To be frank, I actually liked the first two books better...

3/5

More thoughts to come. ( )

Long Beach Homicide Detective Danny Beckett has seen many horrible murders during his time on the Force, but this nights victim, a homeless man brutally murdered by teenagers, has broken through the barriers he uses to keep objective when working on these cases. This man’s murder isn’t just about who did it, because they have already arrested them; it’s about Danny finding out who the man was, and if there is anything they missed. Also it’s how Danny is handling the memories from his past that surface because of how the man was murdered.

I picked this book because I lived in Long Beach for a few years, and I wanted to see how the author described the places I knew. It was a bonus that Tyler Dilts is such a great writer. I read/listened to A Cold and Broken Hallelujah on kindles emersion reading program which has a professional reader bringing the words to life as I followed the highlighted words in my kindle. This is an awesome tool for anyone who has learning disabilities related to reading and spelling and I highly recommend it for anyone teaching reading. For me I found that my problem doing it this way was trying to find the time to sit down and read/listen; but every time I got back to the book it grabbed my attention. You can listen without reading along which I did for the last few chapters. I may go back and just read it because I like his writing style. Be warned this murder mystery has some violence, one sexual encounter, and some profanity. 4 stars ( )

The prologue immediately grabbed my attention, and I thought I had a compelling read ahead of me. In some respects, I did find the story compelling. Unfortunately, the problem areas detracted from my enjoyment.

I like Beckett's character, and appreciate the unique aspects of his personality. He listens to NPR talk shows and offbeat music. This makes him interesting, different from the often stereotypical homicide detective. That being said, the constant references grew tiresome over time.

Aspects of Beckett's left-of-center personality are taken a little too far to be believable in a hardened cop. For instance, he never mentions the race of victims or suspects. In fact, none of the cops or the witnesses mention race. This is a glaring omission that simply doesn't ring true. Acknowledging the race of a suspect or victim is like acknowledging gender; it's standard observation.

The plot is interesting, though slow. We move along with a lot of repetitive introspection from Beckett, and meandering ventures off into his personal life, such as it is. Here, again, I have mixed feelings. I enjoyed the plot and have much respect for the way the author highlighted the struggle of our homeless population. But Beckett's sudden and absolute fixation on this one victim felt too overblown. I understood the connection Dilts attempted, but it all stretched just a little too far for me.

Toward the end, the pace picks up with the effort to fit all the pieces together. It feels rushed and not quite believable.

This book was a little like riding a child's see-saw - lots of ups and downs. In the end, I'm sitting midway, still not sure if reaching the highs was worth enduring the lows. ( )