I started this book with such high hopes.

Suspicious Looking Packages is about the development of the Bomb Squad in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Most of the action is set in 1941 and details the efforts of the squad to find the perpetrators behind a bombing at the World's Fair and a series of suspicious packages left at a utility company...and the efforts of the commissioner to determine the effectiveness of the squad.

The book started off with a bang, both literally and metaphorically. The atmosphere, characters, and pacing are compelling and it was easy to get sucked into the story. The first explosion was shocking and provided plenty of motivation to follow along and see how the NYPD would respond. At this point, I was expecting to rate the book a 4 or 5 stars.

After the initial section, however, the story begins to bog down. The next couple of chapters are heavy on exposition and character introduction...but I needed to keep notes, because for a while every character sounded like the same 1940s man in a suit coat and fedora. It took me a long time to make it to chapter 4, when the characters were mostly already introduced.

The middle section of the book was enjoyable enough. We mostly follow Dylan Ateer, a new recruit to the Bomb Squad and the somewhat reluctant protege of Accorso and Pedrotti, the flashy and irreverent stars of the squad's first unit. They expose the straight laced Ateer to the terror of the job and the debauchery required to survive such a stressful position. I was thinking the book was a solid 4 stars at this point.

By 50 or 60% of the way through the book, the writing standards started slipping. I found an increasing number of spelling and grammar errors, including plenty of sentence fragments, comma splices, and badly written clauses that occasionally made it difficult to parse the sentence and required some rereading. There were also some occasions where it became unclear which character was speaking and I believe the author also lost track of his characters. Most egregious of all was the fact that a secondary character's name changed a few times from Sienna to Sierra and back again, sometimes on the same page. The errors increased the reading difficulty and the book would benefit from a thorough review by an editor.

I also found myself a little confused about the timeline at this point in the novel. There are large portions of the story that take place in speakeasies and brothels, and although it was set in 1941, sometimes it almost sounded like Prohibition was still in effect.

By 80% of the book, I was getting worried about where the action was going. Typically in any story there is rising action at minimum by this point that can culminate in some sort of climax later, and Suspicious Packages just didn't have that rising action. The story continued to meander around through the next 50 pages or so and then ended abruptly, with no climax or denouement at all. The last sentence left me saying, "What?!" out loud and trying to figure out why the book was suddenly over. At this point, I was strongly tempted to award it only 2 stars.

It was not until I finished the book that I realized that this is intended to be the first book of a series. I have no issue with that and think that the bones of this story are good enough to support a very enjoyable series.

That said, the story needs more structure to make each book a more satisfying payoff. With the help of a good editor, Suspicious Packages could make an excellent series, but as it is, the first installment doesn't quite cut it as a stand alone novel.

I would recommend this book to crime enthusiasts and WWII history buffs, with the caveat that the first book, at least, is mostly exposition and ends too abruptly.

I also would warn readers that there are a high number of racial slurs in this book directed at all kinds of different ethnicities. Most of them sound like they fit the time period well enough, but it may leave some readers uncomfortable.

3 stars.

***

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this book. This review is cross posted between Netgalley and Goodreads. Ratings follow the Goodreads suggested rating system and are assigned as follows: 1 star - didn't like it, 2 stars – it was OK, 3 stars – liked it, 4 stars – really liked it, 5 stars – it was amazing. DNF books are only ever rated or reviewed if there was a reason not to finish related to the subject matter or writing style and if I believe I have something useful to say.

While I do thank the author and the publisher for inviting me to read this advance copy, I must say that I was disappointed that the book was not quite what I expected after seeing the cover and reading the premise of the story.

The dialogue tends to be rather profane and I found there to be more pre-occupation with the detective's love lives (including their wives and trysts with ladies that the cops encounter on the job) and that was a distraction. For a story about bombs, I wished that the plot would have led to some sort of outcome or details from bomb detonation earlier in the story.

As for section structure, I prefer books that do break up the plot into shorter chapters for cues that lead me to read on for the progression. But that is just a personal bias for my reading style.

This one had an interesting premise with a less-often subject of the early days of bomb squads in the U.S. However, I felt that it lacked the "bang" of what could have been for more suspense and action.

Interesting story about the Bomb Squad in NYC. Much of the narrative read like fiction. The ending was abrupt, setting up a sequel.

This book strips the romantic hue off of the 1940's, and is a raw and gritty portrayal of New York from the point of view of several police officers of the bomb squad. Written true to the events of the time, the story is engrossing as you follow the bomb squad on calls. Although the writing impeccable, I was disturbed by the mindset of our primary characters. Ateer was the best man of the crew, though he has little personality. Acorso and Pedrotti are just ... well, yucky. They are entitled, arrogant and morally reprehensible - and it saddens me to know that they may be portrayed accurate to the time. I cringed each time they left the office because I feared for the fate of any girl or woman that would cross their paths. This book ends abruptly, just when you are fully invested in the story. Now I anxiously await Book 2, where I hope the wives of Acorso and Pedrotti band together and find a way to take their husbands down a peg!

The Bomb Squad: a Crime Story

New York, 1940 an explosion at the World’s Fair leaves the city on edge. A pipe bomb is found hidden in a red sock… the first device of the sort delivered leaving a strong message to the city. Who is this madman leaving a trail of devastation and brought three detectives at the heart of this nightmarish puzzle.

My thoughts:

I had a terrible time with this story and apologize to the author for not giving him full credits. I was hooked by the cover story I though stepping aside from my usual read would give me another view I rarely step unto. My error.

What I found excellently done is the story has a feel of authenticity: men in the 40’s wore spiffy clothes, fedora hats, had greasy hair and depending of the job status used very colourful languages: picture them holding a cigarette in one hand and whiskey in the other hand chatting with their colleagues and criticizing their wives. We read this page after pages yes once in a while they are sent on a defusing mission… But the development is so slow I actually had to skip pages of never ending day to day life till yes once in a while they have a bomb to diffuse. In my books the exciting parts are too short and lack excitement…. Or was my negativity regarding this story the fact that I skipped too many pages?

This story did not gel for me but you may like it, so don’t judge this story by my feelings give it a go if the hypnosis appeals to you.

I was hooked by the cover, title, and story, but turned off by all the profanity. Histfic true crime fans not bothered by a massive amount of "French" will surely dig it. Just not for me.

I know I'm in the minority and I know the author is writing authentically. But I'm done with reading the "F" word 4 or 5 times per page. When that isn't used, the "S" word is. I'm so hung up on OMG - another one is coming! that I'm not enjoying the book. I read for enjoyment and to learn. Nothing enjoyable here.

If this doesn't bother you, get into it. I think there's some good history in there about bombs.