Great googly moogly! This story is relentless. Chuck knows how to keep you ripping through his yarn, and just when you think you've got the entire thing figured out (yet you're scratching your head 'cause there's a hundred pages still to go), he pulls a fast one and and leaves you scrambling, much like Miriam as she tries to stop a series of terrible killings.Aside from the story proving a kick-ass plot, I love that Chuck doesn't pull his punches. And no, I'm not talking about his tendency to use liberal doses of creative profanity. I refer to the sheer amounts of hell Chuck puts his characters through. Miriam puts on a tough exterior, but inside she's messier than the leavings of a Roman orgy. Sure, her body takes a pounding, but the weight of the knowledge she bears, and the guilt she carries from her short life would cause a whole lot of folks to simply step in front of a Greyhound bus and call it good. There's no easy path here, and winning isn't guaranteed.If I had to pick a gripe, it would be that Miriam has a tendency to fall for the same bloody trick over and over again. She's a smart lady, so I would like to see her stop once in a while and say, "Hey, I'm not falling for that *&^#@." Then, of course, the villain would do something totally unexpected and we'd go on from there.I was really impressed with the way Miriam dealt with "Bird Mask". That was cool.I'm reading the sequel now. I probably should have taken a break - I'm exhausted after "Mockingbird", but I just can't resist seeing what trouble Ms. Black will find herself in this time around. I tried this one--even though I wasn't thrilled by Blackbirds like I hoped--because sometimes it takes a book (or two) for a series to settle in and becomes good.Unfortunately, Mockingbird didn't work for me either. It had a good plot, although I guessed the mystery of "who here is the bad guy" as soon as the character/s was/were introduced. Beyond the exception of Katey, none of the characters were engaging. I didn't care if the victims lived or died, and I found the villains to be more cartoonish than scary.
What do You think about Blackhearts (2013)?
Brutal and dark, crass and entertaining. Kind of like a gutter version of Odd Thomas.
—Maddyb
A rollercoaster ride on a seat lined with razor blades. A good read.
—krysti0220
Enjoy the main character, fast paced and entertaining
—Ella
