Book Review: Hell is Naked by Jean James and Mary James

I was very curious about this one from the get-go – it has great reviews, everyone raves about how action-packed it is, and the idea of a cop posing as a movie extra for a case sounded original and intriguing (with great potential for hilarity). The opening was very strong – I was immediately engaged by the characters (poor Warren, I would most likely find myself in his shoes if I suddenly tried to be a movie extra!) who were relatable, believable and fun, as well as the plot (odd circumstances surrounding Warren’s case and a bizarre accident on a movie set).

Things were clicking along – until, suddenly, they weren’t and The Slog began.

When it happens, The Slog usually kicks in about half to two-thirds through a mystery for me – it’s the point at which you’ve gotten past the initial excitement and “what’s going on??” of the beginning but have not yet entered the “A-HA!” moments that surround the Big Reveal. Its the point at which there’s still some necessary plot exposition that needs to happen before the ending bits can kick in and make sense – the slow point between the start and the finish. In this one, it felt like I hit that point at about 25%, and I found myself wondering how on Earth the story could possibly need another three-quarters of the book to be told. Sometimes, the Big Slog hits early because there’s another, unforeseen, plot point/line coming – that can be a pleasant surprise, as long as the BS doesn’t drag on to the point that you lose momentum and either don’t care about the new bits or don’t get to them because you’ve given up…

The Big Slog isn’t necessarily a death knell for a book – sometimes it really is necessary and just has to be gotten through, even if it means slowing things W A Y down for a bit. Unfortunately, sometimes it is an indicator that the tone or tenor of the book has changed – and that’s how I felt with this one. Things never picked back up to the exciting and engaging pace of the opening, and as a result this was only three stars for me. Warren remained interesting throughout, although Rainy gradually grated on my nerves a bit (still not entirely sure why). Still, the opening was so strong that I would definitely consider this pair of authors again – and perhaps at another time or in another context, the pacing issue wouldn’t be an issue at all…

My review copy was provided by NetGalley.