getting a lot of press it seems unfortunate that Dooley isn’t finding more fans (look I haven’t read ‘Theodore Boone’ and I’ve nothing against Grisham’s adult books, but Leila shares some quotes that make the newest installment sound less than good). So, instead of reviewing the second book in the series, ‘Homicide Related’, let me try and explain why Ryan Dooley is a mystery lovers teenage dream.
The first book of the series, ‘Dooley Takes the Fall’, was focused on the development of the Ryan Dooley’s personality and history. McClintock provided a deep look into the heart of Dooley, the teenage ex-drug addict, criminal and alcholic whose life was reshaped by his strict uncle and a pager after he was released from juvenile detention. The specifics of Dooley’s character are interesting. He’s a realistic teenager and a individual character. At the same time his experiences, allow his character to logically contain typical elements of a certain kind of detective character. He’s a gruff, self-contained narrator, with a bit of a temper. By constructing her narrator’s background in a certain way, McClintock creates a logical reason for the inclusion of genre conventions and creates a stong link between this young adult crime series and a subgenre within the adult crime/detective genre which should encourage all kinds of mystery lovers to recognise Dooley as a great character and a great genre hero.
Dooley is also a sober addict who must work hard to combat the temptations placed before him, as his investigations progress. I tend to think of the addict detective as a pretty stock character, but there’s also a growing subgroup of recovering addict detective characters (although perhaps some of you can suggest some candidates for this group as my mind can not remember any specific characters – help!). Filling the ‘detective’ role (Dooley is really a civillian investigator, but detective tends to be used as kind of general term now), with a teenager allows McClintock to put a fresh twist on this stock detective type. The reader is suddenly alerted to just how devestating something like alchol addiction, can really be as they watching a teenage character think about how drinking used to feel:
‘Jesus, what he wouldn’t do fro a drink or a joint, anything to chase away that jangly feeling inside him. He got up and went into the kitchen. His uncle kept his booze in a cupboard above the counter. When he passed it, his hand shook. It would be so easy to reach up and take down a bottle of Jack.’
whereas alchol addiction is a lot easier to excuse, or ignore in adult crime novels.
His addiction also makes him a more, eh I hestiate to say vulnerable because eh bad connotations, maybe a less defensive character than your typical hard drinking adult detective. He has a lot of insecurities to overcome because of his past. The caring relationship he has with his girlfriend Beth in this second book is always a little bit fragile, or fraught because being more secure. Dooley’s uncertainty, prompts him to be incredibly loving (if at times a bit clingy) and that is very endearing in a male character, especially when he is so physically assured and intelligent. It’s kind of beautiful to see Beth attempt to help him through some of those insecurities, once she does understand them.
Sometimes I wished Beth could get Dooley’s situation better, for example in ‘Homicide Related’ she’s totally unable to understand his pretty reasonable detachment from his mother because her background is different from his. At the same time, wuhu for a female character who doesn’t always give him a total pass for dodgy behaviour, just because he’se been influenced by his bad past. Beth can be so forgiving, but she’s not about to be controlled by her love for Dooley anymore that she’ll be controlled by her mother’s expectations. Their relationship is one of my favourite things about the series so far.
Emotions, feelings, character – this series has them all! It also has some cool mystery plots for anyone who is more interested in story than character. In my review of the first book in the series, ‘Dooley Takes the Fall’ I said the plot resolution was a bit confused, but in ‘Homicide Related’ the resolution seemed to come from a much more logical chain of mystery building. The clues were all there for a reader to guess the ending, but there was enough obscuring mystery to keep the solution from being obvious. But as I said in my review of the first book, I’m the mystery dunce, so word + salt, you form the correct dish from that recipie.
See you all in a week, have lovely days :)
Despite Norah McClintock’s status as a well known mystery writer her Ryan Dooley series doesn’t seem to get that much attention. When a mystery series like the Theodore Boone books is getting a lot of press it seems unfortunate that Dooley isn’t finding more fans (look I haven’t read ‘Theodore Boone’ and I’ve nothing against Grisham’s adult books, but Leila shares some quotes that make the newest installment sound less than good). So, instead of reviewing the second book in the series, ‘Homicide Related’, let me try and explain why Ryan Dooley is a mystery lovers teenage dream.
The first book of the series, ‘Dooley Takes the Fall’, was focused on the development of the Ryan Dooley’s personality and history. McClintock provided a deep look into the heart of Dooley, the teenage ex-drug addict, criminal and alcholic whose life was reshaped by his strict uncle and a pager after he was released from juvenile detention. The specifics of Dooley’s character are interesting. He’s a realistic teenager and a individual character. At the same time his experiences, allow his character to logically contain typical elements of a certain kind of detective character. He’s a gruff, self-contained narrator, with a bit of a temper. By constructing her narrator’s background in a certain way, McClintock creates a logical reason for the inclusion of genre conventions and creates a stong link between this young adult crime series and a subgenre within the adult crime/detective genre which should encourage all kinds of mystery lovers to recognise Dooley as a great character and a great genre hero.
Dooley is also a sober addict who must work hard to combat the temptations placed before him, as his investigations progress. I tend to think of the addict detective as a pretty stock character, but there’s also a growing subgroup of recovering addict detective characters (although perhaps some of you can suggest some candidates for this group as my mind can not remember any specific characters – help!). Filling the ‘detective’ role (Dooley is really a civillian investigator, but detective tends to be used as kind of general term now), with a teenager allows McClintock to put a fresh twist on this stock detective type. The reader is suddenly alerted to just how devestating something like alchol addiction, can really be as they watching a teenage character think about how drinking used to feel:
‘Jesus, what he wouldn’t do fro a drink or a joint, anything to chase away that jangly feeling inside him. He got up and went into the kitchen. His uncle kept his booze in a cupboard above the counter. When he passed it, his hand shook. It would be so easy to reach up and take down a bottle of Jack.’
whereas alchol addiction is a lot easier to excuse, or ignore in adult crime novels.
His addiction also makes him a more, eh I hestiate to say vulnerable because eh bad connotations, maybe a less defensive character than your typical hard drinking adult detective. He has a lot of insecurities to overcome because of his past. The caring relationship he has with his girlfriend Beth in this second book is always a little bit fragile, or fraught because being more secure. Dooley’s uncertainty, prompts him to be incredibly loving (if at times a bit clingy) and that is very endearing in a male character, especially when he is so physically assured and intelligent. It’s kind of beautiful to see Beth attempt to help him through some of those insecurities, once she does understand them.
Sometimes I wished Beth could get Dooley’s situation better, for example in ‘Homicide Related’ she’s totally unable to understand his pretty reasonable detachment from his mother because her background is different from his. At the same time, wuhu for a female character who doesn’t always give him a total pass for dodgy behaviour, just because he’se been influenced by his bad past. Beth can be so forgiving, but she’s not about to be controlled by her love for Dooley anymore that she’ll be controlled by her mother’s expectations. Their relationship is one of my favourite things about the series so far.
Emotions, feelings, character – this series has them all! It also has some cool mystery plots for anyone who is more interested in story than character. In my review of the first book in the series, ‘Dooley Takes the Fall’ I said the plot resolution was a bit confused, but in ‘Homicide Related’ the resolution seemed to come from a much more logical chain of mystery building. The clues were all there for a reader to guess the ending, but there was enough obscuring mystery to keep the solution from being obvious. But as I said in my review of the first book, I’m the mystery dunce, so word + salt, you form the correct dish from that recipie.
See you all in a week, have lovely days :)