You Have My Attention

Chapter 1 thru 13

I am new to the work of Elizabeth Knowelden but after looking at her website and body of work, I’m surprised that I haven’t been exposed to it more. It’s extensive and she is talented AF.

I’ve been interested in police procedurals lately and I don’t normally gravitate towards these really obvious ones … “police officer and child of serial killer, shhh it’s a secret” type stuff. I really don’t like stories that hinge on creating tension based on withholding something. I also tend to really dislike plot structures that rely on everyone being backwards or stupid or irrational to create tension as well. It’s like Korean Dramas where all of the tension and drama exists simply because people refuse to communicate with one another.

I am the child of a serial killer so I’m probably going to be one … I don’t know who still believes stuff like this but it makes my eyes roll and I just find it boring and ridiculous.

That said … I had to push aside how difficult key aspects of this book were to enjoy and focus instead on what is absolutely FLAWLESS voice work. Elizabeth Knowelden makes some amazing choices with her line reads that really floored me. I LOVE when actors do narration because they just give good characters beyond just having a good reading voice. Elizabeth nails everyone and it made up for what I didn’t like about the “logic” of how some of the characters behave.

Another key point for me … TONS OF WOMEN. Woman in the lead, woman boss, woman serial killer. That gets my attention right off the bat. The only two men in the story currently are torn from the same cloth, a similar cloth that I have noticed blanketing other work by women; the men just SUCK and have shitty, combative, difficult attitudes. This is usually just to showcase how women are simply better. Fine by me as I agree, I just find it cliche and boring and unimaginative.

I can say right now that the ONLY thing that is keeping me interested is Elizabeth’s work. The plot so far pales in comparison to a lot of other similar story structures I’ve enjoyed.

I’ll just say … if this kind of thing is what you like – strong women police inspectors, bad mothers, twisted female sociopaths, and quality male characters that don’t exist simply to make a feminist agenda clearer – I would go with the DI Kim Stone series. Her life, her relationship with Dr. Alex Thorne, and her relationship with her colleagues is just better written and Jan Cramer’s voice work is really amazing as well.

This book is weak sauce drizzled on top of a pile of mildly interesting. If it wasn’t for Elizabeth’s EPIC narration, I’d move on to something else.

Story this session: 3.0 out of 5.0 stars3.0
Voice work: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0