MURDER TAKES TIME (Friendship & Honor) [Kindle Edition]

This is a very well written thriller that is very much worth a read. It flows beautifully, even though it jumps forwards and backwards in time. The characters are particularly well drawn, and the difficulty in balancing requirements of honour, morality, friendship and social environment are gone into most impressively.

I was interested in this book from the moment I heard about it. I wasn't disappointed. I was not able to put this book down and I already desperately want to read the second in the series!

The way Giacomo writes is just incredible. I felt like I was really there and watching the action unfold. The way that it was told by the different points of view can sometimes be confusing but it was easy to follow and added so much to the thread of the story. I also loved the fact that some chapters told the history of the story. It was easy to understand why Nicky wanted revenge.

I loved the way the story was written, the fast pace and the action was amazing. I loved the fact that I read pages after pages and didn't know how much I had read. The characters were very well fleshed out and I have my favourite gangster. I won't spoil it by saying who but I will say that I am so glad things worked the way they did for them.

I give Murder Takes Time a very big 5/5 although it deserves much more.

Twenty five years ago Tony 'the brain' Sannullo, Frankie 'Bugs' Donovan, Paulie 'the Suit' Perlano and Nicky 'the Rat' Fusco made an oath for Friendship and Honor. Now grown up the four boys have taken different paths and are living very different lives. Frankie is now a hardened Brooklyn cop facing a series of brutal murders that all have a bizarre combination of DNA planted at the scene. Struggling with the case he has no choice but to contact his old friends, even if the old oath could compromise the oath he swore as a cop.

I wasn't sure what I would think of this as it is outside my normal comfort zone so I was pleasantly surprised to find that this is really readable and kept me glued to the page. You can really tell that the author is writing about the time and area in which he grew up and his passion really shines through the narrative. There are even photos of some of the locations in the back of the book. I'd been warned in advance about the rough language but it fits with the characters and their background and never comes across as excessive.

I found myself connecting with some characters more than others. Frankie is really struggling both with the case and with the conflict between his past and career. I sympathized with Nicky who has definitely had the most difficult life, and quickly became resentful of the circumstances that led him down an entirely different path to the one he wanted. I loved Mama Rosa and she really brought the boys childhoods to life. You could almost taste the sauce she was constantly nursing in the kitchen.

The plot is cleverly written and the motivations and identity of the killer are gradually revealed alongside the past of the boys and how they ended up becoming the men they are today. I was disappointed by the ending though as it feels like justice was abandoned in favour of leaving the storyline open for the sequel promised at the end of the book.

There were several things I didn't like: the violence is very graphic at times and could have been lessened without negatively impacting the storyline. Also while I knew there would be sexual content in advance I was unaware that a fair amount of those scenes are nonconsensual and pretty disturbing. I also struggled at times with the large cast, especially in the past scenes where lists of names are reeled off, and found it difficult to tell when certain scenes were taking place as while they are marked as '19 years ago' some cover years at a time.

All in all, this was a good read and I'd consider picking up Murder has Consequences when it is released.

Plot: 8/10
Characters: 8/10
Ending: 7/10
Enjoyment: 7/10
Cover: 7/10

Overall: 37/50